Mr President, as a nation we thank Allah for giving us the grace to perform the Eid or Tobaski prayer in peace and love. We noted that after performing the Eid prayers at the Central Mosque in Banjul on Wednesday, you made a call for peace and unity in the country.
This call is timely and essential for the Gambian people as we are all one family.
As a champion of peace, you may also take the lead in calling for a national dialogue, inviting all stakeholders including civil societies and politicians.
As kith and kin, hate speech and attacking of people's personalities should be a thing of the past because we are no more in electioneering period or campaign.
Mr President, talking about the economy, it is a fact that it is not only the economy of The Gambia that is affected by both internal and external factors and other shocks. Almost all other countries in the world are likewise struggling with their economies while some are in dire straits.
Therefore, your call on all Gambian people to put hands on deck to work for the national development of the country is vital.
Now that the Eid is over, it is advisable for your government to put more efforts in improving the standards of living of the Gambian people by creating more employment opportunities, combating illegal migration, and improving agriculture, the health sector and other essential sectors.
Mr President, another crucial area that should be revisited is the fisheries sector. It has been noted that illegal fishing by some foreign nationals is on the increase, which, if a stop is not put to it, will affect the country's economy.
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Illegal fishing will deprive The Gambia of essential revenue and prevent citizens from making the best use of the sector. Anyone caught engaging in illegal fishing should be prosecuted and dealt with.
Mr President, the Lands Commission should also be revised with members given a clear mandate.
There are lots of land disputes in the country most of which are already in courts.
Procedures of acquiring land in this country should be clearly addressed.
Estate dealers and alkalolu should also, as a foremost agenda, be regulated because many people are losing their monies to these agents or dealers.
Finally, Mr President, you should take your time in finding a replacement for the Lands minister who on Friday resigned based on personal reasons contravening his position as a Cabinet minister.
Many people are baffled by the resignation statement of the former Minister. People are alleging that he had been involved in land allocation in Kamalo going to Banjul -Kotu area and other places, which did not go down well with Government, in addition to the damming audit report covering his stewardship as Governor of CRR.
His replacement should be someone who is competent, experienced and able to handle land issues in the country.
Good day!
