By Lamin kujabi
it has been a week now since His Excellency President Adama Barrow launched his 10-day nationwide tour of projects and meetings with the public as mandated by the constitution.
The engagement on Saturday, 25th November 2023 took the form of a laying of foundation stone for the construction of Early Child Development (ECD) School in his home village of Mankamang kunda.
Speaking at the event, President Adama Barrow recalled that such a school was built in the village in the colonial time, and he and many others attended the school before it was closed in 1975 and relocated to Basse.
He thanked MRC Holland Foundation for funding the construction of the ECD school, describing them as true development partners.
He went on to describe ECD as a foundation for a country to provide quality education to its people. “A country cannot develop without education”, he asserted and promised to support the project.
The Basic and Secondary Education Minister Cole said from ECD, it will be expanded up to senior school. “ECD is important; it provides quality education because in education foundation is very important. When ECD is of quality, as children progress it becomes easier for them”.
Visit to Bakadagy School, others President Barrow and entourage have visited many schools that being built or expanded in the URR. Among them were Bakadagy Upper and Senior Secondary School, which is a two-storey building classroom blocks and an office being constructed; Nasir Ahmadiyya Muslim Senior School in Basse, which in addition to the construction of some classroom blocks, the foundation stone for the construction of Ahmadiyya Muslim Health clinic was laid just opposite Nasir Ahmadiyya Muslim senior school in Basse.
President Adama Barrow conducted several meetings across the regions, where he laid out his development vision and plan. These include universal electricity coverage in URR by 2025, creation of bout 150, 000 jobs for the youth, as an alternative to irregular migration and improvement of living conditions. He called for concerted efforts. Other speakers in the various communities visited so far included Honourable BabucarBouy Minister of Public Service and overseer of Ministry of Lands; Dr Demba Sabally of the Agric Ministry, who highlighted government’s support to farmers and called on Gambians to invest in agriculture.
Hamat Bah, Minister of Tourism and Culture riveted Government’s announcement of the D38, 000 farm gate price doe this year.
