Monday, August 27, 2001
Government cannot afford on-the-spot counting SoS Touray declares
by Pa Malick Faye
The secretary of state for tourism and culture, Yankuba Touray who is also
the APRC national mobiliser has said the APRC Government would not accept
the on-spot counting in a nationwide election simply because it has a
potential of causing trouble and that the cost involved was prohibited. He
put the cost at over D8 million which he said would be better used on
developmental projects like digging wells and building public institutions
in the provinces.
SoS Touray was addressing a mass APRC rally in Mansaringsu in Brikama,
Friday. He said that the APRC Government could not provide adequate security
at each of the 800 polling stations across the country for the on-the spot
counting. He said during the Jawara regime, elections were held without an
independent electoral commission moreso the on --the- spot counting but
those elections were acclaimed free and fair by the International community.
SoS Touray added that it was President Jammeh and the APRC that first
established an independent electoral body in The Gambia's political history
which showed that they wanted transparency.
SoS Touray noted that those who are calling for such a system of counting
were here during Jawara's regime when permanent secretaries presided over
elections. Government, he went on, was only able to provide the IEC with
D2.7 million for the centralised counting which was opposed to D8 million
earmarked for the on-the-spot counting. He said the opposition were asked by
the IEC whether they could provide the remaining D6 million to which they
answered in the negative. On Fisheries, SoS Touray disclosed that a new
fishing port would be built in Gunjur plus a multi-purpose sport facility. A
new power house would be also built in Brikama in the year 2002 with a new
12 mega watt generator installed to supply electricity to the southern Kombo
area as well as an arts and craft centre opened in Brikama which would
include training facilities for youths in tye and dye among others. On the
opposition, SoS Touray said it was irony for them to decry the price hikes
for a bag of rice, because it was the same PPP which is now UDP that failed
to develop the rice sub-sector.
He said The Gambia imports rice the price of which was determined by their
countries of origin which the government could not do anything about. SoS
also said that the students riot was engineered by the opposition parties
who continue to sponsor the student union president, Omar Joof, who ran away
to Dakar, Senegal. He cautioned the Gambian people that the peace and
stability of this country can be adequately guaranteed by the APRC regime.
He finally warned the rally not to allow impostors to even win a seat in the
National Assembly. Speaking earlier, Justice Secretary Joseph Henry Joof
thanked the women of Mansaringsu for their turn out and for staying lately
in the night. He said that showed they appreciated the good work that
President Jammeh had done in Brikama. He advised the UDP to opt for another
presidential candidate because Darboe was not qualified under the 1997
Constitution to run for such an office.
For her part, the director of press and public relation at State House,
Fatoumata Jahumpa Ceesay, also thanked the women of Mansaringsu for their
loyalty to the APRC. She reminded them that President Jammeh had done a lot
to improve the status of Gambian women. She urged them to come out in large
numbers and vote for the APRC in October. Several people spoke at the rally
including Lamin Kaba Bajo, Major Momodou Bojang and Dr Lamin Saho. The rally
was attended by other senior government officials. Also present was Mr Seedy
Alamie a nephew of ex-president Jawara. Gibril Jassey contributed to this
story.
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