The president of the Republic has pledged to open retail shops across the country for youth militants of the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) popularly known as ‘Green Youths’. His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh made the pledge Thursday evening at State House, where he held a meeting with an APRC delegation from the Central River Region (CRR).

He explained that the shops will be selling basic food commodities like high-quality cooking oil, flour and sugar, among other items, at affordable prices to the citizenry.
The scheme, apparently meant to curb profiteering by traders and encourage Gambianisation of the basic commodities trading sector, is also a way of expressing gratitude by the party leader, President Jammeh to the youth militants for their sense of patriotism and loyalty to the party.

At Thursday’s meeting, the Gambian leader emphasised that he owes it to the Green Youths, who he said are always working voluntarily under sunshine or rain. President Jammeh then tasked the newly appointed national youth mobiliser with the responsibility of ensuring that there are Green Youth shops in all the areas.

“So, I want every area to have a Green Youth Shop where I will supply commodities like cooking oil, sugar, flour, tomato paste, onion, cement, and so on. I have long been calling on wealthy Gambians to intervene and take up the markets which are dominated by foreigners, but to no avail,” he stated.

The president continued: “Some of the traders would say that, let’s hoard our oil until after Ramadan. But I have warned traders that I will not back out if I intervene in any domain of the domestic business. What I want to eradicate in this country is the type of cooking oil that looks like soap or butter. This type of cooking oil must be flushed out of the country. I want the citizens to consume the high-quality cooking oil just as in other developed countries.”

Commenting on his distribution of Ramadan sugar gift to Muslims, the Gambian leader made it clear that he did not do it because of the forthcoming election, but rather, it was a strategy meant to check the exploitative tendencies of the traders.  He added: “In the previous years, the sugar comes in the second week of Ramadan, but I observed that the traders used to capitalise on those two weeks to rip people to make whatever profit they want before the president’s sugar comes in.

“With all what I am working for, I am doing it to seek Almighty Allah’s reward. I am not looking for money; amass fame or name, but hereafter where you will not be sick, hungry and tired. How can I be a president knowing that God has given me the means of helping my people and I fail to do that, but to keep saving my money? Yes, you can save as much money as you want, but you cannot go with it when you die.”

President Jammeh then stressed that whatever God gives to an individual must be shared among with others inline with the teachings of the Quran, thus justifying his interventions in helping people.

Campaign materials pledge
Responding to the request for campaign materials by the various delegations that came to State House this week, the Gambian leader assured that they will be working to provide such materials. He acknowledged that mobility, which is part of the materials requested, is important especially when it comes to work.

Best emerging region
The president also seized the opportunity to announce a big reward for any administrative region that records a 95 per cent vote for the ruling party in the forthcoming election.
He said: “Any region that emerges as first and polls 95% of votes for the APRC in the upcoming election, the farmers of that region will never bend down again in farming. The women of that region also will never use their hand to pound as that will be done by machines; and before 2016 Presidential Election, most of the APRC militants in that region will go for pilgrimage to Mecca.”

Speaking earlier, the vice president and minister of Women’s Affairs, Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy stated that the citizens are witnesses to the continuous peace, progress and development that have been the hallmark of the Jammeh Administration. She assured that what Gambians see in terms of development by the regime is just a tip of the iceberg, while urging the masses to heed every advice President Jammeh gives, as they go to benefit the citizens.

VP Njie-Saidy urged the CRR party militants to remain steadfast and ensure that they fulfill their 100 per cent vote pledge at the November polls. The minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Alhagie Cham, who doubles as the CRR APRC liaison officer, also enjoined the militants of the region to work to ensure that they achieve the percentage of votes they pledged to President Jammeh in the upcoming election.

 Stalwarts’ gratitude
The APRC stalwarts in the CRR, who spoke on behalf of the delegation were unanimous in their expression of gratitude to the Gambian leader for the unprecedented developments in the country. The militants also lauded the president’s humanitarian interventions, especially his recent provision of high-quality cooking oil, meat and sugar to the people.

Like those from KMC and other regions who met President Jammeh during the course of the week, the CRR militants also underscored the need for mobility and the provision of campaign materials to boost mobilisation and political campaign. The APRC desk officer for the region, Honourable Sainey Mbaye declared that the region is ready to record a100 percent vote for the Gambian leader in the November polls.

He also seized the opportunity to denounce politics based on tribal lines, while urging his fellow politicians to desist from such as it will not be in the interest of the country. The governor of the region, Alhaji Ganyi Touray, acknowledged the developments brought to his region, and expressed gratitude to the president.

He described the construction of seven high schools, proliferation of health centres and roads in CRR as something laudable. The divisional chairman, Baboucarr Jobe; Aji Yateh Faye, women mobiliser in the region; the Upper Saloum chief, Malick Mbye; the youth representative, Omar Mambury; and Fatou Trawally, who is also the vice chairperson of the National Women Council, also acknowledged the gigantic strides of the Jammeh Administration, while unanimously pledging a 100 percent vote for the ruling party in the November 24th Presidential Election. The meeting was moderated by the mayor of KMC and APRC national mobiliser, Yankuba Colley.