By: Sainabou Sambou
President Adama Barrow on Saturday inaugurated a 4.5-kilometer beachside road linking Gunjur to the coast, using the ceremony to declare the election season over and invite opposition figures, including Essa Mbaye Faal, to work with his government on national development.
The EPC LOT 8 Gunjur–Beachside Road Project was commissioned in Gunjur, where Barrow told residents the country should now redirect energy and resources from politics toward infrastructure and livelihoods.
“The election period in The Gambia is over,” he said. Recalling that GDC leader Mama Kandeh had joined his alliance, Barrow said he had also called UDP leader Ousainou Darboe and asked him to come on board so they could work together.
“And to the people I have not called, people like Essa Faal, come and join me. Let us work together. To the others, come and join me and let us work. We are looking only for peace and to work for this country,” Barrow said.
He urged political actors to put money that would otherwise go to campaigns into development. Addressing Gunjur directly, he added: “If you believe in your knowledge and your ability, come and join President Barrow. What we did in 2021 will be more than what we will do this year.”
Barrow called on members of his party and alliance to close ranks, arguing that their record was visible in projects nationwide, including electricity expansion to more than 1,000 communities. He framed leadership as a contract with voters.
“If you are a leader, the reason you are chosen is because there is a contract between you and the people that you have to fulfill. When people vote for you as president, you need to work to fulfill whatever wishes are in their hearts. That is the contract I am fulfilling in The Gambia, and I will continue doing so,” he said.
He said his work over the past decade, and the work still planned, would be even greater, claiming his government had laid 1,600 kilometers of foundation stones across the country.
Barrow then turned to the political climate since 2016. “Now, a lot of people have started beating their chests. We made them no longer afraid. In 2016, people were scared. Some of them thought that if they spoke out, former President Yahya Jammeh would give them to the crocodiles. They were scared,” he said.
“But today, those same people have come out and said, ‘We have small money, but there is one thing we want, and that is power.’ They want to use that power and money together to control Gambians and make them slaves. But Gambians should not agree to that.”
He alleged that some actors were trying to influence voters with money and warned people to examine leaders’ records. Those who had stayed away from naming ceremonies, weddings and funerals, he said, should not now expect the country to be handed to them.
Barrow recalled visiting Barrow Kunda in Gunjur and praying at the Gunjur Mosque while seeking the presidency in 2016 and 2021. He said he had intended to build a mosque there and later constructed and inaugurated it.
He described the road opening as historic, saying it met a longstanding local need. When the foundation stone was laid, he said, there was criticism, but the project is now complete. “Allah helped me to fulfill my intention. Human beings cannot do everything, but God is in control,” he said.
Rain fell on the day of the ceremony, and advisers suggested a postponement. Barrow said he refused. He recalled an earlier inspection when his vehicle was stuck in a crowd for about 30 minutes. “They were happy that the hardship they had endured was coming to an end. The happiness of the people nearly made me cry.”
Works and Infrastructure Minister Ebrima Sillah said the project was launched about three years ago and that Gunjur had waited a long time. He thanked the president on behalf of Gunjur and Kombo South, saying the road would speed the movement of fish from the coast to markets in Brikama and beyond, and help women in fish smoking, sales and gardening reach buyers more quickly.
Agriculture Minister Demba Sabally said farms line both sides of the corridor, so the road would serve not only the fishing industry but also farmers moving to fields and taking produce to market.
Barrow said development under his presidency had been so extensive he could not remember every project.
