Former President Jammeh Speaks Again, Renews Attacks on Barrow’s Administration

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Ex Gambian Leader, Yahya Jammeh . credit photograph: ©Jason Florio – all rights reserved

Barely three days after President Adama Barrow issued strong warnings to GDC leader Mamma Kandeh to desist from according the exiled former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh a platform to participate in national politics, the former leader has made another address to party supporters renewing attacks on President Barrow’s administration.

Jammeh, currently exiled in Equatorial Guinea dismissed President Adama Barrow’s claims of building the Laminkoto-Passamas Road and the Senegambia Bridge, stressing that these are his projects and Adama Barrow has no right to claim ownership of projects that he built.

“I left in 2017, but in 2018 Gambian education would have been free up to university level but they rigged the election and brought in this group (coalition government) that has destroyed the country in just less than four years. I have heard Adama Barrow trying to hug wink Gambians many times, telling you that the projects that I implemented are his projects. That is not true,” former President Yahya Jammeh disclosed.

The former Gambian leader who was addressing his supporters at Sare Bojo in the Central River Region of the country at a rally organised by the Gambia Democratic Congress clarified that the Laminkoto-Passamas road was a project initiated by his government and was earmarked to stretch up to 40 kilometers before he went to exile.

Jammeh added that the projects delay was due to financial plans to construct the road in phases and his insistence that the project be fully sponsored.

“I told them that the people of Laminkoto-Passamas have been promised for 30 years and it has never happened and I pledged since day one and Almighty Allah has answered my prayers, that is why the project continued. Now (Adama Barrow) coming to claim that he is the one who built the project is clearly  untrue” the exiled former Gambian President highlighted.

Jammeh went to question Barrow, asking, “how many stages were in the project, before it started and how many stages must one go through? I want to asked another question with regard to the Laminkoto-Passamas road. Who was the first consultant for the project? Let him answer these questions.”

Taking full credit for the construction of the Bamba Tenda-Yelli Tenda bridge, former President Jammeh challenged President Barrow to clarify the projects commencement, how much it cost as well as its first consultant engineer.

“I will tell you the truth, for 22 years I have never lied to you” Jammeh added noting that he participated in the design of the bridge project.

According to him, the delay in the construction of the Farafenni Bridge was due to changes made to his original design that wouldn’t allow boats and vessels to pass, recalling how how he called the attention of Bala Jaba Jahumpa and insisted that the original plan be implemented or the project be stopped.

Jammeh revealed that the contractor communicated his position to the African Development Bank which eventually agreed to his plans to allow boats and vessels to pass, adding that it was his wish to build an inland port at Kaur so that ocean going vessels can  discharge goods to the rest of the Gambia and other countries.

“Adama Barrow is claiming that he built that bridge and called it the Senegambia. That bridge will never be called the Senegambia Bridge when I comes back,” former President Yahya Jammeh stressed.

Calling on Gambian electorates to vote for GDC/APRC No Alliance Movement if they  want to continue enjoying free education, free medical services and unprecedented development the whole world can be proud of, Jammeh went on to disclose that his plan is to build the Gambia to become a city state and that will happen whether President Barrow likes it or not.

“My heart bleeds for Gambians in the way you are suffering especially women and the children that I cared so much for as they are the future of this country.”

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Mr. Sainey M.K. Marenah is a Prominent Gambian journalist, founding editor The Alkamba Times and formerly head of communications at the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) and Communications and PR Consultant for The Gambia Pilot Program, under Gamworks. Mr. Marenah served as the Social media Strategist and Editor at Gambia Radio and Television Services. He is also the Banjul Correspondent for Voice of America Radio. Sainey is a human rights and developmental journalist who has carved a strong niche particularly in new media environments in the Gambian media industry. Mr. Marenah began his career as a junior reporter with the Point Newspaper in the Gambia in 2008 and rose through the ranks to become Chief correspondent before moving to The Standard Newspaper also in Banjul as Editorial Assistant and head of News. He is a household name in the Gambia’s media industry having covered some of the most important stories in the former and current government. These include the high profile treason cases including the Trial of Former military chiefs in Banjul in 2009 to 2012. Following his arrest and imprisonment by the former regime of President, Yahya Jammeh in 2014, Marenah moved to Dakar Senegal where he continues to practice Journalism freelancing for various local and international Media organization’s including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, VOA, and ZDF TV in Germany among others. He is the co-Founder of the Banjul Based Media Center for Research and Development; an institution specialized in research and development undertakings. As a journalist and Communication Expert, focused on supporting the Gambia's transitional process, Mr Marenah continues to play a pivotal role in shaping a viable media and communications platform that engages necessary tools and action to increase civic participation and awareness of the needs of transitional governance to strengthen the current move towards democratization. Mr. Marenah has traveled extensively as a professional journalist in both Europe, Africa and United States and attended several local and international media trainings.

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