The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Daily Observer
6 July 2009
editorial
The adoption of appropriate development is a difficult task yet a decisive factor in bringing about meaningful development to the society.
Therefore, the national policies, plans and strategies to be adopted must be diligently designed to bring about even and effective development that would support a decent livelihood. One development strategy that should be born in mind in our policy making and implementation is an effective way of decentralizing our infrastructural development.
It is evident that a biased infrastructure in any society will breed inequality in terms of access to developmental benefits. This inequality in the level of infrastructural development is nowhere more inherent than in the developing countries. Generally, there is a wide disparity between the rural and the urban areas and it has a common result: it hinders our development effort.
Gambians are blessed to have a president who is aware of this fact and is determined to make a breakthrough in bringing about equitable development, by decentralizing his development initiatives. The utmost priority of the July 22nd revolution was to decentralize development. This was partly necessary because of the dominance of development projects in the Greater Banjul Area and also the monopolization of these projects by the political elites of the former regime
Since the birth of the July 22nd revolution, we have witnessed major development projects being implemented in the rural areas, aimed at improving the lives of the rural dwellers in order for them to effectively participate in nation building. The president is very much conscious of the fact that the rural area is the bread basket of the country.
It is the place where the bulk of our agricultural activities - our main hope of food self sufficiency - take place. There is a need for the villages to enjoy the basic necessities of livelihood such as feeder roads linking their productive base to the urban market centers. Follow our July 22nd bus as we expose His Excellency's uncompromising stance in promoting rural development.
Development is for the people; hence the best development approach is one that puts the people at the forefront. Each and every Gambia should be grateful that the leadership of President Jammeh and the revolution have provided us the platform for each and every Gambian to excel.
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