Gambians have criticised a proposed project for the building of a second airport, saying it should be down the pecking order of priorities given the social problems blighting the country.
The government of President Yahya Jammeh last month announced it was in talks with Turkish officials over the building of a new airport to complement the current one constructed in 1996.
However, in an exclusive interview with APA on Sunday, Gambians who spoke on condition of anonymity said the government would do better by shelving plans for another airport and instead improve the country’s health care system given the threat from the deadly Ebola epidemic plaguing West Africa.
They also said President Jammeh should realize that people’s other priorities are achieving food self sufficiency and more jobs for unemployed youths, who should be dissuaded from making perilous journeys by sea to Europe.
“Although another airport may be good but compared to food, employment and health, it is not a burning issue and one of them said adding that patients who visit public hospitals come away undiagnosed and without medicines to treat them.”
Another complained that the high cost of a bag of rice ($23), Gambia’s main food staple should be exercising the minds of government officials instead of issues irrelevant to the lives of ordinary people.
Meanwhile other Gambians have taken to social media to vent their displeasure against the proposed airport, saying the overriding need is to repair the ferries and roads, fix power plants, improve electricity supplies and render irrigation systems affordable to the population.
Signature : APA
