Halifa Sallah says PDOIS will establish cooperative banks to support farming

By: Landing Ceesay

Halifa Sallah, Secretary General of People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) said that his party will establish a cooperative bank to support farming in the country, when elected in the December 2021.

“The PDOIS government will establish a cooperative bank that will be able to give the farmers seeds, fertilizers and farming implements. So that farmers can produce as much as they can. And when they are selling it, they will not be exploited by ensuring the world market price and all other internal price will serve the farmers,” he said.

“We need policies that will empower Gambians in anything they do. That’s what we call system change,” Sallah added.

Mr. Sallah, who also doubles as the National Assembly Member for Serrekunda said the cooperative bank will give opportunity to the young people coming out from Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) in terms of milling machines and other processing machines in order to process anything that the farmers are producing.

Serrekunda NAM continued: “Subsequently, the people from GTTI will also be part of the change that would enable you to earn an income in processing the goods from farmers.”

Sallah said women should not have been selling on the streets, rather they could have been in their homes selling, where the cooperative bank will provide them the resources they need to purchase and sale anything they want.

Further on, he said that PDOIS government will create a national service that will transform the Gambia’s educational system.

“We will introduce and education system where if you finished grade 12, you can choose any place you want to learn skills or acquire any source of knowledge. Your second year will be just a matter of choice for you because by then, you already acquire the skills that you would be able to know where you are going in the productive base to move on with your own life,” Halifa said.

The PDOIS Secretary said the Gambian need a system that will transform their lives and that his party (PDOIS) has the answers to address the questions of poverty in the Gambia.