The leaders of PDOIS, Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta, have said they are preparing the ground for a new crop of leaders to takeover the mantle of leadership and solidify the gains they have made since the party’s founding.

Speaking to party delegates in Njainsanjal on Sunday, Halifa Sallah said “for more than thirty years PDOIS has been talking to Gambians, trying a lot to bring change that could be beneficial to every Gambian. We have played our role as party leaders and now we are old and looking forward to the future. This congress is for the youths to play their part, sacrifice their time as we have been doing for the past three decades.”

Sallah said the congress would be a new beginning for the party. “Those who are to steer the affairs of the party should be ready to spread the message to every village, hamlet and every constituency in the country. We are not here to appease anyone as a party. There are political hypocrites who go round spreading false allegations against the party and its leaders. The party leaders have been practicing what they have been advocating for the past three decades.”

Sallah said his aim at the time of the formation of PDOIS was to liberate the African continent and he continued to propagate that in the country.

“To liberate people is not an easy task. It requires time, sacrifice and even death. But despite that, as a party we still continue with our struggle to salvage the Gambian people in order for them to become a sovereign citizen and a nation that can decide for their own destiny.”

He added: “We have to continue the struggle because the current economic state of the country is poor and is sinking. In 1980, the former President Jawara said the economy was sinking and that is what is still existing as the current debt of the country is 56 billion dalasis. The government instead of empowering the youths and equipping them to do mining and fishing, the government is partnering with other countries. The economy will continue to sink and poverty will also increase so long as the government failed to look into these issues.”

Sallah pointed out that no government deserves to serve when it does not derive its policies and programmes from the consent of the people.

Sidia Jatta, who chaired the congress, told delegates that “Gambians should asked themselves whether they are witnessing the change they voted for two years ago, as many believed that the coalition government only brought regime change and not system change. What we have seen as Gambians in 2017 is still like an old wine in a new bottle.”