Ousainou Darboe, leader of the United Democratic Party, has pledged to the nation in his Independence Day speech that his government will end economic hardship in The Gambia l.

The opposition leader also promised to unite Gambians by ending the religious and tribal acrimony.

Mr Darboe lashed out at the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh which it accused of being the architect of polarisation.

“Fellow Gambians, each day we hear the news of our sisters and daughters losing their lives while giving life.  

“Each day we hear of our sons and daughters dying in foreign lands, being deported back home unceremoniously or drowning because they dared to cross the Mediterranean in search of “greener pastures”.

“Each day we hear the cries of our mothers, our wives and our sisters about the high cost of living and the inability to feed their children and; each day we see our sons and daughters cursing each other, swearing at each other, discriminating against each other on tribal and religious lines,” he said.

The former Vice President continued: “Never in the history of The Gambia, our homeland, have we endured such difficulty as in the past few years.  

“Ours was a close-knit society of tolerance; a society of “sutura”; and a society of social cohesion.  

“Some of us have been privileged to have a taste of what that social cohesion and social inclusiveness was and how it felt.  

“Unfortunately, our children and grandchildren have not been fortunate enough to enjoy that beauty amongst us.” 

“I call upon all of us who knew what it felt like to share and show those who were not lucky to witness that era what it feels like to belong; to be one; to be our brother’s and sister’s keepers; our neighbour’s keeper and to live in harmony.”

“It is unfortunate that those born during the late 1980’s to date have not witnessed this beauty.  It is unfortunate that the regime that brought in the military junta broke the chains of ethnic and religious tolerance and instilled hatred and contempt amongst us. It even fostered regional rivalry in the country all in an effort to “divide and conquer” us politically.

“We are Gambians first and we must remember that.  I promise and commit that a UDP government will bring back that sense of patriotism and oneness in our society.  I promise that there will be zero tolerance of tribal, ethnic and religious division or any regionalism,” Lawyer Darboe said.

“There is no Mandinka Gambia, there is no Fula Gambia, there is no Wolof Gambia, there is no Jola Gambia, there is no Kombo Gambia, there is no Badibu Gambia, there is no Foni Gambia, there is no Muslim Gambia, there is no Christian Gambia or Ahmadiyya Gambia,” Mr added. 

Reporting by Adama Makasuba