"Biofuel is a strategy to starve the third world, especially the poor countries, so that they [the West] would be able to infiltrate the poor people, who are hungry and give them money in order to bring puppets to power, to serve the West," says President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh.

Speaking to newsmen at his Bunabore Farm in the outskirts of Kanilai, Saturday evening, the Gambian leader rejected the idea of biofuel, simply because the world is yet to grow enough crops to feed its people, let alone vehicles.

He disclosed that biofuel alone cannot work on engines, unless natural petrol is mixed with it. In his view, the proponents of biofuel in the third world should push for the exploitation of major oil reserves, which are yet to be tapped.

According to Dr Jammeh, Africans should have a second thought over biofuel. "My message to Africans is that before you can drive, your stomach must be full. If it is empty, I don't think you will think of filling a tank of a car," he said.

He added that even if the major corn-producing countries such as Brazil and the United States turn all their produce into biofuel, it may not be able to supply 17 and 12 per cent of fuel requirements of the United States and China respectively.

Real needs

The Gambian leader said the present needs of the African continent are food and energy and not fuel, in the face a surge in global food prices.

They [the West], he went on, have the technology to turn sunlight to energy, but because they know sunlight is guaranteed in Africa and  Asia, they [West] said it is expensive to produce solar power. "This is because Africa is a market for their generators, so such an undertaking is not to their desire," the president noted.

Eat local produce

The president used the opportunity to urge Gambians to consume local produce in order to avert the growing strange ailments in society. He recalled his school days, when there were few health facilities, but yet people had longer lives, because they survived on local food.

Vacate the bantabas

Dr Jammeh also renewed his call on Gambian men to abandon the Bantabas, especially during the rainy season, and venture into meaningful activities for their own well-being.

According to him, even those living in Banjul have no cause to be idle, as they can engage in fishing for their daily income. "Lets abandon the Bantabas and work", he emphasised.