Editorial

The activities marking the commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of the July 22nd revolution are still in progress. Yesterday, we witnessed the laying of the foundation stone of one of the country's most significant institutions - the University of The Gambia- at Faraba Bantang.

This is yet another indication of the strong commitment of the Gambian leader, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh, to liberating this country from being a hostage to poverty and underdevelopment.

The University of the Gambia is one of the most vibrant institutions in our development process. It is the place that produces the critical mass of our educated populace. Each year, graduates of the UTG join the army of technocrats and through critical thinking and research, they help produce policies and programmes that provide a sense of direction for the country.

President Jammeh's move to lay the foundation stone of the university is not only an eye opener to skeptics that the president, who is also the chancellor of the university, is action-oriented - as the university is growing from strength to strength - but it is also a significant achievement which when accomplished can maintain The Gambia on the path to materializing the Silicon Valley dream.

With a university campus, there will be a more favorable learning atmosphere for both the lecturers and students. This will make it possible for the university to efficiently deliver. Other stakeholders should come on board to complement the efforts of the government in making the university a first class one. Any assistance rendered to the university is nothing but a contribution to the general advancement of society. We hope other stakeholders will come on board to support president Jammeh's visionary leadership.

We also wish to remind the current students of the university and those who graduated from the institution that the president and the society at large sacrificed a lot for them to realize their ambitions and to whom much is given, much is expected. Contributing to the socio-economic advancement of the nation should be their utmost priority.