Editorial

It is indeed a welcome development that the European Union (EU) has given the government some D400 million to support good governance.The grant, which also contains a media component, has come at a much better time, when the country through committed leadership is pushing for greater sustainable development.

Of course, development by itself comes from within and supported from outside. Nations through determined and committed leadership mobilise resources, both human and material, to develop institutions that would respond to the ever-evolving needs of the citizenry, and formulate strategies and sound policies that would coordinate their activities in controlling nature and their environment.

The grant geared toward strengthening structures of good governance, though not the first of its kind from the EU demonstrates the commitment of the EU and the government of The Gambia to development and improving the general welfare of people.

Considering that governance produced by the leadership is the bedrock for any meaningful socio-economic transformation, such a development assistance, particularly from the EU would enable the government consolidate current achievements and explore more avenues to enhance sustainable societal growth.

We hope the EU would consider expanding its engagements in Gambia’s development to transfer of technology and building the capacity of the citizenry. It is through these that sustainable development can be fully guaranteed.

The leadership of President Jammeh for its part has demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt its commitment to the improvement of the lives of our people in both the moral and material sense.His leadership further includes the establishment of a democratic Gambian state, whose people would be infused with a sense of national unity and purpose.

Such development assistance from partners like the EU would doubtless serve as a morale boost for the country’s leadership, the government and the Gambian people at large.They are very much welcome, and we hope that Gambia-EU cooperation and all other development partners of the state would continue to exert significant bearing on our ongoing societal transformation.