In a message on his official Facebook page, President Adama Barrow said his government is ready to negotiate with striking teachers through the Gambia Teachers Union.
“We want to negotiate this through the teachers’ union. They are the body that is responsible for teachers’ welfare,” said Barrow.
Barrow expressed his government’s commitment towards dialogue and following due process in bringing solution to problems confronting the nation.
He called on the aggrieved group of teachers to work with the teachers’ union and negotiate with government to reach a conclusion on their concerns.
Crop failure
Meanwhile, the Gambian leader said the declaration made on crop failure and potential food insecurity facing the country was based on preliminary assessment done so far.
He said a second post-harvest assessment will be conducted in November to determine the extent of the impact of the erratic rains that is likely to be responsible for crop failures from this year’s farming season.
“Climate change is a problem in The Gambia. Erratic rainfalls affect everybody in the world. The declaration was made but also, there was a window of opportunity (to review the situation) and we will make another assessment at the end of November to come up with a correct message that we have a problem in this country as far as climate change is concerned,” Barrow said.