SG & Party Leader UDP
By Buba Gagigo
The United Democratic Party (UDP) has revealed 5 priorities earmarked from implementation in its first 100 days and first year, upon victory at December 4 election.
The priorities, also referred to as five-point agenda focus on public sector reforms, tackling corruption and violence against women.
The first priority is youth employment and empowerment scheme, which aims to create a conducive environment to ensure that youth obtain the right skills to increase their employability.
The other priority on the agenda is education and skills training, meant to provide access to primary and secondary education.
The education and skills training priority targets to establish 10 specialized skills training centres across the country.
Nutrition, agriculture, and food security priority also comprises the the five-point agenda, to ensure a comprehensive agricultural sector to revitalize the sector in order to get rid of perennial inefficiencies, wastage, and potential for corrupt practices.
Also part of the priorities is public health security as pandemic containment and social protection, which hopes to improve health facilities and introduce schemes to protect the vulnerable.
It is expected to upgrade basic social services and provide health insurance and pension schemes.
Finally, on the agenda is energy and digital infrastructure aimed at ensuring that energy and digital infrastructure are utilized to promote sustainable development in an all-inclusive information society and adopt an effective e-government strategy, respectively.
The party officials reacted to the development, following the successful launch of their agenda.
Oley Dibba-Wadda, deputy senior administrative secretary of the party said the UDP government would prioritize human capital such as education, health, and agriculture respectively.
“The UDP government has a lot of cleaning to do when we finally take over office come December,” Dibba-Wadda said.
Lare Sisay, a senior member of the UDP said it took the UDP two years to develop the five-point agenda.
“All sectors in the Gambia are sick. So, UDP came up with a diagnostic agenda to help cure all the sectors’ sicknesses,” Sisay said.
He added that the agenda is intended to transform The Gambia for all.
The 25-year-old opposition UDP also launched its website at the event to ensure effective communications ahead of the elections.