Editorial,

It is a legitimate exercise for an independent nation to "put heads together" in the search for growth, equity and social justice. At the dawn of this century, nations like The Gambia, having achieved independence a little more than four decades ago, should weather the storm of economic and social crises that have gripped the entire globe for centuries.

This justifies the ambition of The Gambia, particularly under this present leadership, to be transformed into a city-state and is the simple ideology behind our famous Vision 2020. However, this ambition cannot be achieved unless it passes through the domain of practice. It is therefore obvious that Gambians should take ownership of the country and transform it into a heaven on earth.

Quite often, we hear our politicians talk about hard work, commitment and patriotism as the tools to transform the country into a city-state. Now the business sector is joining in, echoing the same sentiments. The task then lies in the hands of each and every sober-minded person to transform our thoughts into action, as words without work will forever remain fruitless.

Development is all about people; how they live their daily lives, attain self-realization and how they improve on their living standards. We cannot transform The Gambia into a city-state if our means of production, distribution and exchange remains in the hands of other people who exploit them with little or no consideration for our collective progress as human beings.

We therefore reiterate our call for Gambians to become active participants of our destiny. The country belongs to us Gambians and it is we who have to spearhead the efforts to achieve its development. We cannot plant success in this venture if hard work, commitment, loyalty and patriotism are outside our daily practice.

The president of the republic is doing all he can to ensure that the country becomes a role model in Africa. As citizens, we should complement his efforts with all possibilities within the reach of humanity.

In order to “transform The Gambia into a financial centre, a tourist paradise, a trading, export-oriented agricultural and manufacturing nation, thriving on free market policies and a vibrant private sector, sustained by a well-educated, trained, skilled, healthy, self-reliant and enterprising population, and guaranteeing a well-balanced eco-system and a decent standard of living for one and all, under a system of government based on the consent of the citizenry” we will have to create the means as a people.