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President Adama Barrow

Banjul — Gambia’s new president says taking over a bankrupt nation was “like carrying a mountain” and that stabilising the economy will take time after the former leader left it in tatters.

In an interview, President Adama Barrow said the government of this tiny West African nation is working to restore the confidence of international development partners.

Barrow took power a year ago after a political showdown that saw longtime dictator Yahya Jammeh fly into exile following a surprise election loss.

The new president said his administration now must persuade Gambia’s population of less than 2 million to have enough trust in the future to stay home and not make the risky journey toward Europe like many countrymen before them.

After more than two decades of Jammeh’s rule, which was marked by widespread allegations of human rights abuses, the new government has vowed greater freedoms and justice for victims. But the coalition of opposition groups that joined to get Barrow elected now must stick together as the economy poses the first massive challenge. “If you don’t stabilise your economy, you cannot succeed as a nation,” Barrow told the AP at State House, his official residence in the capital, Banjul.

Jammeh looted the economy and flew into exile in Equatorial Guinea with some of his fortune. As Barrow’s administration began probing the depths of corruption, the giddiness of ousting one of Africa’s most colourful dictators quickly turned to despair.

“The debt burden was very high, and was over 120 percent of the GDP,” Barrow said.

Over the past year, his administration has been forging ties with global development partners, many of whom had turned away from Gambia during Jammeh’s reign.

The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Union and other partners already have pledged support. The World Bank lists $76 million in lending commitments for the 2017 fiscal year.

“We are now edging toward four months into recovery” with a new period of economic growth, Barrow said.

A new National Development Plan through 2021 has been launched as the government “aspires to lay the foundations for a modern democratic state but also to address pressing economic and social ills,” he said. — AFP