By: Ilyasa Baa
As residents in the Western Rural District are preparing to elect their local Headmen and women on October 28th, the momentum is getting high at Deep Eye Water where the incumbent, Alhaji Ibrahim Sesay is going to be challenged by Issa Jabbie a Laboratory Technician at Waterloo DHC.
The campaign trail is getting hotter with Sesay using mega phone announcers to campaign for him.
Jabbie says it has come to the time for Sesay to vacate the seat and make way for development. He promised to use home sourced revenue from sand mining and stone breaking to make the road leading to the beaches.
“With all the monies collected from the beaches and land sold by the incumbent and allies, we still suffer as a result of the bad road network in the village”, Jabbie highlighted during an interview.
He said people were scared to come out to challenge the incumbent noting that with the support of stakeholders in the village, he deems it fit to stand as a candidate in the forthcoming election.
“In fact, within five months, if elected, I will rally for support plus my own financial input to buy cement and stones to make the road for the people”, he stated, adding that the people have been failed for long under the incumbent that is why he is fully charged to change the dynamics and status quo.
Jabbie’s motivation is driven by his desire for change within the headman ship spectrum the village has gone through for over a decade with Sesay being at the helm of affairs. The issue of accountability and transparency is another motivational factor for Jabbie to step up his game that is why he chose shovel as his symbol.
As for Sesay, commonly called ‘Orkas’, house is his symbol indicating his role, according to him, helping people to get land since the days of the late former President Kabbah. He is confident that the voters in the village will reconsider him in the ballot box as they did when an Imam Shiehk and an owner of a school stood on his way during the previous election.
Deep Eye Water is one of the fastest growing villages with numerous infrastructural investments; sadly, residents suffer from lack of electricity from EDSA as well as poor road network with reserved land including portions of the market and cemetery being chopped for selfish gains.