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The president Gambia has said all public workers will have three-day weekends starting February 1st. President Yayha Jammeh has added Friday the regular weekend Saturday and Sunday. He wants people to farm, rest more and pray. However, he also announced that government employees would work 8am 6pm Mondays Thursdays. addition: "Schools, banks and all other affected places are free to work Saturdays.” This means that people may have split weekends, and work an extra 10 hours a week. Government workers currently work 8am 4pm. Working 6pm means eight hours extra, which could become ten if they have to work Saturdays too.

The president said the new working hours would, “allow Gambians to devote more time prayers, social activities and agriculture”. He said people could, “go back the land and grow what we eat and eat what we grow a healthy and wealthy nation”. Gambia’s ‘Freedom Newspaper’ criticised the president’s idea. It said the three-day weekend, “is going to [have a bad] effect the economy and the country. Many workers…are worried that the changes are going to create problems them.” The paper added: “Gambia’s economy and infrastructure have collapsed thanks Jammeh’s poor leadership.” Gambia is the smallest nation the African continent, a population just 1.8 million.