I recall the days when Dawda Jallow was the head of programs at the NCCE where he had traversed the length and breadth of the country educating citizens about their civic rights and duties. Dawda was a constant face and voice on the airwaves on television and radio. I used to know Dawda as an honest man, smart, open and critical minded. With this hindsight I am elated that he is now the Minister of Justice.
Indeed, Abubacarr Tambadou had generated a lot of trust and confidence in this Government for the many achievements he registered despite many shortcomings as well of his Ministry and the Government as a whole. The fact that he led the transitional justice process the hallmark of which is the setting up of the Janneh Commission, TRRC and CRC indicates his invaluable contribution to the building of the new Gambia. Furthermore, the several legal reforms he has recently embarked upon, albeit long overdue, as well as the efforts he made to make the country honour its international obligations such as the enforcement of ECOWAS Court decisions to compensate journalist victims and to ratify critical international human rights instruments all point to the fact that Tambadou was indeed a crucial figure in the pursuit of justice and accountability in this country. I cannot fail but recognize his efforts as well in the opening of illegally closed radio stations in the wake of the Three Years Jotna protest at the beginning of the year. It is also noteworthy to remember Tambadou for his leadership to own up and then correct the legal mishaps that had taken place in this Government such as in the attempted constitutional amendment to the age requirement for president and judges. Above all Tambadou deserves commendation for his unequivocal stance to pursue former Tyrant Yaya Jammeh to face justice.
What the above indicates is that Dawda is indeed inheriting a ministry that is already hugely engaged and indeed in the centre and front of the building of New Gambia. In other words, the Ministry of Justice is a critical institution in the drive for system change. Therefore, Dawda has all of the opportunities necessary to make him take the baton from Tambadou to reach the finishing line with sterling success. Failure is not an option.
However, Dawda is coming at a time when the generality of Gambians has lost hope in this President and his Government. For some of us, Pres. Barrow and his Government are no more a sweet dream but a nightmare because of his fantastically poor leadership characterized by rampant corruption, abuse of office, violations of the Constitution and ineffective public institutions that are neither transparent and accountable nor effective and responsive. In a nutshell the Barrow Government needs a turn around for which the Minister of Justice is a key pillar to make that happen.
Therefore, I wish to inform Dawda Jallow that Gambians have both high hopes and apprehension in his appointment. We have noted that his predecessor tried to remain apolitical, independent and focused on the job, despite his shortcomings. I hope therefore Dawda will avoid the trappings of political office to realize that he is the Chief Legal Adviser to the Government as well as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in the Gambia.
In the first place I expect Dawda to bring about better organization and leadership in this Ministry in terms of the transitional justice process. Already there is huge disappointment in the way and manner the Janneh Commission and its Report were handled. The controversy around its Report is already a subject of legal wrangling in the courts. Dawda needs to fix this issue. For that matter, as we look toward the conclusion of the TRRC it is expected that Dawda will prevent the mishandling that took place with the Janneh Commission Report and make sure the White Paper that will follow the TRRC will not be biased as the White Paper on the Janneh Report.
It is noteworthy that the final draft constitution is being gazetted after a considerable delay. The key concern of Gambians is the protection of the draft from interference by lawmakers. I would therefore urge the Minister Jallow to do everything to protect the integrity and content of the draft constitution from interference for political objectives. Minister Jallow should bear in mind that what Gambians desire is to hold the 2021 presidential elections under a new constitution. Therefore, he needs to focus on electoral reforms, support the IEC to conduct voter registration and then hold a transparent referendum to usher in the Third Republic.
As we transition to democracy it is noteworthy that Tambadou had started the building of many accountability instruments and institutions such as the National Human Rights Commission, while the process for the creation of laws to combat corruption, to ensure access to information, and the prevention of torture are ongoing. The effective implementation of these instruments and the independence of their respective institutions that will be set up would require strong support from the Minister of Justice so as to further enhance democracy and good governance in the Gambia. In this regard let me inform Dawda Jallow that there is no DPP in his Ministry which is a requirement in the Constitution and a crucial pillar for justice. The sooner he causes the President to appoint a DPP the better.
It is also necessary to remind Dawda that he needs to make lawmaking an inclusive, participatory and transparent process which has never been the case in the Gambia. Currently we have seen dozens of laws being reviewed but citizens have no input in this process because the Ministry of Justice does not create the opportunity for popular participation. Therefore, Dawda should change the current system by ensuring that bills are shared with the general public and relevant stakeholders for their input before they are placed before the National Assembly. After all these laws are for the people hence the people have a right to take part in their making.
In this regard, Minister Jallow must make his Ministry accessible by creating an interactive and functional website where bills, acts and other legal documents will be posted for easy access by citizens. For example, until now the Janneh Commission Report is inaccessible to the majority of Gambians simply because limited copies are printed which are expensive for most people. Also, the laws that have been already enacted or amended are not accessible by the majority of Gambians because they are not made public. Hence uploading these documents on its website serves the general public well.
The Ministry of Justice has been supportive of victims of the APRC Tyranny. This support needs to increase beyond the D50 million already provided. I would urge the new Minister to therefore make a strong case in Cabinet for more resources to be provided to victims to address urgent needs. In this regard, I urge Dawda to stand on the position Tambadou took that Yaya Jammeh must be brought to justice. I urge Dawda to go further by engaging the Government of Equatorial Guinea to demand them to either try Yaya Jammeh in Malabo or extradite him to the Gambia for trial or send him to Ghana for prosecution, as required by international law. In this regard, there is need for his Ministry to also re-engage UN, AU and ECOWAS and some other instrumental governments to back him up to ensure that Yaya Jammeh faces justice immediately.
Speaking about Yaya Jammeh, it is necessary for Minister Jallow to also put a huge amount of interest and commitment to the prosecution of rape and sexual violence in the Gambia. Since Toufah Jallow broke the barriers in June 2019 to speak out about her ordeal at the wicked hands of Yaya Jammeh we have witnessed lot more women also cry of rape perpetrated by public officials. We have also noted that sexual harassment is rampant within the Government including inside the Ministry of Justice itself as attested to by a witness at the TRRC. It is necessary that the Minister of Justice takes a definitive stance to combat this menace. Minister Jallow must make it clear to the IGP that the police must take a more determined, proactive and professional stance in investigating and prosecuting rape. Currently this is not the case. Furthermore, Minister Jallow must engage the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare and other stakeholders to develop a sexual harassment policy for public institutions to detect, prevent and punish sexual harassment.
The Gambia is at a critical stage given the constitution building process and the forthcoming presidential elections. I wish to urge Dawda Jallow to always advise Pres. Barrow to always abide by the Constitution and the rule of law at all times. For this reason, Dawda needs to rise above political intrigues and focus on the law and justice as required by the Constitution.
Finally, I need not tell Jallow that ultimately the issue is about his legacy, integrity and destiny. It is up to him to decide what and how he wants the Gambian society to remember him. The ball is in his court. But let me say that history is recording and what he sows today is what he will reap tomorrow. But before he reaps his harvest, let him rest assured that the members of the civil society will not spare even a feather to confront him in order to ensure that he remains on the path of the Constitution, legality, justice and the national interest. Therefore, I advise Dawda Jallow to remain faithful at all times to his conscience, the national interest and the Constitution of the Gambia and natural justice.
For The Gambia Our Homeland
……………………………………………..
Madi Jobarteh
Skype: madi.jobarteh
Twitter: @jobartehmadi
LinkedIn: Madi Jobarteh
Phone: +220 9995093
Failed Gambia project: Reasons for a revolution now!
The Gambia, our homeland’s revolution, and liberation from 22 years of Yahya Jammeh dictatorship is farcical and nothing less than a major pseudo-event. In communication and media philosophy, a pseudo-event is a deliberate and elaborate creation of perception of reality where reality is indeed nonexistent. In a nutshell, it is faking it to look legitimate which is what our government under Adama Barrow is doing to mask its legitimacy, change and development.
Dear readers, take a mental detour with me to a time and place in The Gambia 2017 when Barrow was ushered in by hopeful and now hopeless Gambians to a global celebration of a so-called revolution. Solo Sandeng, many Gambians voted and died for a change that is still quite never a change. A year is too far away and 4 years too deep into a five-year presidential term for Gambians to wait for real change in the 2021 elections. Saul Alinsky in his book entitled Rules for Radicals captured the state of dysfunction in our land. He observed that there can be “no darker or more devastating tragedy than the death of man’s faith in himself and in his power to direct his future”. We need a revolution for real change NOW. Here are five WHY’s we need a revolution now. Not yesterday, today, or tomorrow but NOW!
POOR HEALTHCARE AND TOO MANY AVOIDABLE DEATHS
I was moved to tears this evening as Pa Modou Bojang narrated the death of a young Gambian girl, Kaddyjatou Trawally who was suffering from kidney disease and unfortunately her promising life was tragically cut short thanks to poor health care and the indifference of our leaders to the life of an average sick Gambian. When Barrow came to power, our healthcare was a mess after years of neglect under both Jawara and Jammeh. He has gone on to appoint two ministers of health and yet our health care system continues to be a death mill as we pay lip service to it. People are dying cheaply and avoidably. The Gambia’s current minister of health who interestingly drew praise for his competence is a failure as a minister and a guardian of our health care system. If The Gambia still had to send most of her seriously sick citizens to Senegal, India and Turkey, then Minister Samateh is a major failure and needs to make way for a minister who will institute and see an end to too many young, avoidable deaths in our country.
INCOMPETENT LEADERSHIP
President Adama Barrow and his government are the very personification of incompetent leadership on the African continent. As Gambia slides into executive anarchy and kakistocracy our government moves from one disaster to another without ever taking a minute to sit down and reflect on better ways to really serve the very Gambians they pretend to work for.Sierraleonean president Julius Mada Bio since coming to office has set his eyes on developing and enhancing the human capital of Sierra Leone by inviting educated Sierra Leone Diaspora to come and serve their nation. Sierra Leone’s super minister of basic and secondary education David Moinina Sengeh is a PhD graduate from MIT and has made major strides in making Sierra Leone a hub for technological development and education. What did Barrow do in The Gambia since coming to power? Please don’t take my words for it, check his incompetent ministers and advisers, and then like a tweeting bird, tell me about the confusion, incompetence, and pandemonium you see.
FINANCIAL GLUTTONY AND ECONOMIC MISMANAGEMENT
Some time back in March 2019, the Janneh Commission after two years of sittings, over 50 million Dalasis in expenses of taxpayers’ money submitted the report to Barrow. The commission’s report indicted the current minister of Finance Mamburay Njie, Alagie Ceesay, Chief protocol of the president among many notables in Adama Barrow’s government. Instead of implementing the recommendations of the commission, he disagreed with some of its findings and went on to implement it selectively while surrounding himself with the very people who were indicted for helping Jammeh pilfer our resources. What a very tragic and wasteful way to spend our taxpayers’ money. Interesting Jammeh’s seized properties were secretly sold between cronies and Banjul mafia for far less than the fraction of what they are really worth. And guess what, a court ruling has rendered the sale of Jammeh’s properties and Janneh commission recommendations unenforceable for now. Fire on the mountain but this is a topic for another day.
OLD WINE IN A NEW BOTTLE
Change is good they say but transformation is even better. And what did our clueless and mild intellectually retarded president do with our change? He changed or revolution into a regret. We have regretted and he used our change to put over us lords we voted to change. no system change, he killed our coalition and the principles of our coalition. He will go on to recycle former Jammeh enablers to help him master the ways of his predecessor. Jammeh’s men are running the state one more time. George Orwell’s timeless Animal Farm classic captured it thus: “nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word–Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished forever”.
INCOMPETENT ADVISERS
Barrow upon arrival at the seat of power committed a great wrong. Instead of hiring advisers from Gambia’s pool of highly educated and respected experts, he went on to hire as presidential and government advisers the brainless and clueless quartet of Siaka Jatta, Dou Sanno, Henry Gomez and Saihou Mballow as a political compensation for whatever they did for him. These quartet do not even know the terms of references of their employment. They have nothing to offer and that’s one reason they keep verbally assaulting anyone critical of Barrow and our government. In their cluelessness they didn’t know it is not their job to defend Barrow against political opponents but to advise him on policies. They are failing unquantifiably because they have no education or governance experience to offer.
DISAPPERING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YOUTH
Youths make about sixty percent of Gambian population, yet our country has nothing to offer them than a failing country with no decent jobs. The few that can manage decent government jobs earn less than 300 Dollars a month which is never enough to sustain them and their many poor dependent families. No wonder many Gambians are still dying in 2020 in fruitless efforts to make it to Europe for better life and opportunities while our president spend millions building mansions and NDP offices all over the country. For The Gambia it is Jammeh 2.0 and the only difference is that that the head quarters in now in Mankamang Kunda instead of Kanilai.
WE NEED TO TAKE TO THE STREETS NOW
Henry David Thoreau, the American transcendentalist philosopher posited: “All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable”. Gambia needs a new, proactive Gambian. A Gambian who will use radical means of fighting for his rights and effecting change. Gambian youths need to pour onto our streets now to call for real reforms now. We want:
Transparency and end to financial gluttony in our government.
End to the exploitation, destruction of our beaches and resources by Chinese fish meal factories and sand mining companies.
Alhassan Darboe is a Gambian Communication scholar, consultant, and Real Estate businessman. He writes in from his base in U.S.A. He is currently a graduate student at Arizona State University’s Hugh Down School of Human Communication.