By: Dr. Assan Jallow

I am left worried and concerned having heard the proposed submission made by the Hon. Minister of Finance before deputies at the National Assembly for scrutiny and possible adoption on the draft report of total government revenue and expenditure projections for 2019 to increase basic salaries of civil servants by 50% and pensioners 100%. I wondered what necessitated this 360° magnum leap and intended increase move as the announcement of this news was ill-timed and have the dangers of a possible looming crisis in the public service and a locked down on workers’ morale if the proposal backfire. It came at a bad time and proposals of such nature shouldn’t be placed before the public domain without been properly look at in a form of a conducted empirical study to assess the health of the economy and the sustainability of the public wage bill. It is expedient to note that conducting an empirical economic research would have served as a fitting mechanism in designing issued-based policies for any proposals of the government. Hasten to say, it serves as a compliment of action, a way of understanding our problems and finding alternate means to change, improve and innovate for the better across the national divide. Research can lead to more effective action, and vice versa, too. Action can be a great learning experience for a researcher, especially collective action. It can help us deal with some of the blinkers we are talking about in nation-building. It is time to practice applied economics in our thoughts of minds and proposed actions, and avoid taking or making a hasty or haphazard presentation of proposed ideas on the binary lenses of table or desk analysis that are not base on facts, but rather on perceptions to score a political point.This will save us the time of not entertaining certain things of critical national concerns on face value.

Therefore, let no judge me wrong as I am not against any proposed pay increase, but more concern about its ramifications to our economy. Civil servants deserve every possible pay increase, considering the prevailing economic realities on the ground. I understand that the government intends to pursue a structural civil service reforms all geared to increase productivity and effective quality services to the public. However, the proposal is not realistic as the trajectory of our economic and financial base as a country cannot sustain it. As a country, 60- 70% of our budget is spend in funding personnel emoluments which is unacceptable. And the proposed 50% salary increase is way beyond the standard cap for a developing country like ours. We are aware that we have one of the least pay structures for public servants, hence becoming an unattractive pool to attract talents, coupled with high attrition rate.

Since the government focus is to transform the civil service, any such policy of intent should be directed in adopting the role of an entrepreneurial state in partnership with the private sector to create prospective job market for the teeming unemployed young population. Therefore, I proposed the following as a strategy to empower, develop and give the civil servant a competitive position to cushion the high cost of living and growing market shocks on goods and services:

1. Streamlining the civil service, hence making it lean, smaller, effective, efficient and smarter with the overarching objective of ending the open employment entity of political connections or familial relations. We have seen every Kumba, Pateh and Samba is hired without the due process or not passing through the exhaustive norms of the employment laws as stipulated under the rulebook of the Public Service Commission. There is the definite need to end the politicization of the civil service.
2. Training and capacity building programs that are geared to upskill the civil servants with the required skill-sets, not on the forms of organized workshops or traveling abroad to attend seminars and fill their per-diem purses at the expense of the public
3. Revamping the pay structure to put greater emphasis on pay for performance
4. Provision of basic, quality and affordable healthcare delivery services to help attend to the health needs of the citizens and help inoculate our children in the event of major outbreak of diseases
5. Provision of better insurance coverage and effective, and efficient social services and programmes of lifting thousands out of poverty through providing housing schemes to the civil servants where they can be allocated with moved in apartments or houses and be paying monthly mortgage fees that are affordable and reasonable, say 20 -50 years housing agreement.
6. Investing in education to promote entrepreneurship development and innovation to disrupt the market and provide steady growth income and employment opportunities for all Gambians
7. Pursue pragmatic policy intervention and evaluations through the vehicle of public-private partnerships to encourage business investments in the private sector as a means of generating employment opportunities and prosperity rather than the products of dogma, ideology or unworkable economic theory. The private sector is burdened with an elephant-tier of taxes, hence constricting e growth and employment in the economy.

These are the kind of anticipated proposals that should be presented to the public domain so that that expert opinions can be sought and way forward identified and strategized.

From an economic point of view, I oppose the proposal by been an advocate for fiscal discipline in the realm of prudent budget allocations to maintain a healthy, balanced and sustainable fiscus. It is unsustainable and does not provide any prospective avenue of increasing the civil servants purchasing powers against rising food crises and price hikes as the extent statutory labor laws are obsolete and need to be reviewed to accommodate the current economic realities in the country. Time for us all as citizens of conscience to get engaged or be involved in actual policy proposals and discussions to critique, to better make well-informed choices in our development parameters.

Knowing the role and importance of political parties in a multiparty democracy it is therefore no easy decision that the largest political party in the Gambia has decided to stand by democratic and human rights standards. The news that UDP has declared that public servants will not hold party positions and that 30% of their elected officials will be women is indeed steps in the right direction that directly impact on the good governance of the Gambia. Political parties are the pillars of our democratic governance system because it is parties that produce the president, parliamentarians and local councillors. It is these people who run our presidency, legislature and local councils.

Hence if these elected officials come from an environment where democratic standards are upheld and promoted then it means we will end up having a presidency, parliament and local councils that are democratic and abiding by good governance practices. For that matter the decision by UDP to begin the democratisation process from inside its party can only serve the best intertest of the Gambia.

We must bear in mind that when political parties are undemocratic there is no way that when they win state power, they will deliver democracy at the national level. Political parties are either ruling governments or governments in waiting. Hence adherence to good governance principles and practices must start first inside the political parties in order to achieve democracy in the government. It cannot be the other way around.

The decision to also allocate 30% of positions to women is in direct fulfilment of the agreements that the Gambia made to international declarations and instruments for gender equality and social justice in the world. The best example of that is the fourth international conference on women held in Beijing in 1995 where world leaders identified women in power and leadership as one of the 12 critical areas to address in order to empower women and ensure equality.

The Beijing Declaration and Plan of Action specifically mentioned that political parties should examine party structures and procedures to eliminate discrimination against women’s participation and to develop initiatives to encourage women’s participation and incorporate gender issues in their political agenda. Therefore, this decision by UDP is indeed revolutionary in the context of the Gambia for which the party needs commendation and support.

With decisions like this it means UDP, on its own, will raise the number of elected women in our National Assembly and local councils if it ensures that 30% of nominations are women. This can only bring immense benefits to our society by stamping out gender discrimination and exclusion hence spur national development exponentially as we saw how such decisions have benefited countries like Rwanda and Sweden. Considering this welcoming news, I hereby inform UDP that I, Madi Jobarteh is willing, free of charge, to train the leadership of the party and their women leaders in particular on gender and women’s empowerment. Anytime!

Just as UDP has a gender quota we urge it to also consider quotas for youth, persons with disability and other minorities with a view to make the party more open and inclusive hence further strengthen the party and overall governance in the Gambia. In similar vein UDP must also endeavour to set term limits for leadership. The benefit of terms limits for our young democracy is that it allows rejuvenation of the party, build and maintain confidence and morale in the rank and file and limit self-perpetuation in power.

Furthermore, I wish to call on the party to still continue to seek further decentralisation of power. For far too long, by default or design, few names and structures seem to dominate or are synonymous with the power and profile of the party. While I pay special tribute to Ousainou Darboe for steering this party through the most trying times of our history, yet we must recognise that UDP has to transcend Ousainou Darboe. It is not enough for Ousainou to say this, but he has to translate it into practice by creating tangible bylaws, policies and structures so that no one person or committee ever dominates the life of the party.

It is true that during periods of dictatorship or colonialism in any country or in emerging new nations certain individuals do overshadow their parties such as Yasser Arafat and PLO, Nelson Mandela and ANC or Xanana Gusmao of East Timor. Now that the Gambia has defeated dictatorship in which UDP played a major part it is therefore necessary that the new leaders realise that UDP need no more heroes of liberation but heroes of democracy and good governance. This can only be achieved through decentralisation of power and decision making to and through a diversity of structures and processes.

Therefore, it is heartening to realise that there are youth and women’s wings. But these wings must not just merely be structures for politicking, mobilization and to serve particular leaders. Rather these structures must be made into robust and autonomous bodies of power and decision making and whose decisions must carry weight. This is one of the best ways to avoid power being concentrated in one person’s hands or in one committee hence dilute the quality of decision making and the viability and survival of a party beyond a leader.

While we commend UDP for these ground-breaking decisions, I wish to further urge the party to continue to aim for higher democratic and good governance ideals and standards. For example, the party needs to begin to create necessary structures, tools and processes to further enhance its governance, leadership and management. National policy and law-making begins inside political parties in true democracies.

For that matter UDP need to begin to create technical structures or working committees for policy and law-making, gender, budget, oversight, youth, persons with disability, environment and indeed all aspects of our development. Through these structures the party will also become a more professional, vibrant and relevant entity.

In this way the party would easily gather information and evidence in order to suggest policy and development alternatives that can only enhance good governance. Political parties are also accountability instruments for the government hence when UDP and indeed all of our parties modernise their structures and make knowledge and evidence the basis of decision making they will have succeeded in better holding the government accountable if they are in the opposition or better perform if they are in government.

That aside, UDP like all other parties must also uphold the highest standards of transparency and accountability for their own affairs, decisions, activities and leaders. For example, I hope UDP will release the details of the resources for this congress: how much was spent and what are the sources? These cannot and must not be anonymous rather the party must continue that leadership streak by reporting back to Gambians how it did its congress. It must therefore create various platforms, structures and processes to ensure transparency and accountability. These can be online platforms, press conferences, press releases and issuance of reports to the general public.

Once again kudos to UDP. Meantime the general public must continue to scrutinise UDP and all our political parties knowing that when our parties fail the nation fails.

For the Gambia Our Homeland.

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has engaged a high-level delegation from the Egyptian energy producing company, El Sewedy Electrometer, where he promised to provide the conducive environment for investments in Sierra Leone.

During the meeting at the Haqyatt Resort, Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Chairman and CEO of the company, Engineer Emad Z. Elsewedy, said his company had been to Sierra Leone once during the meter installations in 2004, a project he described as their opening to Africa.

He said they were specialised in producing and distributing energy as well as collecting electricity bills, adding that the lack of adequate monitoring in the collection of electricity bills had been a challenge in most African countries, which also affected their production levels.

Mr Elsewedy also stated that they were ready to come to the country, not only to manage electricity networks but also to transfer their skills and knowledge to Sierra Leoneans. He maintained that his company would be of great help to the energy sector in the country, especially by generating more power for the people, adding that they had the capacity of producing 6,000 meters annually.

“Ineffective collection of energy revenue has been a huge challenge in most African countries we have been to. This is even affecting the production level in some countries because if the cash flow does not improve, the production level would also be affected. We have a 24-hours’ system to detect any illegal tampering of electricity that we connect through GSM. This system increases both the cash flow and transparency levels,” he said.

On his part, President Bio said he was happy to meet the leadership of the electricity producing company. He said over the years Sierra Leone had faced challenges in the electricity sector which he hoped to address within the shortest possible time. He added that his government was determined to produce a lot of energy that would be able to supply households as well as companies operating within the country.

He disclosed that the country had challenges not only in the production of energy but also in its distribution and metering, which he said needed to be addressed urgently. He assured that Sierra Leone was open for business and that his government was ready to open the space for credible investments that would benefit the country.

“Energy for us is very important because we want to provide enough of it at a sustainable level for our people. We are interested in the proposal for the meter billing because we want to establish a proper system on the management around collecting the revenues we make in the energy sector. We encourage you to come into our country and we will look at the financing models involved so that it will be done on mutual benefits,” he said.

The El Sewedy Electrometer is an Egyptian energy producing company that innovates new technologies, metering solutions and services that support its customers across the globe to overcome their operational challenges, improving the rate of revenue collection, reducing the level of non-technical losses as well as managing their consumers load during peak hours. The company has its facilities in Africa in Ghana, Ethiopia, and Zambia respectively and also in India, Brazil, and Mexico.

Bakary my good brother,

I hail you on this bright Saturday morning as I take a ride towards your home town, Chaku Bantang!

You are one of my many cousins but you hold a special space in my honour roll, perhaps second only to my fave duo, your two younger siblings, the Doctor without a medical degree and the ‘Fodaywo’ without a ‘Karanta’- what a world? Lol! Kudos to Doctor Dibba since he is in certified medical practice in a rare speciality; but my ‘beef’ remains that he is not a doctor-Lol!

On a more serious note, even though we disagree on many issues of public policy et al, I have always held you in high regard for your tolerance to my (more often then not) inferior dissenting views knowing that you are more than a decade older than me. And you have been a blessing in my life in matters of academic and cultural import.

Bakary, even though my roots are from one of the satellites in the constellation of villages that makes your home a nodal town, there is no geographical space in The Gambia that can claim more blood relations of mine than Farafenni. Is your town not the place where my two most senior aunts, maternal siblings of my late father Landing Binta, lived their lives and bore their children?

Speaking about your mother, Mbinki Jankay Jammeh, and her sister the late Tomaring Sabally, I am proud to let you know that I am the honoured guest speaker for the final of an academic championship at the, organised by an organisation called Badibu Musolu. My very own mother the late Kaddy Jammeh (of both Sabach Kataba and Yilliassa) being the quintessential Badibou woman, the invitation from this organisation is indeed a huge honour for me.

And what shall I tell the brilliant young minds that I am supposed to address this morning on the subject of restoring our roots and giving back to our communities?

Indeed given the name of the organising body, it would not be out of place for me to start with advising these youths about the need and importance of honouring, respecting and supporting our women. Given the fact that you as a person are known to us as “Bakary Jankay” more so than by Bakary Dibba, authenticates the fact that we are not a misogynistic culture as claimed by some manipulative  so called gender activists. Our tradition in Badibou places women on a high pedestal. Though we bear the surnames of our fathers we are all practically called second names that are the first names of our mothers. Is that not a root to be preserved?

Bakary, Shall I not tell the young audience to learn from the admirable moral ethos and inspiring work culture of our gallant women of Badibou? Why are we looking up to a synthetic monoculture propagated by western media behemoths when our roots are golden mines of authentic and enriching lifestyles? Indeed Jaliba Kuyateh’s metaphor for our cultural heritage is apt: Mamoe lu yeh yiri lu fee; mbay beh nyunu leh dubeng-na” (we are under the shades of the trees planted by our forefathers). In another song Jaliba tells us that the foundations of our culture were laid by our forebears and we should also endeavour to bequeath something worthy of a heritage to our  descendants.

And on that note, my good brother, let me delve into the second part of the subject under discussion here: giving back to our communities!

If we are trees as human beings, then each of us has their community as the roots from which we grew as trees.  It is obvious that any tree that is disconnected from its roots will whither and fall. In the same vein, any person who disconnects from his community cannot mature and bear fruit. So being rooted in our communal spaces is key to wholesome lives and livelihoods.

Personally I have always been grateful to my community. From the circumcision rites where I learnt about real manhood and manners to the social settings, the ‘kafos’; the masquerade clubs in Banjul to the hunting groups in Lamin (and by hunting I mean going to the bush and hunting rabbits and squirrels) to my memorable holidays in Farafenni and Kataba, I have been blessed with a very rich life and a golden cultural foundation that powers and spices up everything I do at home and at the international platforms where I have been blessed to have the opportunity to teach and motivate young people from all over the world.

With all these blessings from my community I remain grateful and my mission to Farafenni today as well as others I have conducted in Jarra Soma, kappa (in Foni) and my own Sabach Sanjal constituency; and myriad locations in the urban centres of The Gambia are all part of my little efforts aimed at giving back to my community. Truly my establishing of the Sabally Leadership Academy (SLA) and it’s offshoot, the SLA Cultural Choir are all efforts aimed at respecting our roots and giving back to our communities.

My good brother it is noble and healthy to give back to our communities. Shall I not present to them the example of former US President Barack Obama whose rise to power could be traced back to his humble service as a community organiser in the south side of Chicago?

But speaking of giving back and charitable activities, shall I not warn these youths about the the phenomenon called ‘Kaur Sadaa’ (charity of the town of Kaur)  which is a very poignant Mandinka idiom; and while I do not know its origin, I know that it is that kind of charity that the giver also takes and consumes by himself/herself. The activities of some charitable organizations registered and operating in this country are essentially nothing but ‘Kaur sadaa’ disguised as giving back.

So my advice to the audience shall be to give back in an honest and authentic way!

My good friend, our vehicle has just passed Kinteh Kunda and Saabaa, two very famous settlements in our very beautiful Badibou, land of the truly brave. Kinteh Kunda reminds me of the classic jibe against us upon being asked “where are you from?”: “Kinteh Kunda Marong Kunda, Janneh-yaa, munem?” But that’s because unlike our rivals from Kiang who are not very proud of their ancestral home, we just say it out loud with uber-confidence Lol!

On the town town of Saabaa, that’s the home of our uncle, my late dad’s best friend, former cabinet minister and top ranker among the founding fathers of our dear nation who was privileged to have been  part of the delegation that represented our country at Marlborough House, London, for the Gambia’s Independence Conference in 1964. The Honourable Alhagie Kalilu Singhateh is indeed a worthy son on this country and one of the architects of our nation state! To him and the natives of this great town, I drop here a couplet from my poem “Jamba Sansang” from page 11 of my 2012 manuscript “Faaraa Ning Jambakatang”, yet to be released:

‘Jamba Sansang Saabaa lu yaa wooroe…

Kabiring nyoboring tumoe; boyro ning kanyewo...’

Adieu, my good ‘cousin-brother’ as the greatest offenders of the rules of the Queen’s language the Sarahullehs would put it-Lol!

Alamaa Tiloe kairoe siyaa la…

But oops; I have just arrived in Farafenni, only to be told that the venue for the event is actually in Kerewan, at the regional education centre. Now I have to drive back another half an hour towards Barra. What a miss! My other cousin, one of the organisers of today’s event, Lamin Dibba, has his unique opportunity to throw a jibe at me: “hey why are you so obsessed with our town, Farafenni? We are here in Kerewan but if you want, we can still grant you citizenship in Farafenni!”

What a a journey!

Yours,

Momodou Sabally

The Gambia’s Pen

I have learned to understand WHY many people still support some politicians today, irrespective of what other people have say to about them, particularly the Negative sides and flaws.
When you see some political posts on Social Media, you can but ask Why..

You see, supporting people comes with different reasons and political support is not different.

Well, there are 10 types of supporters that I have noticed “based on logistics“. Let’s take a look at them below.

1. ETHNIC AFFILIATED SUPPORTERS :
These guys are dangerous to a good political process. They are the ones who shout he’s our Mandela you can’t touch him.They bring ethnicity into every political discussions and no other tribe is ever good enough no matter the achievements. They’re quick to dismiss others with a few wrongs. They always Wanna play perfection.
2.EDUCATED ILLITERATES SUPPORTERS :This group is the saddest group. They are only as educated as the course of study without broaden knowledge. They are shallow minded and can read stupidity into meaning discussions. I called them the CLEVER FOOLS. They can argue out of contexts and are very loud. They can’t be easily corrected, but a little tweak in their direction and they’re brainwashed.

3.GENUINE BUT PARTY BİNDED SUPPORTERS :This category is one of the few good guys who know the truth, but have been caged or imprisoned by party affiliations and deep relationship. These guys are the ones that tell you the truth and their frustrations in private, but are mute in public due to fear factors. I called them the COWARDS If you can’t say it in public keep it in your privacy. Mbaading I don’t care.

4.PATRIOTIC SUPPORTERS :These are the real MVPs.They are politically neutral. They speak for the good of all and don’t hide under political correctness. They speak the bitter truth. These people are hardly spoken about in public and highly absurd. A Very rare category in our societies.

5.THE HIRED SUPPORTERS :They are similar to political operatives.They are flock of the hungry.These people are mostly common in our political discourse.Politicians keep them hungry through lack of education and unemployment. A few pennies and bags of rice and oil, they throw caution to the wind. They’re very gullible but can influence electoral results a great deal. Don’t underestimate them. Lol.

6.POLITICAL BENEFICIARIES: These are people who support politicians base on long standing relationships. Some of them will tell you their relationship predates politics, while some will tell you straight away into your face, by saying, “Mr. Man look this man is my hero, my small God, and my helper when I have nothing, I will give him everything I have, even if it is only my vote that he would have”. In short, it’s about Past benefits.
Well, blame nobody for their supports. This thing is not always gauged by merit or personality, it is sometimes by personal relationship.some got jobs through politicians, some people’s parents are kowtowing under politicians to survive, so you should understand why the support sometimes. Don’t blame anyone for their political choice.

7.TRACK RECORD GAUGERS: Hmm! These people, give them heaven and earth, these people will still betray you .. Their loyalty is for whoever can do it better. It doesn’t matter the kind of relationship you have together in the past. If are you worth it, their support will be unalloyed, but if you don’t, mehn, they would forsake you oo..
They are not political biased, they don’t do ridiculous defences on Social Media, they state it as it is, and have no political affiliation with anyone.They are just average citizens that are politically conscious.

8.THE “RABA RABA ” FOLKS: These ones are in political supports for something huge ,sweet and nice…Simply put, they are in for the gains my friend , I mean “personal gains”.
They can die for their politicians, so long something cute is coming.They are known to be working from governments to govt, and from politician to Politicians.They are political butterflies. The Seedy Njies, Suku Singhatehs,fall in this category.They’ve got no principles. No life outside politics. All for the meager gains.

9.THE POLITICAL MENTES : These people are political apprentice.They are learning the rope. They are aiming to become Politicians someday and the best way to learn, is by being “political boy boy”LOL under a master, who could show them around the way to get it right in Gambian politics.Some of these people do special unpaid jobs for politicians, they sacrifice their lives in what they call “paying their dues” in expectation to be noticed one day, where they can also join the political ladders.
If you see these people shouting day and night, please blame them not, they are also nursing their own future political ambition, and will want their loyalty records to speak someday. It is as simple as that.

10.THE INTEREST SUPPORTERS : They’re the ones who invest in a party because they expect contracts in return in case you elected into office.They’re are lobbyists kind of supporters.Most them are very rich.He will work in our favor kind of guys. It’s all about selfish interest.
I believe you can now see? Lol!

Bulli Sowe

Mr. President,

I am writing you this letter as a concerned citizen and do hope you will read and take the expressed content into consideration as an advice from a fellow citizen, younger brother, and friend in the cause of peace and national development.

Sir, you did promise us of a better, developed and the prosperous Gambia during the campaign trail in 2016. Our nation saw the historic inaugural ceremony of your presidency both in Senegal and at home, following a minimally damaged political impasse which gathered another important milestone in our nation’s political history. It etched another stone in our lives as your election to office was a bravely fought battle of democracy where the citizens through their constitutional liberties and rights decided to cast their votes for you in the 2016 Presidential elections. You were a debutant in politics and elections. However, you became the darling of the electorates with a sweet victory over an incumbent, not because of your look, status, gender, religious belief, political philosophy or anything else against your co-presidential aspirants and contestants, but because Gambians wanted a regime change. The youths saw the niche and a glimmer of hope in you on the basis of the presented 2016 Coalition agenda and with the thinking imperative, and high expectations that your government will deliver the public good, following the minimally-damaged political impasse. You assured us with a protective emphasis to restore, build and promote democracy, the rule of law, good governance, accountability, transparency, and press freedom. You promised to implement the legal, institutional, political, civil service and security reforms all geared to strengthen our institutions. Your promises are still unfulfilled as you’ve allowed yourselves to be more concern on the craft of politics than on the implementation of the real policiesfacing us as a country.

Mr. President, it is over 2 years since you assume the presidency and nothing seems to have changed at all. We have seen your government recycling some of Ex-president Jammeh’s enablers and people with criminal records serving as State Ministers in your government. You were heard of recent in one of your interviews that Gambians should stop the talking and do the walk. However, we have seen the reverse in you as you are the only one who engages in the talking business, entertaining all sort of politicians at the state house to consolidate a political power, despite our faced challenges. You should note that we are not demanding for much, than what you promised to deliver to the citizens during the campaign trail.

Mr. President, what are your plans for the country? Thousands of Gambians both at homeand abroad are asking this vital question. We need concrete answers on your government’s plans to address our falling health care service delivery, rising food poverty, energy and water crisis, infrastructure deficits, poor standard of education, insecurity, unemployment and many more. Sad that your government has adopted the blame game policy direction of apportioning ceaseless blames on the former regime. It’s not about how much the past administration had plundered the country’s economy, but rather on how your government had turned around the colossal losses and the done damages to an umbrella of enormous goldmine opportunities for Gambians of all walks of life to positively exploit.This is our expectations in your leadership. Our country is still battling with seemingly intractable economic challenges and of which our current public debt to GDP ratio had risen to 120%, weakened dalasi against foreign currencies like the $, £, € and the CFA franc, just to name but a few which isn’t good for an impoverished country like The Gambia with limited resources.

Mr. President, your leadership is a test in our political governance to prove to your critics, political opponents and sympathizers that you have the courage, mental ability, composure, competence, zeal, valor, acumen, passion, and fidelity to not only serve and lead, but to bring and execute the much-needed development programmes for all regardless of political divides, gender, age, tribe/ethnicity, religion and place of origin. Sir, you might not be the brightest, but you have a great character to achieve greatness if you avoid the avid wailing urge of politics of procrastination and defy the odds of limitations never to allow your circumstances define by failures, disappointment and set-backs. Live with courage to execute the duties of your high office to make a difference and a lasting legacy in The Gambia’s political governance.

Mr. President our nation is in dire socio-economic and political crisis. In fact, you know the problem far more depth than I do as the leader of the nation.  And, let no one budge you with the deafening posture that there isn’t a crisis in the nation. Your circle of advisers and friends with interest won’t tell you the stories and plights of the average Gambian, not will they be honest and sincere to bring it to your kind attention. By and large, there’s socio-economic and political crisis and the visible signs are there for all to see and feel the echoing voices of frustration, politics of insults and hate flaming the corridors of our unity in diversity. Your political leadership has been questioned time upon time due to the fact that you have allowed yourself to be drawn in the aisle of responding to your critics. That’s not presidential and the least of what is expected of you as the leader of our country. The state of our economy is in bad shape and calls for actions and work in progress, not petty and partisan politics. Your policy initiatives should be focused on ‘Building the Gambia We Want.’ We are aware that our challenges and problems are far too many to overcome at once. But, we must strive and work hard to innovate and harness our potentials to build economic bridges of love, prosperity, economic growth and development, and not the straits of division, grievances, partisan politics and the silencing of dissent. This is the moment to stand your guard with the willingness and the prepared mind to unite a divided country, nurture and build a lasting legacy of responsibility and unmatched duties to serve with the fidelity to justice as a President par excellence in attending to the needs and aspirations of our nation’s citizens. Remember, you’ve taken the most salient oaths of office to serve and paint a picture of hope by virtue of the powers entrusted on you by the constitution of the Republic of The Gambia to end the pains and sufferings of the citizens. Please, do not abuse the powers bestowed upon you by the people to govern. Do not build a network of cabals or crony chain of looters to prey on our scare state resources for self-aggrandizement or create a privileged class in our political governance. Say no to corruption and be at the forefront to denounce all forms of bribery, corruption and corrupt practices. Avoid occasions of using your office as a dungeon or meeting place for friends or entertaining transformed political griots. Be mindful of universities plying en route to confer you with Honorary Doctorate awards. Do not be that desperate or be in obsession of titles that won’t add any value to your life or make any difference in your presidency besides carrying the mere titles before your name. These awards are a nesting cash cow and what you should do in this material time of our damaged governance is to focus and engage your valuable time, energy and efforts on how to improve and bring monumental changes and development to the people and by extension the country at large. Limit your international travels, close all your political closets in the locker room and focus your work on the domestic front to address the issues of health service, fixing our broken education system to advance quality, affordable and skilled-based education where citizens can learn the required technical skills and become job creators and not job seekers to recognize and exploit entrepreneurial cognition, address the energy, water and food crisis, the infrastructure deficits, unemployment dilemma and other social problems negatively impacting on our nation’s growth and sustainability in the realm of human ingenuity and development.

Sir, I remind you to “campaign in poetry and govern in prose.” The importance of maintaining the art of poetry in governing cannot be overemphasized, most particularly for a nation in transition and experiencing a post-dictatorship governance environment. While, I admire your humility and desire to surpass the achievements of your predecessors, let me hasten to add that there is so much to achieve and you must count on every God-fearing, committed and resourceful Gambian with the intellectual capacity, drive, knowledge and ingenuity to help you drive your vision.

I remain to be.

Yours in the Services of nation-building,

Assan Jallow, PhD

Alex, my good friend, it has been a while since I last penned you a missive. But that is partly due to the fact that the last time I sent a letter your way, you never published it. Therefore I gave you the cold shoulder in my literary mission and diverted my epistles toward the more widely read platforms of Fatu Network and the guy a pals calls “Nderry Leaks”.

So why did you refuse to publish that article on the “value of all voices in governance”. Is it because I quoted the lyrics of the Gambian old school artist Boubacarr Jammeh knowing your hometown’s past misgivings with a particular music video that turned out awry; giving an edge to your (Cultural) rivals in Sukuta to run rings around you with jibes?

Alex, It’s okay if you are pissed off with the foregoing because I know I have two solid uncles as your partners on your platform and the Jammeh’s have never played second filled to the Darboe’s-Lol! As my mother the late Kaddy Jammeh would sing “mbaring-na loo; moe teh m-bai la!” (Nobody can drive me away from my uncle’s zone/platform).

Sorry for the digression but I needed to get this off my chest before I proceed on the very exciting topic of today’s letter.

I have known ST Brikama Boyo for a little over 4 years now with my first encounter with his inspiring lyrics being the track “Ali Ndomo”. I first heard this song while I was a detainee at Mile Two Central Prisons (after I was relieved of my cabinet portfolio) and it resonated with the core of my realities at the time so it felt as if he was singing for me. I was to later meet the young man when I took over the management the Observer Company in tandem with running the state broadcaster GRTS. This happened at a time when I initiated creative platforms for young Gambian talents through the mini magazine “Observer Light” and other myriad programmes like “Perspectives on Gambian Music” that later metamorphosed into “Top Notch Convo” with Ibrahim Cham.

I took a liking to ST and my association with his media director at the time, Sultan Jammeh, actually helped me appreciate ST’s work better. We have since then maintained close cordial relations through thick and thin. The high point of my appreciation of his music came with his publication of his previous album “Watotijay” with hit tracks like “Mandinka Warrior” and “Task Dekabi” being staples for spicing up my motivational aromas at work and at home.

ST’s music has been a source of inspiration for me since then. His lyrics teach lessons in leadership and his style and work ethics are all full of lessons for young people desirous of leadership.

ST’s music is different and it takes COURAGE to step out of the crowd and beat a new path because that is risky; but as late US President Abraham Lincoln would put it “towering genius disdains a beaten path; it seeks regions hitherto unexplored.” So he had a choice to remain in the safe lane or divert the path and create a new flavour and he chose the latter. This is certainly an example of one leadership trait propounded by no less an authority than our mutual motivational hero, the legendary Napoleon Hill who emphatically stated that  “Unwavering Courage” is one of the key planks of enduring leadership.

The very act of choosing the Independence Stadium for his recent album launch #Saluto is yet another demonstration of this young man’s courage. To hit the biggest arena in town without bringing in a major foreign artist as crowd puller was nothing short of what ya’ll would call daredevil in Yankee Land. But like fate would have it for those with FAITH, the young man pulled it off with class, and so I salute him for this great victory!

Alex, one fine leadership quality I gleaned from research conducted by the Harvard  Business Review that I see in ST is to “Pretend You Have What You Want”. Long before he filled the stadium,  ST Claimed leadership of the domestic music scene. From his hit track “Tas Dekabi” to “Mandinka Warrior” and his latest “Baddest Localo” ST had laid claim to the leadership title well before it became a reality and this is a motivational tactic that has worked for the world’s greatest champions. Unfortunately, due to the petty nature of our small towns people cannot put up with even a little dose of braggadocio in a rap punch line. But what is rap without attacking and upsetting the current set ups?

I have not come across anyone who trash-talked his opponents  and claimed big titles way before he conquered his field more than the boxing legend Muhammëd Ali. He claimed to be the world’s greatest way before he earned it; with persistence and hard work he conquered the world. Yet he is remembered as one of the most humble human beings to have walked the earth.

Alex, our people cannot stand basic self-belief, talk less of top notch self-confidence but this world will surely not be ruled by the meek in this twitter generation. Our people have to understand that claiming a title in advance as “the best in town” is only aspirational and it’s not a crime to insert that in some rap lyrics or free style on stage while you work to earn it.

Indeed when he claimed the title of Kunta Kinteh in his song Mandinka Warrior, I took it from ST and he succumbed. To date he settles for the other phrase in the same line “Lyrical Musa Molloh” and Calls me Kunta Kinteh. But when he came up with “Baddest Localo” and I wanted to claim that too he dug in saying “kaybamaa nteh sonna wo la deh!” Lol! So a tug of war ensued between us on that title but when he hit the stadium and shook the nation to its very musical core, I succumbed and crowned ST the “Baddest Localo”!

So go ahead Alex and stake a claim to some title; just remember that the title is something you are aspiring for and you are using it as an affirmation while working your way to manifest it. ST taught this philosophy in the song “Baddest Localo” when he rapped “mbulo beh santo; n-singo lu beh dooma” (my hand is up; feet on the ground) so remain unapologetic about your self-confidence while constantly being grounded on the reality of your humanness; the realisation of you own flaws and follies. This is true humility as opposed to the hypocrisy of pretending to be humble while disdaining your peers in the recess of your heart.

Treat people with respect and honour; yet do not shy away from throwing the occasional punch (both literal and metaphorical) when the need arises. If prophets had to wage wars to establish the truth and to defend themselves, then don’t be fooled by any misguided ‘new age’ fab of remaining peaceful and docile while the so called universe does it for you!

Alex, this letter is getting long and I know the business man in you cannot spend too much time reading a long winding epistle in the middle of the week, so let me pause here till another time.

But let me close with a tag line from ST, that just raised my respect for his leadership qualities even further. You are a mainstream business guy but I believe on the few occasions you attended live musical events you would hear a rapper ask the DJ, to cut off the track or lower the sound by saying “hold it!”. On December 1st when the nation gathered to celebrate the leader of our music scene here, his calls for the DJ to slow or stop came in classic Mandinka “Nyappi nying kang”

‘Wotto’, Alex,  “nyappi nying kang”  till I send you part two inshaa Allah.

Yours,

Momodou Sabally

The Gambias Pen