For many years, we were under the yoke of colonialism. The British colonized us and did everything – wanted to continue to do anything – to keep us under the oppression of colonialism. Thus, they saw any public gathering as a threat to their perpetual rule. They introduced this law called Public Order Act to suppress any public assembly they saw as a threat. This law aimed to curb gatherings which had the potential of enlightening the masses.

Nonetheless, our gallant citizens continued the struggle until we gained our independence and became a Republic in 1970. We now had the ability and authority to rule ourselves and decide our own fate. We managed our own affairs but the law was still maintained.

When Yahya Jammeh took over in 1994, and during his twenty two year repressive regime, the use of this law was even intensified. A dictatorship doesn’t like any assembly which has the potential of opening the eyes of the people. Thus, they used this law to suppress the people even more.

Now that we have fought and defenestrated Yahya Jammeh and ushered in a democratic dispensation, we have to reform the Constitution and remove all repressive and draconian laws. We need a Constitution that is inline with current democratic principles and trends.

This requires the throwing away of the laws which contradict parts of the Constitution which grant the populace their natural rights. And certainly, the right to assembly is a natural right.

Granted, the Constitutional Reform has not happened yet and we know that it will take time to complete; but, why should we still use those laws if we all agree that they are draconian?

Mr President, in the short term, I think we should ignore those laws and not arrest or disturb anyone because of those laws. Then we should urgently work on the Constitutional Reform and usher in the Third Republic which will be fully democratic.

No permits for a lawful assembly. The statement that it is meant to give security and protection to the assemblage is just a cover to take away people’s rights. Draconian laws in the dustbin. Now!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

The conversation between Sheriff Tambadou and Ndoura Badgie is despicable, unprofessional and unethical on both parties. Sheriff betrayed sacred professional principles and potentially undermined the course of justice by guiding this lady through the life of this case, rightly or wrongly. He also failed to stand up for the Gambia by failing to put it to Ndoura that indeed the current dispensation cannot in any stretch of imagination be compared to the Yaya Jammeh Tyranny. No amount of friendship should have allowed Sheriff to condone much less agree with Ndoura with such a dishonest and insensitive comment. In any case, Sheriff must now protect what is left of his good family name and personal and professional credibility to apologize to Gambians and humbly resign from the prosecution team.

On her part Ndoura betrayed the sacred humanistic values that underpin friendship and trust. She has betrayed a fine and decent gentleman who had given her space and sympathized with her ordeal. Clearly Ndoura has shown that she is a worse human being who does not deserve the confidence and friendship of Sheriff Tambadou and indeed any decent human being ever again. Ndoura has further demonstrated dishonesty, selfishness and callousness to downplay and ridicule the misery and pain inflicted on Gambians by the APRC Dictatorship in which her husband was a key perpetrator. Contrary to her bluff, Ndoura may not know her husband as she claims because in history torturers live double lives. At work they are monsters. At home they are loving husbands and fathers. Certainly Yankuba will not tell her and her kids how he tortured people and allowed torture and murder to go on under his watch.

That aside, we need to get to the facts in order to move forward. At this stage Pres. Barrow must convene a press conference or issue a statement to speak to the issues raised in this conversation. Is it the intention of himself and his government to do as Sheriff claimed? Barrow needs to speak to Gambians to re-assure us that his planned TRC is not a plan to stifle justice. Therefore he needs to tell Gambians what is his overall plan for exposing truth and dispensing justice for the atrocities of Yaya Jammeh in the past 22 years. This unfortunate conversation has cast doubt on the credibility and integrity of his government and he needs to salvage himself and his government for the purpose of records and posterity.

The Minister of Justice Baa Tambadou faces a fundamental moral question to either resign or not. But like the president, he also needs to re-assure Gambians that he did not share the views expressed by his brother. We need to know if indeed he had told Sheriff that he never wanted this matter to go to court. Hence he needs to clear his name. He needs to tell us how resolved he is to ensure that the course of justice shall remain unshaken and straight.

Minister Tambadou is the one who appointed the Special Counsel Antouman Gaye, who in turn appointed Sheriff. Hence Baa is the source of the platform for which Sheriff’s statements becomes critically important. Being the source of that platform and given that Sheriff is his brother who has attributed very unsavory statements to him, rightly or wrongly, therefore Baa faces a crisis of credibility and reputation. Can he ignore the statements attributed to him as lies and therefore does no warrant his resignation? Or will he consider them to be statements that came from a family member that go to injure national interests under his watch and therefore resign? This is the moral question facing Baa for which history is recording and posterity will judge.

The Special Prosecutor Antouman Gaye must also speak to Gambians on this matter. Did he approve of this meeting? What is the objective of this meeting? Did Sheriff perform as expected or not? Are the views that Sheriff expressed the same views that he and his team of lawyers share? This conversation has therefore raised trust issues on the Special Prosecutor and his team and therefore he needs to speak to the issues urgently in order to uphold their sanctity and reputation. In any case, where Sheriff fails to resign, Mr. Gaye must remove him from his team.

Finally, this conversation speaks to the very nature and direction of this government in terms of ensuring justice for crimes of the dictatorship and the entire system change we require. Ndoura spoke of agents in the NIA giving them information and that no evidence would be found. This raises questions and validates my demand since the first day that the NIA should be closed. NIA is a crime scene. Many of the agents that are still there are intertwined with Yaya Jammeh atrocities hence its continued operation means potentially tampering with evidence. The NIA Legal Advisor Badgie had written a petition to the president in May this year highlighting these issues yet he was only arrested while this crime scene has been left to function as usual.

What therefore is the understanding of Pres. Barrow and his cabinet about where the Gambia came from and where it needs to go? Why should Barrow continue to maintain key public and security officers in their usual strategic positions when those individuals were accomplices in the dictatorship? The necessary cleansing of public institutions and security agencies has not taken place far enough and this explains why a person like Ndoura Badgie could have the audacity to speak in such horrible language and pathetic tone. This is because she knows she has agents in our institutions serving her husband until today.

This conversation therefore is a wake up call for Barrow and his administration to rethink their entire approach otherwise they will woefully fail their people. The maslaha approach must stop and drastic changes need to take place in our public institutions and security agencies in order to ensure a total system change and dispensation of justice. Keeping these aiders and abettors in their same offices is to compromise the course of change and justice. Barrow must realize that this is his government and therefore he has the authority to sack and appoint anyone (without recourse to nepotism or tribalism) that he things can best make him succeed.

I cannot believe that Adama Barrow, Ousainou Darboe, Mai Fatty, Fatoumatta Tambajang, Isatou Touray, Hamat Bah and OJ Jallow including the other Cabinet members can tell us that they do not know that. These people have been active in the Gambia for the past 22 years and they know how this system was working under Yaya Jammeh. Thus how naïve could they be to think that just removing Jammeh means the end of the story. Do they not know that officials and officers in the public and security sectors on a daily basis were facilitating the dictatorship? How therefore could they leave such officials and officers in the same places? Amazing!

God Bless The Gambia

Madi Jobarteh

With the change of administration in The Gambia – there has been a plethora of conversations regarding the state and the demos, the state’s trajectory, power, competing visions and ideas, what should be allowed and what should not be; conversations which are sometimes heated. It has also been interesting to watch – in that – people who were critical of the former administration for trampling upon the rights and civil liberties of the citizenry – in regards to the right of assembly without a permit, among other things, now defending the state in a similar situation. Most interesting of all, is watching the APRC people cry-wolf and accuse the current administration of abusing power, seeking to exercise their own civil liberties – given that their brutal 22 year long reign, no such dissent or protests were allowed and they defended their boss to the hilt. Because, you see, that is political jujitsu at its finest. Which is everywhere, which is politics.

I think such situations teach us a lesson that there is nothing righteous, super-moral, or blessed, or prophesied in being a victim of the state. The victim is just the victim, the bottom is just that – the bottom. Can we truly say we’d be much different were we in power? Perhaps. But the fact of being a victim of the state – does not prove one’s inherent goodness – because one day you could be the oppressed and the next day – you could be the oppressor.

Whenever I think of the aforesaid – Aung Sang Suu kyi – the Nobel laureate and ardent human rights defender, comes to mind. She has been fighting the process of “othering” by the Burmese state for decades. In a twist of irony – once she got her freedoms and became part of the ruling class — in the same breath – sanctioning the killing, expulsion, persecution of the minority Rohingya Muslims. She has even gone on to certain lengths to defend the state’s treatment of the Rohingyas, in the name of defending the state. This is insufficient for one who endeavors to be a thinking person. I hope that we can see some of ourselves in the people we discuss, because we are human, because we know how easy it is to overestimate our own superficially unfailing morality.

During the April 10th and 11th student demonstrations – I could vividly remember students throwing stones to a lot of buildings and stores around the Westfield area – all the way to Churchill’s Town. People were brutally killed by the state, including a former primary school friend of mine, in the name of protecting the state. Granted – it did get violent in certain areas, students did destroy a lot of property and even hurled stones at the cops, and other elements a la looters, thieves, and whatnot even entered the fray – but did that justify the state killing of protesters?

April 10, 2000, Courtesy of Jollof News

When Solo Sandeng and them marched for election reform without the permission of the state – him and a good many of the protesters became victims of the brutal Jammeh regime, and he ultimately lost his life. The state’s response to citizens exercising their civil liberties to assembly and petition their government was an unnecessary Stone Age barbarism; however, like what most states do – they evoked the quintessential state line: “they broke the law.” In the name of law and order – states can and will do whatever and will “justify” their actions – because that is what states do. All of them. By the way – the same law the Jammeh administration used to justify his arrest and subsequent killing, is being enforced by the current government, under the same national security, law and order pretences.

Conversely, when the Kanilai protesters started protesting against the ECOMIG presence in their backyard – many folks went roughshod calling for their neutralization – because their protest was deemed a threat to the “fragile” state. Unfortunately, someone lost his life and, the state’s response, like all states do, is to justify such killings in the name of national security. Do not get me wrong – we still face serious threats to our fledgling democracy – and it is the job of the state to protect the state, its interests, its sovereignty, and its people – which also includes the APRC folks, the protesters in Kanilai, Farato and Bakoteh. But was the force used necessary? Were the beatings and arrests necessary? Was the extrajudicial killing necessary?

Furthermore, most supporters of the party in power, as expected, naturally fall in line and defend the state’s action as necessary to protect the so called “fragile” state. Wonder why the GOP who ostracized Obama for basically breathing are now defending anything Trump does in the name of maintaining the state? Wonder why folks who called Jammeh’s states response to the April 10th and 11th saga, and the Solo Sandeng case, defended the use of life bullets on protesters in Kanilai? This is not false equivalence, it’s texture and nuance.

It ain’t rocket science. It is just politics, man.

Consequently – some folks in power today – are showering us with their bluster and finger-pointing; however, the big-brother lessons are nothing new to most Gambians, for after all, we have spent the past 22 years under the leadership of a chauvinistic big-brother, advising and dictating what is tolerable behavior and what is not. Such behavior is not a deviation from the experience of powerful people who run the state – but an expression of it.

It is one thing to point out, correctly, and rightly name the government of yesteryear as immoral, barbaric, corrupt, but it is another still to call the current one moral – because state’s act based on national interest, not some righteous moral compass. Caveat: the administration in power always determines what is in the national interest. Sometimes I wish we could dispense of the whole industry of the moral state and accept how nebulous the “national interest” euphemism is.

Kanilai, The Gambia, Courtesy of Foroyaa

In these United States – since at least the Wilsonian age – the country has projected itself as a moral, exemplary beacon of democracy, justice, and equality – even though – for most of its existence – it has a tier system where one’s access to justice is dictated by the accidents of their birth and zip code. I have watched Obama preach to African Presidents about allowing dissent, diverging political ideas, and condemned state sanctioned violence against its citizens.

Mind you – this was the President of Mike Brown, Philando Castille, Sandra Bland; where wanton murder of people of color is part of the everyday narrative. Such is not an anomaly nor does it make the United States a uniquely evil society. It simply means that states would use violence to crush dissent, protest, to maintain the state. All students of realpolitik know this.

In the end, a major, if not, the highest priority of the state, and by this, I mean, all states, is to maintain the state, even if that means to ban, threaten, kill, shoot, maim, eliminate “threats” be it political or otherwise. That is what states do. That is the MO of the state – from the banks of the Potomac to the bluffs of The Gambia river. No exception. States are amoral entities. So, next time the state threatens, kills or brutalizes in the name of national security – don’t be shocked – know that that’s their main line of defense — national security, law and order. Do not relent; challenge, question, parse and always proceed from the theory that all states, including The Gambia, like to begin the story with the narrative that most advantages them, contextually — national interest, law and order — and the onus is on you to resist this sentiment.

Saul Njie

07.15.2017

                                                                 By: Ousainou Mbenga

As the proverbial “fig tree”, Jammeh never expected our “small axe” to cut him and his parasitic A.P.R.C down to the ground. But as remnants of his vermin still present a national “security threat”, we will leave nothing to chance for a re-growth of the monstrous Jammeh regime. We must, with the same unshakable determination, uproot the tap root just as we do with the local “mbanghanaseh” plant capable of destroying the new foundation we desire to construct. The Barrow administration’s blind “tactical attempts” to rescue and recycle the A.P.R.C, betray our struggle for a system change as oppose to the perpetuation of the rotten status quo comprised of the most unreliable sector of the Gambian society, the petit bourgeoisie and its aspirants.

FEAR OF A.P.R.C OR THE ABSENCE OF A PROGAM?

Unlike the Barrow mal-administration, the vast majority of the Gambian masses are not intimidated by the parasites left behind, neither Yaya himself. The insignificant and willfully ignorant remnants of the Jammeh regime severely afflicted with a broad “political blind spot” refuse to accept the fact that the host for their parasitic dependence is no more. Every parasite requires a “host” to survive and the Gambia was made an unwilling host to a small sector of our society willing to suck the life blood of our beloved Gambia at the expense of the rest of us. The free food, water and light to the former hamlets of Kanilai and vicinities including his sycophantic enablers represented the sharpest edge of the knife that bled the “nation”. From “rags to riches”, the head parasite Jammeh and his dependents became oblivious to the “suffering in the land”.

The morbid fear of Jammeh and A.P.R.C is as a consequence of the Barrow administration’s lack of a program, a plan of action and ultimately a strategy to propel the Gambia into a nation of confidence determined to reverse the 22 years of horror we have been subjected to by the A.P.R.C. If the Barrow administration implemented their own program and not adopt the rotten –ruinous system Jammeh had in place, the A.P.R.C would have never dared to provoke incidents such as the one that resulted in the death of Haruna Jatta in Kanilai.

Aside from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the “coalition 2016”, which has been ditched into the dustbin, the coalition 2016 and the “tactical coalition” making up the Barrow mal-administration has no road map to follow. Consequently, the stumbling steps (Fakatalu) policies as they go along. Here in lies the sticking point contradictions of the Barrow administration.

“THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS”

To us, it is not enough to win elections and take office on a platform of “good intentions”; you must stand for something based on a program. What do you stand for? What is your program? We have witnessed the consequences of Jammeh’s “good intentions” and the hell it turned Gambia into. The Barrow administration’s delaying tactics with deafening silence on practically all decisive policy matters (judiciary, education, health, environment and security) clearly exposes their inability to construct the foundation upon which the “new Gambia” we fought for 22 damn years will be erected. The deliberate silence from Barrow is being defended particularly by United Democratic Party (UDP) “stalwarts” and the “let’s give them a chance” advocates on groundless and bizarre arguments that the Barrow administration is working on “something” that would be a pleasant surprise to many of us when they are finished cooking whatever this “something” is. Whatever the Barrow administration is cooking in secret doesn’t have a pleasant aroma. For if it did, we would smell the pleasant aroma by now.

Is the Barrow administration a “secret society” only answerable to themselves and not to the people who put them in office?

The internal contradictions (the basis for change)of the Barrow administration such as the Vice presidency (the “tactical coalition’s” burden), the floating standards – constitution and the long promised “blue print” all of which remain shrouded in secrecy and mystery will consequently result in an implosion. To prevent this inevitable implosion at the expense of the rest of us if these matters continue unresolved, the old order and business as usual will be the order of the day.

The external contradictions (the conditions for change) that plague the Barrow administration primarily remain to be food, water and light. These are the primary contradictions that we will continue to expose for the masses to understand the kind of leadership they voted into office. There are no indications or signs that the Barrow administration wants to resolve these contradictions, instead reconciling with the Jammeh regime is their working plan. And that will be met with resistance!

As opportunism (sacrificing long term gains for short term gains) prevailed in 1994, lifting Jammeh and AFPRC onto the “saddles of power”, so is the same opportunism prevailing at the moment within the Barrow administration.

These contradictions have reached crisis proportions as being manifested in the recent trash and garbage protest at KMC and the Kartong – Gunjur disasters. Barrow’s silence and indecisiveness will only heighten the mass impatience into more justifiable protests.

There is no doubt that 22 July 1994 was the beginning of a despicable period when misery and carnage descended on the Gambia to last for 22 long years of blood and tears. The July 22 Coup was a tragedy of unlimited proportions that shackled a people to slavery and contempt by the very sons and daughters of our society. Without fear or shame, AFPRC which transformed into the APRC led by Yaya Jammeh, Sana Sabally, Edward Singhateh, Yankuba Touray, Sadibou Hydara, Ebou Jallow and Lamin Kabba Bajo and aided and abetted by many more security officers and civilians in all walks of life unleashed the most brutal terror on the people of the Gambia.

Scores of Gambians were raped, tortured and killed while many more had their properties forcefully and illegally taken away from them and others summarily dismissed or their businesses closed for absolutely no reason other than the selfish interest of Yaya Jammeh. We lived in a climate of fear and powerlessness, as our own State became the one and only predator on the lives of Gambians. For 22 years, the APRC plundered public wealth and disregarded every rule of our Constitution and every right of citizens with impunity. Indeed the AFPRC and APRC are the worst entities ever to emerge in the Gambia since Independence.

However we must rise up above the emotions about this day and its reality and look at the facts in order to help ourselves to move forward. The fact is that July 22 is not an illegal coup and the day is not illegal in the context of the Second Republic, which is founded on the 1997 Constitution. In that Constitution, the 22nd July 1994 coup has been recognized and endorsed in the Preamble as thus,

“Our hopes and aspirations as a people were reflected in the enthusiasm and zeal with which we embarked on the task of nation building on the attainment of independence. The self-perpetuating rule of the recent past, however, soon gave rise to the abuse of office and related vices which negated the total welfare of the Gambian people. The sovereign people of The Gambia therefore endorsed the change of government on 22nd July 1994 to rectify such evils.” (Preamble, Constitution of the Gambia 1997).
It was that coup under the AFPRC that a process unfolded to usher in the 2nd Republic through a referendum on the Constitution in 1996. That Constitution also went further under it’s Transitional and Consequential Provisions (Second Schedule) to indemnify the AFPRC and all that they did under Section 13. Hence by our current Constitution and political dispensation, July 22, AFPRC and APRC are legal events and entities.

Until now the APRC remains a legally registered party with representatives in the parliament. So long as they remain a legal entity they therefore must enjoy the rights to observe any day and conduct any activities they wish. That right cannot be denied to them because of what we think about July 22. APRC is a product of July 22 and therefore we cannot ban July 22 without banning the product of July 22. Hence this press release by the police is not enough and it is not legal. Let us remove emotions to objectively address the situation we face.

What we need is to use the law to address July 22 because July 22 is protected by the law. I would have thought that the Barrow Administration would take a bill to the parliament to declare July 22 as an illegal coup and therefore illegal to celebrate that coup by amending the necessary sections in our Constitution. The July 22 coup must be declared a day of infamy to be remembered as the period when carnage and misery descended on the Gambia.

Alternatively, it is for the Barrow Administration to go to court to have a declaration that July 22 is illegal and therefore must not be celebrated as a festive event. Rather it must be solemnly observed as a day of misery as how the Israeli’s observe 27 April/May as the Holocaust Remembrance Day or how the Americans observe September 11 terror attacks or how the Rwandans mark April 7 as Genocide Memorial Day, among others.

We must bear in mind that so long as APRC remains legal and operating then we cannot determine what events they should or should not observe or celebrate. If we do that then we are infringing on their constitutional rights to freedoms of assembly, association and expression and to demonstrate peaceably without the use of arms. Let us therefore demand that the Government takes the right steps to address the July 22 Disaster without emotions or appealing to the public gallery. This matter concerns the soul of the nation and therefore we must deal with it in the most serious, legal and robust manner.

Let us always insist on the rule of law and the protection of our rights because that is where our security lies. Forever!

God Bless The Gambia

Madi Jobarteh

Look at France’s President Macron….

About two or three weeks ago, President Macron of France combined both the lower and upper houses of the French Parliaments to address them on his plans and where he wanted to take the country. This was barely a month after winning a landslide victory in that country’s election.

This showed the parliamentarians and through them the French citizenry, that the president has a vision, he has a plan, he has ideas as to where he wanted his country and how he would get them there. This is democracy of the people. This is a progressive way of doing things.

France is among the very advanced nations and her economic and political condition was already on a solid and sound footing; yet, the president saw it as extremely important to quickly address the parliamentarians.

We in the Gambia; however, have suffered fifty two years of bad governance; with the last twenty two years being under a very repressive regime. The past twenty two years did not only set our democracy back for a century or more, but destroyed our economy seriously.

Our social fabric was completely destroyed and people lost all confidence in government and the governors. People lost all hope in the politicians and a time came when no one thought we would ever be free from such bad governance.

Our economy was destroyed and we lost all financial credibility. A large chunk of our yearly budget started going into debt servicing. All due to the lavish nature of the previous government. To add salt to injury, the former president rejected the results after conceding earlier. This shut the country down and we took a huge economic hit. Many of our young perished in the high seas just to search for greener pastures because nothing was home.

In spite of all these woes, you haven’t seen it fit to address the National Assembly and through them, the nation.

Mr President, we voted for you because we had had enough of the dictatorship, mismanagement, and lack of Rule of Law of the previous government. But equally important among the reasons we voted for you was the promise that you will fix the nation. It was the promise that you will create employment so our youth won’t need to perish in the high seas while going to Europe through the ‘back way’.

You have decided to remain quiet about all these issues. Even the issue of security alone is worth your coming out and talking to us as your employers. You have not appointed a substantive vice president still now. You have not provided a development blueprint. The ‘you have nots’ are becoming too many. Address the National Assembly and by extension, the Gambian people.

People are beginning to lose faith in your administration’s ability to stir the affairs of this country to the right direction. I write because I am a staunch supporter of you, Sir, and I do not want people to lose confidence in you. Granted, some inroads have been made in establishing the National Think Tank, appointment of cabinet ministers, reduction of some commodity prices, freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. But we still want to hear from you.

Have a Good Day Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Dear Editor,

With a flurry of investors flocking into the country looking for quick profits & millions in aid waiting for allocation, I aim to take a closer look at issues of public concern pertaining to the country’s procurement industry. For the record, the article is not premised as a witch-hunt, nor meant to drag any official through the mud. What it is, however, a careful and necessary assessment of that industry for the very fact that tens of millions of dalasi worth of project acquisition is determinant on the art of procurement. In Gambia government terms, Procurement is the process of ensuring accountability & transparency in the use and management of public resources. This involves the acquisition of goods & services from external sources via tendering or competitive bidding, under the remit of GPPA.

If sincerity is anything to go by, surely the management of Gambia Public Procurement Authority will be the first to raise hands and admit that over the years standards and accountability with public finances weren’t met. And I write in the knowledge that some of these officials were operating under intense pressure during dictatorship mindful of Jammeh’s love for money. But then again where were ethics – two wrongs still don’t make it right. A new day has dawned however & Procurement officials need be aware of their valuable roles ensuring credibility with public money. I honestly believe that GPPA can be the best in the region, or Africa perhaps, although, Botswana currently boasts the best procurement system on the continent. We therefore appeal to the EU Banjul office to expand & Maintain the competency based & needs assessment training of procurement officials across all layers of government.

A deserved high praise & thanks is cordially reserved for EU Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini for standing by the Gambian People at a time of great need. And I appreciate her personal touch with the presidency & for living up to promises in terms of financial package assigned for Gambia. The country’s regulators ought to be aware of new and inventive methods all the time as a clampdown on corruption for the fact that there’ll always be bent officials looking to cheat the system. In the United Kingdom, procurement offices are internalised within centralised agencies & across local government in ensuring compliance. As such the leadership could look to policy transfer, and be cognizant of new developments around the world to enhance its staff to higher levels of excellence.

Linking procurement systems to procurement outcomes 

A recent World Bank Enterprise Survey in 88 countries with data on procurement systems from PEFA (Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability) finds that in countries with more transparent procurement systems, firms are more likely to participate in public procurement markets.  Moreover, firms report paying fewer and smaller kickbacks to officials in those countries with effective and independent complaints mechanisms, and effective external auditing systems. Therefore, GPPA should be aware that exceptions to open competition in tendering must be explicitly justified. Auditors should also look at prevailing procurement practices on smaller firms if they are disadvantage. Larger firms tend to pay bigger bribes as our investigations on the MGI-Gamtel Gateway scandal show. And government was spot-on for the bold steps taken terminating that corrupt deal.

In an effort to address all forms of corruption, GPPA has to conduct needs assessment in terms of quality or cost, or the appropriate choice of projects. The Parliament sub-committee on standards and ethics also need to conduct periodic assessment on the accuracy and comprehensiveness of databases on procurement contracts & life cycle. Reflecting on the secretive waste management deals between KMC & foreign firms, an independent audit of all area councils, governorships, and public utilities is urgently warranted.

New Money & Procurement

The flow of new-money into the nation’s coffers safely tucked at the Central Bank is a welcome sight to all Gambians. In the days under Jammeh, the culture of kickbacks became part and parcel of the job. From policemen, the army, immigration, procurement officers, Ports, etc all participated in naked-corruption. Our research has shown that Corruption is disproportionately rife among the male workforce. We also learnt that when women are part of the high table, better decisions tend to be made. The notion that women need to be led is patronising at best. Chancellor Merkel has turned out to be the most successful leader Germany had in terms of economic success. Some of the most successful FTSE 100 companies are led by women. And some of the finest and hardened activists mobilised over the many years in ousting the dictator are Gambian women, and I dare say without them, unimaginable without them:

During internship at a major city council in England, it became obvious that an efficient procurement system encourages transparency, competition, and trust, and reduce transactions cost. As millions continue to pour into the government’s coffers with special interest cosying up to decision makers, there should be monitoring and periodic review of the procurement process as a check against favouritism. It has come to knowledge that certain businessmen in & outside of the Gambia are looking to establish TV stations. And if reports on QTV’s plans are true, PURA need to establish the forces behind it in avoiding conflict of interest. Moreover, an independent complaints mechanism will help deter favouritism & kickbacks in view of prosecution.

Solution

The country’s procurement agency need to be scrapped as it was setup to serve the dictatorship. The best solution in rectifying the abysmal failures & wastage of public funds is for well-trained procurement personnel to be accommodated and internalise within various ministries and parastatals with an external and parliamentary oversight over them. Clearly, the ousted Jammeh regime should be a lesson to all those who reflect, because the Gambian people won’t tolerate mediocrity anymore. In the case of an energised diaspora nothing shall be accepted but the very best & excellence. In them you’ll find the personification of loyalty & love for country, and in their offspring, the next generation dreaming of a better Gambia.

Gibril Saine, LONDON

Alagi Yorro Jallow

There are reasons to celebrate the “July 22 Revolution” and remember President Yahya Jammeh in a simple way. This may be with national prayers in churches and mosques to heal and reconcile a divided and polarized nation, to move on from the whole aspect of nation-building, or to give it a more positive outlook and more positive understanding, whether it can best be described as amoral not immoral, but amoral in the Gambia’s history. The Gambian people are not blind to the darkness and oppression of the Yahya years.

Although controversies and unsolved cases marred Yahya’s 22 years rule, what will also be forever engraved in The Gambia’s history are his contributions in infrastructure development. Infrastructures were built that were unprecedented in the history of our country that provided a venue for Gambians to highlight cultural heritage, propagate arts and culture, generate tourism, improve and contribute to economic growth.

Remembering the “July 22 Revolution” might speed up the process of reckoning. This can start with the retelling of the horrors: the knock on the door before dawn for an arrest without warrant, the rape, regular beating, and water cure, the cigarette burned through flesh, the wires attached to genitals and breasts for mild electric shocks.

The struggles are worth retelling. It is the responsibility of those who lived through those difficult days to keep the memories alive for the future generations, to ensure that the abuses are not repeated. Those who dared challenge the dictatorship often paid the ultimate price. This is worth celebrating, as democracy has endured despite numerous attempts and persistent threats to civil liberties. The greed that gave rise to the word “dictatorship” has been tamed. The systematic violation of human rights is over.

Beyond the physical horrors, there was the insatiable greed for power and wealth, with the dictatorship confiscating opponents’ businesses and handing these over to cronies. As the nation is seeing, the alleged amassed wealth is mind-boggling, with 86 bank accounts, 131 movable and immovable properties, and $50 million in accounts alone, impossible for a salary of 22 years. Basically, the thrust of remembering this day is moving the nation forward from just looking back at what has happened in the past and encouraging everybody to cooperate in nation-building.

Yet, President Adama Barrow’s revolution is unfinished. Corruption remains rampant at all levels of government and democratic institutions are weak, including the police and judicial system, which has failed to make anyone accountable for the abuses of President Jammeh except the “NIA Nine” and the few “Jugglers”. Millions have not been recovered in ill-gotten wealth, and no one has been sent to prison for amassing such wealth.

According to Freedom House the Gambia’s political rights rating improved from 7 to 6 dues to Adama Barrow’s victory in the December 2016 presidential election but the regime shows little respect for personal rights and civil liberties, there is urgent needs for improvements.

The cumulative outcome and costs of President Jammeh’s dictatorship are incalculable. He was not content with simply being a president who had been reelected to four terms of the Gambian presidency. However enormous, his plunder of the nation’s wealth is only one of the costly consequences of his evil rule.

During his 22 years in power, the Gambia fell far behind several neighboring countries in West Africa in the pursuit of development, becoming “the basket case” in the region. Democracy was destroyed, the economy was in ruin, and a cul¬ture of corruption, violence, and cynicism arose.

Hundreds of Gambians were killed, imprisoned, tortured, or displaced from their homes and communities, or they simply disappeared without a trace. Also with impunity, women were raped and degraded by the military, po¬lice, and other criminal elements known as the “Green Boys” and the “Jugglers”.

President Jammeh’s economics of debt-driven growth was disastrous for the Gambia. His regime was not interested in inclusive development, long-term state-building, or the genuine social transformation of the country, despite its “Vision 2020 Blueprint” rhetoric. Instead, President Jammeh was mainly concerned with perpetuating his personal hold on power by favoring family members, friends, and other cronies. Thus, he simply created new elites or “oligarchs” rather than abolish them — supposedly one of his main justifications for dictatorial rule. Those who dared challenge the regime’s monopoly on power whether politicians, businesspeople, political activists, lawyers, farmers, the urban poor, journalists, or students — young or old, rich or poor — were intimidated, imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured, or summarily executed.
Section of Gambians have branded President Jammeh as merciless and even a criminal, true, but let us not forget the achievements of Jammeh’s administration before everything turned sour. It’s not always easy to see the good despite the bad, particularly because there are events which happen that we may never fully understand. The infrastructures that Yahya’s administration has left us is a reminder that we should all start building something good despite hard times. A good foundation with the right maintenance can lead to productivity

In his one of his speeches, he made a promise to make the nation great again and in a way, he did. Infrastructures were built that were unprecedented in the history of our country that provided a venue for Gambians to highlight cultural heritage, propagate arts and culture, generate tourism, improve and contribute to economic growth.

A lot of Yahya’s infrastructures today still stand like the Gambia university, Gambia Radio and Television Services, and other infrastructural developments, Kombo Coastal roads networks bridges, schools, the Supreme Courts complex and amongst others, because the people behind these infrastructures still believe that the mission of either providing a venue for performance, giving aid to the sick and connecting people is not over. Until now, these infrastructures continue to help our economy in their own aspect. Some of them are recognized landmarks that help sectors of the economy like the real estate market by increasing the value of homes or properties nearby or accessibility to establishments.

Today, the Gambian people must refuse to forget the atrocities committed by President Jammeh’s regime, and we renew our demand that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice. We also reiterate our position that the government of President Barrow should relentlessly pursue and reclaim all the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by President Jammeh’s family and its cronies. Moreover, the victims and their families should be given justice and compensation in full. Any call for unity, reconciliation, and forgiveness, which bitterly divided the country, will be empty and meaningless unless truth and justice are upheld.

The Gambian people must affirm their commitment to telling the truth about the horrors of President Jammeh’s dictatorship so that it can be remembered as one of the darkest periods of the Gambian history.
The Gambian people must reject the argument that democracy does not work in the Gambia and that only a dictatorship, benevolent or otherwise, can bring our country to prosperity. We must instead encourage and harness the full democratic capacity of our people and institutions to progress as a nation. Although inequality and injustice continue to persist, we believe the solution to these problems lies in deepening our democratic institutions and practices, empowering the marginalized, and exacting accountability from our leaders and ourselves.

I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the attempts by some individuals and particularly public figures to whitewash President Jammeh regime’s wanton violation of human rights and to distort its political and economic record. I call on all our politicians to take a definite stand on the abuses of President Jammeh’s dictatorship. I challenge them to join our call to never again allow the conditions of tyranny to take root in our society. I demand that candidates who directly or indirectly participated in and benefited from the regime apologize and, if necessary, make restitution for their role in the regime or their support of it.

I joined the Gambian people aspire to keep alive the ideals and heroism of the many brave Gambians who fought the regime. For as long as we remember and share these stories, and I believe that future generations of Gambians will learn the lessons of the years of struggle leading to the defeat of the dictatorship during the People’s Power Revolution on December 1, 2017.

The fullness of democratization, especially the creation of a political and socio-economic order, which respects the dignity of all Gambians, has yet to be achieved. It is our responsibility now to continue and complete this unfinished struggle and start with the truth.