Bubacarr Drammeh

UTG Alumni

The university of The Gambia is created by an Act of parliament (see Cap 49:03 Vol 7 Revised Laws of The Gambia 2009). Section 3 of the said Act provides that “There is hereby by established a university to be known as University of The Gambia. The University is a body corporate, and shall have perpetual succession, a common seal and right to sue and be sued. “ This is a clear indication that UTG does not belong to any individual. UTG is creation of law and its functions are clearly delineated by law. Any person who is aggrieved by the management or otherwise of UTG can seek redress by initiating legal proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction.

The senior management of UTG has been accused of misappropriation of funds. One Dr. Ceesay (a lecturer) has accused management of spending D10.5 million on 7 vehicles in a letter addressed to his colleagues. He termed the purchase of the said vehicles as “repulsive and unpatriotic move and a clear testimony of the senior management’s utter disregard for the endemic problems at the nation’s highest learning institution.”

The senior management of the University responded to Dr Ceesay’s allegation calling it a “malicious intent and total disregard of facts.” The management admitted that some of the allegations mitted are half-truths whiles they termed others as outright lies. They accused Dr Ceesay of attempting to “to cause discord and disaffection within the UTG Community.”

I have read the letter Dr Ceesay addressed to his colleagues and the response of UTG senior management.

The issue at hand is an allegation of mismanagement of UTG Funds. Who is responsible for approval of UTG expenditure? The answer to this question is stipulated in section 19 of the University of The Gambia. Section 19 of the UTG Act provides that “ an expenditure shall not be made out of the funds of the University unless the expenditure has been approved by the council under the estimates for the year in which such expenditure is made or in any other estimate supplement thereto.” It is clear that the only body that has power to approve any expenditure of the University is the Council of the University. Management cannot unilaterally purchase anything without the approval of Council. What Management can do is to come up with a budget of things they intent to do either under the estimate of the year or other supplement to the estimate, and can only make expenditure if council approved the proposals.

Council is the governing body of the University and it is composed of the following:

1. Vice-chancellor
2. Deputy-vice chancellor

• Two members of senate appointed by senate

1. Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education Science and Technology.
2. Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance and Economic affairs
3. A representative of the private sector to be approved by The Gambia Chamber of Commerce

• A legal practitioner nominated by The Gambia Bar Association
• Two persons appointed by the Minister one of whom shall be a woman

1. Two persons elected by the Administrative staff of the University
2. One person elected by the academic staff of the University
3. One person nominated by council and

• A representative of the student union. See section 8 of the UTG Act

The aforementioned are the people and institutions that made up the Council of the University. Any expenditure that is not approved by council is illegal and the person responsible must face the wrath of the law.

Having explained how expenditures are approved, I will state the allegations made by Dr. Ceesay and the responses of senior management of UTG to each allegations. You make your judgment as to who is right and who is wrong (I will make mine too)

Dr. Ceesay alleged that

“I have learned with utter dismay the decision of the senior management of the University of the Gambia under the auspices of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Faqir Anjum, to buy brand new vehicles that is shared among themselves. I have learned from reliable sources that seven cars have been bought costing 1.5 million Dalalsis each. “

Senior Management responded by saying

“The machinery to acquire new vehicles was set in motion a couple of years ago. However, in 2015 the matter was revived and the Office of the President was approached with a request for the provision of 12 vehicles. The request was not granted but OP instead advised UTG to include the vehicle matter in its budget. The advice was heeded to and subsequently approved by the University of The Gambia Governing Council. The sum of D7.5 Million was approved by the UTG Governing Council for the purchase of the said vehicles. However, due to a weak cash flow situation at the time, the matter was held in abeyance. Again in 2016, a budget line for vehicle purchase was considered and approved by the Governing Council. It is misleading, and a concoction of ones imagination to accuse SMT of buying 7 vehicles each costing D1.5 Million without following due process and or recklessly spending money on misplaced priorities. For the avoidance of doubt, these are official vehicles that belong to UTG.”

It is true that vehicles have been purchased by UTG. BUT it is a lie to say it is the decision of senior management of the University of the Gambia under the auspices of the Vice Chancellor, Professor Faqir Anjum to purchase the vehicles. It is also misleading to say the vehicles are shared amongst senior management as if it is their personal belonging. The vehicles are official vehicles not personal vehicles. Interestingly the University did not deny that each of vehicles cost D1.5million. Their defense is due process has been followed. Council must be held accountable for approving the purchase of vehicles that cost D1.5 million per vehicle.

Dr Ceesay alleged that “This undeserved reward of the UTG senior management to themselves is a repulsive and unpatriotic move and a clear testimony of the UTG senior management’s utter disregard for the endemic problems at the nation’s highest learning institution, which has greatly inhibited its progress as a University.”

The above statement of Dr Ceesay is disturbing. He seems not to have any problem(s) with the purchased of the vehicles. Rather, he sees the purchase of the vehicles as an “undeserved reward of the senior management to themselves” thus leading to the attacks on the senior management. So he would have been ok if he believes that senior management deserved the vehicles. This makes me wonder if Dr Ceesay has the welfare of UTG at heart or he has a hidden agenda (for example personal grievance) that he intents to pursuit but acting as if he cares.

Dr Ceesay stated the problems the UTG is facing “Some of these problems include, but are not limited to, no opportunities for staff training, dilapidated and hazardous classrooms, no chairs (sometimes students sit on the floor), appalling toilets (that the VC could not even stay in for a few minutes when he last visited), no internet to carry out research, lack of office space, no library, lack of water supply, and the non-existence of teaching and research facilities. To add salt to injury, faculty and staff of the UTG are paid one of the lowest wages in the whole world.” 

The senior management responded to the aforesaid as follows

“On the assumption of duty of the incumbent Vice-Chancellor, a reconnaissance tour was conducted across all the campuses to get firsthand information on the problems, challenges and urgent priorities of each school. This was followed by submission of Reports to the Office of the Vice Chancellor by each School for consideration and approval. We wish to state that the implementation phase of these “urgent priorities” contained in the said reports is in progress and would be concluded before the commencement of lectures-27th February, 2017.This participatory approach afforded all the Schools the opportunity to list their needs in order of priority.

Works on improving the sanitary conditions at the Kanifing campus (SBPA, Law Faculty, and School of Journalism) have been successfully executed. A similar effort is underway at the Brikama campus.

Management recently bought over 650 chairs and 34 Ceiling Fans were distributed across the various campuses. In order to minimize the incessant furniture theft especially at the Gambia College campus, Management awarded a contract to UNCLE SAM Security outfit to provide 24/7 security on campus.

Furthermore, with unwavering resolve to address the space constraint on campus, Management in compliance with GPPA regulations signed a contract with SANTA YALLA Construction Company to add two extra floors on the PEACE BUILDING situated at the Faculty of Law premises. The project is at a cost of D10 Million. The building will cater for offices, class rooms and laboratories.

Management has finalized arrangements with QCELL GROUP for the provision of data cards, Laptops and computers. Staff and students will each be entitled to a laptop.

Barely four months in office, the Vice Chancellor in consultation with the SMT increased the retention allowances of all staff by 50% across the board. By the same token, UTG staff on study leave whose retention allowances were removed has now been restored.

In response to the urgent need for staff training, eligible UTG staffs are granted tuition fee waivers to pursue degree programmes offered by the UTG. In the same vein, MoUs have been signed with a host of institutions across the globe for closer collaborations in research, capacity building amongst others. Some of the staff who directly benefitted from tuition fee waivers to pursue graduate programmes offered by UTG as well as staff granted study leave with salary to study abroad are: [ 49 people]”

Senior management has acknowledged the problems Dr Ceesay raised. Their response shows emphatically that they have taken steps to address them.

There is no doubt that the University of The Gambia has many shortcomings in its quest to become of the best. UTG has a long way to go to become one of the best institutions in the world. The expectations on Management are high and no matter what they do people will continue to be critical. There is no doubt that progress has been made no matter how minimal it is. There is no single institution in The Gambia that did not have a UTG alumni working for them. Those who left to do their post graduate degrees have also prosper in their fields.

We the alumni of UTG will continue to be critical of our reputable institution whenever deem fit. Constructive criticism will improve the university. We must ensure that our criticisms are based on facts not speculations. Any unfounded allegation may results to a civil suit as the university has the right to sue anyone who it believes has embarked on a campaign of defaming its character.

Dr. Ceesay has highlighted important issues that need to be addressed. His allegations against senior management, I believe is unfounded and unnecessary. The allegations would have been proper if it was levied against Council. It is my humble opinion that he has wrongly accused senior management for misappropriation of funds. He should therefore do the right thing in the circumstance, which I believe is to apologies to them.

Sulayman Jeng

Birmingham, UK

When Hon Mai Ahmed Fatty debunked Jammeh during the political impasse at a press conference in Senegal for allegedly looting $11 million from the Central Bank during his last week in office, many vilified him. Some even purported perhaps he wants to help himself with the funds when sworn in office. Gladly, rectitude has vindicated him. It is, therefore, prudent for those who hastily crucified him to manly swallow their pride and apologise to the dude.

The Hon Minister of Finance’s disclosure of Jammeh enriching himself with state funds did not come as a surprise to many. SukaiGaya Gaye, a young activist validated, “Okay, I knew #DumbJammeh was enriching himself all that time he was in office, but boy, I didn’t know it was to this magnitude, D48 billion? Dang man! Hana dafdon ngiroo during his last days? This man really did us dirty. We need to organize a search party and get his ass ASAP.” Momodou Ndow, a gentleman of fine mind, further reinforced: “We all knew Goloh was a thief, so I don’t think anyone is surprised here. He made his supporters believe that he had supernatural powers, and now I too believe he does. You have to have supernatural powers to be able to steal as much money as Goloh did from a small and poor country like Gambia. How many Warambas and Ray Ban sunglasses can one buy with D48 billion?” He went on to enunciate, “It is clear that Goloh had people assisting him with cash withdrawals and all sorts of financial transactions from almost every revenue generating source in The Gambia, and his assistants should be held responsible. But to follow the money, Amadou Samba must be invited for a chat because he has admitted to being Goloh’s manager. Amadou did deny being Goloh’s business partner though, but as his manager, he should still be able to lead us the Panama Canal. Gambia has $900 million reasons to go there”.

While some are recuperating from the shock of the Jammeh financial saga, Frederic Tendeng insinuates “Today’s revelations are just the beginning of what should be an extensive situation analysis and appraisal, not only on our meagre public funds, but to uncover the magnitude of Jammeh’s illicit, illegal and dark business empire that is crippling the Gambian Economy. Sanity is also about tracking down all liege men behind the Jammeh parallel and toxic economy. They are equally criminals and bandits”. Pa Nderry Mbai who is celebrated for speaking his mind irrespective of what others feel buttressed: “We need an independent audit of the financial activities of the former Jammeh administration in the interest of accountability, transparency and probity. A statement of account about the alleged financial embezzlement perpetrated by Jammeh and his cronies, coming from the Finance Minister Amadou Sanneh, is not enough for one to draw a compelling conclusion or make a fitting informed opinion about what actually transpired during Jammeh’s rule. The books must be properly audited before passing any judgment. If it means setting up a Commission of Enquiry to probe into the matter, it is worth doing. Making statements without backing them up with facts is a disservice to a nation oppressed for twenty two years”.

At this juncture, the fundamental query remains how was Jammeh able to swag that huge amount? A blunt answer is lack of probity, transparency and accountability. When Jammeh ascended the mantle of leadership of the unsuspecting and laidback nation in July 1994, most of us welcomed him in open arms. We groomed him, overlooked his omission and protected him from his sceptics. Then the disappearances started. Closely following its track was state orchestrated murders, unlawful arrests and detentions. When he graduated from banditry with dazzling comfort and nauseating arrogance, he openly bragged of killing, imprisoning and banishing perceived sceptics on GRTS.

We debunked him and his human rights records. Lamentably, we were branded haters, fabricators and blasphemers. We got showered in the most poignant profanities and dressed in borrowed robes. Some even went to the extent of whitewashing Jammeh’s human rights record at the United Nations despite the battery of evidence of Jammeh’s brutality littering everywhere. There are others, even today, who believe Jammeh is an angel. We fought. The fight was hard. Limbs, lives, wealth and properties got lost. But we won at the end. A new dawn is born. A new Gambia that is anything but what Jammeh and APRC epitomised. As the blinding arrows of freedom, justice, security and democracy lacerated the dark clouds of dictatorship, Gambians decided to be commanders of their own destiny.

The liquor of freedom tasted sweet and we all got drunk. In the process, some quickly forgot what the fight was all about. They become poised to defend the new order at any cost such that when President Barrow says jump, they chorus how high? Certainly, I will jump too but first I would want to know why do I have to jump? Who will benefit from my jumping? That is a relationship based on mutual trust and appreciation of each other. A relationship built on honest and sincere communication. A relationship for equal opportunity and justice. But not one in which some are more equal than others.

President Barrow promised us that went elected into office, he will tell us how much he is worth and his cabinet will also declare their assets. That promise still remained unfulfilled. When Lamin Cham of Champion Sounds tested the rainbow government on the amount slated to finance Gambia @52 two in one celebration, he was vilified. The minister refuted the alleged amount but failed short in stating the actual budgeted amount. The Barrow government is also accused of lavishing our meagre resources at the Kairaba Hotel on staff meals and unnecessary bills. No state official either authenticated or refuted the allegations.

Furthermore no veritable independent audit has been carried out in any of the line ministries and the president’s office since they officially took over. The vice president position has become a forbidden fruit. Since the appointment was decried as unconstitutional, President Barrow became tied-lips on it. When genuine Gambians highlights President Barrow’s omission, they are shouted down and bullied to silence. That is not what we fought for. You either have to join the club or you become an outcaste. Loving President Barrow to bits means guiding him on the right part and calling him out when he goes wrong. Unless we do so, we will only groom Barrow into another Jammeh.

BY ALHASSAN DARBOE: Sometimes, I have had to slap myself to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming after all. Jammeh “The dodger” as coined by the British foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has finally gone for good and so far away from Gambia in Equatorial Guinea. During Jammeh’s brutal era of dictatorship, Gambians have fled in droves to far flung ends of the world like Korea, Thailand, Dubai, Italy, Argentina, Qatar, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Ghana, Nigeria, Antigua, Guyana, Trinidad Tobago, Hong Kong, Singapore and even Mexico. The tragic part is, so many died in the Mediterranean trying to cross into Italy in flimsy boats. You may even be surprised to know that Gambians are notorious for being the biggest drug dealers in Hong Kong (Source).

From my research at the time of writing this article, until mostly the late 70s Gambians left mainly for the U.K. to study. Once they graduated, they returned home, obtained employment either in the civil service or the private sector, obtained a nice car and settled down to a blissful life. Majority of those who left in those days were children of the rich or PPP big wigs who had the money to sponsor them. Others were lucky enough to win scholarships to Sierra Leone and Nigeria like the current Gambian foreign minister Lawyer Ousainou Darboe. In either case, they went abroad on student visas and knew that a job was waiting for them at home once they graduated. So, while in the U.K. They lived the life of a student. “If they had a part-time job, it was only to supplement whatever stipend they received from their parents or sponsors. If they had a fiancé or fiancée before traveling, in most cases, the lovers were rest assured that the relationship would lead to fruition”.

But today’s semesters as they are mostly called in The Gambia are of a different breeds entirely. Since I left The Gambia about over half a decade ago I have met few Gambians who went to the U.K./US , obtained their degrees and returned home almost immediately. In my many years of being in the U.S., I have never met any Gambian who just came here to study and returned home. I have a well-educated cousin somewhere in another State who tells me every year that he is packing his bags and getting ready to go home soon but it has since been seven years and he is still in America. In a conversation about a month ago after Jammeh was defeated in the elections, I asked him if he still planned on going back home after many false starts in the past seven years. He wryly told me going back to Gambia is a process he has been working on for years. I don’t blame him for this at all. In fact, most of the people who now travel abroad do so to find work. If they study which most do, they settle down here and swear never to return to Gambia except on vacations or after retirement. Those who do not study also settle down and swear never to return to The Gambia except on vacation due to dictatorship at home under the stewardship of Yahya Jammeh. Now that Jammeh is gone, can Gambians abroad relocate back home?

The answers to the question apart from the economic situation at home have their foundation in the truism that it is easier to leave The Gambia than to return to re-settle there permanently, in spite of whatever difficulty and stress you endured before obtaining your visa. When you left The Gambia, probably some 10, 15, 20, or 30 years ago, you were by yourself. You had only one luggage; no wife and no children. You were in your mid- to late- 20s. If life was pretty bad for you, you were in your 30s. Your friends were around your age. You lived with your parents or other relatives. And if you were not that lucky, you rented your own place. Your friends also either lived with their parents, relatives, or rented their own places. Now pretty fast forward to 30 years later. Forget about the 10, 15, or 20 years listed above, for it would take you about 30 years to attain any semblance of meaningful living either in the U.K. / U.S. or anywhere in the West if you did not win the lottery and you were not a drug dealer or marry a super-rich spouse.

As you plan to return to The Gambia, the fact that it is easier to leave Gambia rather than return to it hits you so hard in the face. Do you have a place of your own to which you could return? If you do, does it meet the standard of living befitting of a semester who had lived overseas for 30 years? What would you do for a living in The Gambia? Get a job in the civil service and get paid a paltry 4,000 Dalasi a month? Get a job in a private corporation? Start your own business? Is your wife (if you are a man) Gambian? Is she a black foreigner? Is she a Caucasian? Is she Hispanic or Asian? Does she have the qualifications to work or do business in The Gambia? What about the children? If you spent 30 years abroad, your oldest child is probably 25 years old and out of college. Is the child returning with you to Gambia or staying back in the U.S? If you spent 30 years abroad having left Gambia when you were about 30 years old, what sort of thing could you do at the age of 60 to earn a good living in Gambia? How exactly do you re-enter the Gambian work force at the age of 60? And those friends that you left behind 30 years ago; where are they now? Surely, some have now graduated from Gambia University and gone abroad to do their masters and PhD’s and quickly return home to their respectable positions after graduation, some are now managing directors. Others are now very senior civil servants. Yet others are now university professors like my friend Professor Ensa Touray who never left the shores of the Gambia but got all his education at Gambia university (actually a Masters’ degree) and doing well as a history professor .And oh, since it is the era of politics, some are now legislators, special advisers, and ministers and senior magistrates and judges like my good friend from Nusrat High school Omar Jabang who graduated from Nusrat 6 years ago at the same time I did. You might even find a few who are governors and ministers! You must question where you stand in the new world you find yourself.

Successfully returning to the Gambia and re-integrating yourself into the society is contingent upon the fact that you had been visiting the country on a regular basis in the past 30 years. I go home at least once every year and loved it and because I have my cute and smart daughter there. I needed to spend some time with her at least once a year. Don’t question why I can’t just have her with me in US. Re-integrating yourself in The Gambia is can be tricky. I remember spending two months in the Gambia on one of my visits and certain family members and friends started questioning me when I shall return and rumor even had it that I might have been deported because I was riding a bicycle around town and using cheap public transport. I wondered is Gambia not my home? Can’t I just pack up and go back home without people questioning my sanity? How easy have your intermittent visits been if you are ever able to afford them? When, since you first traveled, did you begin to visit Gambia? Two, five, 10 years? It depends. It depends on when you “normalized” your status. It depends on when you obtained a resident permit, otherwise known as the green card. How did you obtain that green card? Well, that’s interesting!

Successfully returning to the Gambia and re-integrating yourself into the society is contingent upon the fact that you had been visiting the country on a regular basis in the past 30 years. I go home at least once every year and loved it and because I have my cute and smart daughter there. I needed to spend some time with her at least once a year. Don’t question why I can’t just have her with me in US. Re-integrating yourself in The Gambia is can be tricky. I remember spending two months in the Gambia on one of my visits and certain family members and friends started questioning me when I shall return and rumor even had it that I might have been deported because I was riding a bicycle around town and using cheap public transport. I wondered is Gambia not my home? Can’t I just pack up and go back home without people questioning my sanity? How easy have your intermittent visits been if you are ever able to afford them? When, since you first traveled, did you begin to visit Gambia? Two, five, 10 years? It depends. It depends on when you “normalized” your status. It depends on when you obtained a resident permit, otherwise known as the green card. How did you obtain that green card? Well, that’s interesting!

While your fake marriage inches on (it takes about two year sometimes to obtain a green card and another three years to obtain American citizenship), you find yourself a job, a menial job. You would still take a menial job as a construction worker, a taxi driver (I used to be a cab driver at some point in my life in US and loved it and the big tips), a newspaper vendor, a security guard, a floor and toilet cleaner, a landscaper, a fast-food cashier, a baggage handler at the airport, a greeter at a hotel, a dish washer, or a bus boy (one who clears the table at restaurants). Name the menial job, that’s what you’ll get as a new-comer to the U.S. With the green card you acquired at about your 6th or 7th year in the U.S. (if you are fast and seductive enough), you will remain at the bottom level of that menial job unless you return to school here and get trained in some other vocation or profession. Nursing is one of the favorites among Africans, however I prefer real estate and establishing your own business.

One of the good things about being a green card holder, or a citizen, is the fact that you could obtain financial aid in the form of loans, and even grants in order to pay for your education and sundry issues. Remember, nothing is free in America. In America of today, you will have to cough up anything from $20,000 – $50,000 (annually) in university education cost. It should be no surprise to you that 25 years after graduating, you are still paying back that loan.

So, during the time you are paying back your student loan, it stands to reason that you are probably also paying back your car loan. If you have lived in this country for 12 years and have not owned your own house, other Gambians, especially in materially obsessed Gambian immigrant hubs like Seattle, Atlanta and Minneapolis begin to look at you funny because your rent will be around the same amount you would pay in mortgage if you owned the house. Why not buy then? Depending on your credit rating and taste, you will borrow hundreds of thousands to purchase a house. So, at some point in your life, you will owe student loan, car loan, and mortgage at the same time. Payments on these are usually due every month. Unlike The Gambia, you will also have to pay for gas and electricity. Lord help you if you have a phone because, along with your gas, electricity, and water bills, your phone bill is also due every month.

Did I mention already that you would have a wife and children too? Well, along with those monthly utilities bills are the daily (if not hourly) non-specified, unexpected bills to be paid on the children. Whereas in your village, you could send your wife to her parents and your children to their uncles and aunties for help, here, you are basically on your own. Good God!! And as you grapple with balancing your checkbook by taking a second job, you get word from your village that your mother is ill; or niece or nephew just secured admission to The Gambia university and you begin to curse why that Dictator Yahya Jammeh built a university and didn’t make it tuition free in the first place. You look at your bank account and you find just enough money to pay your bills at the end of the month (or no money at all because you just paid your bills); you decide to ignore the call from home because self-preservation is of utmost importance. But your conscience keeps knocking; you remember that Dad had to sell part of his farm to see you through school in the village; you remember that mom spent countless nights in the hospital when you were dying of malaria like my mom did for me when I was admitted at RVTH for 6 month in 1996. I actually watched Jammeh’s first inauguration after being voted to power in the parlor of the RVTH hospital with other recovering patients; you remember that your best friend who has now joined the chorus of people needing money back home contributed his last towards your visa fees. Even if you wanted to lie to them that you were broke, you couldn’t make a convincing case; what about that picture you sent home showing you in front of a huge house with two nice cars in the garage? What about that picture of you, your wife, and children standing in front of the fireplace in a well-furnished living room? What about the picture of you guys at Disneyland, in the pool, at the beach, playing around as if you have no worries? What about that last time you visited The Gambia and convened a meeting of the entire village at the village ‘Bantaba’ , where you doled money out to everybody, including those that did not even ask? Now you are in a quandary; conscientious but broke. You weigh all your options: do any of the problems require your physical presence in The Gambia? Or could you just borrow more money and send home? If you send money home, how much is too much?

You consider the totality of your life in the U.S. – the fact that at 60, you are still taking the trash out; you are still washing your own car; you are still washing your own clothes; you are still sweeping and vacuuming your own house; you are still mowing your own lawn; you are still doing groceries. If you are not lucky enough, you probably will still be doing the same dead end job you have been doing. You consider the fact that for 30 years you really did not make any real friends here. Somehow, you just found yourself holding more to the friends you left in Gambia rather than make new ones here with all the drama, gossip and pretensions.

At work, you find out that you have reached an impenetrable glass ceiling. Your employers will not promote you anymore because…hmmmm…you look different and speak different, even though you remain the most valuable expert at the office. You find yourself in a rot, doing the same thing over and over for years. So, you seriously consider returning to The Gambia. You make a “wetting the feet” visit to The Gambia, smartly testing the water before taking the plunge. People tell you that owning your own house before coming home is the best thing to do. You start to look for a piece of land. Lord helps you if you are lucky as land is becoming more and more expensive thanks to infrastructural development and uncontrolled population growth.

Anyway, you find a plot of land in, say, Brufut, Bijilo, Gunjur, Sanyang, or Tujereng . You jump through the hoops to obtain ownership of the land and draw up a building plan. Now, are you going to remain in your village until the house is completed or are you going to return to your base in US/UK? Of course, you will have to return to your family and job abroad while your house is being built. Are you going to hand the construction of your house over to a friend or relative? Lord helps you if someone else is monitoring your house construction for you. You can be sure to pay twice what it should normally cost you for the construction of that house. And it may not even be without structural defects! I finished building mind and the thought of going back home makes me sick because I love my life style in America and the freedom. The fact of the matter is I just don’t like certain behaviors in Gambia and don’t think I’m ready yet to tolerate them. People coming to appointments late because it’s African time, people visiting you without appointment, poor customer services in banks and government institutions , too many police check points and in one case my eldest sister waking me up so early in the morning when I visited my village to perform the dawn prayer. This blew up my mind, how could she have the temerity the interrupt my sweet sleep like that?

After building your own house, you now return to the questions raised before: when and how do you leave the U.K. or the U.S. for The Gambia? What would you do for a living in The Gambia? You then begin to think about the whole idea of leaving Gambia in the first place. Was it worth it at all? Yes, it may have given you an initial leg-up when you left, but has not the law of “diminishing returns” set in? The family and friends you left in The Gambia, some of whom you used to send money, did not remain in the same place you left them. You find out that they, too, have gone to Gambia University and got their bachelors and master’s degrees, have built their own homes. If they are in the civil service, they have accrued a substantial retirement benefit. If they are in the private sector, they have also put away enough assets for retirement years. All of them have attained positions of authority and influence and have contributed to the growth of their communities one way or the other. Their children have obtained university education and have gone on to bigger and better things. Your family and friends have done all these without leaving The Gambia except on vacation or refresher courses abroad. They have achieved so much while enjoying the cathartic effect of being around childhood friends and extended family. For years, you blame your failure to return home on Jammeh and bad governance and now that Jammeh, the butcher of Banjul is gone, you still can’t go back because you simply cannot. Tragic life and dilemma of a migrant. May God help us all!!

By Madi Jobarteh

In the first place one has to applaud the Minister of Finance Amadou Sanneh for holding a press conference to tell Gambians the state of our public funds. I just hope that this practice would continue. The Barrow Administration must realize that effective communication is an indispensable tool that all modern democratic states utilize in order to control the narrative and dominate the space for good. Communicating with citizens on a consistent, truthful and timely manner serves to generate public confidence in the leadership, ensure stability and promote transparency and accountability.
That the debt of the country is standing at 48.3 billion dalasi should not be a surprise to any Gambian. Rather this is a mere validation of the misrule of Yaya Jammeh and the APRC Regime, which had consistently and constantly sought to loot and kill the Gambian Nation since 1994. Through the abuse of our laws, institutions and naked violence, APRC as a party and its National Assembly members ensured the disempowerment of Gambians in favour of one man whose only objective was to defraud and harm our people.

By now all Gambians must confirm that Yaya Jammeh has never had any good intentions for the Gambia. The practice of misuse of public funds has been a longstanding culture of his regime. One would recall that every year, after the National Assembly approved the national budget, yet his Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy would still go to the parliament in the last quarter of the year to seek a supplementary budget of hundreds of millions of dalasi on baseless arguments.

In fact in November 2014, Isatou Njie Saidy went to the Assembly only 40 days to the end of the year to request for additional one billion, one hundred and thirty four million, six hundred and ninety five thousand, nine hundred and forty eight dalasi (D1, 134, 695, 948). Out of this sum, D459, 473, 513 was allocated to the Office of the President alone. In that amount, Yaya Jammeh spent 86 million dalasi on national celebrations, 112 million dalasi went to the purchase of vehicles and 95 million dalasi went to hotel accommodation and 135 million dalasi on the president’s travels, while 30 million dalasi was spent on fuel. But the bitter truth also is that Yaya Jammeh used Gambians to spend this money illegally.
For example, we can recall in 2009 when Yaya Jammeh distributed one million dalasi to each of the 30 members of the Under 17 football team and their coaches.

This is not to mention the three million dalasi he gave to Kafuta community for their mosque, or the hundreds of Gambians he shipped to Mecca and Rome every year. He had also distributed huge sums of monies to various communities, groups and individuals in and outside of the Gambia, while distributed thousands of bags of rice and sugar and meat. What about the scores of entertainers and prostitutes he constantly imported from around the world at the expense of the Gambian citizen. Hence what this press conference has shown is to validate the illegal economic crimes of Yaya Jammeh, aided and abetted by the APRC and as well as many other Gambians who thought the man was just kind. The issue therefore is what next?

In light of that, I think Minister Sanneh must not only tell us about the misuse of public resources by Yaya Jammeh. But at the end of his ongoing investigations, he must go further to tell us what his government now intends to do about this. He has given us an idea about how some of the money was obtained such as the withdrawals made by one Sanna Jarju and Nuha Williams. But what preliminary actions is he going to take now to address urgent issues emerging from this crime?

For example, who are Sanna Jarju and Nuha Williams? Without pre-empting the investigations, I am of the strong view that these two men need to be invited urgently by the police to give information on the circumstances of these withdrawals. But also, the Governor of Central Bank and his relevant officials must be suspended and asked to assist in the investigations. Similarly, what do the top officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs know about these economic crimes? They need to also assist in the investigations. In the same vein, the MD of Gamtel and SSHFC and those in charge of Carnegie Minerals Project need to be investigated in terms of their knowledge and participation in this looting of national resources.

We expect prompt and thorough decisions and actions from the government because the very life of the country is at stake here. Since taking office one month ago, we expect the new administration to move with strategy and speed to protect vital national interests. For that reason, Isatou Njie Saidy and the former Minister of Finance must be called in by the police to shed light on those supplementary budget requests she was making. Here is a list of some of her requests:

1. Supplementary Budget 2010 – 100 million dalasi
2. Supplementary Budget 2011 – 220 million dalasi
3. Supplementary Budget 2012 – 471 million dalasi
4. Supplementary Budget 2013 – 300 million dalasi
5. Supplementary Budget 2014 – 1.134 billion dalasi

Finally, my advice remains that the Barrow Administration constantly communicates with citizens so as to provide the necessary assurance, direction and promote popular participation in national affairs. Such sharing of information will serve to legitimize the decisions and actions of the government as it opens them to public scrutiny, which is good for them. Without communication, the space would be left for rumours and speculation, some of which would be unfair and unnecessary, but this would be because the government is not just communicating at the right time and in full. Thus to avoid this, it is necessary that we hear from the State, always.

God Bless The Gambia.