By Bubacarr Drammeh

Ousainou Darboe recently said in an interview “The Constitution of The Gambia has given the President the authority to appoint a Vice President but never stated when such appointment shall be made. I Ousainou Darboe has not seen anywhere in the Constitution that the President shall appoint his Vice-President within a specific period. If anyone sees such a provision please show it to me.“

The aforementioned statement made me lose respect for Darboe the politician. I said so because I still maintained my respect for Darboe the lawyer. He is my learned senior at the Bar. I can remember vividly the advice he gave me as a young lawyer–I do not know whether he still remembers it– and I will forever be grateful for his words of encouragement.

I have no doubt in my mind that Darboe the lawyer will never make such a statement in court before a Judge. He knows the legal implications of the words reasonable time, inference, public interest, judiciously, holistically, may, shall, and, or etc. These words amongst other words always come to mind when dealing with provision of the constitution especially where a person is ordered or authorized to do a certain act. Even Darboe the politician is expected to know the legal implications of these words, and any other politician for that matter, much more Darboe the lawyer. The only logical conclusion one can deduce from such a misleading statement uttered during the interview is that he did it dishonestly (like most politicians do).

I must acknowledged that there is no section in the constitution that specifically reads ‘the President shall appoint the Vice President immediately coming into office or within a week, a month or a year’. If this is the type of statement Darboe is looking for I am sorry he or any person he challenged to show him such statement will embark on a futile journey.

The Marxist criticism of capitalist is something no democratic government wants to be associated with. The theory states that the elites and privileged use the law to the detriment of the citizenry. The Marxist theory indicates that the governor uses the law to subdue the governed. Ousainou Darboe himself stated that wherever he can and whatever he does, he will ensure that he negates the actualization of the realities of a legal system established to benefit the powerful, rich and privileged, and in the process disproves Marx’s criticism of prevailing legal systems. He said he has become a staunch disciple of Jeremy Benthan when he once said “I subscribed and still subscribe to the view that the law must be used to promote the greatest happiness of the greatest number.” Darboe’s statement on the appointment of a Vice-President contradicted what Jeremy Benthan said, thus an abandonment of a principle Darboe claimed to live by. He is in a position to advice Barrow and has the power to influence Barrow’s decision (I said so because Barrow himself said Ousainou Darboe is his political Godfather) but has failed to do so, rather he epitomizes as the poster child for the corrupt legal system Marxist Theorists admonished against. He ditched the Benthan theory he claimed devote his entire life (see the document entitled “allocutus ousainou darboe was not allowed to make upon conviction on 20July 2016”).

Almost the entire nation on a daily basis have been asking the question, why is President Barrow yet to appoint a Vice-President after he failed in his attempt to illegally appoint Madam Tambajang? Is Madam Tambajang the only qualified person or woman in the entire nation capable of handling the office of the vice-president?

The way the constitution is framed by the drafters is to give the President that margin of appreciation to choose his chief assistance. The President must act judiciously, in the interest of the public and within a reasonable time. In fact if one looks at the constitution holistically one will realize that there are provisions that indicate the time within which a Vice-President must be appointed. The said provisions are

Section 65(2)

Whenever the office of President becomes vacant … the Vice-President, or if there is no Vice-President in office at the time, the Speaker shall assume the office of President for the residue of the term of the former President.

The intent of the above section is not estopped any uncertainty and power struggle once the President is no more or is incapacitated. Nobody knows what the future holds. The President is vulnerable to several things including death, disease of the mind, diseases, illnesses such as stroke, cancer; accidents such as plane crashtc. All these aforementioned risks are possibilities. Thus for the interest of our nation and to minimize conflicts leading to instabilities, the President must appoint his Vice-President as soon as he/she took the prescribed oath.

Section 70(1)

There shall be a Vice-President of The Gambia who shall be the principal assistant of the President in the discharge of his or her executive functions and shall exercise such other functions as may be conferred on him or her by this Constitution or assigned to him or her by the President.

This section is very clear as it defines the role of the Vice President. The Vice-President must be the only principal assistance of the President. That is his/her primary function followed by any other function stated in the constitution or assigned by the President. The workload in the office of the President is tremendous and President Barrow himself attests to that. That is why he attempted to use the Minister of Women affairs as an overseer of the office of the Vice-President. Irrespective of the importance of the office of the vice president, the President has failed in performing one of his primary functions as head of state. He has set a bad precedent, as other head of agencies may take a similar approach in performing functionat the law assigns them.

Section 73(1)

There shall be a Cabinet which shall consist of the President, the Vice-President and the Secretaries of State.

This section demonstratehe importance of appointing a Vice-President as soon as the President is sworn in. The section is clear, as there cannot be a fully constituted Cabinet without a President, Vice-President and at least a secretary of state. The constitution uses shall/and not may/or to show that it is mandatory not discretionary.

Section 78(1)

There shall be a National Security Council which shall consist of-

• the President;
(b) the Vice-President;
(c) the Secretaries of State responsible for defence and internal affairs;
(d) the Chief of Defence Staff and two other members of the Armed Forces appointed by the President;
(e) the Inspector General of Police;
(f) the Director-General of the National intelligence Agency; and
(g) the intelligence adviser to the President.

One of the most vital roles of a President is to ensure the security of its citizens and any person within its jurisdiction. This includes both internal and external security. That is why section 78 of the constitution provided for the creation of a National Security Council. This council is responsible for advising the President on all matters relating to the security of The Gambia and the integration of domestic and foreign policies relating to its security; and under the direction of the President, shall take appropriate measures to safeguard the internal and external security of The Gambia and to provide for the co-operation of the departments and agencies of the Government in that regard. See section 78(2). Again the words used in this section are shall/and not may/or. Therefore, there cannot be a proper composition of the National Security Council without a President, a Vice-President and all those mentioned in section 78(1). The President recently spoke about his asking Senegal to increase the number of their soldiers currently deployed in the Gambia. The question is who advised him to do so since there is no legally constituted National Security Council?

It is very clear from the above provisions of the Constitution of The Gambia that President Barrow should have appointed his Vice-President by now. He is the chief custodian of our laws and must set good examples for every other civil servant. He should demonstrate in his actions that he has the best interest of the nation at heart. He must show that he owes loyalty to Gambians and our laws not any particular person or political party.

Finally Darboe’s comment is like when one receives a religious injunction to greet one’s parents we all know that we must greet our parents as a sign of respect) and he is like well I know I should greet them but it is never stated when I must do so. So I can do it anytime I feel like. Trust me you will be like dude are you ok? You ought to greet your parents first thing in the morning or the first time you lay your eyes on them. Exactly that is what Barrow should do. He should not wait for the constitution to tell him when exactly he should appoint his vice president, when all indications in other provisions of the constitution shows that he must do so in order to have a legally established Cabinet and National Security Council. The spirit of the law must be observed to avoid betrayal of values society seeks to redress. The interest of the public must always be considered when one is empowered to do an act.

By Madi Jobarteh

Yes, without any apology and certainly with no exceptions, Gambians are acting stupid by fomenting among themselves the cancerous idea of tribalism in our politics. Because I am utterly annoyed and disappointed at what I hear from Gambians including our political leaders, it is clear to me that someone needs to tell it to our face that we are acting very stupid. Not only what we are saying, but also what our leaders are not saying and not doing.

 
To say that there is no basis for tribalism in the Gambia is an understatement. But then to see everyone getting tribalistic is dangerously stupid and unthinking. Yet the fact is that the Mandinka are acting tribalistic, just as the Wolof are being tribalistic like the Jola as well as the Fula. The Manjago are acting tribalistic in the same was as the Aku and the Serer just as well as the Karoninka and the Sarahuleh. In essence everyone is acting and thinking tribalistic right now in the Gambia. We are all acting cynical, hypocritical and dishonest.

 
Those Mandinka who claim other tribes are unfairly attacking them, are also responding in the same tribalist way they allege others are doing. Those Wolof who think the Mandinka are acting tribalist are also responding in the same way as those Mandinka, just as those who accuse the Fula for being tribalist are also acting in the same way as those Fula tribalists. So who is not tribalistic in the Gambia?
I said ‘tribalistic’ and not ‘tribalist’ because I believe we are merely acting as if we are tribalists, but in fact we are not. Rather we are acting tribalistic, i.e. we are merely using tribe for a purpose and I will show you soon.

 
So why are we acting tribalistic? We are being tribalistic because there is a power struggle among the political class and the social, economic and political bourgeoisie. There is a struggle for positions, privilege and power within our parties, at the local and national levels, in the country and in the diaspora as well as inside the and outside the government. Hence our tribalism is not ethic-based even though it reflects ethnicity. Our tribaism is economic and political hence power-based but nothing ethnic. There is no iota of hatred among the ethnic groups and indeed each and every party has all the ethic groups represented in their membership and leadership. Therefore where is the tribalism?

 
The basis of the tribalism is primarily inside our political parties fomented by the very leaders and their supporters at different levels, at home and abroad. The basis of our tribalism is about positions, appointments, power and resources. In a nutshell the basis of our tribalism is dishonesty founded on the hunger for power and privileges. Unfortunately there is also huge ignorance of those who do not realize that many people are speaking and acting tribalistic only for their own selfish interest and not for the good of their ethnic group. But the majority ignorant people do not also understand that hence they also carry on with the tribalistic narrative unknowingly. Let me tell you how it works…

 
In the first place, APRC leaders and supporters do not see anything good about the Barrow Administration simply because they have been booted out of power. Thus they have a clear agenda to undermine the new government in any narrative that can sell. The cheapest and quickest commodity with which to do that is tribalism. Hence to APRC, the Barrow Government is a Mandinka government and each and every hiring or firing that Barrow makes, to them, it is nothing other than based on tribalism. They do not care about the merits of that hire or fire and the particular profiles of the persons hired or fired. They foment tribalism because they missed those privileges and positions.

 
The APRC focuses on Mandinka because they have created this cheap narrative that UDP is a Mandinka party and therefore everything and anything about UDP is Mandinka even if there are other ethnic groups inside UDP. This makes UDP and Mandinka bashing very easy and effective, which can spread like wildfire.

 
Just like the APRC elements, there are others such as the civil servants, business persons and community leaders from different ethnic groups who are equally fomenting tribalism against the new government simply because they have lost the positions, contracts and privileges they enjoyed under Yaya Jammeh. When change occurs it brings with it displacements and this is why not many people accept change. Hence some of the folks fomenting tribalism are merely individuals who have lost their previous positions and privileges, thus tribe is the cheapest and quickest way to criticize.

 
Within UDP, there are elements at home and abroad who hold the distorted idea that only they must have a place in the Barrow Government because for them, UDP suffered most under the APRC Tyranny. They think none deserves anything better in the Gambia more than UDP folks. Therefore to them anyone who challenges UDP and criticizes its leadership, such a person is just dishonest and tribalist. In fact they would even claim such a person is non-Gambian because such a person is a Fula or Jola or Wolof. By this false narrative they therefore also reinforce the false narratives of their opponents that indeed UDP is a Mandinka party. Overall these UDP people just want to hijack the Barrow Administration just for themselves to secure positions and privileges. The cheapest and quickest way to silence and kick out everyone therefore is to label them as tribalist.

 
Therefore even where the UDP by definition is not a tribalist party, yet by default some Mandinka elements inside the party create the impression that indeed UDP is a Mandinka party, consciously or unconsciously. By their words and actions, they taint the image of the party as a Mandinka hegemony.

 
Those in PDOIS on the other hand consider anyone who challenges their party or their leadership as an unpatriotic and unthinking Gambian who is merely a tribalist especially if such a person is Mandinka. These PDOIS folks perpetuate the notion that only PDOIS as represented by Halifa Sallah are the only righteous and conscientious citizens who are genuine and sober. To them anyone else who does not support and agree with PDOIS then such a person is either a tribalist or a Halifa hater.

 
In NRP just as GDC, they feel they are the victims being hated by everyone just because they are Fula. Hence they perpetuate the idea that all Fula must support GDC or NRP because all others merely hate them for that matter alone. They are quick to refer to UDP to justify the distorted notion that it is UDP who are tribalist and not them. They do not claim any superiority in ideas like PDOIS or superiority in size like UDP, yet they claim, especially GDC that only they represent the good of the country. They accuse anyone who is critical of their party and leadership as being tribalist.

 
Meanwhile PPP merely holds that all others are hypocrites who do not have the best interest of the country at heart. They entertain the false notion that they did not misrule this country as APRC did, and they have withstood the storms in good and bad times especially as led by OJ. While they do not accuse anyone of tribalism openly, yet they perpetuate a notion that only they mean well for this country, and all others do not most of the time. Consequently they only help to maintain the flames of tribalism.

 
What all of these trends show is that there is an underlying narrative in these parties, which speaks to tribaism and personality politics. The parties perpetuate a political discourse, which is personal and sectarian such that even if they speak to the issues, such issues are expressed with tribalistic undertones. Hence our parties are not being genuine and honest to the country yet their supporters buy into that tacit sectarian narrative to also propel it like wildfire. On the surface they all claim to be against tribalism, but underneath they all are, and this is what is also generating insults and ridicule against each other’s leaders.

 
It is therefore necessary for ordinary Gambians like me and you to begin to scold these parties to become responsible and honest. We expect that Ousainou to call on his party members openly that they should stop the politics of insult especially against other party leaders like Halifa Sallah, OJ, Mama Kandeh and Hamat Bah. We expect Halifa Sallah to also openly call on his party members to stop ridiculing other parties and their leaders such as Ousainou Darboe, OJ, Hamat Bah and Mama Kandeh. We expect OJ, Mama Kandeh and Hamat Bah to shed off the false notion that they are victims and to openly condemn tribalism and ask their members to refrain from holding to contempt other political leaders.

 
Let us tell APRC and its leaders such as Yankuba Colley and Fabakary Tombong Jatta to recognize that by virtue of our democratic dispensation in line with our constitution, Yaya Jammeh was voted out of power. Let them accept that a new government is in place. Let them challenge that new government on the basis of policy, law and the decisions, and not to give a tribal narrative to each and every issue. That is dishonest that potentially divides and harms the country.

 
Therefore none is fomenting tribalism other than these leaders and their supporters and they do it only to secure power and privileges. But by default they are threatening national peace and security. We must demand that they accept the republican principle that power belongs to only the people and political parties can only go to the people to seek power. But let them go to the people without dishonesty but to speak genuinely to issues in order to win the hearts and minds of the people. We must condemn anyone who accuses another person of tribalism simply because such a person disagrees with your party or leader.

 
If Madi Jobarteh criticizes Mama Kandeh it does not mean I should be perceived as an anti-Fula tribalist. If Madi Jobarteh supports Ousainou Darboe, it does not mean I am a Mandinka bigot. I have a right to agree or disagree with Mama Kandeh or OJ or Ousainou Darboe without being perceived as a tribalist. Even if I were to utter hate speech against Hamat Bah or Halifa Sallah, no one should therefore conclude that the Mandinka hate the Fula or the Wolof on account of what Madi Jobarteh says. Challenge the statements of Madi on its head and leave out his tribe because Madi is not a representative of any tribe including his own.

 
Above all let Pres. Adama Barrow speak to his Coalition and all political leaders to stop fomenting tribalism among their supporters and across the country. Let Barrow talk to Gambians to urge them to shun tribalism and politics of insult and deception. Dishonest and tribalistic politics should have ended with Yaya Jammeh on December 1. We must not in anyway perpetuate tribalism ever again. Even Yaya Jammeh was not tribalist. Rather he was merely using tribalism to entrench himself in power to acquire resources and privileges. It is therefore stupid of us to continue to perpetuate tribalism.

 
We can recall how Yaya Jammeh spoke very derogatively about the Mandinka, but he also did speak very derogatively about the Jola on many occasions. Was Jammeh therefore anti-Jola? Certainly he was not. He spoke in a tribalistic way against the Jola or the Mandinka, not because he hates these tribes, but because he was seeking to entrench his dictatorship. To the Mandinka, he was seeking to divide and rule not just the Mandinka, but the entire Gambian nation by making other tribes believe falsely that the Mandinka hate him. To the Jola, he was also trying to incite them to believe that he was for them in order to control them, and this is why there was never an opposition against him in Foni. So in both cases he spoke in a tribalistic way, but Yaya Jammeh was not a tribalist. He was being dishonest in order to maintain power.

 
Stand up and condemn tribalistic politics in your party and from your leaders.

God Bless The Gambia.

By Sulayman Jeng, Birmingham

Here is the beginning of another week Your Excellency. Its aura of expectant bliss is peppered by the heartening speeches delivered by your visiting ministers at the London impromptu meeting with their fellow Gambians. Their orations regenerated the truism, “the beauty of a morning is not often in the wholesomeness of the atmosphere but in the hopefulness of one’s thoughts, feelings and how one yearns to outset the day”. As an apolitical activist, I refuse to be on the payroll of politicians and a feeble victim of political thugs. As an upshot, I will hasten to sculpt the political dispensation of your rainbow cut and dry instead of how politicians and their surrogates fancy. If that doesn’t go down well with anyone, then have a word with God.

 
Hon Mai Ahmed Fatty. Candidly, rose to the occasion as a young, determined and zealous minister who conspicuously charted his route to drive in change and development for his ministry. Listening to his speech on Facebook live, my heart palpitated with unqualified love and renewed respect for him despite his many perfect imperfections. No wonder he is the darling of new Gambia. However, he fell short in telling his enthusiastic audience how he intends to resolve the popular call for the removable of the Police Chief and his tainted administration. Perhaps, the audience was mindful of not perturbing the alluring feathers of fierce Hon Mai less they are perceived as uncongenial by him. Lamentably, eschewing uncomfortable truths does not equate loving one’s country or leaders. Barack Obama opined: “Loving this country requires more than singing its praises or avoiding uncomfortable truths. It requires the occasional disruption, the willingness to speak out what is right and shake up the status quo”.

 
Another fascinating progress of your government, Mr President, is the warning of governors to stay apolitical during the forthcoming National Assembly Members election. It is no secret how the former incumbent had utilised governors and government apparatus such as security, media, vehicles and funds to marginalised the opposition. Such laudable impartiality enhances state neutrality and levelling equal opportunity in a viable political field. Furthermore, it entrenches meaningful democratic dispensation. Political parties will now have to scout for sponsors and/or dive deep into their pockets to fund their candidates and campaigns. In a similar development, the news of Nema Project and Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency entering a deal to construct livestock and milk production facilities across the country is enriching. It will not only create more employment for the returning youth force, but equally make dairy products available and affordable for struggling Gambian households.

 
Mr President, for the above developments to be sustained, efforts must be orchestrated in arresting the portentous and divisive political adventurism particularly on the social media by party surrogates. It is creating personality cults where activists with dissenting views from political leaders are terrorised with profanities, peddling mud on reputable characters and exclusion in order to marshal them into a dark valley of silence. Activists who are critical of you and your government are coerced to either join the league of political prostitutes mystifying you for a pin of pleasure or forever remain silent. Mr President, such an unhealthy political climate only profits a few politicians and their thugs at the expense of the majority. Dejectedly, it is also on such stifling atmosphere that repressive dictators are produced. It sickens the heart and deadens the mind to see how new Gambia which is yet to find its democratic feet after emerging from 22 years of repressive bondage treasures such horrific political indulgence. However, I am pleased to inform your Excellency that I rather die standing than continue slaving on my knees.

 
Notwithstanding, you inherited a broken system from a monstrous dictator after a worrisome political impasse, your government needs to set its barometer right by refocusing its lenses. There is battery of evidence to corroborate not only series of costly miss opportunities in amassing exhibits to freeze Jammeh’s assets, apprehend and prosecute alleged suspects but constitutional omissions. One notable instance is where a trained American sociologist picked and fixed a legal blunder committed by a barrister of a government bragging of 3 legal luminaries as cabinet ministers. That in itself is explicitly telling on the kind of system we have. The other regrettable evidence is Hon Omar Jallow’s childish tantrums directed at his fellow cabinet colleagues. In earnest, it demonstrates your ineffectiveness as an impartial supervisor of a rainbow government and the deafening hypocrisy of the coalition cum Tactical anything anything. What is visible from afar is the emergence of deadly sharks jumping from the icy ocean of greed and desperation tethering reputation of innocent citizens in exchange of a photoshoot with the modelling President. Of course I would love a hug and photoshoot with you but it has to be grounded on mutual respect and sincere appreciation of each other’s way of life.

 
Mr President, I will conclude by referencing Famara Drammeh who has this to say:
“I am not against the renewed bilateral cooperation between Gambia and China, however it’s important to make it clear to them that our Fisheries and Timber resources are no go area this time around.
We are losing millions to unsustainable fishing practices, deforestation and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU). It’s time to give chance to marine and terrestrial ecosystems to regenerate itself while continuing to provide food security at national level”.

 
Until tomorrow again, Mr President, have a blissful Monday and keep up the good work.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

By Madi Jobarteh

It is two months now since Adama Barrow was sworn in as our Chief Servant. He has almost constituted his entire Cabinet with the exception of the key position of Vice President. He is filling various positions in state enterprises and parastatals. Actions have also been taken to address some of the atrocities of the APRC Tyranny. He already made his first international travel to Senegal and now just returned from another trip to Europe. In essence Adama Barrow is in charge. But where and what is the state of the nation?

 
What the Barrow Administration continues to fail to do is to engage the Gambian people directly to lay out his vision and agenda for the Gambia. In a democracy, the common practice is that when a president is elected, one of your first actions is to speak to the nation either directly or through their parliament. The aim of this address is to explain your defining policy agenda and mission to the people so they know what you intend to do during your tenure. It is to speak to the people to lay out before them in practical terms how you intend to deliver on your campaign promises and manifesto. It is about telling citizens where you found the nation and how you intend to carry it forward.

 
Hence Adama Barrow’s advisers must tell him that he needs to speak to Gambians. It is already long overdue. We want to hear what is his vision for the Gambia. What kind of Gambia does he intend to create and how does he want the people of the Gambia to help him? What is his position regarding the APRC Tyranny in terms of addressing the injustices and atrocities that were committed? Should he, or will he ban or let the APRC continue to exist? We need to hear from him about his mission about the way and manner his government will operate. Will it be an open government or a closed government?

 
The Gambia is at a crossroads. We came out of a 22-year brutal dictatorship. Before that we had a semblance of democracy without empowerment of the people under the First Republic. Now that we have arrived at the doorsteps of the Third Republic, what kind of Gambia does Adama Barrow envisage? At the moment, one can sense some unprecedented animosity in our country based on personality, party and tribe, and it is the responsibility of Barrow to unify and reconcile the country by putting off this sectarian flame. How does he intend to do that? In any case he must realize that this is not a task for only himself and his Cabinet. But all Gambians have a stake in that objective. But how does he intend to get everyone involved to achieve this objective?

 
Barrow must realize that when he speaks to the nation that is in his best interest as it facilitates his governing of this country. This is because when he speaks and shares what is in his heart and mind for the Gambia, then the people begin to know which direction he is heading towards. By knowing that, either people join him in that journey, or we raise issues and concerns to improve his journey. This means he would have created a platform for transparency, accountability and cooperation. History has shown that leaders, who are transparent and accountable, find their tenure more durable, participatory and stable.

 
Barrow’s advisers must tell him that this is the dawn of his tenure and it is good for him to start with best practices. Let him not only learn from our experiences as a country, but let him also learn from the experiences and practices of the rest of the world. Let the advisers tell him that the heart of governance and development is communication with the stakeholders and there is no greater stakeholder than the citizen. Hence let him talk to the citizens to share his vision with them.

 
We must add our voice to tell Barrow that he needs to reflect immensely on his own personal leadership. What kind of leadership is it? At what historic epoch did his leadership emerge? What does he wish to achieve with his leadership? What legacy does he want to leave behind? How does he intend to usher in a New Gambia? What is the meaning of the New Gambia? Is he going to be a transformational leader who inspires, gives hope and mobilizes the people towards the common good? Or is he going to be transactional leader like Yaya Jammeh who used the carrot and stick just to get what he wanted? These are fundamental questions that Barrow needs to think about personally in order to carve out his vision and mission for the Gambia.

 
One thing I can share with him is that his leadership is a bridge. It is a bridge that has taken us from dictatorship and expected to deliver us to democracy. Over the past 50 years of our nationhood, we did not either build the right institutions or the institutions were there but weak because government was centered around personalities. Under Jawara and worse off under Yaya Jammeh. Hence Barrow must realize that his role and legacy is to use his three-year tenure to construct a democratic foundation that will make the Gambia a modern democratic state based on clear and predictable laws and processes and efficient institutions.

 
A modern democratic state is a country in which the laws of the country are human rights-based to ensure freedom, social justice and equality. A modern democratic state is based on institutions and processes that are efficient, accountable and responsive. A modern democratic state is a country where free enterprise and an enabling environment are the foundations for economic wellbeing and wealth creation. A modern democratic state is where public institutions are managed by competent and efficient public officers who deliver efficient and affordable services. A modern democratic state is where citizens have the administrative and legal space to exercise their rights and freedoms in actively participating in the governance and development process of the country.

 
Therefore what kind of Gambia does Adama Barrow intend to build? Let him tell us. Let us not just see and hear decisions and actions being taken. But we need to know on what basis are those decisions and actions taken. Within what framework and for what goal are those decisions and actions being taken? When he tells us this, then we understand him better to support and guide him because governance is a collective duty for all citizens. Government or the presidency is one institution and one person in the governance of a country. Each and every citizen has an equal role to play in different ways.

We want to from you, Adama Barrow about the state of the nation.

God Bless the Gambia.