(JollofNews) – In general, 22 years of living under a brutal dictatorial regime has given us ample time to know the kind of change we have longed for in The Gambia. In 2016, we removed the dictator and replaced him with a “Coalition President” who we thought would bring in hope and transformative change so that we can begin the process of building a new Gambia based on sound and sustainable economic principles. But if we take some selfish considerations aside, I think there is a general realisation, either in private or in public that President Barrow is not the kind of leader we hoped he would be. He is a weak, clueless, visionless, greedy, and a dishonest President. Given what we now know, it is a mystery how the nomination of the Coalition flag-bearer by the Coalition Partners produced such an awfully weak outcome. Perhaps this outcome was either the result of 1) democracy of sorts – that most who may be able to do a better job do not engage in politics, so there was not much to choose from; 2) that the nominating members have a strong affinity for mediocrity; or 3) it was due to the incapacity of the nominating members to identify substance, i.e., some essential criteria such as the kind of core leadership qualities, abilities, vision, maturity and character we needed in the flag-bearer to actualise the stated goals and strategic objectives of their own Coalition 2016 MOU. Thus, while the aspirations of the Coalition 2016 MOU are admirable, the Coalition Partners seemed to have paid no regard to the kind of leader they needed to achieve them. Still, we are grateful that they came together and got rid of Jammeh. This was a team spirit that could only be achieved with Mr. Ousainou Darboe not having taken part in the discussions.
After 2 years of bad governance, it is my view that most people are losing faith in the Barrow government’s capacity to actualise the Coalition 2016 MOU or even attempt to deal with The Gambia’s problems. Our situation is particularly problematic because we lack principled individuals with the correct moral attitudes in government and within some government-supported institutions. Upon being appointed, most individuals assume the dehumanised posture while also sitting on the mute button getting drunk and fat on milk and honey at the expense of those they are meant to serve. Over the last 24 months, President Barrow and his government’s efforts have been consumed by working out how to overstay in power and also flirting with low impact projects such as the setting up of expensive commission of inquiries. I do not think that one has to be Albert Einstein to know what the recommendations of some of these inquiries would be, which the government will not be able to implement. And for some of the inquiries, there would have to be other cycle(s) of long and costly investigations, court cases and backed by a strong leadership and a good dose of political will before anything can be realised. Indeed, time will tell if the recommendations of the Faraba Banta Commission and the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation’s investigations will be implemented and over what period. The ongoing Janneh Commission and the TRRC will continue to cost much and deliver little or nothing. They will be the most expensive means to get to the so-called truths. Let’s hope that the smouldering infighting within the Commission does not result in the departure of any personnel before or during the Commission. We trust that the Chairman and the Justice Minister would use diplomacy to massage some egos and bring some sense of normalcy into the work of the Commission. As I write, some supposedly highly qualified [conflicted] individual(s) are receiving training abroad and being paid unjustifiable allowances whilst many well-deserving victims and victim’s families continue to live in pain and misery. If this is what this government and our supposedly educated and or sophisticated men and women call justice and or can offer, then we have a very, very long way to go still.
While the $50 million Chinese-sponsored road and bridge projects in URR may be worthy of note, we must also bear in mind that sooner or later our lousy and clueless politicians will give back to the Chinese much valued resources of ours, if only we know the value of our resources. Look, we must realise that there is no such thing as free lunch. And for a poor country like ours, does it not worry us that the laying of the foundation stones for the road and bridge projects in URR seems wasteful, both in time and money? If the Barrow government is serious about development, it will be important if it also thinks about developing the agricultural sector in tandem with the building of the road/bridge so that the communities served by the road/bridge may become economically buoyant. In case it is not obvious to all, there is probably nowhere in The Gambia, including our (smelly) capital city that does not need a new road. But within 5 years of constructing any new road in The Gambia, that road becomes almost worse than it was before it was supposedly constructed. As I see it, part of our problem is that we bring other people to fix our roads, but we seem to have no one at home to maintain them. By the way, this is no anti-foreigner or immigrant sentiment, but a suggestion that must be part of our strategic plans to help address our development needs. [It is true that Jammeh built schools and hospitals, but it is debatable if academic standards and treatment outcomes have improved during the Jammeh years.] Thus it is my view that we must not only see development as something we can see and touch. We must also think about developing from the ground up. If we train Gambians to solve as many of our problems as possible, they may work in The Gambia and spend their money in The Gambia. In my view, that may be a win-win strategy with considerable trickle down effects. The Gambia Armed Forces and the SIS suck up a lot of our resources for no obvious gain, but pain – after all, Jammeh was a product of it. The Defence Ministry should be abolished and the army should be reformed, and retrained so that these strong individuals and all of us can help build The Gambia.
Other events in President Barrow’s diary in 2019 are the upcoming inauguration of the TransGambia Bridge in January 2019 and he also promised the construction of the OMVG hydro-electric power station which will connect some communities in Jarra, Kiang through to Brikama in 2019. It is unlikely that this project will materialise during President Barrow’s term in office, but if it did, he cannot possibly take absolute credit for it. Readers who are old enough or those who do a bit of research would learn that discussions about the OMVG hydro-electro power started during the first republic and the conversations about it continued during the Jammeh years. For now, we wait for the completion and publication of the environmental impact assessment of the OMVG project, which remains “too uncertain to fully evacuate the consequences of the dam on ecosystems and their environmental services.” But as we have abundant sunlight, solar power may be a worthy consideration should the environmental concerns over the hydroelectric power station outweigh the benefits. We need an able leadership to be able to make this choice, for the sake of generations yet unborn. Furthermore, we may need to radically rethink the environmental impact of our somewhat unregulated land sales within the context of our future development needs in order to benefit from the OMVG hydro-electric power project, if not now, but in the future.
For quite some time, we have wanted President Barrow to come out and say something. The self-declared Coalition’s Noah’s ark, seems to have now found his voice and has now called himself a bus driver. During the campaign season, President Barrow assured us that he would save us 100 percent from drowning, and this gave us much reason for optimism. Perhaps for some good reason– e.g., the embarrassing speech in Turkey, it seems he has abandoned the use of his campaign slogan, Noah’s vessel. Anyhow, we now wonder what embarrassing dumb things he might drown us in whenever he opens his mouth. By the way, it is alleged that President Barrow is drowning in paperwork and is looking to hire someone yet again to help him, which begs the question: if he has no capacity to keep up to speed with the business of government, how he can save us from drowning? Some of us may not doubt his enthusiasm to want to lead us, but he has no political maturity and commitment to do the job. Simply put, the man is dangerously clueless. But some self-serving individuals who seem to know our problems more than we can possibly know ourselves may even argue that President Barrow’s dreams for The Gambia will be realised if we remain patient, but how does a weak, unprincipled, insincere and second-rate leader such as President Barrow who also has no capacity to identify good from ugly realise the dreams of a nation? And dreams are never realised by just dreaming! We know now that President Barrow and his team are clueless and know not and shall not know how to serve us; they will deepen the national humiliation the longer they remain in office. Indeed, an observation of the events in the last 2-3 months would reveal that the energy of the Barrow government will now continue to be sucked up by infighting between him and Mr. Darboe which may change the fortunes of the UDP at the next elections – will their sour relations cause a split in the party; will President Barrow form his own party; will he form a coalition with another party or join any one of the existing parties, e.g. APRC, NRP, GDC or GMC?
Given what happened recently, I think a short digression is necessary. Have we witnessed a political earthquake for the UDP upon electing Mr. Papa Njie as the new Secretary General and Party Leader of the PPP at the recent PPP Congress? That is, would having Mr. Njie as party Leader of the PPP cause any significant shift in the support for the UDP thereby making the PPP the dominant opposition party in The Gambia or not? Another consideration is the fact that given that President Barrow may be looking to form a party or join a party (unlikely that would be UDP), would President Barrow seek to join the PPP and become a bedfellow with his “brother”, Mr. Njie? Basically, does having Mr. Njie as Leader of the PPP benefit both President Barrow and Mr. Njie? This is a puzzle which seems to have many irregular pieces to it which may make it difficult to solve. For example, who would become the flag-bearer in such a relationship? What role would Mr. Omar Amadou Jallow (aka OJ, who seems to be the self-imposed Mr. Ousainou Darboe equivalent in the PPP and “godfather” of Mr. Njie) play in the formation of such a union and what would be the conditions – e.g., who would be the flag-bearer; for how long; would such an agreement be binding; what would OJ gain from it; etc.? Because power is sweet, extremely intoxicating and a hard thing to share- even with one’s godfather, time will tell how long the romantic relationship between OJ and Mr. Njie would last. I am sure we can all agree that it is not a pretty sight seeing, hearing and reading about the divorce between President Barrow and Mr. Darboe. What seems known about Mr. Njie is that he appears to come across as being a crude political prostitute. Time will tell if such insincere and second-rate attitude is what is needed to lead and build a comatosed political party. It is unclear if having such an apparent flip-flopper as head of the PPP would alienate some party members or cause a surge in party membership of the PPP. It also seems that Mr. Njie’s appetite for power may soon catch up with that of President Barrow’s (see second from bottom paragraph), who cannot be trusted to keep his word. Therefore, could Mr. Njie’s tendencies to flip-flop and President Barrow’s apparent traits of being untrustworthy and much more power-hungry make it very difficult for them [with Mr. Njie under the watchful eye of his godfather, OJ] to form any meaningful agreement/union? Would Gambians give such union their blessing? Perhaps I am getting too far ahead of myself. Again, time will tell if Gambians will allow President Barrow to hang on to power and contest in the 2019 elections, contrary to the Coalition 2016 MOU.
Meanwhile as the infighting between President Barrow and Mr. Darboe continues, which may have resulted in the sacking of Almami Fanding Taal as OIC Legal Secretary, both President Barrow and Mr. Darboe (and some of their sympathisers) may be further detached from the pains of ordinary Gambians, which they (President Barrow and Mr. Darboe) may never have had any affinity for or have long lost it if they ever had it. Thus the sense of frustration, helplessness and hopelessness may deepen for ordinary Gambians which may have the potential to boil over.
The recently revised and approved, but grossly flawed supplementary appropriation 2018 bill of more that D500 million, which represents about half of what was previously presented and rejected, suggests that most of our NAMs, Justice Minister (Mr. Abubacarr M. (Ba) Tambedou), Chief Justice (Mr. Hassan Bubacarr Jallow), Finance and Economic Affairs Minister (Mamburay Njie, a witness at the Janneh Commission) and the Speaker of the House (Lawyer Mariam Jack-Denton) may not be familiar with the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, in particular the sections on Voting in the National Assembly (section 106) and Public Finance (sections 150-154) or that they chose to ignore these constitutional provisions. The wrongs with this supplementary appropriations 2018 bill run very, very deep and we already know that many of the budget lines are not good value for money; the bill never received the scrutiny it deserved and the Speaker of the House, as clearly stated in section 106 of the 1997 Constitution, has no business whatsoever voting on the matter to break the deadlock. But as we have seen in the setting up of some commissions, we seem to have no regard for impartiality; even those who should know better generally seem to have a strong affinity for doing things the clumsy mediocre way. We must speak with one voice and condemn the unlawful approval of the supplementary 2018 bill until it is reversed. The public must demand that our weak NAMs find their moral backbone and pass a vote of censure (section 75) for the removal of Mr. Mamburay Njie, Mr. Ba Tambedou, Mr. Hasssan Baboucarr Jallow and Ms. Mariam Jack-Denton for their inability to perform the functions of the post we pay them for is unforgiven. As we try to come to terms with that, we must not forget to also speak against the use of the services of international debt advisors to help manage our towering debt problem. Has Mr. Mamburay Njie declared any interests in this firm and does this not further underscore the fact that Mr. Mamburay Njie is totally clueless and must be removed? There are ways to manage our sovereign debt without the services of expensive consultants. And just to complete the job, we must hold the insincere and greedy President Barrow to the Coalition agreement of 3 years by demanding that he steps aside in 2019 so that we can hold elections. It is up to us the citizens to make this happen because most of the Coalition Partners seem to be displaying tendencies of political prostitution, parasitism, insincerity and or lack the morality to demand that President Barrow honours the Coalition 2016 MOU. Besides, there is not yet a credible opposition with the correct moral posture that can also push for the Coalition agreement to be observed.
Some will argue that President Barrow inherited a bankrupt state, and that we must give him time. But his government’s attitude (e.g. the lavish travels, and the possible cost associated with the laying of the foundation stones of the project in URR, and so on) towards a stretched treasury is most out of kilter with what they tell us about the state of our public funds. If indeed the coffers are/were empty, it is unclear why they spend what we have not got. Leadership is about sacrifice, living within one’s means and not at the expense of those that need serving. For example, how does President Barrow, already living off the state, justify an increase in his salary which is currently about D170,000 per month when the cost of a bag of rice is more than the monthly salary/income of most Gambians? President Barrow and his team are neither in touch with the Coalition 2016 MOU nor with the reality of Gambia’s problems, the pains of Gambians and they do not possess the skills, and vision to deal with them. Instead of working to address the admirable goals and strategic objectives of the Coalition 2016 MOU and the Coalition manifesto, President Barrow and his team are busy politicking and sleeping with former Jammeh loyalists with a view to overstaying. Is it not true that one can evaluate the character of a leader (or anyone for that matter) by the type of company they keep? The reality is that having Mr. Darboe as President will not help solve The Gambia’s problems, but worsen them. There are not many people who would beat him to the top spot as the most awful team player. Since his release from prison, he continues to look frail, more indecisive, forgetful, and incoherent. He must go and get himself checked over as soon as possible. Anyhow, given the infighting and the outcome of the PPP Congress, President Barrow may now consider sacking Mr. Darboe and replacing him with his “brother”, Mr. Njie as VP because I think Mr. Njie automatically replaces OJ as the PPP’s Coalition 2016 representative. Such a position will make Mr. Njie politically powerful. Overall, I think the sooner Mr. Darboe distances himself from President Barrow, the better for him. Power, even for a day may be sweet, but it may be humiliating to have Mr. Darboe fired by President Barrow.
If we think about country first, we may come to the realisation that 2 years is long enough for anyone to learn on the job, but some people cannot both learn and be trained. Therefore, we must take the wheels off Barrow’s bus in 2019 before it crashes into the rocks. The Gambia needs a visionary and capable leadership with a strong determination to recalibrate the government’s priorities and bring about the transformative and dignified development we deserve; we can do better. Where is our saviour?
I share Dr. Janneh’s views on the continuous but monumental failures of the government of Ousainou and Adama. On every front of governance, the clueless duo have flunked the task at hand very miserably.
And now, instead of focusing on the works to be completed before the end of their mandated term of three years, the two are permanently at each other’s throat, one trying to outdo the other in subtlety, political power grabbing and entrenchment. What a shame!
Imagine everything wrong in the book of leadership, the two are going to beat it straight down right. Is this incompetence and cluelessness what we have to put up with for the next three years? You bet not! We will use every possible means at our disposal to flush them out of State House through people’s power. We will organize demonstrations, write petitions, strike for days without end, galvanize international pressure, sabotage corrupt practices disguised as legitimate gov activity, and so much more.
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Ousainou, you and your boy cannot say you have not been warned.
Omar and Mwalimu, I’ve just returned from Kambi-Sonko Duu and I will tell you that I’ve been all eyes and ears for more than a month. I believe that Gambians in the diaspora are, from our perspectives, reading too much into the Gambian political landscape and thereby offering too much credit to political lightweights in The Gambia. I don’t see the level of maturity or political savvy on the ground that warrants the analyses being offered by the savvy political pundits on this forum. After attending the PPP “congress” at the Kanifing YMCAn on top of one on one conversations with key members of Gambian society, I’d boldly describe the political climate as utter chaos that presents just the right opportunity for an alternative party to the self serving political fishing expeditions that are labeled political parties! Where the diaspora is able to flex muscles in a show of force again, we can send a clear message to the clowns on the ground that gone are the days that they’ll usurp Gambian goodwill.
Indeed Dr. Janneh, my take is that Ousainou Darboe, the ruderless leader, the Mbori Aku (Hakuu Mbiro) that we have in the state house, Bakary Bunja Darboe, Keh Jango-Sibi Jang Dubengo and OJ, the limelight seeking empty show boat collectively have absolutely nothing to offer in this new dispensation as they’re all clearly devoid of ideas and walking their way to the grave! Papa Njie shouldn’t make anyone lose sleep either. The same goes for the Banjul “darling” Talib Bensouda. Only if we let them claim ground in this leadership vacuum.
And Omar, I will come back to share my thoughts on what you label a digression albeit what is most fitting commentary under the circumstances. Thanks folks!
By the way, home based Gambian “professionals” largely believe that we are all pampered and elitist noise makers that have no place in Gambian politics. Let’s show them all the stuff that we are made of!!
Andy, it is refreshing to see you finally popping up with the usual sharp lenses with a pleasant tinge of humorous word play.
I knew the whole time you were lurking and keeping abreast with what’s happening on Jollofnews, lol.
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Contrary to your believe that a section of Gambians are reading too much into the political field of The Gambia, I tend to have the very opposite believe.
I am willing to put forward that majority of Gambians, both home and abroad are naive to the blatant corrupt and ineffectual character both Ousainou and Adama are. Don’t you think you might be confusing a lack of rigorous politicking with impact. Let me explain: the “political lightweights” are anything but dumb. You could accuse them of deliberately hanging on the status quo for selfish personal gains but they damn know what they are doing.
Gee sumaa moo faalalu! Di seeda seeda lu fekka ai rey kati nit la ñiu.
They are more poisonous than rattle snakes! Papa Njie has turned himself into the political peostitute of the decade. To guage what he is capable of doing, just look at his presidency at The Gambia Basketball Federation. Yes he is the president of that federation even though he has never played Basketball, officiated a game neither done any kind of training for him to be occupying that position. The Gambia Badketball Federation is in a state of “comatose” with no prospects of ever waking up. Thanks to Papa Njie and his kinds. Dida could probably bear me witness on that one. Imagine him becoming the president of The Gambia. I do not want to contemplate that possibility.
Bensouda is a spoiled brat. He is the creation of elitism that has permeated our “country” since independence. But that’s another topic for another day.
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I greet you in the name of the ancestors. May 2019 be our year of liberation.
“After 2 years of bad governance, it is my view that most people are losing faith in the Barrow government’s capacity to actualise the Coalition 2016 MOU or even attempt to deal with The Gambia’s problems. Our situation is particularly problematic because we lack principled individuals with the correct moral attitudes in government and within some government-supported institutions. Upon being appointed, most individuals assume the dehumanised posture while also sitting on the mute button getting drunk and fat on milk and honey at the expense of those they are meant to serve”.
Omar, I couldn’t agree more with the statements above and will go further to add that most individuals seeking out positions of authority do so for purposes other than for service to the nation or to lift The Gambia from the rut that the country currently finds itself. I will sadly say that our supposedly refined and polished PhD brethren are no exception to the assertion.
I have personally found college professors and other professionals in the diaspora, on the ground in The Gambia, feverishly jockeying for clout and lobbying for jobs while wallowing in the muck. All in furtherance of the notion that tenure in the diaspora demands hard work whereas appointments in The Gambia only demand for one to CHILL, play big, rub shoulders with dirty scoundrels and rake in as much travel per diem allowances as the budget will allow. Clearly, the monthly salary is not the motivator.
And then they turn around to callously say, see brethren in the diaspora, it’s not so hard to fit in this sack of beans after all. Hehehe!!
Frankly Omar, Mwalimu and Bax, the source of problems with governance in The Gambia lies squarely at the feet of public servants and not the average citizen as the citizens mostly care about how to put food cheaper on the table from day to day. Hand to mouth in other words.
The Gambian debacle will not end anytime soon if sons and daughters in the diaspora do not step up, as they did with Yaya Jammeh, to fix the ills in our republic! The leadership is not only clueless but absolutely self serving while encouraging sycophants to join the band wagon as mooches and leeches attempting to feed on what The Gambia doesn’t have. So, as a good segment of Gambians live the false life, the government and the leadership has take to the same odious malevolence!
We can’t be praying, God Bless Us All while the crop fields are being taken over by weeds! Too much water is going under the bridge and will say to Bajaw that if nothing changes, Nying Kulungo Bi Taa Teye La Jellefeng Tendaa Leh To Deh.
After all, aren’t they asking, WHERE WERE US when The Gambia needed (S)HE!
Am just curious to know what the “diaspora” (I put that word in quotation marks because it’s a problematic as far as I’m concerned) Gambians should do and how they should go about that. And remember,Andy, this is not a homogenous political and or ideological group. The positions are as diverse as it comes.
Of course the civil servant is the one continuing the repression and exploitation of the ordinary people. They are manufactured for that task right from the beginning of school to graduation.
“And remember,Andy, this is not a homogenous political and or ideological group. The positions are as diverse as it comes“.
True Mwalimu. However, I’d quickly add that a test if leadership is the capacity to sell one’s vision for the object drawing in like minds to coalesce around the vision.
A good dose of optimism and confidence is helpful in any undertaking. Show me any grassroots movement where people spoke with one voice at the outset?
You have a point. Just a one line question if you don’t mind: You have talked about supposedly well educated and internationally exposed Gambians who lived abroad but see the change of regime as an incentive to become part of the system and plunder. What antidote do could you foresee? Ok, excuse the three and a half lines, lol.
Mwalimu, you’ve added a little Nyambasso to what you implied that I said. However, a strong, altruistic and well meaning leadership team with good eyes and ears may just be the antidote.
Does The Gambia have that caliber of individuals? You bet we do! They could very well be cab drivers and not necessarily of a certain ilk!