It is not only dangerous for a President but also for a country to have widespread public disillusionment with his government! So far the level of public discontentment with the Barrow Government is at an alarming proportion! Such discontentment is not only a national security issue but it also fundamentally and severely undermines good governance and sustainable development.
Hence Mr. Barrow needs urgent advice to salvage himself and bring the country back to the path of the high hopes that Gambians had when we decided in 2016! His blind and vigorous pursuit of his future political objectives at complete variance with the agreement and expectation that brought him to power is costing the country and citizens dearly and certainly he will not succeed in that project!
History will only absolve Barrow if he realizes that he must remain faithful to the deepest aspirations of the people that brought him to the high office. He must not just pursue his ego and seeking to associate and listen to only those individuals who will continue to massage his ego as they did with Yaya Jammeh! Just as this did not serve the interest of that Despot in the long run so also will Barrow fail woefully if he wishes to cheat Gambians!
Therefore to salvage himself and to demonstrate commitment to a New Democratic Gambia Pres. Barrow must change course immediately by taking urgent and critical decisions and actions that will set the path to bringing about system change and thereby generate public trust and confidence in his leadership and Government.
If indeed Barrow has genuine and patriotic advisors and if indeed public officials that are around him are learning any lessons from the past then they must advise him to undertake these decisions and actions with urgency and seriousness!
If he fails to listen or refuses to take these decisions and actions I would advise those advisers and officials to resign so as to prevent them from being part of another disastrous project that will harm the country and to protect and preserve their integrity, credibility and conscience!
1. Be open, truthful and honest to Gambians by sharing full, timely and accurate information on all issues with Gambians!
2. Conduct a comprehensive civil service reform to address indiscipline, inefficiency and corruption and transform the civil service into a true engine of national growth and development.
3. Conduct a comprehensive security sector reform to cleanse our security institutions of all vestiges and practices of the past to transform them into true instruments of protection and security for the people.
4. Interdict security officers who confessed at the TRRC for either engaging in or condoning torture until after the TRRC to decide their fate. This will send a strong signal to all rank and file security personnel that never again will abuse be tolerated and for all senior officers to realize that they must not issue unlawful orders to junior ranks.
5. Interdict public officials who confessed at the Janneh Commission for breaking the General Orders and Financial Instructions until after the Janneh Commission to decide their fate. This will send a strong signal to all public servants that they bear the greatest responsibility to uphold the rule of law and protect public resources under their lawful care.
6. Close down NIA until after TRRC so that victims and citizens in general would trust that indeed Barrow is committed to system change and particularly to the Never Again agenda.
7. Interdict, retire or dismiss key enablers of the Dictatorship from Cabinet and strategic positions in the security sector and the civil service including the foreign service. This will send a strong signal to all public servants to realize that when you hold public office your allegiance should only be to the people and you will perform your functions according to the law and not to dance to the whims and caprices of any superior officer.
These actions are necessary to demonstrate to Gambians that indeed Barrow intends to have a clean and an accountable government that meets the needs and aspirations of the people. It will serve to generate public trust and confidence in him as a president and as well serve as a lesson to all security officers and public officials that abuse of office, corruption and disregard of the rule of law will not be tolerated!
With these actions Barrow would have cleansed and purified his government to become a true instrument of the people. So far it is clear that indeed Barrow is utilizing the Yaya Jammeh textbook because he has surrounded himself with former Jammeh enablers who push him towards that agenda in pursuit of his selfish political interests. He has also surrounded himself with new people who lack conviction and are prepared to entertain his selfish agenda to hold on to power by any means even unnecessary.
Barrow needs to push out all former and new enablers and surround himself with Gambians with conscience who will guide him towards national salvation and progress!
While he is yet to do that it is however pertinent to remind all public servants that there is absolutely no excuse for any public officer to abuse power and misuse your office in the name of executing orders and claim ignorance!
For The Gambia Our Homeland.
Madi, “Barrow needs to push out all former and new enablers and surround himself with Gambians with conscience who will guide him towards national salvation and progress!
While he is yet to do that it is however pertinent to remind all public servants that there is absolutely no excuse for any public officer to abuse power and misuse your office in the name of executing orders and claim ignorance”!
Barrow cannot salvage himself but may end up on a salvage truck of his own choosing!
The brand of opportunism and poor judgment on the part of the Barrow administration is, to put it mildly, astounding!!
Reports have it that a cabinet reshuffle by Barrow has resulted in what amounts to house cleaning targeting the UDP party members in the cabinet.
This move, if indeed the case, points to the lack of tact, refinement, prudence and a confirmation of the poor judgment that pervades the Barrow administration. Here’s a classic blunder of political novices!
In typical Trumpian fashion, Barrow has now chosen to wage a fight that doesn’t bear merit and shouldn’t be as it’s a political fight that may not serve any meaningful purpose other than political grandstanding and buffoonery.
The fissures that were apparent on the ground have now widened into large crevices that will only suck in an untold number of unwary victims. I predict that, going forward, the NIA/NIS will have a field day or many field days as it were that’ll leave clear signals/answers as to the continuing existence of this agency. The Brikama community may turn out to be the number one target of this conundrum.
Andy,
Look, we are plunged into all these blunders because Barrow is inclined on failing to keep his three-year promise to relinquish power while Darboe is adamant on becoming the president of the Gambia by disintergrating the ‘coalition’. They are both LIARS, SELFISH and UNTRUSTWORTHY. Both of them are unqualified to be president.
Our resources are being wasted on politicking. Since the buffoon took control of the administration, nothing credible has been improved to ameliorate the livelihood of our people. With his cohorts, Barrow’s busy entrenching his grip on power to stay longer, something he didn’t promise the country while campaigning. Nothing more than a DICTATOR in the making!!!
By this time, Barrow should be preparing elections for December 2019 or January 2020 and hand the band or mantle of power to his successor. That way he may retire in respect.
But I presume, he’ll leave in disgrace to face a commission of inquiries with his Fatou Bah for their misuse/stealing of BILLIONS of dalasis and the killing of Haruna Jatta, the three Faraba Banta youth and the Kombo Jamburr lady.
I’m not the least interested in the cabinet shuffle, sacking of Darboe and others. What I want to see is the quiting of Barrow and his dysfunctional administration.
We need energetic, young, learned, incorruptible, patriotic Pan-Africanist chaps to steer the affairs of our beautiful country. Not the calibre of this bunch of SELFISH, CORRUPT, TRIBALIST and NEPOTIC ‘administrators’.