(JollofNews)- Indeed it was a huge waste of public resources for Pres. Adama Barrow and his Spokesman Halifa Sallah to halt the nation for more than one hour for nothing.
Let us remind Pres. Barrow that we want to know our ministers NOW. He is not constituting a secret society or a cult. He has an obligation to set up a team of Gambians to manage our public resources and affairs. This is the task we have assigned to him when we elected him on December 1 and inaugurated him on January 19.
How can Halifa Sallah convene such a press conference without publicly naming the ministers yet tells us that they want Gambians to vet those minsters. The Gambia does not have a statutory vetting process like Ghana or the US where nominated names are submitted first to the parliament or congress to approve or disapprove.
Hence our Government must publish the names of proposed ministers and provide their profiles to the public before they are sworn in so that the public can vet them. This is the New Gambia we expect. But how can we vet the ministers when you refuse to name them prior to their swearing-in?
Citizens need to know the track record, capability, experience and personal backgrounds of proposed minsters so as to ensure that they carry no record of corruption, wife battering, husband slapping, promiscuity, child abuse, inefficiency, intellectual dishonesty and professional inconsistency among other criteria.
This is good for Barrow and for those ministers and for the country. But how can we do that when you name them at the very minute you swear them in? Then it means the Government does not wish citizens to vet them. This is not transparency and accountability and it is a very bad start for the New Gambia.
If Barrow is indeed confident of his ministers, let him throw out their names into the public domain for Gambians to evaluate them. After all we need the best of our sons and daughters to lead our government and deliver to us. He cannot deny us that opportunity and duty.
Meantime the person reported to be the Vice President Fatoumatta Tambajang is already fulfilling official functions without being sworn-in. By our laws, no public official can assume the full functions of his or her duties without taking the prescribed oath of office. Hence Pres. Barrow and Spokesman Halifa Sallah should tell us in what capacity is Madam Tambajang representing the Gambia in the ongoing AU Summit in Addis Ababa? Is she there as the Vice President of the Gambia or is she there as a special envoy of Chief Servant Adama Barrow? We need to get the right answers.
Today marks 60 days since we elected Adama Barrow as President. He is part of a Coalition, which has among them some of the most educated and experience Gambians who cannot tell us that they do not know how a government works. The leaders of the Coalition knew that they were going into an election to obtain state power. They knew that when a party or coalition and their candidate are elected as president, their first task is to form a government.
Hence the Coalition Leaders and Adama Barrow cannot tell us that for 60 days they were not doing anything to constitute their government. They cannot tell us that they started thinking about forming a cabinet only from Thursday January 26 when Adama Barrow returned to the Gambia.
Let Adama Barrow and the Coalition understand that their government is the most opportune government ever seen in the Gambia. This government has the biggest and most diverse support than any government in the history of the Gambia. There is no section of our civil service or security sector or our population that has indicated its opposition to this government. Rather all sectors of Gambian society have come out to give full support to the government since December 2.
The international community has given its full support to this government since December 2. No one has set our Central Bank or the Treasury on fire. There is no fighting of any sort in any part of the Gambia. Hence Barrow has absolutely no obstacles in forming a government. He must take advantage of the huge show of support and cooperation provided to him by the Gambian people and the international community and act accordingly. He must hit the iron when it is hot and stop indulging in procrastination and hesitation. That is not a mark of good leadership.
Finally. I hereby call on Pres. Adama Barrow to announce the names of the ministers tomorrow and allow for one week for public scrutiny before swearing them in. That is what is transparency and accountability in a democracy. For purposes of clarity, let me repeat. Name the ministers first, and suspend swearing-in for one week to allow for public vetting of the proposed ministers.
God Bless The Gambia.
Mr. Jobarteh as you have alluded to in your article, we don’t have a vetting system in the Gambia. Therefore President Barrow and the coalition should just get on with the job and stop dithering. My guess is he is trying to please everyone, which is impossible. It is about time that he act on his mandate. The country cannot be without a government for nearly a month. I agree with you they had 60 days to hammer out any differences they may have between them before today. What were they doing all this while that they cannot form a functional government? I know some people will say we should give them time but the truth is they put themselves forward as capable of running the affairs of the country so they should be able to hit the ground running. If Mr Barrow wants to be Mr Nice Guy then he is in the wrong job. He has to toughen up. I am already disappointed in him keeping CDS Badjie and the NIA and apparently most of Jammeh’s team. Not only is the true loyalty of some of these people questionable but keeping such people is sending the wrong signal that one can do whatever one likes with impunity as long as you declare your loyalty to the new government. CDS Badjie may not have personally committed the alleged crimes but he was head of the army and therefore the buck stops with him and so does all the other heads of the security services. And as you said, we do not know who has committed what crime therefore Mr. Barrow should have put CDS Badjie and several other senior security and civil servants on administrative leave and immediately commission an enquiry into allegations of crimes committed by security personnel and fraud and mismanagement of public funds and abuse of office by both civil and security services. Whoever is exonerated can then be reinstated. The reason to do this is to prevent people from tampering with both evidence and witnesses for the commission. Without doing this, any commission set up may end up as an exercise in futility. To achieve peace there must be truth and justice, for it’s only then that people can live with themselves and with each other. Peace cannot be manufactured by the state, it is something that the citizenry feels and lives. It is created from our collective inner satisfaction with who we are.
Patience! Patience! Patience! Remember where we come from and give the coalition a chance this paper seems to be eager to surface against all odds with point-scoring. You were not this harsh against Jammeh compared to the Freedom News.
Please give us a break
Choi, you are absolutely right. What is needed is “Patience, Patience and Patience”.
To my mind, Barrow and the Coalition have had only TWELVE DAYS since Jammeh ran away. Until TWELVE DAYS ago, Gambia and the World were looking to avert WAR – and the VERY LIVES of Coalition Members hang by a thread: Jammeh was in a position to assassinate them all if he chose to go to war.
So it is rather unfair to say “the Coalition Leaders and Adama Barrow cannot tell us that for 60 days they were not doing anything to constitute their government”. It is reasonable to say that until 12 DAYS ago they could NOT even think about forming a government. Everyone I know was thinking of ONLY AVERTING A WAR until TWELVE DAYS AGO.
What is needed is “Patience, Patience and Patience”.
Dormu Rewwum Gambia twelve days in a Nations life without a functional government is a long time. A lot of decisions that could have a direct positive impact on the lives of Gambians are not being taken because of lack of cabinet. A vacuum in the executive arm of government is a recipe for further economic stagnation as it will result in cultivating doubt amongst Gambia’s development partners and businesses. Mr Barrow have been sworn in about 12 days or so ago but he was voted by Gambians long enough to have made his cabinet picks. Let someone correct me if I am wrong but has Mr Barrow not told a TFM journalist that he has already picked his cabinet and that the names will be announced either Monday or Tuesday? Dithering is not a good sign of leadership. The country needs strong political leadership not procrastinators. The coalition has told us time and time again that Barrow will be sworn in on the 19th January 2017 so they must have known that he will need a team by his side. A team that can be held accountable for their actions. The fact that Jammeh was refusing to go and that there was really not going to be a proper transition should have even been the reason for Mr Barrow and his team to get prepared to hit the ground running. Also the news that Jammeh took out millions from the state coffers should be another reason for Mr Barrow and the coalition to see the urgency in forming a government to establish control over the country’s finances and ensure fiscal discipline. People are not inpatient, it’s the reality on the ground that requires urgent action to remedy. We all know that the Gambia’s economy has had a massive hit since Jammeh’s volte-face, therefore people want to see true leadership not indecisiveness. At least key ministerial positions like Justice, Finance, Trade, Interior and Health should have been filled and announced by now. I do not think that is too much to ask.
The above piece by Mr. Madi Jorbateh is both unrealistic and simplistic thinking. To say the coalition took sixty days to come up with a cabinet fails to tell the whole truth. This is because it failed to capture the impact of the political impasse.
I wish Mr. Madi Jobarteh was here in the Gambia and have first hand experience of the condition and situation in The Gambia. enormous fear and uncertainty predominates and nothing was working. Tackling the political impasse rightfully took precedence over everything else. Not only was Gambia’s time wasted but also those of our sister countries whose leaders were travelling to Banjul trying to resolve matters. The whole episode was just disgraceful.
One can only form cabinet when sure of having a government. So let us be patient and understand circumstances. This is not the best time for arm-chair criticisms and parochialism.
I totally agree with you Mr. Jobarteh. We need to see some leadership now. Enough with people making excuses for the delays.
The new government is working to its maximum accusing jammeh bla bla bla but this is not worth anything to us we do not want to know anything about jammeh you can save the jammeh case for years and work work is what people expect ,, eye release Prisoners denounce jammeh approve ecomig disapprove the security forces of gambia etc everything will have their consequences, as a country without ministers begins to act ?? That smells arrogance and arrogance would end up being the mini dictatorship, attention is new government only has a 43% ? against a Gdc + Aprc 57% opposition I do not know how democracy works in gambia prro here in europe a government with 43% is called a government in Minority therefore need specific agreements can not work alone and consult the opposition, eye vengeance take us to the disaster will be late or temporary, forget the past and consentrar in the future if we really believe in us, vastly talk so much jammeh Jammeh if all the politicians are almost equal to steal and steal and we will see very soon,
Madi Jobarteh
When I refer to these pseudo political and social scientists as innocuous personalities devoid of any development plans/programmes, you just take me to be pro-Jammeh. Of course, I am pro-Jammeh because on the optimum hour of removing Ex-President Jawara in 1994, the then Chairman Jammeh started to appoint people to key positions, held all night meetings to draw development plans, went on quick nation-wide tour to learn at first hand the needs of his people, sent emissaries to friendly nations and started off to work. WHAT A PRAGMATIC PATRIOTIC LEADER!
He didn’t sit in office, he went out to meet the grassroots, he worked. For him government was not a paradigm of listed priorities. For him everything was a priority for government. That’s how he elevated every sector of our priority needs! BLESS YOU PRESIDENT JAMMEH! You have left legacies that the “coalition” can never erase nor deface.
I also advice patience, and patience. If you take over a rotten system, you need to be strategic in tackling the mess left behind. I agree that 60 days is a long time and there should be no leadership vacuum. However, everybody will agree that in the midst of chaos and confusion, no brain can function properly. Security of the nation and her people took centre stage from 9 December 2016 to 19 January 2017 when the dictator (Jammeh) never wanted to leave the power.
In my opinion, we are in the transition period from the 19 January until the cabinet announcement today. We thank God Almighty for saving our country from the evil plans of dictator Jammeh, who was only a wolf in sheep’s clothing from the very first day he was in office. He was only trying to impress people with his deceitful plan for national building, while he was amassing wealth and enriching himself at the expense of the office and the Gambian people.
Let us be wise and be honest to serve our country For Jammeh, he was certainly self-serving and it is evident for everyone to see. He came to power with less than a 50 – 100 US$ in his assets. Today, this dictator is buying luxury cars, being ranked one of richest presidents in Africa. From zero to the highest. Where did he get those funds from? All I know is if he was not dealing in illegal and dangerous activities, his salary cannot earn him even one (1) luxury car. To make his reign the worst tyrannical regime in the world, it was brutal, instilled fear and intimidated the whole country with torture, killings, rape and disappearances.
My brother and sister still supporting this tyrant and evil Jammeh, I kindly and humbly request you to make a conscious and objective analyses of the news you are hearing. People are a living testimony to these brutal and tyrannical rules. All these people cannot be wrong.
Let us be objective and realistic
All of you are truly correct except Babu Soli who is quarter correct by talking positively about Jammeh. Liker No 10, we should be able to walk down to our temporally state house to ask questions without no fears anymore.
Mr Jobarteh you are completely right. We definitely need our leaders to be free from any illegal activities and to do this they should be check before given them any post.
Mr Prident am available for any post because am CRB cleared and I can help to choose your leaders because I dont care and will only elect who fit the particular post by experienced.
Hmmm !
What exactly is pragmatic or patriotic about rape, torture, human rights abuses and state sanctioned crimes and murder.
This Babu Soli is seriously misinformed or hugely confused. Yahya enablers and apologist like this ‘person’ believe in the false narrative of great strides in economic growth and human development in the 22 years of brutal dictatorship in The Gambia. I guess that is their alternative fact. Known as a lie. The fact is President Barrow inherited a big mess. It is going to take some time and a dedicated collective effort to fix our country.
Leadership is the ability to listen, learn, be kind, honest and surround oneself with capable people to carry out a vision. President Barrow is on the right track. Is he going to make mistakes? Yes. Are we going to agree with every decision he makes? No. Are we going to be disappointed with how fast or slow things are changing? Yes.
We the people have a collective responsibility to make sure that we hold President Barrow and his Ministers to their promise to the people. We must speak out at all times against corruption, nepotism and any form of human rights abuses.
Madi keep your pen sharp and your voice louder.
Babu Soli keep defending Yahya and writing all your nonsense. I completely disagree with you but your views and voice is welcomed in the new Gambia and can never be silenced. Give President Barrow time and he will get it right.
Yes one last point. I find it wasteful to spend Dalasi 10M to welcome President Barrow back home from Senegal, and I find it very irresponsible to spend one red cent for inauguration of Mr Barrow. We need to get our priorities straight, get to work guys, stop celebrating. The funds are best used for education, widow’s welfare and many other worthy programs.
Totally agree with you Dr Sarr. President Barrow should avoid spending money that the country does not have. It is ridiculously absurd to spend D10m on welcoming him from Senegal if indeed that much was actually spent. The finance minister should immediately investigate this report and reprimand anyone who effect such payment and spending without the requisite approval. We cannot continue the fiscal indiscipline that plagued the Jammeh era.
O J Jallow?? Must ever corrupt in the country:( The Dictatorship vs. corruption are we prepared? The new cabinet is full of thieves for example mr O j , the corrupt ever in the world, is any minister there for his love for Gambia? They are never there because they have to distribute what they have achieved, we will see how they steal more than Jammeh
Now peace, you believe that jammeh dictator and a thief.
Who spent 10 million? Was 10 million spent? What are the facts? Verify those before putting pen to paper. This cyber tyranny must stop.
Adama Barrow’s Presidency And The Dangers of Ethnic Group Interest Politics In The Gambia: Can The Gambia And GAMBIANS Survive It And At What Cost?.
Fools listen to themselves AND to like minded folk. GAMBIANS better wake up from their Ethnic Group Interest Politics, because if We don’t, it may be too late by the time We are full of Ataya, and “Kinkil Nyammo”. The lessons of Our brother’s, sister’s, father’s or mother’s during the 1980 Coup and its aftermat have not been Exposed enough and learned for the Expressed purpose of endeavoring to Not Repeat What Uncles JAWARA and JOOF of the Gambia and Senegal Visited Upon the Gambian people. It is therefore, inevitable that, the Gambian people who Deserve better are Condemned to repeat their Folly of Political immaturity, Naivete, Opportunistic Hyena and Vulture like behavior. In International Politics of the Current Nation State, States Act in their Self-interest and Nothing else. Senegal under Macky Sall, like JOOF have a Clear Reason and Agenda why “Uncle” Macky Sall, Lobbied for an Intervention in the Gambian Citizens’ Political Impass or more quoloqually, “fight over the “Mansaya”. The Propensity for Certain people or Political interest group in the Gambia falling victim as well as being Co-conspirators with the SENEGALESE Political elite, Against the Sovereignty and Independence of the Gambia is Probably a Treasonable and Criminal Offense. The Gambian Constitution like most Constitutions, Demands or at least Requires the Gambian President and Political Leaders to “Swear to Protect and Defend” Against All Enemies Foreign and Domestic”. When in the name of removing an alleged “Tyrant”, the means utilized Undermine the Sovereignty and Independence of the Gambia, and the President and a Clique of GAMBIAN WHO are Supposed to Govern the Country Abscond to a Foreign Entity and Behind Closed doors Contract Out and Sell the Gambia and GAMBIANS to that Foreign Agent/Entity, that is, Senegal, then the Legitimacy of SAID PRESIDENT AND Leadership is Suspect at Best and Probably may be a Criminal Offense in the generic and broad term. It is not the Finest Hour of GAMBIAN Leadership. As a Matter of fact, it Demonstrates the Leadership of an Oppossum. An animal that instinctly “plays dead when it feels threatened”. In Politics, Leadership of the Opossum persuation or type, are “Dead docks”. At this point in Gambia’s Transition to a Coalition Alliance Government, having such Leadership is like having an Umbrella to keep you dry during a Hurricane. It is not a logical insurance of any kind. Leadership qualities do not filter into someone by Osmosis. It is either within or without. Exceptions do exist, but they are what they are, Exceptions. Adanma Barrow unfortunately, does not fit the bill.This then brings us to another Significant Betrayal of the Gambia and GAMBIAN People by some Coalition Alliance Party Leadership and the lack luster and lack of Due Diligence Exercised when they Settled on Adama Barrow to be the Coalition Alliance Party Candidate. Adama Barrow, with all due respect to the Office of President, is not Fit nor Capable to lead the Gambia at a time like this. Good Health is both a result of Individual Choice, and if you are Spiritual, a result of Allah/God’s designation abd Providence. Be that as it may, Gambia needs a President who is Healthy and Free from any Health and Medical Condition that might Compromise the Stability, Optimal performance of the President. On this Score, Adama Barrow may not be the best the Gambia could have Selected. Try as UDP and some of the other Complicit Party Leaders may want to Convince themselves and the Gambian people, One look at Adama Barrow, One complete Sentence from Adama Barrow, Confirms without a doubt, that he is a Chair-Taker President in the most Sinister way possible. He is a Court Jester. The Puppet Masters will in due course, come from behind the Curtain and Show their Ultimate Objective. At that point, the Real GAMBIAN POLITICAL IMPASS will begin and may not end well. It may be brother against brother, sister against sister, not to mention family members against family members. The easy task was getting President Yaya Jammeh to relinquish Power. The Cabal behind Adama Barrow would not want to go down without a fight, even when all is Lost. This is because they Convinced themselves of “Being entitled to the GAMBIAN Presidency”, would not be able to Rationalize with Logic that they Failed the First Basic Test to “Do No Harm” during the Process of Selecting Coalition Alliance Party Candidate and they allowed UDP to put forward a Candidate for the Coalition Alliance Party, and they Choose Adama Barrow. With Deceitful intent and Malice in mind, UDP PARTY MEMBERS Saddled the Gambia and GAMBIANS with a Decidedly Inexperienced, Unprepared, Barren in Gravitas, not to mention Boarded on Incompetent President more Suitable for a Rent Collector’s or a Leasing Agent’s Position and not the Presidency of a Country Undergoing the Sizzgy, Turmoil and Civic Tension The GAMBIANS AND GAMBIA is Undergoing. GAMBIA AND GAMBIANS DESERVE BETTER AND MUST BE GIVEN A PRESIDENT WHO IS READY ON DAY ONE TO RUN THE PEOPLE’S RACE, AND NOT A PRESIDENT WHO IS ON THE JOB TRAINING, LIKE ADAMA BARROW.
NO ETHNIC POLITICS. ONE GAMBIA, ONE PEOPLE, ONE DESTINY.
@ Sidi N. Bojang- I absolutely agree With you on “The Dangers of Ethnic Group Interest Politics in The Gambia.” I pray that the almighty GOD will guide our leaders and law makers to continue to make the right decisions in our beloved country. We cannot afford whatever will divide us, but embrace what will always unite us.
Gambia was not born to be divided all this started by yahya jammeh who was telling mandinkas will never rule gambia and he when further more saying more rubbish insulting mandinkas . Let me tell you one thing mandinkas populations in the sub region is 116 million, so mandinkas are not only in gambia, you can find them alway to benine way down to south, it is a large tribe that significantly change as the regional dialogue taking place.So yahya jammeh cannot alienate mandinkas when his tribe ( jola) is just within senegambian region.
Tafel: You just made the case for the Tyranny of the “Majority”, which in turn Usher in Marginalization and Entitlement that creates a Sense of Hopeless for those who are affected. This in generates desperation and a Need for Change by any Means those affected deem available. The lessons of the First Republic has yet not been Exposed to the Current generation of GAMBIANS. Thus, it is a matter of time, if it is not learnt for the 1981, or 1994 to Visit Our beloved GAMBIA. GAMBIA is more than the Sum Total of One Individual, Ethnic group or Region.
Sidi, you kept bringing up 1981 and 1994, do you realise that both were carried out by a Jola? So if there’s any one tribe who creates chaos and instability in the Senegambia region is the Jola tribe. Because they are the ones operating in Cassamance. Which tribe will you blame for that one? because you have blamed the Mandinkas as the causes of 1981 and 1994. On both occasions Mandinkas supported the coup leader because they never see tribe, all they see is a Gambian who wants to change things. And up to today I have never heard anyone in the Gambia referring to both 1981 and 1994 as a Jola coup. The first person to bring up the issue of tribe in the Gambia was Yahya. And the only reason he did it was because of his own inferiority complex. For 22yrs Mandinkas have voted for him and for 22yrs he has continually insulted them. Mandinkas withdrew their support for him when he starts making death threats against them. This is not an allegation but a very well documented fact. You can choose to deny it or put a spin on it however you like but it won’t change the facts. You can make a billion references to Rwanda and make up as many excuses and accuse everyone who condemns some of the things that happened during Yayha’s regime as tribalist and ignorant but let me inform you about something you may not know, Gambians can see through your deception just as they saw through Yahya’s. Gambians, especially the Jolas are far more intelligent than you may give them credit for. The Jolas saw through Yahya’s lies that’s why they choose the country over him and did not fight for him. They knew he was the architect of the tribalism that he wants them to die for. They knew that the only one who insults Jolas far worst than any living person on earth and also treats Jolas most appallingly was Yahya. And again Sidi there’s enough documented evidence on Yayha insulting the Jolas. Yahya was rude and horrible to all Gambians that’s why Gambians voted him out. Every tribe in the Gambia has voted against him, therefore it is disingenuous of you to try and blame Mandinkas. Yahya was the chief architect of his own downfall. To my Jola brothers and sisters in the Gambian security services well done for showing your love for the country. You are true patriots.
Yes Sidi N Bojang every one can express your opinions in a fashionable way as we gambian we always care for each other,this doesn’t mean that we have to alienate each other for every issue that comes along.we senegambian people should always love each other not to hate,remember we shared common values and we are integrated. We should discourage any form of divisiveness.telling truth any one doesn’t mean that you are a bad person.some guy’s use tribalism to justify their arguments all that behaviors are simply negative. Yes can be civil and at the same time socializing no hate feeling.saying something that sound and credible, once again we are the children of senegambia god bless.
Peace: Thank you for your response and vibe that is mature and Informed. Hope, that Gambians would learn to disagree, but in a Civil and Cordial manner. I am looking forward to engaging those who PEDDLE Ethnic Group Politics as well as Peddling insidious Subliminal Messages Negative Messages and Sentiments against any Tribe. Thank you stay strong.
Another stupid talk Sidi N Bojang . Yahya jammeh is the one to be blamed.
ICC made against black Africans today some of our leaders are seeing the light Alhamdou Lillah but we will need strong leaders to face the west,NewsAfrica
African countries against AU withdrawal from ICC – HRW
Senegal will permission from Paris and Gambia need permission from both Senegal and U.K. I don’t know why we have ministers?? If we African don’t have own words,, War starts with the west or you African stay or you stay
What can Senegal gain from Gambia? What does President Barrow have to offer President Sall? Gambia is broke with no plans of reversing the plunder of Yahya. Gambia can only be a liability to Senegal. To all the conspiracy theorist out there, it’s not complicated. Yahya destroyed Gambians, he was and is a terrible cruel human being that made life hell for the citizens. ECOWAS and Sall are just being good neighbors. They don’t have a hidden agenda. Gambia has zilch to offer.
It’s over. Yahya is gone. Settle down and let’s fix Gambia. Stop wasting ink.
Were you wasting ink when you pointed out Unconstitutional and Extra-judicial alleged events in the Gambia during the Second Republic? If your response is in the affirmative, then you need to set your priorities. The Adama Barrow Administration has so far been missing in Action as far as abiding by the Constitution that they Hugged, Slept with, Hyped Obesessed with. You and they Howled and Totted about one thing or another from 1994 to January 19, 2016. Intolerance is a sign of Authoritarianism, and Authoritarianism is a sign of Tyranny. Not all GAMBIANS are going to be Cowed and Shouted down by Fairweather Constitutionalist and Ethnic Politics Populist of the UDP/PPP type you seem to be. For those in UDP/PPP Coalition Government currently operating like the old First Republic, my Advise is, it is this kind and type of Narrow Ethnic Group Politics that brought the PPP regime down. If the lessons of those years of Marginization and Ethnic Group Politics as well as the Tyranny of the Majority is not learned and Rectified, I am sorry to inform you sister, the future of the Gambia is heading to another Significant Betrayal of the Principles of Democratic, Constitutional Dispensation. The inevitable Betrayal, would in turn Usher in an Undesirable Change. The Packing of UDP/ PPP Candidates, the Appointment of Mrs. F. Jallow Tambajang despite her not meeting the Constitutional Provisions, the Firing of Governors before Replacements are Vetted and appointed, the Abscondance of Adama Barrow and his Clique to Senegal and Uncle Macky Sall, are all the Wrong Direction of a Cou
Nation in Search of a Sense of Purpose, Inclusiveness, Freedom, Security and General Well-being of all its Citizens. Marginalization, Dismissiveness and Arrogant Self-Entitlements Coupled with the Tone Deaf approach to “Others” Expressed Concern and Opinions, is what will Create Critical Mass Opposition and bring about the Down Fall of the Third Republic before it Passes the Toddler age. Gambia and Gambians Deserves better and you can be a Catalyst to Meaning and Comprehensive Change, and not Ethnic Group Politics Bandage like Change. In the Current Era, such Ethnic Group Politics would not Sustain itself. Gambia is more than the Sum Total of One Individual, Ethnic group or Region.
“Dr” Isatou Sarr,
When I read the unanalytic postings of our “doctorate” laurettes, I get very jittery with these people I’m poised to trust to redeem our country from subjugation and foreign domination. But I reminesce that some of these “doctorate” laurettes are all patches of neocolonial feudalism.
Who’s told you that there is nothing our country can offer Senegal? Who told you that silly allusion?
Why didn’t you gauge Senegal’s vested interest in sending tanks, military hardware and personnel to The Gambia at the click of the finger when negoatiations were still going on to resolve our political impasse?
The answer is abundantly clear! There are over 300,000 Senegalese economic migrants in that tiny country who cross our border without hindrance to hand over their lucrative remittances accrued from every sector of our economic and social spheres to families on the other side.
The Gambia has served the best economic safe haven for Senegal and the Senegalese government and her people are well aware of that. Therefore it’s incumbent on their government to safeguard that generous income, just right across the border. Don’t you know that “learned Dr”? That it’s more anointing and sostainable in safeguarding the interests of their nationals next door than receiving any lump sum of remuneration that can be flushed away in a short period of time.
Learn your books again “Dr”. We give more to Senegal than we take. The “Magals, the Gamos, the Ziyares”, the Mbalax entertainers are all lucrative activities that the Gambia and her people offer to Senegal? And what’s the other side of the coin, “Dr”?
President Jammeh’s departure is just the beginning of RESPONSIBLE opposition to the inept and incompetent government that has just been installed. We’ll try to fix and defend the Gambia from their incompetence and ineptitude to avoid wasting of what GOOD President Jammeh has left behind!
Can anybody convince the “Dr” Isatou Sarr to read this piece from the FREEDOM NEWSPAPER?
It clearly depicts that your inept and despotic Barrow government has come to firstly guard the interests of their buddies and secondly to nullify our economic and social progress.
How can an economic criminal be given presidential pardon on no justified reasons? Can Barrow simply open the doors of the Mile Two, Jeshwang and Janjaburay jails and say to ALL the inmates: OPEN SESAME, you were locked by President Jammeh without reason and I am your SAMARITAN president who has come “to cleanse” the Gambia of “good” people!
Gambia: Breaking News: Former Gamcel Auditor Says President Barrow’s Coalition Gov’t Has Been Misled!
COALITION GOVERNMENT BEING MISLED The Gambia diaspora community and the online media in association with the Gambian people have played a vital role in bringing meaningful change in The Gambia. The combined effort was and still is primarily…
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February 7, 2017
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COALITION GOVERNMENT BEING MISLED
The Gambia diaspora community and the online media in association with the Gambian people have played a vital role in bringing meaningful change in The Gambia. The combined effort was and still is primarily aimed at ensuring that democracy, rule of law and good governance exists in the Gambia. My appeal to the diaspora Gambian community is to read this piece with objectivity and with an open mind based on our collective aspiration to build a Gambia that is free of corruption and tribalism which are the primary ingredients of continuing backwardness and under-development especially in Africa and the Gambia in particular.
SEEDY JAITEH: A HIGH RISK HUMAN CAPITAL
For close to a year, an online radio host was actively engaged in propagating for the release of political detainees in The Gambia. Amongst those that the online radio host continuously proposed to be released, was one Mr. Seedy Jaiteh who was incarcerated/imprisoned for defrauding Gamcel of 11 million dalasis. Mr. Seedy Jaiteh was taken to court, found guilty and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Mr. Jaiteh was represented in court by lawyers Lamin Camara and Edward Singhateh. Gamcel was represented in court by the company’s Director of Internal Audit Mr. Sulayman Sidibeh.
The online radio host erroneously or intentionally and persistently kept airing that Mr. Seedy Jaiteh was reported by Gamtel/Gamcel Managing Director Mr. Babucarr Sanyang and was as a result sent to prison. This is far from the truth as Seedy Jaiteh was sent to prison for economic crime (stealing 11 million dalasis from the country’s only struggling GSM company – Gamcel).
The attention of the online radio host was drawn to the fact that Mr. Seedy Jaiteh is a felon/economic criminal who stole D11 million dalasis from a national Financially struggling company (Gamcel) and was accordingly taken to court and sent to prison for a period of 11 years. A copy of the audit report which detailed the fraud was sent to and published by the Freedom Online Newspaper about a week ago. The objective being to prevent Mr. Seedy Jaiteh from being recycled/re-instated back to Gamcel with the attendant risk of plunging the company into a more devastating fraudulent financial crisis. Mr. Seedy Jaiteh is a very high fraud risk and the online radio host that propagated for his release as a political prisoner has not done justice to the coalition government as well as to the Gambian people at large, by publicly airing his imprisonment as politically instead of as a criminally driven one.
The online radio host lashed at me by calling me ‘hateful and an APRC supporter’, and stated that Mr. Seedy Jaiteh was never taken to court – this is very much far from the truth . The radio host’s sycophants blindly started their baseless and senseless insults directed at me. The online radio host in question was in the Gambia at the time Mr. Seedy Jaiteh stole the Gamcel funds till the time the audit exercise was conducted and Mr. Jaiteh prosecuted and jailed. The outcome of the case was a bombshell and was carried in the national newspapers (the Observer and the Point). It is most unlikely that the online radio host was not aware of this case at the time – this made me to feel that the objective of the online radio host was to deliberately pull a fast one on the Coalition Government by misleading them.
CONCLUSION
It could be concluded that there is more to the relationship between the online radio host and Mr. Seedy Jaiteh than meets the eye. Doubtfully, the online radio host repeatedly stated that Mr. Seedy Jaiteh is not known to her/him. However, any reasonably objective person will wonder why the online radio host persistently and passionately kept propagating the release of Mr. Seedy Jaiteh for close to nine months by flipping his case as a political instead of a criminally driven case.
The highest risk in respect of this issue is that Mr. Seedy Jaiteh’s mistaken release as a political prisoner may result to him being mistakenly re-instated back to Gamcel to wreck more financial havoc on a financially struggling company and render it much less competitive in the GSM market.
I will not do justice to this online radio host without acknowledging the significant contribution made in enabling mobilization of funds for the Coalition Government’s political campaign during the just concluded presidential election. This mobilization effort significantly blinded the Coalition Government from noticing the red flags inherent in the persistent propagations by the online radio host to release Mr. Seedy Jaiteh as a political instead of as a felon/economic criminal.
RECOMMENDED
That, Mr. Seedy Jaiteh is a potential high fraud risk and should not be re-instated back to either Gamcel or Gamtel.
That, the Coalition Government be henceforth careful and remember that ‘not all that glitters is gold’, and to be carefully conducting due diligence whenever online radio hosts recommend individuals for appointments into the civil service. Such online radio hosts recommendations could be agenda based.
Written By Sulayman Sidibeh
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