I didn’t judge President Barrow’s morality. I judged his action. What kind of society are we where actions cannot be evaluated for their impact? That’s immaturity. Only kids act without expecting their actions to be judged.
The value of the gift doesn’t depend on the price. It depends on the contract with the giver and the giver’s interests. What contract does the president have donating or giving gift to National Assembly members with vehicles outside of due process? It’s patronage.
A parent has a different relationship with a child. A parent is expected by society to provide for the child, but is also supposed to be in a selfless relationship called love.
To equate political patronage with parenthood is a corruption of parenthood with very serious implications.
Some of us must think very seriously about what we’re saying. We’re on a very slippery slope when we equate President Barrow’s gift to that of a parent. If we say relationships and interests of gift givers don’t matter, we’re essentially saying that kids should accept gifts from drug dealers and sugar daddies because those are behaving as parents, since their motives and interests don’t count.
And mark you, most of the people who are in denial, and are criticizing what I didn’t say, are from areas where they whine about the boy child or girl child being neglected. They have completely missed my point about what this act of giving a car means for grown up law-makers of men and women.
What happens to the young men and women who cannot catch the president’s eye and receive a car? How will they be men and women of substance in society? They will either drink cheap alcohol, prostitution or go into crime. And then we’ll all be told that every taxpayer is responsible for the crisis of masculinity in our political parties, a crisis for which its own supporters are still refusing to take responsibility.
We need to understand that wealth and power cannot buy you integrity, a brain or dignity. Esau discovered the hard way that they can’t. Birthrights and the sweat of your work, not gifts, are priceless.
Jollof News ran an interview with a Young prospective candidate for the National Assembly. During that interview he was asked What was the largest purchase he had ever made. His reply>>” a secondhand washing machine”
I thought to myself, this man can truly represent the real people from his community.
If you are to find the new Gambia, not from the Executive but from the ordinary citizens they represent, it would be an advantage if The Gambian government can repay ambition and dedication with something that will not only lift the spirit, but also reveal the path to personal achievement.
I thought this initiative from President Barrow…was genuine and inspirational.
President Barrow may have genuinely wanted to facilitate the work of NAMs by easing their transport woes, but he has approached it in a very bad way. NAMs should not be surprised with “gifts” of brand new vehicles, by a president they are supposed to hold to account. And it is ill advised for a president who has replaced Yaya Jammeh, to act exactly in the same way as him, in this instance.
It is dangerous for our efforts to end the rule of impunity, if we only looked at the impact of these “gifts”, and ignored everything else. Public Funds should not be spent, without authorisation from the National Assembly, through the National Budget.
What is/are the source(s) of these funds? Who authorised the President to spend the funds, if they were not in the budget? So many questions needed to asked here.
The questions/objections raised by my illustrious friends, are procedural. Not entitlement. I believe I have addressed the authors large question mark on entitlement. Of course procedure or protocol is the measure by which transparency and approval are decided and when assented to,,,,, progressed,,,, or refused. The correct budget identified, costed and actioned.
Of course you could pay for taxi’s. But you would not deprive a Doctor or a Policeman, a judge or any public servant needing transport. That would be reckless. I think to under value the work of a NAM..would be a retrograde journey and a disservice to efficiency and productivity. The fact that The President has sanctioned this, gives a positive indication of progressive thinking, and innovative aspirations for the future.
Mike Scales,
I can’t take you any serious. Do Gambian NAMs individually need a vehicle, purchased from the taxpayers’ money? What immense service do they render to the Gambian people to deserve a vehicle each? Even if they need a vehicle why can’t they share 3-4-5 vehicles among them taking into account the dire economic needs of our country? They need a vehicle to go the house of parliament from home and back, am I right? Those who live in the provinces could use the public transport services which are efficient. You spend only 4 hours to arrive at Basse from Kanifing in the most comfortable public buses. You spend 3-4 hours to travel from Barra to Lamin Koto.
President Jammeh left the roads in excellent conditions which immensely facilitates travelling on both banks of the river.
The priority consideration to acquire any objective is always measured in terms with what one has to forego. Gambians have foregone a lot of other fundamental amenities that would have ameliorated their collective economic and social conditions other than using their money for lucrative cars that would only enhance the collection of the NAMs girlfriends, children and families, collecting firewood, petty comodities from shops/markets instead of running official errands. This is how they use official vehicles, for personal errands…..
We are in dire electricity shortage, lack of medicines, poor street conditions, delapidated infrastructure in our capital city, Banjul etc, etc..
This offer of vehicles is to corrupt the allegiance of the NAMs whose composition in our house is a disgrace. Some of them are just horrendous ,unworthy to represent a people. Barrow knows them very well, that’s why he has deliberately taken our money to corrupt them!
I’m grateful to the PDOIS parliamentarians for their grand stance in refusing the offer.
Babu Mad Professor Soli
Don’t have the illusion that anybody is taking you seriously either except your capital letter obsessed village idiotic friend. How can you blame President Barrow and his government for the infrastructural dilapidation of our capital city. Banjul had a better infrastructure 22 years ago than today. Who was in charge during those 22 years? Was it not the faked ass motherfucker who let our city to decayed?
You see Babu,liars like you and the devil in disguised Jammeh,the fake Sheikh, fake doctor,fake professor will lie till the day you die. Who will take an idiot like you seriously?
Babu Soli,
Did you seek any medical need or accepted cash, a cow or a goat from professor-doctor Jammeh?
Just asking.
Babu; I have never taken myself seriously at all. I was very sorry to learn my friend the ex President’s nephew…and his lovely wife and children have been thrown out of there home onto the street. Sgt Amadou as I called him, did two tours in Darfur, and is an excellent and loyal soldier. I can be contacted through Jollof News.
Nasty Natty Dread,
See how you can LIE. Are you lying to someone who knows Banjul more than you do? I saw that dilapidated city in the 60s,70,80,90s till today. What changes did the defunct PPP government carry out except dig the streets and leave them MUDDY for President Jammeh to refurbish them? You LIAR.
Grant street, Spalding, Lovell Square, Imam Omar Sowe Ave, Blanc Street….just to name a few have NEVER seen any face-lift since the colonial days. You are a TODDLER LIAR.
Your USELESS, INEPT, CORRUPT, TRIBALIST, INCOMPETENT government with its ILLITERATE head “administrator” has absolutely nothing programmed for our masses, except to cheat them, amass wealth through bogus trips and seminars. You are nothing more than a FOOLED conformist!
Upus,
The medical treatment, the cash, the cow, the goat, the sheep, the chicken, the BENACHIN, the DOMODA, the FINDO, the NYANKATAN(Nbahal) and all the delicious, nutritive items, facilities and services that I sought from President Jammeh were all invested by him for the Gambian people to share.
His execellent legacies are what you and I and the rest of our citizenry are enjoying today. You see, I’m not the only one that sought these amenities from him. You were equally there, Upus, weren’t you? Will you deny it? Just asking!
Mind you, I have NEVER met President Jammeh in my life! Only his excellent work ties me to him.
Jack,
You can’t read to extract real information from texts. Please read Upus’s text and my reply before writing something you don’t understand.
Jack,
That’s why I always say that you don’t read to discern informtion from texts.
Upus asked a very STUPID CHILDISH question. Such questions should be answered with hyper-nonsensical statements. That’s the best treatment for illogical people. PERIOD!