Gambia’s information minister Dr. Ismaila Ceesay has ominously warned that any opposition figure, who dares debate him, will live to regret it.
The last time that a cabinet minister debated an opposition figure was last year when UDP official Lamin Manneh left works and infrastructure minister Ebrima Sillah dazed, gasping and groping for answers over transparency and durability issues around the OIC roads and other government-funded road construction project.
But it would appear minister Ceesay is battle-ready to avenge the ignominious defeat of his cabinet colleague in the airwaves by the prominent opposition figure. He hinted Coffee Time With Peter Gomez on Tuesday morning that it would tantamount to a reckless adventure for any opposition mouthpiece to dare him in a debate.
Dr. Ceesay stated that the Barrow administration has settled down to the task of delivering development to the Gambian population.
“As I said Peter, we are focused.Others can talk whenever they have the opportunity to do so but one thing I can tell you Peter, all those opposition spokespeople, who are talking and criticizing the government, they don’t bring alternatives to the table,” minister Ceesay contended in an interview with Coffee Time on Tuesday.He continued:”I want you to ask them, some of them who are saying the cost of living is expensive, rice is expensive, tell us what can you do differently from what we are doing to bring the cost of rice down.”
When host Peter Gomez put it to him that opposition figure Saikou Camara was on Coffee Time on Monday and that he gave the program an alternative to the NPP government, Dr. Ceesay replied:”Well, you can give an alternative but not based on a realistic alternative. Some of these are idealistic alternatives because when we see a realistic alternative, we will know. As we speak, the best we can get in The Gambia is the NPP-led coalition government and what we are providing. Anyone talking is just being idealistic. They need to first know what we are doing. Some of them will come with their ideas, they don’t know what we are doing. Tell me what I am doing and how I am doing it and tell me what is wrong with how I am doing it and this is how you would do it. Then, I might listen to you. But don’t come with your idealistic idea from that copy and paste.”
“Now, you are asking for debate.Who do you want to debate from the opposition?” stated Mr. Gomez.
“I know anybody, who debates me will live to regret it,” answered the information minister.
He emphasized that anyone, who wants to criticize the current government must “understand our model of development, our model of governance and our policies and find flaws and counter with policy prescriptions but we don’t want you to diagnose other societies and think that what can work in other societies can work here and you bring those prescription, they will fail”.
According to Dr. Ceesay, the NPP-led government is the best The Gambia can have not only in terms of policy goals and objectives, but also in terms of policy and development implementation.
