The system of government in The Gambia stipulates that the government is elected by the people in order to serve the best interest of the population. The electorates give the government a mandate to run the affairs of the nation for and on their behalf. It should therefore always be kept in view that the purpose of a government is to serve its people.
It should follow therefore that every action taken by the government should be solely for the benefit of the people of the country. To serve their best interest should be the bedrock of all actions taken by their elected representatives or the agents and agencies set up in their name.
This means that when they go into a contract with any nation, Organization or company, it should only be for the overall benefit of the citizens. In order to guarantee that that is the case in each and every instance, the people of the country have to be fully informed of decisions taken in their name.
In recent times, it has become common for the Gambia Government to enter into certain agreements without the public being fully informed of the details of said agreements. The agreement between NAWEC and Senelec are cases in point. The people must be made to know all the details.
The latest agreement of that nature is the one between The Gambia Government and Albayrak Group, a Turkish company to manage the affairs of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA). According to some reports, the Group will own eighty percent of revenue which will leave only twenty percent for the State.
Many observers and citizens are asking questions and calling on the government to disclose all the details of the agreement. It has been reported that this agreement was signed since July of this year. Therefore people should have been aware of all the details by now.
Governments are elected to serve the interest of the citizens therefore citizens should be aware of what their government is doing for, and on their behalf. That will also help in minimizing incidents of malfeasance and embezzlement. The Government is hereby being urged to do what is necessary to inform the citizens of these, and all other agreements.
