By Tabora Bojang
Foñi Jarroll National Assembly Member Kebba Tumanding Sanneh has urged the government to focus on addressing the severe economic challenges facing the economy.
“Our economy is dead thanks to the poor fiscal and monetary policies of the government which is why inflation is soaring, the dalasi is depreciating at a worrying rate and they cannot create any jobs. These are the pressing issues they should immediately focus on addressing than thinking of prosecuting Yahya Jammeh,” Sanneh told The Standard yesterday in reaction to Ecowas’s acceptance for the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute the former president.
“For eight years now all what this government is singing is about prosecuting Jammeh as if that is the only issue exercising the daily lives of Gambians. I’m not trying to extricate Jammeh from anything but my issue is that he should not the primary focus of this government because they have done and continue to do many terrible things that they accused Jammeh of doing. How many people have lost their lives as a result of the actions of the Senegalese soldiers in Foñi and depriving children from going to school. We have seen security forces abusing the rights of Gambians including journalists and politicians,” Sanneh charged.
He claimed Jammeh was “cleared by the ICC of any wrongdoing and this position was complemented by Ecowas in its previous deliberations on the establishment of a hybrid court”.
“President Macky Sally committed more heinous crimes against the Senegalese people and Senegalese politicians than Jammeh but the Senegalese are not calling for Macky’s prosecution. So what is unique about us?” Sanneh quizzed.
He argued that even if Jammeh were to be killed today, it will “not solve” The Gambia’s problems because the government is “weak and guilty of corruption, bad governance and excessive and inappropriate spending”.
