GMC leader breaks silence on burning issues
By Omar Bah
The leader of the Gambia Moral Congress has said despite the passage of the anti-corruption bill, government has little or no chance of winning the fight against corruption under the current civil service.
The government has come under immense pressure for doing little to fight corruption, but the recent passing of the anti-corruption bill sent indications that the Barrow administration is just about to be serious about fighting corruption.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference on Tuesday at his Kotu residence, Mai Fatty said there is a law under which we can fight corruption and corrupt practices but implementation remains the problem. “The Gambia has some of the best laws in the whole world and some of the best policies, but they don’t work, because we are not committed to implementing them. Our civil service is one of the best when you want to produce any document, but this is not the civil service I want to rely on, with due respect to the good ones that are there. This civil service needs total revamping, otherwise the fight against corruption will not work,” he said.
Fatty said the civil service needs serious reform to reshape its current setup.
“We also need real political will and courage to fight corruption because when you fight corruption, it fights back, so you must be willing and strong enough with political will to do so,” he said.
Economy
Commenting on the country’s economic challenges, Fatty said the GMC doesn’t believe in the distorted politicisation of the economy because it affects all.
“What affects everybody should be everybody’s business and should be everybody’s duty to solve. That is why I believe in solving the economic challenges and everybody has a role to play in that and that is why we support government development programmes because they are about economic development, jobs, healthcare, education, roads, and employment. We can have our differences, but when it comes to issues of national development, there should be no politics because it is the responsibility of all Gambians,” he said.
GMC congress
The Gambia Moral Congress leader said his party’s 2023 congress will be conducted under the theme ‘The Need for a New Paradigm Shift towards Gambian Political Consolation’.
“We have too many political parties in this country with very limited or unrecognised ideological differences with each claiming to exist for the interests of The Gambia. Most voters cannot tell the difference between GMC and another political party because the lines are not very drawn except for empty criticism, so we need to come together for the common good,” he added.
He said there are political parties that believe they are God and everything about them is perfect, and whatever you say about them, if it is not okay, you must be wrong.
“That type of dictatorial politics also has to go,” Fatty said.
He said the GMC is independent-minded and will continue to do what it feels is right without giving consideration to anyone who may think otherwise.
“Because we believe that politics and morality should be the future of this country. I believe all the political parties that think like GMC should come together. That should be the new political paradigm. There is no point in everybody building a small hut when all the huts look alike and when the occupants of the huts also look alike. Why don’t you build a self-contained house or a storey building that will accommodate everybody in one,” he said.
