Letters to the Editor

Riff raffs and rank and files Dear editor, One of the major problems with Gambian politics is that people who have no understanding of anything are placed in charge of running very important offices of the state and/or have access to the corridors of power. Our political parties are run and manned by the same riff raffs and rank and files. Take for example Seedy Njie and Dou Sano… Most of the people appointed as special advisers to the president in charge of many different portfolios have no clue what their brief is. The president is surrounded by people who have the IQ of military NCOs. The same could be said of most of the ministerial appointments and the MPs in the National Assembly. Hardly do you have a minister come out and make a public statement without feeling like but how did he/she ended up being a minister of state? Of the MPs in the National Assembly, only people like Halifa have a better understanding of their duties and responsibilities. The rest are just told to do whatever is demanded of them by officials of their parties – people who can neither think for themselves nor act in the national interest! It’s not a question of having a university degree. It’s a question of having the understanding of how the world of politics, finance, economics and national development works. There are many Gambians who have university degrees but I suspect not many of these so-called educated and competent Gambians come across as having any ideas about the art of statecraft and the understanding of geopolitics and geo-economics which is necessary to bring about national economic development in The Gambia. The Gambia Government operates like a branch office of a multinational corporation. Nothing major or significant gets decided in a branch office of a multinational corporation. That sad indictment is particularly true of the Barrow government. The Barrow government has no idea what it is doing. It’s just making things up as it goes along. The Gambia Government lacks the leadership to pave a way out for The Gambia to be independently connected to the international grid of the flow of economic investment for national economic development. Our government mostly follows and implements the economic development prompts from the donors and the development partners. And that’s why for more than fifty years, there has not been much national economic development in our country. Policies of the donors and the development partners lack local input. The Gambia Government needs its independent direct access to funding to invest in our national economic development alongside the ancillary help from the donors and the development partners. The government cannot simply rely on donors, development partners and attracting foreign direct investment for the economic development of The Gambia. Now I don’t mean to be rude or condescending but take a look at the leadership of the three most important local government areas in The Gambia – Banjul, KMC and Brikama. I mean seriously, what do you expect when people of the calibre of the c… are in charge of running the most important local government areas in The Gambia? But again take a look at the president, his cabinet and the composition of the National Assembly. And the so-called advisers to the president and the people who are going in and out of the State House making headline news in The Gambia. You could not make it up. Riff raffs and rank and files who have no understanding of anything are put in charge of running the country and managing the affairs of the state. No wonder an economically backward country like Senegal is the sign post for the Gambian political leadership to measure up to. And Senegal is practically running the government of The Gambia. Unbelievable! Leadership is the key to the political stability and economic development of any nation. The leader of the country must have the awareness and the understanding of the workings of global politics, finance and economics. The leader of the country must have ideas about how to develop the country by directly connecting The Gambia to the international grid of the flow of global finance for national economic development. We should not be putting semi illiterates and photocopiers in important offices of the state that require humans who have the capacity to think, formulate and direct national policies for our economic development. But the most important job that we must have the right person in charge of overseeing is the office of the president. The president of The Gambia must have the basic understanding of international politics, finance and economics if we want to live in a developed country. We need a capable president who will be surrounded by capable]]>