Letters to the Editor

What For? Dear editor, In the Fula Language we have a saying that ‘Soranaa wutte hemtaani wullani poos’ (You are given a shirt as a gift. The shirt doesn’t fit because it is small; but, you are crying that there is no pocket). How ridiculous is that! Similarly, the Government of the Gambia has taken a budget estimate to the National Assembly for approval which many citizens see as not being ‘a people’s budget’; not good for the country and are criticizing it harshly. Instead of seeking to address that and revise it, they are taking a Supplementary Appropriation Bill of more than one billion dalasi barely two weeks before the end of the year. Citizens are tempted to ask: is this hubris or just gullibility? One cannot understand what emergency exists for the government to need an extra one billion dalasi at this eleventh hour? What is so urgent that the government would throw away financial discipline and seek to spend our money without any care? We, the People of the Gambia, hereby urge the National Assembly Members to reject this supplementary budget or at least delay its approval until such time that the government can explain fully to the Gambian people why they need this huge amount. We have lived in abject poverty since independence largely because governments have mismanaged our funds and citizens sit idly by and allow it to happen. Well, we have news for them. Times have changed and we are no longer willing to sit and watch politicians play with our lives – because the issue of budget is a life and death issue. From our education system to the health sector, agriculture to trade and industry, poor policies are causing the deaths of many Gambians. We are now saying enough is enough. We will not allow this to happen. Politicians must be made to understand that they work for us. We employ them. We pay them to do a particular job. If they can no longer do it, we simply remove them and give the job to someone else who can. I say no to the Supplementary Appropriation Bill. I say no to the 2019 Budget! Tha Scribbler Bah A Concerned citizen]]>