Dear Editor,
Historically crowned to lead us to the famous triumph in ousting an established 22 years dictatorship housed in wealth, power, information and state machinery unleashing torrential terror on its vulnerable citizens, President Barrow is the one rolling out development projects across Gambia. A triumph birthing our political freedom to be what ourselves in speech and acts.
Barrow is the one because for the first time a Gambian leader takes on board popular demands of his people. Albeit in some quarters the development he is spearheadingly rolling out in the heart of neglected rural Gambia especially URR, is give its people a new lease of life and opportunities to augment themselves. This is amply illustrated in the stone laying of the Kiang Maduar Stadium, the Sotuma Sere Hotel, and most recently the new generators to inject live and energy on our NAWEC. Soon electricity will become another tale to be recounted as one of bygone pandemics.
Most importantly for many Gambian households is survival. The three daily meals particularly lunch. Prices of rice are unaffordable but thanks to President Barrow and his Japanese counterparts, these prices will soon become in my Jammeh voice “chicken change” for most households.
Admittedly, there are still other areas needing attention but Barrow does not weh weh to distract his focus and attention to the urgency of those areas. Gambians are waking up to these projects uplifting their livelihood and as such are not readied to be fooled any more with upside political goals.
Sulayman Jeng
UK
I stand corrected
Dear editor,
During my conversation with my brothers on the For The People By The People show, I observed that I was not satisfied with the internal workings of any of the political parties and so I’ll rather not join any of them. I cited as an example, the fact that if they do not want unlimited terms for the presidency, then they should also practice term limits within their parties such that no one self-perpetuates in their elected position. If you seek to replace with better, I think you should have better before you replace. We shouldn’t wait till you get power to be “democratic”.
My reservations about how political parties are run in The Gambia are not only based on that single reservation of what I consider to be self-perpetuation of the leaders within some of the parties. And while I didn’t say that no party has term limits in their rules, I’ve had a few people reach out to me with their concern and so I think how I said it must have been wrong. I commend Citizens Alliance for clarifying that they indeed do have term limits in their rules. My sincere apologies if my comments suggested otherwise. I think that speaks well of your desires for better governance.
Others have argued that all parties have their own internal democratic mechanisms and I should respect that. I do. That’s one of the reasons I stay away. However, for argument’s sake, I think democracy is only a process. And if an electoral process leads to the same person winning or going unchallenged each time, there may be something not right somewhere in the cyclical process! If the same winner emerges at every contest, the outcome may be democratic but I’m not sure the process is. Yaya Jammeh “won” all his elections but I don’t think any right thinking Gambian will tell you there was ever a single Gambian election that Yahya won fair and square according to a democratic process.
Most elections of any kind are not won on election night; its the months and years leading to that night that elections are won. And let’s be frank, the sense of entitlement and monopoly some of our party leaders have over their parties makes it almost an abomination for anyone to even contemplate running against the leadership! You’ll probably end up being kicked out of the party for daring to go against the leaders!
And no I have no interest whatsoever in joining any of the parties or a position in any of them. I am forming my own party called Party Of No Unrepentant Dictator Enablers. I’m the only member and I’m the leader and will be till I die in office! My program is simple: For Gambia to rise, the foundations must be dismantled. You ask me how, I say look at the hypocrisy in your judiciary with the abuse of Madi and the prosecution of the 18 Imams for breaking rules that our government breaks as they please. I commend Mai Fatty for pointing out the ridiculousness of these prosecutions. One is allowed to break the rules for politics but you get prosecuted for breaking the rules for religious practice! Look at the greed of your cabinet members and look at the shenanigans and hypocrisy in the National Assembly cloaked in patriotism!
Alagie Barrow
USA
