I have read on social media that the government has cancelled two hundred and seventy diplomatic passports issued by the previous regime. This number is indeed very high. One wonders what criteria the previous government used to identify people who deserve to be issued diplomatic passports.
A passport is a national document which carries the weight of the government of the issuing country with it, and by extension, the weight of the entire nation, particularly diplomatic passports. A government should only issue diplomatic passports to people who are deserving of it and people who need this in order to effectively carry out their duties and functions. It should not be that every Dick, Tom and Harry is carrying a diplomatic passport. If a holder of a diplomatic passport does something wrong, the entire country is guilty by association. Thus, we should be mindful and very choosy when it comes to issuing of those documents.
The other thing that had become so rampant and so easy to attain was the national honorary awards. It seems that whoever proved to be loyal to Yahya Jammeh, or any stalwart of the APRC was awarded. A time came when the holders of these awards were so many in the country that they became ordinary things, no value at all. These should be put aside for people who have performed heroic deeds or have done something that has a huge positive impact on the advancement of the nation. It shouldn’t be a thing to reward party loyalists with nor to reward someone who has done something for the president. This promotes unhealthy competition among citizens. It led to people running around spying on each other with a view to reporting them so as to be rewarded with such awards. Sometimes, when they didn’t have anything to report, they manufactured it and caused harm to innocent people.
Mr President, I hope this will not be the case with your government as well. By all means reward the people who deserve it and issue diplomatic passports to those who need/deserve it but let us be choosy. Whatever becomes too common loses much of its value and significance.
Have a good day Mr President.
