Recently, an Afrobarometer survey found that there is a general decline in public trust in many of our institutions. This includes trust in the president, the National Assembly, local government councilors, the National Human Rights Commission, the Gambia Revenue Authority, the police, the courts, religious and traditional leaders and in fact almost everyone.
This is indeed a huge cause for concern. When it comes to politics it is often said: perception is everything and that is why politicians will do everything in their power to convey a good image to the public. No politician or elected official wishes to be seen in a negative light. This is an undisputable fact.
Though the judiciary has since sought to downplay the findings by differentiating between the courts and the authorities in charge of prosecution, but the fact remains to the layman; there is indeed a very thin line between those who are in charge of prosecution and the courts themselves. These two are intrinsically intertwined.
Again, the most fundamental thing that all these institutions and officials should have been – should be – doing is to try to find out why the public is losing trust in them and then go work on changing that view. Whether the Afrobarameter is right or wrong should not have been their main concern. Their main concern should be how to rectify the anomaly if there is any. And if there isn’t, building trust will do them no harm at all.
All the said individuals and institutions are supposedly working for the public. If therefore they are told that the public has lost trust in them, it is their duty to work tirelessly to ensure that they regain that trust lest they end up losing their jobs or woefully failing in their responsibilities.
Perhaps the most worrying thing is the fact that the religious and traditional leaders have also lost a percentage of trust from the public. This is a national concern and measures should be taken immediately to rectify the situation. If a nation reaches a stage where at the people do not trust anyone or any institution, then that nation is in serious danger.
Something must be done immediately!
