Dear Editor,
The National Assembly Special Select Committee’s report on the disposal of Jammeh’s assets makes for sobering reading. It provides a gripping account of administrative incompetence, institutional dysfunction, and governance failures. Even accounting for the fact that the country was undergoing a difficult period of disentanglement from dictatorship, the scale of the wrongdoing is breathtaking in its scope and blatancy.
It would be one thing if the report had found isolated cases of individual misconduct, or a single agency failing to discharge its duties properly. Instead, the dysfunction cuts across multiple institutions: the Ministry of Justice, the Registrar of Companies, the Gambia Tourism Board, the Department of Lands, and the Gambia Livestock Marketing Agency, among others. This was a systemic failure.
Across these institutions, the report highlights malicious alteration of relevant records, absence of procedural frameworks, willful disregard of lawful court orders, complete neglect of professional obligations, indifference to institutional mandates, the allowing of personal relationships to override professional duties, and a widespread lack of oversight. What is more, some of these wrongs were perpetrated by senior officials who are supposed to set the standard for appropriate conduct. Abubacarr Tambadou stands out in particular for his egregious behavior, given that as Attorney General at the time, he was supposed to be the government’s chief legal adviser.
The loss of national assets is immense, spanning livestock, wildlife, agricultural equipment, aircraft, bank account funds, financial assets, and land. It goes without saying that the financial value of these assets runs into the billions of dalasi. The corrosive effect on public trust in officials will linger for a long time. An entire decade that could have seen the country undergo genuine transition has been squandered, as this sorry excuse for a government sinks us deeper into a quagmire of incompetence and greed.
Following the Janneh Commission and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission, a comprehensive accounting of wrongdoing has become an unfortunately familiar routine for Gambians. Unlike citizens of other countries, who can expect justice to follow such a report, we live in a different reality. Like the recommendations of the Janneh Commission before it, the select committee’s recommendations are unlikely to receive the attention they deserve from the authorities – unless one is inclined toward willful amnesia. The best we can hope for is a pretense of criminal proceedings staged by the government, nothing more than a performance for public consumption, until attention is once again diverted by the next outrage.
Dr Ousman Gajigo
Gambia For All Party
New Barra ferry: more questions than answers
Dear Editor,
The recent fanfare surrounding the arrival of the new green ferry, Barra, raises more questions than answers. The NPP-led government should be addressing pressing concerns rather than dwelling in propaganda.
Need I remind the public that the existing ferries are remnants of the Jammeh era, with four ferries acquired over 22 years. The last to arrive was the Kunta Kinteh ferry, which was commissioned by the current president in 2016. Since then, no new ferry has been procured. Instead, the Barrow government has struggled with repair and maintenance of those ferries, leading to a deteriorated Banjul-Barra ferry service, forcing people to risk their lives when crossing the river in small canoes. My upmost credit goes to the Barra alkalo for intervening with his boats and providing free services during the crisis.
My question is: Where is the money? The government increased ferry fares, introduced VIP tickets, and imposed car park charges, generating over D24 million monthly (D2.3 billion over eight years). Yet, no new ferries were acquired. We demand transparency: Where is the money going? Are audit reports being ignored, and is corruption normalised under Barrow’s leadership? Hundreds of patients lack access to medicines, and thousands of farmers are struggling with unsold groundnuts.
When families spend all their earnings on food, school fees, rent, healthcare and other basic needs, becomes unbearable. That’s the exact situation in The Gambia under Barrow. No meaningful investments in agriculture, and the main cash crop that most farmers relied on is neglected. This has led to increased national debts, with the country currently tied to over D130 billion debt. The budget for debt servicing exceeds the combined budget for agriculture, education, and health, putting pressure on the dalasi to further depreciate.
My message to fellow citizens is simple: April 8th is Voter Registration Day. Get your voter’s card and use it wisely on 5th December. If we want a better Gambia, vote against Barrow. They have looted more than Jammeh. If you fail to act, the future regret is yours and our dear country is in the hands of the mafia.
Hagi Suwaneh
United Democratic Party
