We need political and economic

development reforms in The Gambia

Dear Editor,

We need a new constitution and redrawing the unequal constituency boundaries will make a huge difference. Let’s talk about the APRC. The party has split into two groups and neither of the groups are of any national development interest to The Gambia. The APRC should have been banned a long time ago. But we have gone past that moment, we should redraw the constituency boundaries. Foñi and many other unrepresentative constituencies should be redrawn down to two parliamentary constituencies and that is problem solved about the APRC, GDC and The NPP.

Democracy and freedom do not mean allowing undue influence from self-serving interest groups branded as political parties disrupting and frustrating cohesive political and economic development of the country. Who in their right mind thinks that Yahya Jammeh should come back to rule The Gamblers and or representing Jammeh as a sore thumb in our national political space? The APRC is a totally unacceptable political sight in our national political tapestry.

One of my frustrations with Ousainu Darboe’s leadership of the UDP is the lack of any political agenda to change the untenable political conditions and situations in The Gambia. The UDP is the main opposition party: the government has no interest in changing anything for a better and more representative democratic governance in The Gambia. And the UDP under Darboe has no agenda to change anything currently abhorrent about Gambian politics.

Maybe, Darboe thinks that he has to sit down with The Inter-Party Committee members and talk about change and reforming the diabolical political laws and infrastructure in the country. The APRC will be of no annoying political sore thumb sore in our national politics had we redrawn the unequal constituency boundaries. And until then, Gambian politics will continue to be unduly influenced by regional tribal political aberrations detrimentally averse to the progressive democratic and economic development of The Gambia.

Foñi and many other regions in The Gambia should not be sending to parliament the number of members they are currently allocated based on their voter numbers compared to other regions. Gambians in similar voter numbers should have equal representation in the parliament. We have to reform politics and the structures of political offices and institutions in The Gambia. The most important political reform needed in The Gambia is the 1997 Constitution. It’s a national priority and emergency or we risk being stuck in the past. The Barrow government is one of those self-serving personal interest groups branded as a political party and not prepared to change anything. And the UDP won’t talk about changing anything as the main opposition party. When Halifa Sallah talks about change, he pushes in his own chances of leading the opposition coalition which will never happen as that will amounts to democracy annihilation. All in all, nothing much will change in Gambian politics until we get a new opposition leader. A new opposition leader not handicapped or limited by the preparedness to champion the cause for change. Political leadership standards in The Gambia are curtailed by the substandard brand of our politicians. Political discourse standards in The Gambia do not reflect the political and economic development needs of the country. And that’s a serious problem!

We need political and economic development reforms in The Gambia to change the political and economic development fortunes of the Gambian people. Our national politicians and political parties have to be dewormed and repurposed to want to serve the progressive development of The Gambia and not tribal and personal interests branded as political parties. These are technical reforms that must have to be carried out if The Gambia will ever become a more stable democracy and a developed economy.

We need the politicians and the reform policies to effect the political and economic development reforms needed for The Gambia’s progressive democratic and economic development. A new constitution and redrawing the constituency boundaries will help a lot in the efforts to make The Gambia a more equal and representative democracy.

Yusupha ‘Major’ Bojang

UK