The fundamental question one needs to ask is: what are the consequences of corruption or corruption related crimes? All these millions stolen by these unscrupulous Gambians have some devastating effects on the social structures of the Gambia. The Gambia is one of the poorest countries in the world, where everyday is a desperate struggle for survival for more than half of the population. These monies could have been spent on education, health care, housing as well as building the necessary infrastructure for citizens to standardise their way of living. Instead the country is deprived of these needed socioeconomic development for 22 long years by the very people who had sworn to manage our economy for the collective interest of all. I was a very active advocate of change of government and would like to see justice being prevailed. There should be no mercy on anyone found guilty of any sort of economic crime. They must be stripped off all their assets and sent to jail for more than 20 years with hard labour. These crimes constitute murder. How many Gambians died as a result of lack of well trained doctors or proper medicines; how many children dropped out of school for not paying their school fees; how many students graduated from high school and cannot spell their own names as a result of lack of investment in teacher training.
We as a nation have been set back for well over half a century by few people who were able to hire good teachers for their children or even send them for further education to western universities. There is no excuse whatsoever, for these people are guilty as their Satanic Master. We have seen the likes of Dr. M.L. Sidat Jobe and Mamburay Njie who said no to Jammeh’s nonsense. Thus there is no excuse whatsoever. A tooth for a tooth should be the way forward or else we will be worst than Nigeria as the author rightly put it.
Lamin Jammeh
Ends