By Kemo Kinteh
I am a believer that we have made progress. A 22 year maladministration cannot be undone in a year or two. The government is making visible efforts to tackle the economy, the tourism industry is getting competitive, more Gambians are vacationing home and bringing in foreign exchange and investment. This is all possible because our political dispensation is seen to have changed from brazen manner to a plurastic interaction. There is expectation that the institutions will be put on a sound footing and the laws of the land optimized to a level of a land of laws. Not laws designed to benefit one man. Investors are expecting fair play in our business sector and the domestic business community looks forward to a more active market place with a business friendly environment. This is the task ahead. We now have the state and with it we inherit the responsibilities inherent in governing a country.
The Barrow government success is our success. We stood together to bring it to being and together we are steering it to fruition. Therefore, what is required so that we all remain involved despite our differences of opinion?
– Government is here for the people and no one from the president downwards, is a saint or the all knowing. That means not that we can all sit at the cabinet table or be a minister to decide on day to day running of ministries. What we fought for and rightly expect is responsible and explainable decision making. We expect rightly that if for example NAWEC is not functioning as required, that that dept responsible put the facts on the table. We dont expect a quick fix but we expect that people assigned with the electricity supply are economical in the use of public resources especially when resources are scarce and an endemic power shortage is the order of the day.
– We expect reliability and predictability. It would be daydreaming if I would fall to mention the ongoing soul searching our strategic alliance is plunged into since November 10th. As I repeated myself many times, Ahmad Fatty is not a saint and I for one is not siding with him. At stake for the coalition is credibility. If Mr. Farty had done something wrong, the facts behind must come forthwith. The longer the leadership wait the more the likelihood that the president’s account becomes distrusted – if eventually made public.
– Mr. Fatty’s dismissal alarms! Because theoretically the president can dismiss any minister. That include Lawyer Darboe – a possibility that many would not even think about! We have fought to restore sanity in the manner the president hire & fire people. We fought for reliability and predictability. Reliability that people selected to man respective ministries and positions are there for the long haul. We expect that crucial people in government are there to stay so that continuity becomes the watchdog. We want predictability because predictability insures continuity. Predictability enables trust between the leaders and the people. Predictability ensures that our destiny is not in the hands of a president prone to mood fluctuations. Predictability enables us to plan ahead knowing fully well that any decision made is made in the most transparently manner. For decision backed by sensible reasons will always find a receptive public who are then free to judge on it.
– We must also allow opinions to flourish without having to condemn people who see things differently than ourselves. We do not git rid of jammeh inorder to install a restrictive society. We got rid of him so that all can breathe in peace and in freedom to see things differently than ourselves. To agree and not to agree.
– Finally, we must continue to work for the country. Criticism is not entirely bad. It can strengthen our resolve. It can make us more dedicated to the course. For ultimately what counts to achieve a better lives for all our people.
That being the case, our energies must not be wasted on what people castigate us about but how we continue to improve the lives of our people.
Ends