Sunday 7 March 2010

When will Gambians know the reasons behind these endless sacking?


It is increasingly becoming acceptable, and every Gambian appears to have grown apathetic with the fact that whatever Yahya Jammeh does is in conformity with the best interest of the nation – no questions, no queries.
Or are Gambians, especially those around the president, just playing hypocrisy by resorting to talking only behind his back?
While we are obliged to put up with the man at State House, as he is the head of state, we are equally obliged to put him to check for all his actions and decisions, which he in fact takes on our behalf. That is the only sure way of preventing looming dictatorship.
Unacceptable as it maybe to many, OJ Jallow’s statement, as published by Jollof News, Sunday, 28 February 2010, contains some salient points that should arouse questions in our minds. Why is it that Yahya Jammeh cannot get the good ones?
President Yahya Jammeh is certainly not getting the good ones, or else we wouldn’t have been witnessing this frequent sacking of government officials. And since he clearly appoints from among his support base, the APRC to be precise, it can be argued that the party no longer has what it takes, in terms of human resource, to provide the Gambia with the development Yahya Jammeh wants for the country. Or is the APRC just a composition of fraudulent people? Well that is what all this endless sacking suggests.
Lest we forget, it is also pertinent to look at it this way; Gambians never get the side of sacked officials.
It is understandable that given the prevailing intimidating situation in the country, it is not a surprise that sacked officials can not go about talking in defense of themselves. However, some of them, if not all, actually do leave the country on their removal; that is if they are lucky to escape the wrath of the NIA, but you hardly hear them talk. Could they be guilty of the tacit accusation of corruption, in efficiency of malpractice?
After all, the least we expect is an explanation, either from the sacking authority or the sacked, as to why all these endless dismissals.
Officials are certainly appointed on the basis of their qualification and commitment, so if they are sacked, it is important that we [Gambians] get to know why. It certainly is not possible that all these people could be bad. But we still want to know. It is discomforting to be in the dark. This, in fact, breeds unavoidable speculations.
Besides, the Gambian constitution guarantees free flow of information. No information is as relevant to us as Gambians as those pertaining to our servants, from the president down to the last junior civil servant on the payroll of Gambians.
It is high time that we, ordinary Gambians, supporters and none supporters of Yahya Jammeh, as well as well wishers of the country, started asking questions. After all that is what democracy is all about.
This was not supposed to be a totalitarian regime.

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