Simmering Controversy Surrounding The Recent Forceful Take Over Of The MacCarthy Square-D.A Jawo

Demba Ali Jawo, Former Minister of Information

By D. A. Jawo

The simmering controversy surrounding the recent forceful take over of the MacCarthy Square from the Banjul City Council (BCC) by the Office of the President, appears to be part of a grand scheme by the Barrow administration to financially and administratively weaken the opposition-controlled municipalities.

This decision is certainly not an isolated incident but rather as part of that well calculated scheme by the executive to weaken those municipalities, which had been ongoing for quite a while now. We had seen it take different shapes and forms, including the appointment of the so-called “Executive Coordinators” in Banjul and the KMC, erroneously referred to by some people as Governors. It was quite obvious that the creation of those offices was purely political rather than administrative and the occupants of those offices play absolutely no positive role in the administration of the municipalities of both Banjul and the KMC but rather to create a presence for the executive in the indirect management of those two municipalities. We have seen, for instance, that whenever President Barrow makes a visit to any part of Banjul or KMC, he invites those Executive Coordinators to accompany him while completely ignoring the mayors who are the legitimate representatives of the people of those two areas.

We had also seen that the scheme was first tested in Basse when the new market was taken away from the then-opposition controlled Basse Area Council and handed over to the Office of the Governor to administer, in complete contravention of both convention and the law governing local government.

We have also seen similar action being carried out in the West Coast Region, with the executive doing everything to erode the powers and authority of the Brikama Area Council, no doubt all geared towards making the Council look ineffective and eventually unpopular in the eyes of the residents of West Coast Region.
Going back to the decision of the Office of the President “to take over the management and security of the (MacCarthy) square”, we have heard some contradictory statements from some members of the government. For instance, the Chief of Staff and Minister at the Presidency, Mod K Ceesay told West Coast Radio on Wednesday that “MacCarthy Square had never been part of the BCC”, which appears to contradict a letter from the State House to the Mayor of Banjul stating; “Following the recent renovation of the McCarthy Square as part of events of the 60th independence anniversary, the Office of the President wishes to notify you of the decision to take over the management and security of the square.” Certainly therefore, “taking over” the square from BCC indicates that it was originally part of the BCC, and that had been the case since the creation of the municipality. The letter in fact ended; “We look forward to your usual cooperation and thank you for the great work over the years,” thus confirming that it had all along been administered by BCC.

Whatever the case however, this move is yet another apparent reversal of the de-centralization of residual powers from the central to local governments.