The United Democratic Party wishes to register its disappointment, yet again, in the President of the Republic who seems to only find time to engage in political bickering than address the growing concerns of the citizens and the dire economic realities of the country.
As the chief custodian of the law, we expect the President of the Republic to exercise utmost restraint and refrain from commenting on an ongoing commission of inquiry set up by his own administration to probe the financial management of local government administrations. It is inappropriate for the president to offer any opinions on an ongoing commission of inquiry thereby potentially undermining both their inquiries and credibility. He knows this, because in his latest obsession about the UDP and its leadership, he stated, “I do not want to comment on an ongoing investigation, but…” and went ahead and did anyway.
The leader of the UDP, His Excellency ANM Ousainu Darboe is within his rights, both as citizen and a voice for hundreds of thousands of Gambians, to speak up and raise concerns against the conduct of the current administration and the widespread corruption that this administration has become synonymous with. There is more than enough corruption, maladministration and failures in every facet of our country to speak about. H.E Darboe knows better than to undermine ongoing investigations just to score political points.
Just like the president, the local governments across the country are spearheaded by elected representatives who won their seats through the democratic process and earned the votes, the respect, and trust of Gambians in their immediate and wider communities. Those Gambians deserve their choices to be respected and treated as extensions of their collective aspirations.
The UDP is proud of its representatives in local governments across the country in their various capacities as elected ward representatives, Mayors, and Chairmen for the fantastic jobs they have done and continue to do for their constituents despite the central government’s lack of political will to empower or support them. These young leaders have shown what it means to be an effective leader by unifying their councils to focus on issues of concern to their constituents. Despite their political differences, they have consistently worked together to address difficult issues, all thanks to the sound leadership of their elected Chairmen and Mayors, which is a far cry from the president’s own divisive leadership and an unhealthy obsession with personality and identity politics.
We advise the President to borrow a leaf from the books of these young leaders and serve to be a unifying figure rather than the divisive one he chooses to be. But instead of being a unifying figurehead and seeking better working relations with the local councils, the President seems more interested in holding personal grudges, vendettas and a self-assigned mandate of political point scoring to the detriment of meaningful and impactful policy actions. Worse yet, is his failure to recognize that these elected leaders, just like himself, represent Gambian citizens of diverse political persuasions, all of whom deserve to be treated with respect and care because power is theirs and it was entrusted with hopes that those entrusted with it will make life better for them and their families. We are proud that UDP elected officials are doing their best to deliver that.
Gambians have long memories, especially in the internet age, and they can fully recall when the President’s administration, through the local government ministry sought to impose on the people of Kanifing municipality a public servant found wanting in corruption, to the point of causing damage to public property just to undermine the constitutional authority of the mayor for political reasons. When all failed, that official was reassigned to another council headed by an affiliate of the President rather than give his support to credible findings and apply the law.
Similar cases are true for Banjul when the first female Mayor of the country was sidelined in the roads rehabilitation project just because she was elected on a UDP ticket. The current Chairman of the largest municipality is being undermined through incessant court appearances for old charges just because he dared to stand up to corrupt officials within his council.
In fact, all councils with current or past elected leaders who got elected on the UDP ticket faced similar challenges, yet they marched on for their constituents despite all the obstacles placed in their path.
We knew from the onset that the government’s intentions in setting up these commissions were motivated only by political goals and not a sincere desire to promote efficiency and good governance at the local level. Despite our reservations, we respect the institution of state and urge all Gambians to follow with keen interest, the revelations being made at these commissions.
The irony is that as much as the president wants H.E Darboe to shift his focus to this ongoing commission of inquiry, the corruption and financial mismanagement that has marred local government authorities, that the commissions are bringing to light, almost entirely involves executive and financial officials appointed through the central government. When such officials are called to account, the central government steps in to back their corrupt practices but wants to turn around and blame the elected leadership for the failures of its own appointed officials.
The Gambian people expect better from the president. But without fail, every opportunity he gets to be a leader of worth, he proves to The Gambian people that he is more interested in personality and vindictive politics and not deserving of the honor and privilege entrusted to him. And that is the legacy he is building for himself. A legacy that will overshadow any good he thinks he may be doing, and history will remember that.
UDP MEDIA TEAM