Dear R2Kers: It is now abundantly clear that the country is
on a slippery slope to disaster. We have a government that has demonstrated
time and again, that the it will not put country first and abide by the most
sacrosanct wishes of the people, that they be governed well. In 2016, December
2nd, our collective future was pregnant with hope and possibilities
that a new beginning, after being abused and scared for over 22 years of brutality and authoritarian
dispensation, had arrived. We voted for
CHANGE. We voted and expected a new era of hope- hope for a better life; hope for job prospects for the youth, health care
for all, especially our vulnerable children and women in hard to reach
areas. We thought we voted for a
compassionate administration, that would deliver and live up to expectations of
a country renewed. We had the world
behind us in this aspiration.
We even had the intervention of a region that demanded that
our wishes be respected and fulfilled. Gambia
was the envy of the continent. Our flag,
that was tattered and torn, was given a chance of liberty and pride to flutter anew,
in an atmosphere of freedom vested in people power. Yes, we were the envy of African states that
yearned for the opportunity we had in 2016. But it has been four difficult years
since.
Dear R2Kers: In this period of hardship, disbelief, dashed
expectations, and wonderment, we are now left to ponder on our next steps in
this journey, which for many is filled with worry, despondency, anxiety and
anger. And rightfully so. The possibilities of being Gambians again remains in
doubt. Since when did things get so dark
that we no longer recognize each other?
We are known as a society where religion, ethnicity, socio-economic
or regional background never mattered- hence we were known as the smiling coast,
a happy people filled with optimism. It
is no accident that our birth, all be it improbable, at the dawn of
independence, was in fact debunked. We
forged on, and became a viable nation- although not perfect. We were viable. We were viable in the eyes of
the world. We were that little hamlet on a Hill that punched above its weight. We
sustained a vibrant re export trade, becoming a breadbasket for nations that surrounded
us. A safe haven to those that were
displaced in 1980’s and ‘90’s (Liberians, Sierra Leoneans; Guineans;).
We became a bastion of Human Rights, and a
pluralistic democracy in a sea of military regimes, until that reputation ended
in 1994. After 22 years of surviving an ordeal that almost consumed
us, we decided- Gambians and Gambia Decided that enough was enough and we
unshackled ourselves from the bondage of dictatorship. We vowed to each other- a bond that cannot be
broken- that no more shall we be held hostage to corruption, incompetence,
abuse of the constitution, weaponization of state institution to perpetuate
injustice, non-delivery of basic services on education, health, infrastructure,
water and electricity. We AGREED. Those
that we put in power to safeguard these agreement ACCEPTED to do right by us
and respect our wishes. They FAILED us.
They failed on their promise.
Dear R2Kers: In 2017, we, as Right to Know, sent them a
reminder of their obligations to stay true to the social contract of putting
people first, when the Semlex deal, which was fraught with irregularities and
corruption, surfaced. They ignored us. The
Barrow administration, with the Coalition still on honeymoon, told untruths to
justify their actions. They went ahead, despite our concerns, went ahead and
signed an illegal contract with a company that was at the time being
investigated for corruption and money laundering activities in Belgium.
The matter was also at the level of the NA for an inquiry
when Pres Barrow signed a new contract with Semlex regardless. That was the first year into the new Gambia. We have now taken Semlex and GoTG to court
over the matter.
In the same vein we have the evidence to show that the Barrow
administration is not a listening government and are out of touch with reality.
We have chosen to proactively engage
with this administration from inception. As far back as 10 April, 2018, (the 18th anniversary of the killing of protesting students), we wrote urging the
president to show political will and leadership in confronting acts of
illegality and corruption in government and prioritize civil and security
sector reforms, by ensuring that impunity is rooted out of the system of
government he inherited.
We never received a response. President Barrow,
instead demonstrated the exact opposite actions, to what we had expected from
an incumbency, which enjoyed enormous goodwill, both internally and externally.
He did nothing. Impunity reigns supreme in this government, and lessons and
warnings have gone unheeded. We have communicated to Pres. Barrow our utterly
dismay at the signs of an uncaring, unresponsive and defensive administration,
which he leads, uncanny traits, which are being routinely displayed.
We have, over time, also sent out several more missives to
members of his cabinet. On 28 September, 2019, (International Day for Universal
Access to Information), we released a letter to former Minister of Justice Tambadou
and current minister of Communications & Information, Ebrima Sillah,
requesting them to make the Janneh Commission report accessible to the public.
In that letter, we demanded access to the Janneh Commission report, because it
was financed by the public purse, through tax payers’ money.
This was something that no citizen should have to request
for, especially after the lofty promises were made towards deepening and
promoting a culture of a transparent government. Sadly, no response has been
forthcoming from either Minsters, and to date, the Janneh Commission report
remains inaccessible to the public. However, today, we hear and see evidence of
mass impropriety on how Jammeh’s assets were ‘sold’, with little or no
transparency in the process.
Assessing the figures one would see that the value placed on
most items sold, including luxury cars, landed properties, tractors, is a total
mismatch to proceeds received. Besides,
there is clear evidence that the process of sales of Jammeh’s property may have
been illegally done. Undermining all the
efforts put forth in bringing to bare those responsible for looting our
country.
So many people are now left wondering whether this was all
worth it. And if it was, the benefits of
the process to investigate corruption under Jammeh has not translated to
effective recovery of stolen assets by the state for the benefit of the Gambian
people….but instead it was for the benefit of a few people that are politically
connected. Including those in Cabinet, friends and family members of Cabinet,
and those directly linked to the Janneh Commission itself. We
will be issuing a separate report on this in the near future.
Today, we are faced with a culmination of outright endemic
corruption in our body politick, where funds have been looted with impunity. The
COVID response has been an utter disaster.
The funds have been subject to abuse, and mis-allocation. The original resource envelope pegged at D500
million, has since ballooned to four times that amount. The contradictions made
by ministers as to the utilization of these funds is shocking.
More bizarre still, is the fact that health workers who are
on the frontline of the COVID-19 response, for which these resources were
initially meant, have confirmed not receiving anything. The only remuneration they got was a paltry
D5000, that was over three months ago. So the question remains: where did
the COVID money vanish to? Where did more that D2 billion disappear to
over a period of four months? The
Gambia Participates, a partner of R2K, has produced a report, which documented
the COVID response:
• On 28th April,
2020, we are told that D160 million was already expended. In addition, that
D100 million was spent on medical equipment, including ambulances and D60
million was spent on hotels, allowances, training, and rehabilitation of health
centers.
• Upon closer
analysis, the report shows that of the said expenditure only 12% or D3.3
million was spent on actual medical equipment (sanitary items); 40% or D12.8
million went to purchasing new cars; 45% or D14.5 million went to paying hotels
for holding people in quarantine. The rest went to food (3% or D1.1 Million)
and office equipment 0.3% or D111,700).
• D3.7 million
dalasi was said to be spent at the Basse District Hospital, yet the 126 staff
lack hand sanitizers.
• There are 12
identified COVID-19 centers with 67 beds in total.
• Soma District
Hospital (a population of 82,201), it only has capacity to hold six infected
patients- as it only has six beds, which were put in place 20 years ago. This
means that if there is a COVID case they will not utilize the facility but will
instead send the patients west to Banjul, 178 kms away.
• The entire LRR region has only one overhead thermometer,
which is used by border health officials.
The hospital however, does have one armpit thermometer, which
is unsuitable for responding to a COVID cases (s).
• Despite the D2
billion in financial resources meant for combat COVID-19, the LRR regional
health directorate was compelled to apply for a small grant from the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to conduct outreach and
sensitization within its region.
• In Basse, the
hospital is severely handicapped. A massive power surge, which occurred on
March 2nd 2020, due to some maintenance work by NAWEC, affected all the
electronic medical equipment.
·
Staff complain about lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and training, even
though the Finance Ministry claims that a part of the D160 million was spent on
these things.
As if these major anomalies were not enough, we have a
President that decided to take ‘leave’ off us. President Barrow spoke to the
nation twice- by way of a recording to explain his government’s response to the
pandemic. We have not seen him in public
in months- this is at a time when the country, like much of the world, is in a
state of disaster. This is at a time
when the country needs leadership.
President Barrow had decided to be ‘missing in action’. It is extremely worrying that with this act
of abdication of responsibility to lead, he keeps extending the SoPE, through
his aides, without showing the courtesy, respect and statesmanship, to explain
to the citizens his reasons for such baffling extensions.
On April 6, R2K and other CSOs and business entities wrote to
Barrow, imploring him to take the country in his confidence. We reminded him
that a State of Public Emergency, where movement and freedoms are curtailed,
must include incentives and other actions that would buffer against the
opportunity cost and consequences of such a decision.
We told him that Government must give support to the populace
and the various sectors of the nerve center of the economy, if such a decision
to declare a SoPE wishes to receive reciprocal support. It must have the backing of the public,
without which any plan will not succeed.
We attached these suggestions to an outlined proposal titled: “Policy
options for Gambia’s convid-19 response.” Again, our proposal was ignored.
Nevertheless, it is now clear that President Barrow has and
will continue to attract the wrath of his citizens, many of whom have lamented
the overall state of governance in the country, compounded by the mounting
evidence that has emerged over the collusion to loot, redistribute and
re-purpose state resources under the guise of a COVID response activity. And evidence shows that GoTG expended
$15 million in 72 hours through a ‘food assistance program’, yet we are to
receive evidence that the targeted 80% of the population’s most vulnerable,
received such food assistance. All such
bungling and calamitous outcome, despite the fact that we were told that the
government had a Cabinet Committee; an Emergency Committee (at Health); the
World Bank Expert/Committee; a Procurement Committee formed for the D500 million disbursement. Plus six sub-committees dealing with COVID. What are all these Committees doing?
We are yet to receive a plausible explanation as to how D115
million was spent of a school feeding program that supposedly took place at a
time when schools were closed due to the COVID. We are yet to receive a plausible
explanation as to why the ambulances ordered form Turkey, at an astronomical
cost, millions of USD we are told, are yet to arrive. We are yet to see any form of action taken
against those that the Minister referenced in a scam, to create a payroll of
ghost workers, so as to establish and racket of fraud and corruption.
We are yet to receive a plausible explanation as to why in
less than one month into the job, a very competent, high reputable health
expert, in the name of Mr. Alasan
Senghore, threw in the towel and resigned as the COVID -19 national
coordinator.
But we probably will not receive any explanation. Because this government, under a Barrow
presidency does not think, nor believe that it owes the citizens an explanation
for anything they do or fail to do. But
this government must and will be held to account. And that day of reckoning is fast approaching
for this government.
Dear R2Kers: Next week is a pivotal one for the country- it
will be the week that shall witness the first encounter between the National
Assembly and the Executive, namely the President, over his abuse of the
constitution and arbitrary adoption to deploying his powers given to him by the
1997 constitution.
President Barrow, through the Vice President, will have to
explain to the nation, via the NA, the rationale, and purpose for his decision
to subject us into perpetual SoPE for the last 56 days. He will have to, for
the first time in his presidency, make a spirited submission as to whether he
failed in his duties to adhere to the constitution- in essence he will have to
show us that he is not a law breaker.
On the other hand, the NA must ensure that they too abide by
their oath, and defend the constitution at all costs, and do the needful and
expected, if President Barrow has been found to have broken the law in his
Executive exuberance in taking the decisions he has taken. The country watches. For this is a first of several tests.
Dear R2Kers: The most pivotal test is yet still to come, and
that is the issue of the Referendum. We must ready ourselves for this chapter
of our national history.
We see signs of impunity being firmly entrenched at a time
when processes we invested (emotionally and financially) as a nation, are being
systematically undermined by the leadership of this country starting with the
President Barrow himself. The sound and
impactful investment made into the CRC and the processes of constitutional
making is at risk.
The irrational utterances emanating from the Presidency-the
irrational and irresponsible grumblings about dismantling guardrails around
term limits, Executive power over the National Assembly, and other
anti-democratic ideas being bandied about, including the encouragement of the
military to speak up on civilian matters, for public sympathy and eventual
support WILL NOT WASH.
The tactics being employed by President Barrow, and his
ministers and possibly his new NPP, is a clear demonstration of the lack of
leadership to steer us in the transition to transform the country from one of
trauma to one of triumph. They have
chosen the former.
And this is why we as R2K Gambia, are currently on the early
stages of establishing a plan whose objective is simple: to ensure that the decision to Birth the Third Republic must reside
with us- the people. Not the
vestiges of legislative procedure.
We will be asking, in the coming weeks, the NA to resort to
unanimously voting for the referendum; in essence agreeing to a national
plebiscite; whereby, us the citizens, who were central to the CRC consultative
process, will be the final arbiter on whether the time has arrived for this
Country to become a Third Republic, through a
YES or a NO vote. This will be
our main focus in the coming weeks and months.
This will be our priority. And we
hope that it shall also be yours. So the coming weeks are pivotal for our
country.
We need to remain vigilant, embark on citizenry activism,
engagement and solidarity to ensure that our voices are heard, and that we are listened
to and respected.
The elements of imperial presidencies are over; endemic
corruption will be probed and rooted out, and the people shall govern.
Dear R2Kers let us remain united, as citizens who care for
and love this country, and citizens who shall protect our ideals to dare to
dream of a better Gambia- we deserve it, and only we can deliver it- but we can
only do so if we remain united and focused in our resolve in the demanding hat
we are governed well, through a strong, compassionate and capable leadership
that espouses the principles of clean and
ethical government.
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