Former
President Yahya Jammeh has now been living in exile in Equatorial Guinea for
about 72 hours. His chapter as president
is finally closed and done with.
However,
if media reports are anything to go by, Jammeh’s welcome reception in Malabo
was far from a fanfare. The Equatorial
Guinea opposition and rights groups are blaming and condemning their government
for allowing Mr Jammeh in due to the numerous crimes he allegedly committed.
Locally,
upon his departure, it was alleged that a whooping US$11 million are missing
from the state coffers.
This
may not be entirely true according to the spokesperson of President Adama
Barrow,
Halifa
Sallah as he said, according to the information he gathered so far, everything
is intact at the central bank, which hosts the main and major accounts of the
central government.
Reports
are also emerging that several items such as carpets, cars, furniture and other
luxury items were stolen from the State House in Banjul.
This
should be properly investigated by the security forces with a view to bring the
thieves to book.
Even
the allegation of money missing from the state coffers, though not corroborated
by Mr Sallah, should be properly looked into by people with the right expertise
and experience. There could be more to it than just meets the eye.
That
aside, we recognise the tireless efforts of the new government in facilitating
the return of the thousands of refugees who fled The Gambia to Senegal, at the
height of the political impasse.
This
process should be speeded up so that the refugees can re-unite with their
families. And, as they return, refugees should also be assisted to re-integrate
in their communities.
As
the chapter of the government of Yahya Jammeh is being sign off with the
handing over of dossiers to members of the new government, every allegation and
accusation should be properly looked into and investigated, and every effort to
hasten the completion of the handing over process should be done.
“Chapter
as president is finally closed and done with.”
The
Point
