The
stance of altruism put out by the new Minister of Information is something to
write home about.
The
Information ministry under his purview has released a statement condemning any
act of misusing state property, especially by using them for something else
such as partisan politics other than state-run affairs.
When
his ministry’s attention was drawn to the “inadvertent request for government
vehicles to partake in the ongoing campaign for the National Assembly elections
without any authority or clearance from the office of the President”, the
minister of Information was quick to issue an apt statement condemning the act
outright, saying such a request or move is “quite at variance with the policy
and comportment of this government”, hence the vehicles in question were
“immediately withdrawn and returned to their respective units of assignment”.
This
is really an act of true statesmanship, and of ensuring that constitutional
authority and true democracy of fair play prevails over autocratic rule and
unfair system, where no distinction is made between what is purely state
matters and what is partisan politics and unscrupulousness, human rights
violation and individualistic interest detrimental to national development.
It
is good that the minister made it categorically clear that “there should be a
clear distinction between State matters and partisan politics and that,
henceforth, the two should be treated as separate entities”.
And
that “the use of government vehicles and other State resources for purely
partisan politics is a thing of the past which shall no longer be condoned”.
Gone
are the days when government vehicles would be used for purely partisan
politics. This inappropriate act was being condoned and perpetuated by the
Jammeh regime, which is one of the reasons he was massively voted against by
the people.
The
new government, therefore, should not be seen to be condoning such acts,
otherwise there will be thin line drawn between the current dispensation and
the one we have just turned our backs to.
We,
therefore, commend the Info minister for this sage declaration and respect for
the values of true democracy and human rights in the new Gambia.
“Uphold
the values and principles of True democracy, Constitutional authority and human
rights”
The
Point
