Interior Minister. Who are you?

I must admit that I am one of your fans who followed your actions and utterances with keen interest and defended almost all of them. I supported your actions as a BAYE FAAL disciple would do to a SERIGN.

However I will want to deviate from your NDIGAL for this time. I am sure even if such action was done with a clear conscience, there was an element of “mind twisting” in my view.

Let me take you back a bit to in the early 70’s when cars were imported amass, most vehicle were fitted with glasses as show on the side labeled  “tempered glasses” as a publicity stunt. Such cars when involved in an accident will show shattered windscreens and was a source of injury to the driver and the passengers.

Innovation came and vehicles were wind screens fitted with a plastic like coating to prevent glass shatter in the event of accident.

In the tropics another like ours another trouble has to be surmounted as the temperatures and humidly especially in the summer months are very high and imagine packing an average of 5 people a slow moving car. The heat and direct sunlight became a problem to tackle.

Manufacturers turned to the use of UV (ultra violet Rays) wind screen cars to prevent the direct sun rays on people which many established as a source of a form of skin cancer. Now almost all cars are fitted with such types of glasses.

Exotic cars dealers will use colorful shields on their cars to attract customers and maybe hide their private lifestyles.

Now after the 94 incident , ministers , security forces and others associated with the regime started “wearing “ such darker ones on their state owned vehicles purportedly to hide their heinous crimes and avoid being recognized.

The ordinary citizen followed as fashion or to hide their private lives.  It continues and later the regime became intolerant to it for no obvious reasons insisted that people should obtained clearance from them. This action of them has no legal basis then but the population complied because it was free.

 Since 1994 to date, I have not heard, read or seen anywhere that a private citizen was involved in a crime and it was aided by his/her “tinted glass” and I will want readers to remind me of any and Vis a Vis crime that were committed without tinted glasses.

When the tyrannical regime of BABILI MANSA was broke because of “smart sanctions”, he turned to the poor and defenseless population to milk them of their hard earned currencies. He was assisted by a cohort who because of reasons known to the device means and applied a fee to such vehicles.

Vehicle number plates were also jumped to a rip off price of D 1000.00 (one thousand) for a pair of plastic plates, a testing fee of D100 (one hundred) and a form to apply a plate. This remains until today when I am writing this piece. Did you know that The Gambia is probably the only country where driver’s license are change each year at a cost of D500.00 (five hundred). Did you know that The Gambia is probably the only country that expires an adult passport in five years without the possibility of extension for another five years? It was less than a year you may have fallen prey to such.

Sir, do you think somebody should pay for a manufacturer’s design of a car he/she bought and has not contributed in any form to the design structure of that vehicle?

Do you think someone should pay to protect himself and his  ”premises” from the direct rays of the sun?

The regime of OGA was “guilty” of the crimes they were committing in those cars and assumed that all others were like them and they decided to stop it to the ordinary citizen.

When you came to power you seen the senselessness of that action and decided to stop/ignore that ban. When the number of users increase as even people like me started to use it out of fashion because of the new found freedom, your people exhibiting great intolerance to dissent and freedoms convinced you that such is associated with crime.

The world is a world of fact and figures not hypothesis any more so let them come out with the statistics. I challenge them to provide the number to the population.

I was disappointed equally with the law enforcement as they have a right to stop any vehicle, inspect or search such for any suspicious crime. The numbers of check points in this country even though they were inherited from a tyrant are still intact or has increased or modified.

It also remind me when the tyrant decided with the law enforcement to stop, park and demand that green vehicle owners should paint their vehicles to any other color within two weeks.

Sir, you will also agree with me that any law, rule or regulation with an exception will be very difficult to enforce especially when the enforcer is himself one of the offenders.

Do you think a police, a soldier or an SIS constable will stop a chief inspector, lieutenant of commissioner? Do you even think such officer will stop a fellow constable in the same batch? We have even seen here when Uncle was here such officer used their private cars without even number plates of license.

These are the officers who do not stop at check points as your ministers or others in the exception list.

Public smoking is banned in the country but get into any police and you will find not only police smokers but people in the cells are also smoking.

When I voted you in, I voted for not above or equal to Sheikh, I voted for less than Sheikh on my sufferings.

Babili started with the Taxis and insisted that all the taxis in the country turn yellow. He never knew that taxis in the country carry a yellow number plate. He ended up a tyrant and was flush out of the country against his will.

Sir, they asked you to start with the same vehicles. Please please it’s a no go area. The law enforcement should not come to work as us and leave when we are leaving too. Recently you are quoted as saying that budget cut for the security is not wise. Please use then tax monies to protect us.

Tinted glass is not the issue please.

Thanks for the space

BAIS