My
Fellow Comrades,
Congratulations
to the 10 appointed ministers and let us all wish them well in granting their
functional and administrative responsibilities.
Let us also hope that they would dispense these responsibilities with
the true spirit of democracy and the constitutional mandates of the Republic of
The Gambia.
A
new government that takes over after a dictatorship has a higher mountain to
climb. Some of us will continue to vet
the Barrow Administration without fear because we don’t believe in giving any
government a blanket check. When we
criticized and fought against the jammeh dictatorship, we were called the true
gallants of democracy. So we also are
obligated to use the same objective vetting against the new democratic
government of The Gambia.
At
this juncture, I have serious concerns and reservations about the size of the
government that the Barrow Administration is envisioning. The 17 ministerial portfolios will be too
cumbersome and wasteful, especially when the country’s coffers were totally
emptied by dictator Yahya Jammeh.
Realistically,
the fisheries and forestry ministry should have merged with the ministry of
agriculture. Since independence, at
least 75% of the annual budget of The Gambia was financed through external
loans and grants. Consequently, for over
50 years, the Gambia’s internal budgetary financing realized only about 25% of
the entire appropriations and expenditures
In
fact, annual budgetary deficits were financed through external loans, and most
of these loans are still outstanding and unpaid for. Truthfully, the Barrow Administration should
assemble a budgetary discipline approach; namely zero budgeting where the
establishment of every ministry is objectively questionable and debatable.
Thus,
I hope the Barrow Administration would take a conservative approach for a
smaller government than the apparent expanded system that is likely to result
in recurring budget deficits during its mandate period of three years.
In
assessing a government’s performance, it is imperative to analyze whether the
government has the ability to consistently deliver what it had promised. With the exit of dictator Jammeh and the fact
that there are depleted revenues and grants, the Barrow Administration should
take a more conservative approach in tackling both fiscal and social policies. Thus, as a primary means of yielding its
promises to the citizenry, the Barrow Administration should consume a maximum
of 12 ministries, and seriously shrink SIS and the military so that needed
funds are conserved in order to avoid budgetary imbalances.
A
foundation of realizing promises through budgetary processes is to evaluate how
resources are estimated, realized, and earmarked for expenditures. In this
gloomy situation for The Gambia, the Barrow Administration will have a higher
mountain to climb if it does go ahead with the 17 proposed ministerial
portfolios.
In
terms of the budget period, I would like to propose for the new government to
revert to the fiscal year instead of a calendar year that was used by the
dictatorship. In all fairness, to any
incoming administration, a calendar year approach is more likely to cripple
allotment and accountability of revenues/grants/loans, and the configuration
and dispensation of budgetary expenditures.
In
another area, and until the constitution is amended, voted for by the Gambian
people, and signed into law by President Barrow, I argue categorically that the
1997 constitution is the supreme law of The Gambia. Thus, if it is unconstitutional for Gambians
with dual citizenships to be appointed ministers, then it is contrary to the
same constitutional requirement to appoint a Vice President whose age violates
the same constitutional interpretation.
Very
Respectfully,
Dr
Lamine Jassey Conteh
