Dear
Sir or Madam,
It
is a great honour for me to write you the short recommendation in the following
areas: Economy, National Assembly, Agriculture, Constitution and Security
Forces.
Firstly,
I would like to congratulate His Excellency President of the third Republic of
The Gambia Mr. Adama Barrrow for the trust which Gambians bestowed on him by
overwhelming electing him on 2nd December 2016 to the highest office in our
dear motherland.
Additionally,
I commend him for demonstrating in his inauguration speech that he is the
President for all Gambians regardless of their tribal or political
affiliations; one Gambia one people. Our expectation of the Coalition
Government is huge.
Furthermore,
by commissioning this “Think Tank” a kind of which has never existed in the
history of our country, demonstrates great wisdom from President Barrow. It gives equal opportunity to every Gambian
that nation building is our shared responsibility.
Hopefully
this Agency would serve as a platform for Gambians at all levels to share
ideas, common interests and visions for economic development initiatives. We
cannot all be politicians or participate in the political process. But
providing a channel of communication between politicians and masses of peoples
would enable the citizens to transmit their opinions to authorities which will
surely cement the relationship between both sides. I hoped this agency will be a permanent
institution to serve that purpose.
My
recommendation for economic development in The Gambia:
There
are many economy resources in The Gambia including human resources. However, with the lack of employment and job
opportunities in the country many of these human resources especially among the
youths are fruitless due to migrating to the West and United States of
America.
1:
My recommendation is: the Coalition Government should introduce ‘volunteering
semester tax’ at least $300 to encourage every Gambian who is currently living
in Europe and America to pay this as their contribution to the national
development fund.
2:
The Coalition must ensure there is sustainable economic plan which will
encourage Gambian intellectuals, experts, and engineers to return and invest
their knowledge and experience for nation building.
My recommendation for national assembly
reform:
1:
The Coalition Government should ensure that the Presidential decree which
allows him to nominate members to the national assembly is increased from five
nominated members to twenty nominated members. This nomination should include
members of the Gambian Supreme Islamic Council, Christian Council, district
chiefs, members from business community, major land owners, and from spiritual
institutions like Marabouts.
My
recommendation for constitution reforms:
1: The new Constitution of the Republic of The
Gambia should include a fixed two-five year term limit for Presidency. It must
abolish the requirement for a school certificate for any citizens who might
want to run for the highest office in the land, whether it’s presidential or
national assembly elections as well as Gambians who hold dual nationality.
To
build the nation should not only be confined to those with certificates of
education but it should extend to anyone with genuine political ideas with
social and economic skills and have a desire for national development. There are many successful business men and
women in The Gambia who have never been to school, however they managed to
build successful business empires for their families and communities.
Agriculture reform:
1:
The Coalition Government should ensure there are economic plans for food
security in the republic of The Gambia which will enable sustainable economy
development. To achieve these goals agriculture will play a crucial role. Thus
land reforms laws are urgently needed such as all forming lands must cease to
be privately owned rather it should belong to the government. This would enable
the government to invite investors both from within the country and overseas.
It must be individuals who are equipped with a variety of farming experience in
the area of agriculture. Those new regulations will enable the government to
contract the land by lease to those individuals and companies for a particular
period of time including a minimum amount of product they should produce. If they fail to deliver to the Government
expectations, they can cease the lease and give the contract to someone
else.
Constitutional
reform:
1:
The new Government must ensure that Republic of The Gambia Constitution is
redrafted and is in line with the 1997 Constitution. All UN necessary
amendments done by the former President Jammeh and his regime should be removed
from it and it should be respected by all citizens.
Security
reforms:
1:
The new Government should exercise all their power and influence to ensure they
earn the trust, loyalty, respect and command of all security forces in the
country. Additionally, they can consider
changing the name of the National Intelligent Agency (NIA) to a different name
perhaps GIS Gambia Intelligent Services, as well as to relocate their
headquarters to different location in the capital city of Banjul. Unfortunately
in my opinion, I think the current NIA is a symbol of torture, oppression and
it is allegedly associated with many abuses of human rights in The Gambia.
Finally,
the current headquarters of NIA should become the Gambia history museum.
In
conclusion, Gambia is a secular country, the country is known as a republic of
The Gambia, not Islamic Republic of The Gambia. And I think it is essential to
our national identity to remain at its former name as well as to consider
rejoining with the Commonwealth.
My
best wishes to the President of the Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency Mr
Adama Barrow, and his entire Coalition Government. May Allah bless you and make
it easy for you to succeed in all your endeavours.
Yours
sincerely,
ALHAJI
YAYA SILLAH
Author
and the Chairman of Back to School Foundation
Email:
sillahyaya@yahoo.co.uk
GMB+220
9459540
UK
+44 7984388418
