Therefore, those who are appointed into the Diplomatic Service must be au fait with its rules, procedures and practices. The fundamental problem the country is faced with in our diplomatic service is cluelessness by many officers due to the nature of their appointments, hence the recent wave of scandals in The Gambia’s diplomatic missions. Many see today’s diplomatic service as dumping ground, which is not telling well on the performance and productivity of our diplomatic service. Shame continues to pour on the country by the conduct of those staff that are not behaving as representatives of the Nation.
Mr President, it is normal to politically compensate supporters of a party but not in sensitive government positions such as in the diplomatic field where it takes education, experience, exposure and training to excel in performance. Donors as well as the public express concerns and views on the large size of our diplomatic missions with large staff compliments, which shows huge expenditure in the national budget. The need for downsizing both the missions and staff cannot be overemphasised, especially as national and global hard times are being experienced.
Under normal circumstances and as is best practice, only the appointment of Ambassadors / High Commissioners/Consul General is the mandate of the President. These positions can be politicised but the rest of the staff of the mission are, in the best practice, career diplomatic staff and are assigned by the Foreign Ministry.
In the absence of this distinction, Mr President, the confusion, scandals and productivity around our missions will continue to confront the country’s diplomatic service. Let us change the system to win dividends for the country overseas.
It is very unfortunate indeed that our diplomatic corps is becoming an embarrassment to the country.
Mr President, the country’s image is very important at home and abroad. You must look at the people you send outside to represent The Gambia in our missions abroad. The Gambians to be sent from now onwards must receive the requisite training from such institutions as Diplomatic Etiquette Protocol Consulting (DEPC) managed by veteran diplomat Mr Ebou Ndure.
One cannot send an army to fight a war without ammunition. There is a clear need to use retired and practising Gambian Diplomats to teach Gambians on how to represent The Gambia abroad. It is expensive to operate an Embassy abroad and if you send untrained personnel, it will cost the country much more if we have to clean up after they have failed in their representational duties. We have seen many examples of such happenings during your tenure, since 2017 to date. We have noted serious scandals in various Gambian embassies. For instance, in Morocco, one of the Gambian diplomats who fought in the office bit the finger of his colleague. In Russia, a Gambian diplomat assaulted his Cameroonian lover who was also his maid. In the US, three Gambian diplomats were recalled for visa fraud. In Cuba, on 25 February this year, two top Gambian diplomats fought bitterly in the office and ended up smashing a glass in the office due to personal grievances. Recently the Deputy Head of Mission at the Gambian embassy in Mauritania was recalled for misconduct and alleged financial impropriety.
Mr President, it is necessary that disciplinary action is seen to be taken against diplomats who tarnish the image of the country.
Finally, Mr president, appointment of diplomats should not be based on partisan line. Appointees should be people with integrity and experience, people who can positively sell the image of the country and bring opportunities for our beloved Gambia.
Good day!
The Point Editorial