“The current political dispensation is disappointing, considering the heightened cost of living, falling economic hubs like Agriculture and Tourism, makes me wonder what are the well celebrated Gambian experts doing with their invaluable knowledge and experience if not expending it on country. It then occurs to me that mediocrity and political dishonesty are the diseases plaguing not just the country we call home but the country we love,” he told The Point.
As a new formidable political force to be reckoned with, Jaiteh revealed that the real change for progress which the people deserve is what motivated the birth of PROGRESS.
The Gambia diplomat observed that the country is currently grappling with too many issues, which he added, are all priorities, but that his movement, having diagnosed key issues, has laid out 7-point priority.
This 7-powerful priority areas cut across various thematic issues from high cost of living, corruption, health, agriculture, security, wastefulness and cost cutting and removing/prohibiting party politics from governance through reform of the central and local government system by law.
The latter, he added, really caught his attention and that all Gambians must pay attention to or risk protracted underdevelopment caused by politicisation of every issue and leading up to sowing seeds of discord, which may further erode and cause broader destabilisation.
“PROGRESS will dismantle this model and replace it with a people-centred system that puts decision-making and accountability at the community level. At the foundation will be Village Development Committees (VDCs), chosen in democratic village elections and structured to include youth, women, elders and persons with disabilities so that every group has a voice.”
To stop further leakages in local governance, Jaiteh maintained that, revenue collection will be centralised at the national level and shared back to the regions through automatic, transparent allocations.
“To further reduce costs and political tensions, parliamentary and presidential elections will be held on the same day. In this new dispensation, local governance will be driven by community priorities, fairness and service and not partisanship or personality clashes. This will provide enough revenue for local communities to fund youth projects, tax breaks for businesses and petty women vendors and fund priority needs of the communities.”
The former Gambian diplomat also spoke of his plan about youth empowerment initiatives and working Gambians, reminding that as the young constitute majority of the country’s total population, their success will determine “our nation’s success.”
“PROGRESS will unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of Gambian youth by supporting small businesses and start-ups. In our first 100 days, we will introduce tax exemptions for new youth-led enterprises, giving young entrepreneurs a crucial break as they launch their ventures. We will also establish a start-up fund to provide seed capital and mentorship for promising business ideas in fields like agriculture, technology, and the creative industries. By empowering youth to create their own opportunities, we will simultaneously tackle unemployment and spur innovation in our economy.”
Coming back to the most abhorred issue of corruption, which has and continues to cripple development while eroding public trust, the international lawyer maintained that, his movement will declare corruption a national emergency from day one.
“We will establish an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission vested with powers of investigation, arrest, and prosecution, operating under the administrative oversight of the National Assembly. Audit and Commission of Inquiry reports will be fully enforced, and costly commissions will be replaced by time-bound criminal investigations. Penalties for corrupt practices will be significantly increased to deter abuse and restore accountability in public service.”
