THE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF ALLEGED CORRUPTION

Barrow should be alerted to the fact that there are too many governance issues which must be tackled head on for the country to move forward. Principal among these issues is the widely talked about alleged corruption scandals in the system emanating from Audit reports, to land issues, GNPC petroleum case, MOH Covid 19, Global Fund, donated medical supplies, etc, Petroleum imports by three companies and tax evasions, offshore oil license transactions, revelations at public hearings on Area Councils and many others.

These scandals are impacting negatively on the image of the government. The sad thing is that at the end of the day, the blame will be put on the President instead of those who have been involved in wrong doings in the system. It is really unfair for the Presidency to carry all the blame for economic mismanagement in the country.

It is time for decisive leadership with far reaching consequences to redress the situation of widespread alleged corruption scandals in the system. Let the President appoint the Anti Corruption Commission urgently and free himself from public accountability on the Day of Reckoning. The advisers, friends and relatives of the President should be honest, sincere and genuine enough to alert the President on this felt need. If the President had cracked down on the Area Councils for alleged corruption scandals, it would be seen by the opposition as political witch- hunt but subjecting it to a Commission of Inquiry is exposing the nakedness of the Councils.

Those in governance must brace themselves for the inevitable DAY OF RECKONING. It seems Gambians and those in authority, have not learnt lessons from the Jammeh Commission and even the Barrow Commissions. Of all our experiences, history is best qualified to reward all judgements, said Malcom X. A proactive justice system is fundamental to good governance and economic development.

The milking of the economy to make the rich and keep the poor helpless is unacceptable and must be ended. The opposition is banking on the anger of the people on alleged corruption issues to blackmail the ruling government. This is a bad signal for the ruling NPP. Politically speaking, the outcomes of the next elections could be based on the protest of the voters against the government over unaddressed burning issues including alleged corruption in the system rather than based on the popularity of opposition parties. We have seen this happen in the Local government elections in 2023. The tragedy with Gambian politics is the lack of political foresight. We are good at looking at things on the surface rather than on objective reality.

Those whose hands are in the basin care only about their self- enrichment. To hell with what happens to the regime at the end of the day is their philosophy in the political process. It is therefore, in the political interest of President Barrow to rethink about the way his government works and be ready to use the electric broom to clean the system regardless of who or which institution is affected.

When things are getting out of control in African administration, crude leadership becomes the weapon of governance. In the West the justice system works and enhances democratic governance. In Africa and in The Gambia the justice system seems to be allegedly weak. The political leadership must have the vision and determination for good governance or else the country will sink. Defending the indefensible all the time is neither the answer nor the key to sustainable administration and good governance.