One wonders therefore, if these are opposition rhetorics or the realities on the ground for which executive actions may be necessary to redress the situation. There are certain fundamental concerns which carry political implications for which wise counseling may be politically prudent. If we fail to admit to the shortcomings for political reasons, we shall make political anger inevitable regardless of political affiliations. Why did the ruling Party lose the Local government elections? It was not because of the popularity of the opposition. It was the protest votes against the ruling government due to the unaddressed concerns of the people. It was questionable and contradictory for the ruling Party to win the Presidential elections overwhelmingly and lose the Local government elections overwhelmingly. When there is system failure the top echelons of government are exonerated and the Political leadership is held accountable. How long will this continue in the governance environment?
Intellectuals always legitimize the rule of the government of the day, especially when they are offered top positions in official Teranga. They see these positions as special recognition of their education and with privileges they never expected to be accorded with in the Gambian society. They see these positions as a springboard to getting international jobs should they be fired or resign from the government. Most of them become selfish and more concerned about themselves before Nation. They usually put aside professionalism and critical counseling and seemingly work on what pleases the President and the government. All this in the drive to protect their positions and privileges. Their love for the country becomes morally bankrupt and unpatriotic by such behavioral tendencies. If the country is not working in the right direction in many aspects of governance, the question becomes where are the official advisers to the President and to the government. They don’t admit to their incompetence and professional deficiencies and resign from government. They would rather let the Political leadership to carry the blame and be politically accountable to the people of the country. Today, the people are saying that the Nation is crying of poor healthcare services, high unemployment, high costs of living, lack of a new constitution, controversial 2025 National Budget, alleged widespread corruption, fisheries shortages due to foreign domination of our waters, government inaction to retrieve the country’s offshore oil possibilities in blocks A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, food insecurity, Politicisation of the Service including Foreign Service resulting to inefficiency and ineffectiveness in service delivery and Nil returns on investments in the maintenance of Diplomatic Missions overseas, fiscal indiscipline leading to wasteful spending on many areas in the service, etc among others. Perhaps therefore, these are the running issues in the minds of the people rather than the ongoing development projects in the country. It is National duty for our technocrats and professionals to give proper advice to the government to address these concerns of the people in the National interest without compromising their jobs for political reasons. Education is of no value if it cannot build a sound character. When the system of government fails, it is those entrusted with policy guidance who fail the Nation in the first instance. Sadly in our country, the President is always blamable when things go wrong. That is why executive action without compromises, is essentially of fundamental necessity in African administration to flush out the dead woods in the system and to put the Nation in the right direction. All these happenings in governance in the face of the educated, professional and policy advisers thus exposing their nakedness and failing the system. For the country to move forward, there must be consequences in governance for failing sectors of the economy and for poor performances of state institutions and public officials. As I see it, contributing factors to the threat of system failures are lack of administrative capacity, sabotage, tribalism and greed. If love of country is deeply rooted in the bureaucratic culture and professional and experience matters, The Gambia would have gained a lot more by way of foreign direct investments in airline services, OIC Summit, more diplomatic representations in the country, Project Partnership Agreements, Ports expansion long time ago, direct flights from USA to the country, in offshore oil drilling in blocks A1, A4, A5 in our waters, 24/ 7 electricity supplies at Banjul International Airport, bigger run ways at the Airport to accommodate bigger planes, Solar Park for electricity expansion in Greater Banjul, new bridge linking Kombos to Banjul, Solar street lights in all Urban towns in the Gambia, Super Speciality Hospital, Social Housing Projects, multi-purpose stadium in all regional headquarters, National Airline, Modern Amphitheatre, modernized telecommunication services, NASA base in Yundum, reputable international oil company to sort out the issue of our oil reserves near Senegal’s Sangamar oil field, etc among others. Gambians in the diaspora and at home retired experts have all it takes to win big dividends for the country in these areas mentioned. These are people who will see the country first before politics when tasked to help the country move forward. The political will must be sanctioned by the President of the republic for it to happen. The Political leadership must be warned that the 2026 election outlook will depend on the mood of the Nation rather than Party affiliations. It’s therefore time to overwhelmingly reshuffle Cabinet and restructure the Public Service in the best interest of the country. This is the bedrock of political survival. We can take it or leave it.
