Joe,

Thanks for the feeback. The MOU is a document that any progressive Gambian would back but I'm afraid that such kind of documents are things that people with maligned egos have used throughout history; just look at the beautiful and righteous names that ruling parties in the most distasteful corners of the world have cloaked themselves with. Most horrible regimes have the finest of constitutions and agreements that are supposed to act as guides but the ability of some power-hungry humans to circumvent them and imposed their own will on many an unsuspecting populace is just amazing. What I really do miss in the MOU are milestones; tasks and goals that are constrained by resources (time included). The document comes out unclear on the only task it has been specific on; What happens if the playing field is not levelled at the end of the 5-year interim period? How, in practice, is a NADD president going to abide by the MOU's goals? His powers as a president is gonna be greater th
an that of the NADD Executive Committee and will he listen to it? The Executive Committee can ofcourse go the constitutional way and get the parliament to chuck him out but that is really a long shot. What I'm getting at is that if one doesn't have a very detailed and enforceable agenda beforehand then the probability of the abuse of power is always something real. It also seems that corrupt minds also eye this quickly and try their chances before decent people come up with noble solutions that usually do take longer time to hatch. But how do we pinpoint a corrupt mind before it comes to power? I cannot even trust my own self if the other me asked. But if there are laws and guidelines in place that places checks on my potential egoistic tendencies then sure many a good person could maybe one day be a potential for a candidate for office. NADD should come up with a timetable that clearly defines strategic milestones. One of these, to be achieved very early in a NADD administra
tion, must be to make into law practical ways of impeaching or guiding a president, with tyrannical tendencies, to a democratic path.
I agree that "Africans are capable of creating such a foundation that others can learn from ...", but our continent has nonetheless been characterised by misrule and worse. I personally believe that we as a people have throughout history been too generous as regards trust, in a naive way, both to outsiders and to our own leaders. This tradition of trust without any formal process on how to rectify things if that trust is betrayed is an imperative debatable topic.
Gambia is at a crossroad and the alternatives are really not that many; it's either down the drain (or gutter) with these bunch of crooks and their sycophants or a democratic but nonetheless hard way (because of the ravages already inflicted). I just wish the rest of the good political personalities out there, a dwindling bunch, will recognise the graveness of the situation and get their acts together. If they don't then I'm sure the rest of the world is gonna continue revolving and developing but the self respect as a people that we've been yearning for such a long time will not materialise anytime soon.
Cheers!
:-)Abdou

----- Original Message -----
From: Joe Sambou <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, March 10, 2006 9:07 pm
Subject: Re: CAUSE FOR PAUSE

> Abdou, thanks for your thoughts.  A NADD government will not favor 
> any party 
> or person, but to create an environment that future governments 
> will build 
> upon.  Among them are amendinging the constitution; select care 
> takers to 
> oversee the transition period and only a fool would want to 
> superimpose 
> anything against the wishes of the people.  Point 1 is not only 
> based on 
> trust but would be backed by the constitution.  NADD winning does 
> not mean 
> any party be extinct.  Rather, any party can exist and would be 
> judged by 
> the voters in a fair and level playing field.  That is, if Abdou 
> wishes to 
> run for office, Abdou can be guaranteed that fairness will rule and 
> may the 
> best candidate win the hearts and minds of the voters.  Finally, 
> the 
> composition of the transition government will include other 
> political 
> parties, civil society, NGOs, individuals with expertise, etc., who 
> will 
> weigh in, in crafting of a constitution that will be the foundation 
> of 
> future governments and one that will look for the country's 
> interest, just 
> like the NADD MOU demonstrated.  What you see is what you get.  As 
> for the 
> military, that will also be taken care off in the constitutional 
> provisions 
> and process.  The tone at the top makes or breaks any system and 
> you would 
> agree with me that NADD's tone is clear and any Gambian that 
> seriously 
> supports the collective interest cannot but agree with them.  The 
> flagbearer 
> agrees with that and the rest support him on that basis.  The 
> choices are 
> very clear and are miles apart.
> 
> Africans are capable of creating such a foundation that others can 
> learn 
> from and NADD has set the stage to realize just that.  Who else is 
> calling 
> for such high standards in the country?  None, but NADD.  Gambians 
> should be 
> proud that there are still folks in our midst that would selflessly 
> do 
> anything to bring about a more perfect union.  The alternative 
> calls for 
> continuation of the current septic system and that is not acceptable.
> 
> Question for you.  Would you agree that what NADD promised and is 
> willing to 
> do for Gambians in the MOU, is the hope for a future Gambia?  If 
> you happen 
> to disagree, would you kindly point me to anything out there that 
> is the way 
> forward for Gambians.  By now, you know what Yaya and the APRC 
> stands for, 
> and you know that the UDP is against the NADD MOU, which loops us 
> back to 
> where Yaya will leave off (continuation).  What do you conclude?  
> Thanks for 
> your questions and opinions.
> 
> Chi Jaama
> 
> Joe
> 
> 

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