NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM THE NADD FLAG BEARER
  The year 2006 is almost behind us. The year 2007 is about to dawn. The Gambia is at a cross road. The Gambian people are faced with a most challenging task after the 2006 Presidential Election. They are now to decide at the down of a new year who their law makers will be. This task is not a simple one. This is why the mind of those who are to perform it must be tempered by experience, reason and the national interest.
  As the Gambian Nation goes through its many holidays it is important to point out that joy evades the heart which is chambered in a body living in poverty and fear. It is the duty of all Gambians, the governed, as well as those who govern to combat poverty and injustice. No one should live on less than I dollar a day!! No parent should be insecure; no child should be deprived of the care of parents because of unlawful detention!! No home should be deprived of a bread winner because of unjust and unlawful dismissal!! No one should be subjected to torture or degrading punishment!! Mercy should be shown to those who have served long term sentences like Lamin Darboe who was imprisoned before the coup d’etat of 1994. 
  The Gambian people want a society based on justice and mercy, truth and reconciliation, repentance and forgiveness. The hearts of leaders should beat in unison with the heart beat of the poor and the oppressed. Such leaders will not allow might to become right. They will not close their eyes to any form of injustice. Such leaders, who would not do or cause to be done any action that violates the rights of others, are the cultivators of peace and prosperity on the face of the earth. 
  The constitution demands that the Gambia should be a democratic state dedicated to freedom, peace, progress, prosperity and justice, one that is founded on the principles of tolerance, probity and accountability, one that provides just and equitable opportunities to all and reward each  according to his or her capacity and contribution to the common good.
  As we face another year of uncertainty as to what type of life is in store for the vast majority of our people political, religious, traditional and community leaders should bear it in their mind that the most stable democracy is one that guarantees liberty and prosperity to the people.
  The most important National event that requires a New Year resolution is how a person intends to vote in the forthcoming National Assembly elections.
  It is important to point out that Gambians now have the option of preserving a multi party political environment which promotes debates and expression of divergent views or create a one party state and isolate Gambia from the community of democratic nations.
  There are those intellectuals who claim that the APRC executive needs a loyal APRC National Assembly to get its programmes and projects to be implemented. This does not reveal a high grade understanding of the role of the National Assembly under the 1997 constitution. The letter and spirit of the constitution calls for a National Assembly that can criticize, scrutinize and restrain the executive so that it will neither be corrupt nor violate the constitution. 
  The preamble of the constitution which conveys the spirit of the constitution states that the functions of the arms of the state “have been clearly defined, their independence amply secured with adequate checks and balances to ensure that they work harmoniously together towards our common good.
  There is therefore separation of powers between the executive and the National Assembly. A National Assembly member cannot be a member of the executive. The National Assembly has the function of scrutinizing the operations of secretaries of state. Infact according to section 75 of the constitution, “the National Assembly can pass a vote of censure on a secretary of state for abuse of office or violation of any provision of the constitution or for his or her misconduct in office. 
  Misconduct is defined as any conduct which brings or is likely to bring his or her office into contempt or disrepute or has dishonestly done or failed to do anything that is prejudicial or inimical to the economy of the Gambia. Section 62 of the constitution also empowers the National Assembly to remove a president for “abuse of office, willful violation of the provision of the constitution or for misconduct.”
  In short, the National Assembly is to check how the executive exercise its powers. It established committees to monitor the activities of each department of state. It evaluates and passes bills and ratifies International agreements. The work of a National Assembly is therefore not an ordinary task. A bill like the Income and Sales Tax Bill had 212 pages which had to be read and understood by members of the parliament. The estimates of government revenue and expenditure are often close to 300 pages which require scrutiny. International agreements are often written in a technical language which requires detailed study to unravel things that may not be in the national interest. National Assembly members also attend international conferences where they have to make contributions. This often requires intellectual maturity. As we poise to select National Assembly members, it is important  for people to know that they are selecting those who are to be their eyes, ears and
 mouths, people who will be amplifying their voices to enhance their liberty and prosperity. I therefore call on the people to ensure that a one party state does not emerge in the Gambia because of the negligence of the electorate. In the same vein, the electorate should not sink to mediocrity by electing opposition members of parliament who will be mere spectators in the National Assembly. I call on them to vote for any candidate in the opposition who has the competence to represent the people regardless of whether they are put up as independent candidates or candidates of the UDP Alliance or NADD.
  This is the way forward.
  It is my conviction that no National Assembly can have respect in the world unless it has self respect. This self respect emerges when the National Assembly makes effort to eradicate poverty and tyranny. A nation attains a respectable place among the world family of Nations if it guarantees the protection of the fundamental rights of its citizens and promotes the type of development that enables them to rise above the poverty line. 
  Gambians in 2007 should take charge of their destiny and demand more for their leaders to abide by the dictates of conscience and National interest in delivering services to the nation. 
  The vision is clear. The mission is to make it realizable. Each of us should take a stand. Those who can give themselves should do so. Those who can give cash or kind should do so. Those who can give their votes should do so. Such person has a role to play. History will give its verdict. Each of us will go to his or her grave leaving a world that is better than what we have found or one that is worse than what we have found. Any generation that leaves a world that is worse than what they have found for future generation to inherit would deserve to be cast into the dustbin of history. Those who leave a better world would forever live in the hearts and minds of the living. Each should take one place in history. Posterity will be the judge.
   

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