INDEPENDENT VIEW

A bad start

The race for the presidency is already getting awry even before Gambians
line out to cast their precious votes. It is a bad beginning…a cruel jab at
our collective conscience! Four out of our five presidential aspirants have
not even started playing by the rules of the game, which in principle should
be seen to be running transparently. Save for PDOIS' Sidia Jatta, Jammeh,
Darboe, Dibba and Bah blithely disregarded the instructive clause of the
Election Decree of 1996 by keeping quiet over their bank deposits. As the
big men of Gambian politics today, there is little doubt that they could be
living without personal deposits that should cease to be confidential once
they are cast into the political limelight.

However, all four went to the IEC amidst much euphoric fanfare to register
their interest in the highest office on the land and abysmally all four came
out without telling Gambians via the IEC how much they are worth. President
Jammeh of all politicians should have made a good start of it by not only
declaring what he felt convenient to declare but also details about what he
felt uncomfortable to declare…his savings. He must know that as a public
figure there is really no marked distinction between the private and the
public in his situation. They are one and the same…indivisible.

That is why everything about his life should be laid bare for all to see. We
at The Independent are inclined to believe that what the IEC received as a
list of his assets is just a tip of the iceberg. Paid about D26, 000
monthly, which in five years mellowed into a whooping D5 million President
Jammeh is not allowing Gambians to see his other side, which remains
shadowed and sturdily tucked away from the public glare. The only side we
are allowed to see is the one he is convenient to show. But declaring his
bank account would have perhaps permanently laid to rest ticklish questions
about his reservoir of funds into which he dips a hand to draw and donate
with reckless abandon.

By all reckoning Jammeh has had a problem with being transparent, which for
good measure casts an ugly blemish on his attempt to make all Gambians with
a few exceptions, believe he values the rule of law and all those
high-sounding phrases about democracy and human rights. So seven years of
his rule has shown him to be little of that which he preaches. By the same
token Darboe also offended the rules when as a lawyer he should have known
the benefit of holding fast to what has been laid down especially as he
tries to win hearts to rule by the law. Ignoring the rules would not hand
him a good case to deal with the APRC should they jump the election rules in
October.

After five years he should have mellowed in the art and rules of the game.
For Dibba his status as a grey-haired political veteran should have been
more of an asset than an empty nostalgic brand. He could have been the
pacesetter looked upon for answers. For Bah five years at the National
Assembly should have been enough to grasp the wisdom of going by rules,
regulations and procedures that could only have enhanced his credentials.
PDOIS through Sidia has always consistently showed respect for procedures
and regard for the most insignificant of detail as a member of the National
Assembly showing his D15,000 bank saving.

Declaring all he had to declare had set him conspicuously apart from the
rest. In the same vein the IEC should also be taken to task for not standing
firm enough to ensure that everything was done accordingly. If there is
anything the commission should lack now it should never be the resolve to
ruthlessly follow the rule it has set out for the race. The IEC would be its
worst enemy and inevitably that of Gambians if it is caught in compromising
circumstances. We are watching with an eagle's eye.




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