The earnest emptiness of Gambian "democracy" under Jammeh is the stuff of
legend. Indeed, it is a "democracy" wherein we had as a constitution a toilet
paper document which claims popular sovereignty only for that noble credo to
be manifestly belied and repudiated by the fact that the sole repository of
sovereignty in the Gambia resides in the realm of the presidency and all the
illicit activities that debased office has come to represent in the Gambia
under Jammeh's watch. If there is a sufficing epithet to describe the Gambian
polity under Jammeh, it definitely will have to be what i call a sovereign
dictatorship: an asymmetric flow of power in a polity wherein decision
makings are all but democratic and consensual in name only and the
totalitarian pulses of the dictatorship beat in unison with a tendency to
both patronise and terrorise the sovereign peoples of the polity as means to
keep them in check. A post- Jammeh Gambia will have to address this
democratic deficit and institutional anomalies.
In this post, i will like to modestly highlight some key areas where genuine
Gambian democrats would have to launch a program that aims at a radical
modification and rethink of the Gambian body politic. Also, i would like to
propose a metaphysics that would in essence be the prime mover and sustainer
of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia. The belief and enactment of this
metaphysics, as i shall show later, is a common and rallying ground for the
progressive forces united in the sincere belief that Jammeh is wrong for the
Gambian peoples and ought to be replaced.
By the metaphysics of democracy, we refer to it to mean the primordial,
ethical and essential principles undergirding democracy. Herein, and to my
mind, the metaphysics of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia is a sacrosanct
undertaking to replace the sovereign dictatorship of Jammeh with popular
sovereignty in which consent is paramount in collective decision makings.
Hereunder, discretionary powers and their concomitant twinning with the
asymmetrical flow of power in the polity would be replaced with general,
consensual and contestible rules; the Rule Of Law; a liberal leaning, robust
and independent judiciary; a dispersion and decentralisation of political
power from the political centre to localities as a measure designed primarily
to ensure that the flow of political power is symmetrical. In essence, the
metaphysics of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia would be a political and
civic liberalism wherein civil and basic liberties are not only catered for,
but are guaranteed and entrenched; and political decision makings reflect the
extent to which local communities are expressly empowered to independently
manage their affairs and consent rather than arbitrariness is the leitmotif
of political narrative. The ultimate aim is more and more individual freedoms
and liberties.
Fundamental to this metaphysics would be making obsolete the current toilet
paper constitution and replacing it with an intrinsically liberal leaning
constitution which is popularly and openly negotiated and consented to by the
sovereign peoples of the Gambia. It would be a constitution that generally
reflects the basic metaphysical principles i have outlined above. As a
measure that it is in tandem with current political realities i.e., the
democratic deficit and political imbalances created by Jammeh, the attempts
to radically rejuvenate the Gambian body politic would be a process in
bi-partisanship and civic activism as the stakeholders of the Gambian polity
enter into a contractual negotiation of their terms of co-existence. This is
one of the fundamental reasons why a United Opposition working together with
civic groups to address the democratic deficit is indispensable in making the
Gambia wholesome again after Jammeh. In lieu of the aforesaid, i have
highlighted several areas which can form the basis of a bi-partisan and civic
platform and or programme to selflessly cooperate and correct the wrongs of
the Jammeh years:
1. After Jammeh and all he stood for has been emptied into the dustbin of
history, the Political and Civic Alliance can form an all party and civic
grouping to work on the modalities and terms of reference of a major
constitutional exercise with the ultimate aim of correcting all the deficits
and imbalances of the 1997 constitution. After a consensual agreement on the
modalities and terms of reference of the constitutional exercise has been
fleshed out, then an independent commission can be mandated to carry out the
actual constitutional consultations with all stakeholders of the Gambian
polity. To avoid expedient and erroneous measures that can ultimately create
problems of their own, i propose the commission be given year long mandate to
consult all stakeholders interested in the Gambia's democratic future.
2. To correct the political, social and economic crimes of the AFPRC/APRC
regime, a Truth and Restitution Commission can be mandated to look into ALL
crimes committed in the name of or in furthering the illegitimacy of the said
regimes. The terms of reference and modalities of this commission can be
fleshed out by the political alliance of political parties and civic groups.
To avoid the frustrating and sour experiences associated with similar
commissions in, say, South Africa, the proposed commission ought to avoid
being a mere talking shop and toothless. The commission can be mandated to
recommend prosecution of individuals who have been found to have acted with
impunity and where economic crimes have been discovered, demand a restitution
forthwith.
3. Electoral and institutional reforms is also an area where bi-partisan and
civic cooperation can be extended. Herein reform is not mutually exculsive
from the constitutional reforms and can be expected to complement each other,
especially institutions like the Independent Electoral Commssion and the
constitutional framework that undergirds it. Key to institutional reforms
would have to be the civil service, parastatals and any other public body
that still enjoy a modicum of public ownership and or entity.
4. As a sign of changed times and the primacy of liberties, freedoms and
Human Rights, i propose a radical rejuvenation and over-haul of civil liberty
regimes by promulgating an all-power and activist minded body i will call
Cvil Liberties and Freedoms Commission. As a matter of how serious we are
about arbitrary infringements of civil liberties, this commission will gobble
up all the responsibilities associated with the toothless and spineless
Ombudsman office and more. Again, the institution of this commission is not
mutually exclusive from the aforementioned constitutional exercise and,
therefore, cannot be decoupled from constitutional reforms.
This list is by no means exhaustive. I am sure the current cadre of
Opposition leadership by virtue of their proximity to the problems on the
ground and the vast assemblage of talent we have within it, will come up with
more issues and an exhaustive agenda to tackle in order to make the Gambia
wholesome again after Jammeh has been emptied into the dustbin of history. I
have to concede though that the program i have in mind and modestly touted
here is inoperable without the active participation of all stakeholders of
the Gambian polity. Suffice to say that the active participation of a United
Opposition and civic groups is indispensable in the scheme of implementing
the said program. All the more reason for the Gambian Opposition to get its
act together and contest the October elections on a common platform for a
better Gambia for all Gambians. There resides the primary thrust of the
metaphysics of democracy in a post- Jammeh Gambia.
Hamjatta Kanteh
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask]
if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
