Hamjatta, another powerful piece on the way FORWARD. You clearly spelled out
an agenda for the Alliance vis-à-vis social welfare in a post-Yaya era. You
brought to the discourse novel ideas that are geared towards our society
back home. The way you articulated the uniqueness of our extended family
system and how that can be used to benefit poor Gambians, have never been
done. I especially like the tax regime you proposed to take advantage of the
extended family network. Great job.

Clearly, Gambians are hugely over-taxed. The tax system is so haphazard that
all it takes for one to negotiate his/her tax bill is to walk to the
Commissioner of Income Tax’s office and strike a deal with the Commissioner
whereby the taxpayer agrees to pay so long as the Commissioner agrees to
reduce the bill or allow installments. It is all a government-sanctioned
racket. The Commissioner comes up with a ridiculously high amount and say
that that is your tax bill. This is followed by negotiations and towards the
end, some figure just gets plugged from nowhere and bingo you have a deal
with the government to pay a lower amount.

Your proposal sanitizes this regime. Since the government through Social
Security and other government entities CANNOT provide for its citizens, it
just makes sense for the government to leave the money in the pockets of the
citizens. Tax breaks should be given to people running large families. Our
tax system should be rationalized to ensure that Gambians are taxed fairly.
People should NOT pay less tax because they can go and negotiate with the
Income Tax Chief. People should pay less tax because they have huge families
to feed.

Yaya’s regime CANNOT carry out these reforms in our tax regimes and
implement social policies to benefit our poor. The vermin are running a
massive extortion racket at the Income Tax Department. But worse than that,
they have rendered Gambians destitute to the extent that people do NOT have
an income to be taxed. Yaya went ahead and dismembered our extended family
system. He dismissed ‘bread-winners’ willy-nilly from the Civil Service. He
encourages family members to lie about each other and spy for him. What kind
of man will appoint Fatoumatta Jahumpa as his trusted spokesperson and then
dismiss the woman’s husband and call him a liar? Deep throat has it that
Yaya showed Fatoumatta Jahumpa’s husband a list of 38 civil servants and
called the man a liar and accused him of instigating the wrongful dismissal
of all those civil servants. Hamjatta, these are the clowns currently
running our country. Home-wreckers. Liars.

As you said, the next government should officially recognize the extended
family system as a viable institution. Actions should follow words by giving
people tax breaks to take care of their families. We should also seek to
maximize the benefits to the families back home of the remittances they get
from their people in the Diaspora.
KB


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