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Momodou
Denmark
11644 Posts |
 Posted - 22 Mar 2007 : 00:09:57
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FOCUS ON POLITICS
PPP’S FRACTURE EMINENT
With Suwaibou Touray
Continued from: http://www.gambia.dk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3341
Apart from the “Butut Scandal” which dominated political gossiping during the period, the issue of low pay for the workers was also competing to be noticed. Mr. M.E Jallow went to Tanzania to attend the Sixth Pan-African Congress and when he came back, he was full of zeal to continue the fight for pay increase for the low paid workers. He held a meeting with the workers and revealed that ministers have increased their salaries by Ł40 pounds and said that, as such, the salaries of the low paid workers should also be increased otherwise it was going to be an insult to them. He emphasized the need for equal treatment for all.
The parliament which was dominated by the PPP could be said to have supported the workers, but was it genuine? Mr. Saikou Sabally, who was a member of Parliament, said the difference in salary structure was done by the imperialists which he argued should have been done away with. This statement of Sabally’s was a surprise to many since it was not clear what economic policy PPP was to take.
What was clear, however, was that Nkrumah’s campaign against imperialism and Neo-Colonialism and Sekou Toure’s Nationalism were making a lot of young politicians to experiment with their language, but as the demand for salary increment increased, President Jawara had to invite Mr. M.E Jallow to discuss the issue. The workers by then were so militant that any delay in dealing with the issue of increasing the minimum pay could easily spark a strike, even if the Union leaders restrained them. This was why a mass strike was staged by The Gambia Workers Union on the 28th July 1975 even though the socalled Wallace report gave recommendations on the proposed salary structure.
From then on, the ruling party of Sir Dawda had signs of infighting. Some members felt that their party was being taken over by what they described as old “Political failures” of Bathurst going in with their old habits of gossiping and false stories about people they disliked and gradually replacing what they called the indigenous members of the PPP.
But Gambia used to be a rumour mongering state, one rumour always followed another and this time, two things were about to happen according to ‘radio kankang” (rumour station);
1. That a new party was in the making and (2) that underground work was being done to unseat the President through constitutional means. The latter was not taken seriously, by observers, because of the fact that the PPP had the majority in the parliament and therefore it was seen to be extremely remote for anybody to conceive a “no confidence vote” against Jawara.
By 17th April 1975, a new party was born. It was calculated to coincide with this date which was an anniversary of the death of Kwame Nkrumah, former President of Ghana. The spokesman for the party was no other person than Mr. Cheyassin Secka, a barrister at law. His first complaint was the refusal of the public radio to announce their rally. They met at Albion Place to inform the general public of their emergence and why they have decided to form a party instead of joining any of the existing parties. One thing was however clear, the creation of the National Liberation Party was motivated by the ideology of the late Kwame Nrumah.
Mr. Secka later toured the whole country to explain the manifesto of the NLP to the people. The people were anxious to know.
And by about July 3rd 1975, news of Mr. Dibba’s dismissal shook the country. He was removed from his post as Minister of Economic Planning and Industrial Development.
Was it a rift, the gap of which could be quickly narrowed, or was it a split? That was the question which was on the lips of many a PPP militant.
According to the Progressive Newspaper, on 4th August 1975, Sir Dawda stressed that “If there were any divergencies of opinion between him and Dibba, it must be on the question of Tribalism and Regionalisation.” But Mr. Dibba said he was not aware of any reasons for his removal from office, and that the decision was not in the best interest of the country. He also asserted the allegations were meant to tarnish his image.
Mr. Dibba, however, said he was aware of a malicious campaign being waged against him by certain individuals with the sole and nefarious purpose of lowering his stature to the position of a selfish Gambian only interested in himself. He lamented that for 15 years as a parliamentarian, he was never accused of being a tribalist.
As the country waited to see whether the rift could be narrowed or not, Mr. Dibba convened a press conference and told journalists that he was called by the president but as he said all what Jawara said was that a rumour was being circulated in town about him (Dibba), and that was why he sacked him (Dibba). He said Jawara also told him that “he (Dibba) was not ready to share responsibilities with others,” reported the Progressive Newspaper. He said he could not understand that to mean that matters discussed at cabinet level were not subject to critical questioning and examination before decisions are taken. He however asserted that he still considered himself a member of the PPP. When asked if he was a co-founder of another party, he said he was not aware of that but added that only the course of events would reveal his future intentions.
By 9th August 1975, an announcement was heard that the Central Baddibu constituents were to hold a meeting at Albion Place and subsequently a mass rally was said to have been planned there.
President Jawara also did not take the matter lightly. He went on a provincial tour to explain to the people the reasons for Dibba’s dismissal. The private press complained of being deliberately side lined from accompanying him on the tour.
At the mass rally, Mr. Dibba spoke lengthily. He spoke on the “Butut Scandal” and said he had to surrender personal conviction to the welfare of the state during the smuggling scandal. He declared that he knew that the conclusions were not to his well being but that he had to vacate his Vice Presidential position for peace and stability of the nation.
He finally called for the change of leadership of the country; that he was ready to join with what he called the “Progressive Forces” for the advancement of the Nation.
After this meeting, the National Convention Party was born, and a new political landscape created.
See next issue on how the struggle unfolds between the two personalities.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 33/2007, 21 – 22 March 2007
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 22 Mar 2007 : 05:58:38
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| momodou ,this one is wonderful. i was a young supporter of ncp during the late 80's nd early 90's. i hated jawara beyong reason. i even wanted to form a rebel movement to go after him.history is a good learning base. now i appreciated certain things about jawara but still he is not my cup of tea. |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
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