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Momodou
Denmark
11851 Posts |
 Posted - 31 Jan 2017 : 10:14:25
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MEMORANDUM OF NATIONAL POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC REFORMS:
AGENDA FOR THE TRANSITION, 2017 - 2020
By Kebba Jatta
01/30/2017
First of all, allow me to thank the “Coalition” for coming together in a united front to make possible a peaceful democratic change of government in the Gambia on December 1st when the Gambian people voted to end the 22-year regime of Yahya Jammeh (and the APRC) and also on January 19th when His Excellency Adama Barrow was sworn in as the third president of the Gambia.
As a Gambian who has lived abroad for nearly all of Jammeh’s autocratic rule, it is very encouraging to see this historic change unfolding in our country that has long been admired for its friendly and peace-loving people.
This is also a great moment and opportunity for the Gambia to build a lasting democratic foundation that will ensure freedoms and prosperity for all Gambians across generations.
Please also allow me to make the following suggestions and recommendations for your consideration as you embark on the much needed economic and government reforms.
I would like to make suggestions for reform in the following areas:
1.Executive Reforms
2.Legislative Reforms
3.Judicial Reforms
4.Civil Service Reforms
5.Media Reforms
6.Electoral Reforms
7.Economic reforms
Executive Reforms
•2 five-year terms limit for president
•President not to accept money or pay from foreign governments
•President not to engage in private business
•No conflict of interest of any other sort that can limit the President’s commitment to national interest
•development funds to each region must be allocated in consultation with governors and approved by the legislature based on need without regards to political affiliation. This hopefully will prevent the incumbent government from denying development to communities and regions that do not support him, like former President Jammeh may have used against Kiang, Badibou, and Wuli communities.
Legislative reforms
•Nominated MPs must be used very sparingly or abolished totally. In my view, nominated members of parliament serve only as stooges to the President and undermine the democratic process. Seedy Njie and his types in the former APRC parliament easily come to mind.
•Members of parliament cannot be fired by the President
•The legislature must owe allegiance only to party, country and constituents
•They must be completely independent of the other branches of government
•Key executive appointments must be vetted and approved by the legislature
Judicial reform
•The Judiciary must be completely independent of the other branches of government
•Life term guarantee of tenure of judges and in exchange judges must avoid publicly expressing partisan views
•No foreign judges, when possible
•Judicial review: the courts must be free to interpret and rewrite the law pursuant to the intent of the constitution
•Habeas corpus must be brought back into law
•All appointment of judges by the president must be vetted and approved by the legislature
Media reform
•The media must enjoy complete independence
•Guarantee of free speech and press must be enshrined in law
•Protection of sources
•Freedom of Information Act (FIA) to compel government officials and institutions to provide information that is of public value provided it is not classified
•Private and other media houses must have equal access to state media and resources
•The media must have access to public officials
•Frequent access to Press Secretary who often convene press briefings with the media. This is beneficial to the government, the media, and citizens as it keeps a line of communication open which creates a sense of transparency and accountability.
Civil service reform
•Reasonable security of tenure for civil servants
•They must be nonpartisan in job duties
•Zero tolerance for corruption, including termination and prosecution
•Accessible to media and public. Media and public scrutiny help expose corruption and malpractice.
•They must be free of liability for honest and reasonable expert advice and recommendations given to president and in the furtherance of their job mandate. This will encourage honest expression of views that can help the President and those in authority to make sound decisions. The case of former Finance Minister, Mambury Njie comes to mind.
Political parties
•all political parties and the government they form must fairly represent the diverse people of the country. This diverse ethnic, linguistic, religious and gender, representation must be a legal basis for political party registration
•All political parties must hold primaries or other substantial democratic process to nominate their presidential candidate. This can help inculcate a democratic culture in the citizens and also prevent the formation of a personality cult at the party level and by extension at the national level.
•Secretary General & party chair must be someone other than sitting president. This can help separate party and national functions, so the President can focus on national issues while the Party focuses on party issues.
•The party in office must treat the opposition with respect it deserve as an alternative national voice , and must be accorded so at all national events
Electoral Reforms
•chair of IEC may be appointed by President and vetted and approved by the legislature
•Chair of IEC must have protection of tenure, and in exchange he/she must be nonpartisan
•On-the-spot counting of all ballot boxes to be witnessed and signed by all party agents. This can be very instrumental in preventing fraud, and is believed to be partly responsible for Jammeh’s defeat on December 1st, 2016.
•Equal access to the media, including state owned media.
•The incumbent government must not use the security forces no more than the opposition parties in the furtherance of its re-election campaign
Economic Reforms
•Employment and consumption must be emphasized as the drivers of the national economy.
•All development projects must quantitatively analyze how many Gambians will be employed. The full impact of infrastructural and other development projects can be felt only if they result in maximum employment for the people, whose wages become ploughed back into the economy as consumption.
•Tax incentives should be considered for private businesses that employ Gambians. This could encourage and boost private investment into the country.
•Investment in appropriate technology and innovation should be embarked on to promote entrepreneurship and other skills to create employment for the youth. Perhaps the GTTI should be reformed into what I will call the “Gambia Institute of Technology” to attract the best and brightest in computer science and engineering to help drive the new economy. The National Youth Service Scheme (NYSS) should also be reformed to make it more responsive to the needs of the youth in terms of skills and employment.
•The economy and the environment and social justice (equity) are also all intertwined. Therefore, our economic strategy must take into consideration the long term health of the environment and the wellbeing of our citizens.
Thank you.
Kebba Jatta
Kansas City, USA.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Kebba Jatta:AGENDA FOR THE TRANSITION, 2017 - 2020
