Karamba Touray& Lamin Wariteh

Find My Definitions Bizzare

BY TIJAN NIMAGA, Bronx New York

 

My recent suggestion that democratic socialism is the system of government that we Gambians should adopt in order to achieve better governance and that the PDOIS is the only political party in the Gambia to establish such an ideology, was quickly shot down in flames by Karamba Touray and Lamin Wariteh in a move that did not altogether surprise me.

 

Before I begin my response to their comments, I want to thank the on line newspaper, The Gambia Echo, on behalf of all Gambians for its most outstanding performance in generating its particular brand of journalism. Had it not been for the Gambia Echo Karamba and Lamin would have known nothing about me and I would have known nothing about them and their choice of a political party capable enough to rule our country. This one unique tool has brought us all together to discuss issues that will benefit us for generations to come, and so I say, “Long live The Gambia Echo!”  

 

Just as Suwaibou mentioned in his reaction to Karamba and Lamin’s refusal to acknowledge the political theory of the PDOIS, I am a socialist and, whether they like it or not, the PDOIS is my choice of political party that could govern the Gambia well. The ideas I put forward are not part of the written socialist ideology of the PDOIS, neither are they an attempt to suggest the establishment of an all-powerful government which would have supreme control of the entire means of production and distribution. Rather, the PDOIS would set up a government that could create its own tax revenues and stop borrowing from international organizations.

 

Please understand, Karamba and Lamin that, since its independence from Great Britain, The Gambia has been governed by a capitalist system which they themselves favour, and that both the governments of Jawara and Jammeh survive by, as we say colloquially, “borrowing Peter to pay Paul”. The Gambian government has been in debt for so many years that some of those debts were cancelled because there were simply no funds to repay them. If The Gambia were a democratic socialist state, economic growth would increase and our national financial analysts would be able to explore all the necessary steps to achieve that goal.

 

As I mentioned in my first article, investors that only loot the country’s interests would be socialized one way or another and, although it is true that Socialism has failed in some African countries, this failure was not because socialism is not a system of good governance but because many of the leaders of such states were either downtrodden or completely removed from power just as the system was about to succeed.

 

Lamin and Karamba went on to say that I did not mention what happened in countries that had advocated socialism and so I would like them to know that a Socialist Party that advocated democratic socialism for nearly three decades has ruled neighbouring Senegal, and today it perhaps has the best system of democracy in the whole of Africa.

If Senegal can establish democratic socialism then why can’t the Gambia? As for Mali, the socialist politician and later President, Modibo Keita, was removed from power before his regime could accomplish its mission and we have all witnessed the political uprising in Guinea that left thousands dead in the late 1990s and the 2007 political riots that left both riot police and civilians dead.

 

In Ahmed Saikou Touray’s time things were very productive for Guinea but his mission was unaccomplished due largely to isolation by powerful international actors and his own propensity to use brute force. Just as socialist leaders have woefully failed Africa so has capitalist regimes dismally failed and executed millions. Think about! Ghana was blessed with one of the best intellectuals of modern times but, because of greed and misunderstanding, the people, who later regretted what they did, overthrew the man who could have established the best socialist system in Africa. The list of successful socialist democratic countries goes on and on.

 

It was to my utter surprise when Wariteh forcefully argued that socialism would fail in The Gambia because of the size of the country and also because the products of individual enterprises would be socialized or distributed through institutions such as family ties (BADINGYA) or (SINYOYA).

 

The size of a country does not matter when it comes to establishing a government. At the beginning of my last article, I mentioned that many people simply do not understand the term “DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM” and it is obvious that both Karamba and Lamin fall into that category. I don’t know how long you guys have lived in Europe and America, but surely you must have heard of the democratic socialist political party of Senegal, which was founded by Leopold Sedar Senghor.  If Senghor was able to successfully establish democratic socialism in Senegal for twenty years and Abdou Diouf, his successor, for a further twenty years, then why can’t The Gambia embrace the same political system?

 

Karamba and Lamin, please tell my party of choice PDOIS and I, whether Leopold Sedar Senghor or his successor, Abdou Diouf, were dictators simply because both presided over a nation with a socialist party? Yet the democratic socialist system established by Senghor gave Senegal one of the best systems of democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, its socialist system turned it into one of most successful former French colonies in Africa, and it was that socialist government, with its belief in brotherhood between the two countries that came out to stop the mass murder provoked by Kukoi Samba Sanyang in 1981.

 

So if socialism is a failed system of government it certainly did not fail in Senegal and I have no doubt that the PDOIS can establish equal or better governance than any of the socialist governments that have ever existed in Africa. I want Karamba and Lamin to know that my ideas, ill conceived as they may think them, are far better than any of the arguments they can put forward. If they want to find something better than the governing principles of the PDOIS I would advise them to start digging across the ocean from the UK and the US. At this moment in time, I can see no political party in The Gambia that can run our country and be able to establish democracy better than the PDOIS. Please don’t tell me UDP.

 

Another point mentioned by Karamba left me laughing, although I was disturbed by it. Just as Suwaibou said in his response to Lamin and Karamba’s arguments, it seems that Karamba does not understand the meaning of collectivism, which is the socialist principle whereby the state controls all means of production. This does not include all means of distribution, Karamba and, if you think that collectivism does not exist in a modern capitalist system, you are wrong. One typical example is that, in recent years, almost all of Europe came collectively together to form one common governing body, which bound the entire continent together in terms of issues dealing with the means of production and distribution to be governed entirely by one collective law. The Union went on further to establish one single currency as a tool to unite the entire continent socially against any foreign investment. This in my narrow view is one example of democratic socialism. The Europeans came to the realization that, in order to achieve a better system of government to meet the demands of their societies, a kind of socialism needed to be established, thus proving that Marx’s theory of political ideology works.  Mr. Touray and Mr. Wariteh, I want you to understand that the AFRICAN UNION has failed to establish such a common governing body because of the fear that collectivity through democratic socialism would mean that the means of production and distribution would be socialized and, in that sense, socialism would be inevitable.

 

Sadly, this is one reason why Africa lags behind the rest of the world in being economically unified less than one umbrella whereby the means of production and distribution can be socialized as with the European Union.

 

 

Finally, in terms of our own Gambia, Mr.Wareith misunderstood me when I said that foreign investors and banks would operate under the central government and that the private sectors would be entirely owned by it. This does not mean that the traditional trading system would cease to exist. What Mr. Wariteh failed to understand, perhaps, is that in a democratic socialist state, individuals can own as many businesses and as much property as they want to, but the way in which the private sector operates and establishes its prices is totally controlled by the central government.

 

Mr. Wariteh believes that, if democratic socialism were to be established in the Gambia it would isolate our country from the outside world. To the contrary, democratic socialism would immediately eradicate unemployment and high prices and establish a well-developed society. The import export business, as mentioned earlier, would be controlled entirely by the central government. These are my own personal opinions and have nothing to do with what the PDOIS advocates.

 

Finally, I would just say that my choice of political party is my own business and I have a very hard pill for whoever finds it bizarre to swallow. If that’s not enough a hot pepper soup can satisfy the political appetite! Finally I thank Suwaibou for his corrections and for standing firm. We, the members of the PDOIS, will never accept intimidation, no matter where it comes from! I will continue to support PDOIS to the grave.