Suwaibou Touray Responds to Mathew's Support of Karamba & Wariteh's Distortions of PDOIS' Policies

 

 

By Suwaibou Touray, PDOIS Desk Officer, People’s Center, Serekunda

 

I don't know the problem my friend Mathew has with Halifa Sallah. What we expect from a sovereign Gambian citizen is a critical mind capable of discerning the truth.

In terms of political leadership every person who appears before us should be subjected to objective scrutiny. Halifa Sallah is no exception. What respectable Gambians expect of Mathew who posed to be an erudite intellectual is to examine Halifa Sallah's words and deeds and then enlighten us on the shortcomings of his concrete words and deeds.

I have read throughout his article but have not seen any mention of what Halifa Sallah has done or said to make him unfit to be a political leader in the Gambia.

So I hope when he writes the next time he will behave like a respectable intellectual and tell us what is wrong with Halifa Sallah's words and deeds.

We the militants of PDOIS whom he accused of being half literates are interested in being educated by Mathew to know what is wrong with Halifa Sallah's words and deeds. We hope he will not expect any sane Gambian to believe that Halifa Sallah is preparing the ground to be a dictator because he is not dictating to youths how they should receive his political messages when PDOIS' principal message is to encourage the people to own their minds and allow dictation from no one on the face of the earth.

Furthermore, I would like to know why he called youths who support PDOIS half illiterates. Are we not among the most consistent people in the Gambia who give news to the people out there on what is happening in the Gambia? Just look at the headlines in the Foroyaa Newspaper, is Mathew not a consumer of the reports on arrests and detentions, the lack of purchase of the produce of the farmers, the drowning of the youths struggling for greener pastures, the gender inequality, the rises in prices, the increase in hardship and general chaos in the commodity and financial markets?

Mathew sits there in a very comfortable armchair consuming a rich daily diet of the information which we pick from the fire daily by going into the country-side, to police stations, markets and every corner of the country to make his analysis and then turn around and accuse us of being half literates.

I remember having an interview with the Secretary of State for finance and Economic Affairs whose content was quoted by a so-called Movement for Democratic Change without acknowledging that it was read from Foroyaa. They only claim that the information came from a local paper.

This confirms how some people aim to distort and trivialize the work that we are doing in this country, which is benefiting every citizen. Rambo’s detention and the drama, which took place before his release is just one example. If we were half literates, would they have quoted our questions and the answers given to make a point? 

During the Dalasi's appreciation and the uncertainty it created, a promise was given that an economist who has the calibre of Adam Smith would make quality analysis of the Dalasi’s appreciation. However, I have scanned all the papers and did not see this profound analysis. I refer you to Foroyaa for profound analysis and coverage of all issues of National importance. The raw materials for such analysis always come from those of us you are referring to as half literate.

.

In my view, by relying on Tijan's mistaken views regarding PDOIS' policies and then turn around to accuse all youths who support PDOIS as half literates transforms you to a half baked intellectual of the highest degree.

In short, intellectuals must pass judgment based on facts not on fiction. If you were a sincere intellectual, you would have proven the half-baked nature of PDOIS' policies in order to have the moral authority to accuse youths who support PDOIS' policies as half literates.

Secondly, you claim that Halifa Sallah is not telling youths who support him not to worship him and that this is what gives rise to dictatorship. You then proceed to accuse Halifa for preparing the ground for economic and political failures. Here again, you are relying on fiction instead of facts to pass judgment.

PDOIS is the first party if not the only party, which makes the consolidation of the sovereignty of the people its primary political goal. In every political platform, and there are thousands of cassettes to confirm this, people are encouraged to own their minds and free themselves from indoctrination and mental slavery. It is only PDOIS, which has produced literature and cassettes to engage in civic education to enlighten the Gambian people to know that leaders are mere public trustees without any divine or constitutional mandate to rule without their consent.

 Halifa has refused invitation to be part of Yahya Jammeh's Government twice on the principle that he would not want to be associated with any Government that has not derived its authority from the unfettered will of the people.

So where is the basis of your accusations that he is condoning being mystified in order to prepare him to be a dictator?

Interesting enough, you do not seem to have any sense of understanding of the difference between the anti colonial struggle for national independence which gave rise to leaders you mentioned like Nkrumah, Nyerere and Castro which led to the establishment of the sovereignty of nations ad the present struggles for Democracy, Human Rights and empowerment of the people which should lead to the consolidation of the power and sovereignty of the people. 

Our struggle today and the struggles of Nkrumahs, Nyereres and Castros are different. The struggle of the likes of Nkrumah is similar to that of the likes of George Washington who did not live under a multiparty system of government. It is unfortunate that people like you are ignorant of your history and the history of the societies in which you live. This is why you cannot give respect to Africa’s heroes and heroines. PDOIS appreciates the contribution of those who made our countries to be independent and is learning from their strong and weak points and is committed to pioneering on the African continent, the building of a Democracy, which will make the people sovereign.

 We the PDOIS militants will not allow Halifa Sallah or any other PDOIS leader to ever become a tyrant even if the person wishes to become one. Even Wariteh has acknowledged that, in Wuli people are taking charge of their destiny and are refusing nepotism and sectionalism to hinder the exercise of their sovereign rights to determine the affairs of the nation. This is the way of the future of this country.

Mathew also indicated what was rather very funny to me that Tijan should not have the wish for Gambia to be like Cuba because of the old buildings, cars, prostitution and alcoholism. I only hope that Mathew is not beginning to feel that Gambia is America or America is Gambia

I would like Mathew to describe to the readers the nature of the house in which he was born, the type of houses people live and the nature of their dwellings up to this very day. Can he honestly tell the world that Gambia has ever been a better place to live in than Cuba?

Furthermore, let me also explain to the world why Cuba is the way it is and why China is the way it is even though they all claim to have the same social system. I must say that Gambian intellectuals who are sincerely interested in the development of this country should abandon their myopic conception of social systems and try to understand the new realities in the world so that we can adopt the development models best suited for the development of the Gambia. What we need are intellectuals who will put on paper their concrete development agenda for the Gambia rather than engage in mere intellectual masturbation.

 

Mathew also mentioned that when one thinks of PDOIS, one thinks of Halifa Sallah. Has Halifa ever been a PDOIS presidential candidate.? Matthew feels this way because he is interested in Halifa Sallah and not PDOIS and the objective truth. If PDOIS has a member who the leaders of all opposition parties could trust to make a coordinator and spokes person and elected him twice to serve that function, why would PDOIS members hesitate to make him their spokesperson?  We the PDOIS militants are proud that he has not capitulated and is still willing to serve us and the country so that we can put an end to tyranny and poverty; once and for all. Matthew says he hears only Halifa Sallah. Is he not reading Foroyaa?

 When I started my "Focus on Politics column" even Halifa Sallah initially felt that this may open old wounds but I knew that there were people out there like Matthew who are ready to distort PDOIS' history and would not want the young people to know the sacrifices PDOIS was making to build the consciousness of the masses while all the parties which are active today were non existent and dormant. I insisted that the work must continue and today I am even being congratulated by all the skeptics including Halifa Sallah for having the foresight to persevere when they were informed of Matthew’s accusations that PDOIS members were not proud of the party and were hiding behind NADD.PDOIS which waged a determined struggle against the excesses of the Jawara regime and refused to compromise with any injustice under the first Republic:  PDOIS, which stood its ground and refused to join the coup makers or accept ministerial posts and spared no effort in exposing all the excesses of the Jammeh regime under the second Republic which is getting closer and closer to a monarchy; PDOIS, which accepts to join an opposition coalition at a time when two of it’s members had seats in parliament and had an opportunity to wage a nation-wide campaign to build it’s branches throughout the country when most of the other opposition parties were in the political wilderness not knowing how to get back to mainstream politics:, A PDOIS whose members sacrificed their seats just so that a genuine political coalition would emerge which would unseat the existing regime and usher in a genuine democratic order which would open the media for genuine debates between political parties to enable the people to make informed choices; a PDOIS which never wavered until others wrecked the boat, what do we have to be ashamed of? Who is still fighting the cause of the people while you sit there, Mathew?

To conclude, let me make it clear that PDOIS militants have no master or mistress and the PDOIS party has no patrons. This is why malicious people like Mathew do claim that PDOIS party has no leader.

.

Let me inform Mathew that PDOIS militants will never be ashamed of PDOIS because we can defend it’s principles and practices.

As an original member of PDOIS and associated with its leading organs, I would want the readers to know that we sent Halifa Sallah to America in response to an invitation to all political parties to make representations of their party principles, programmes and policies to the Gambian communities in Atlanta. He was supposed to make a nation wide tour to build PDOIS committees in the United States. The meeting he was invited to, to discuss about an opposition unity was an impromptu one.. When the PDOIS Central Committee met to consider the issue, most members saw the appointment as a ploy to subvert PDOIS' progress when its chance had come. It was Halifa who suggested that it was better for him to return so that we could discuss the matter more fully.

When the Central Committee met, he argued that if he rejected the appointment, the other members of the opposition could go around the country and say that it was PDOIS who does not want unity and that if the existing government were to remain, after an election, PDOIS would be accused of being the cause.

On the other hand, he said that he was not convinced that these people were genuinely interested in the type of unity that would lead to the empowerment of the people: that it was conceivable that they would just want to use PDOIS' credibility and discard it afterwards.

Finally, the central committee resolved that we had no option but to join the negotiation even though it was unfavorable for the party to suspend its expansion when it had a favorable climate to do so. However the party further resolved that the only form of unity it would accept is one where all political parties are ready to sacrifice party interest in favour of a transitional coalition government that would usher in a level political ground for genuine multi-party contest after every five years regardless of who became the presidential candidate.

So how then can PDOIS, which did not even want to be part of an alliance but was forced to join one by political necessity, be proud of hiding behind an alliance?

PDOIS does not betray its word. This is why we are still in NADD.

There are necessary steps, which must be taken to resolve the PDOIS/NADD equation. For your information it is already agreed for PDOIS to hold a congress in 2008 to determine it’s position in NADD. If the PDOIS delegates choose to leave NADD we will consult our partners and come to an agreement on the best way to do so without jeopardizing their political integrity.  We are too decent to take any unilateral action. On the other hand, If they choose to rely on the Alliance to promote unity for Democratic change, NADD would have to hold a congress to define it self.

To conclude, I am sure that nobody in his right mind would agree with Mathew that PDOIS has something to be ashamed of. The PDOIS people fought for the rights of people yesterday and are still at the forefront in fighting for the rights of people who may even be hostile to them.

I hope people like Mathew will be alert to the fact that specific people have been appointed to wage a battle against any distortions against our policies. We are full time defenders of the integrity of PDOIS.  Unlike some PDOIS militants abroad who are too soft skin and are easily taken aback by accusation of sycophancy and robotism we have the thick skin to carry on the battle until victory is achieved. We are ready to listen to genuine critics, who examine our principles, policies, and programmes objectively and give suggestions for us to improve our work or try to convince others that they have better policies to promote liberty and prosperity in The Gambia.

What we know is that, there must be a productive private sector, a productive cooperative sector, a productive informal sector and a productive public sector guided by mature policies and regulations in order to begin to address the economic malice of the country.

Those Gambians who want to be rich should prepare to utilize their entrepreneurial skills to rely on private financial institutions to build their productive companies and contribute to their own prosperity and that of the nation. PDOIS will free them from all corrupt bureaucratic obstacles to enable them to function efficiently and effectively.

Those who wish to develop skills and knowledge to work in the public sector should be ready to work honestly and be paid according to the quality and quantity of work they do.

 In short, a PDOIS administration will speak the language of merit and people's performance of duties would be shielded from political encroachments.

We will not allow people to enrich themselves at the expense of the public purse. If for this reason, some intellectuals don't want to support PDOIS it is their prerogative.

I will pause here to wait for Karamba, Wariteh and Mathew's response. I hope Wariteh will come up with his real name. I will begin to post PDOIS policies and programmes as promised once the debate settles. (TO BE CONTINUED).