By: Saidina Alieu Jarjou
Mr president I had wanted to wait until the political dust settle down for me to unleash my articles. I am left with no option but to abort my initial plans. I am compelled to register my total dissatisfaction beyond human imagination. I don’t intend to be rude or act in an unpleasant manner with my unwavering diction. But the time has come for us to tell the brutal truth before it’s too late. It’s an open secret that you are surrounded by some disgraceful Squirrels in human form who are good at nothing but filling their pockets at the expense of the masses, some of them have the skills to milk the smallest ant in the mainland. It’s about time that you take drastic actions against these unscrupulous individuals.
Mr President the last time I checked around 2019 when COVID-19 was discovered in the Gambia, many raised concerns on the level of preparations your government has taken in defence of the deadly Wuhan virus. I want to recognize the efforts you undertook to mobilize resources geared towards fighting the said virus. As it is not news that many philanthropies responded positively to the plight of our motherland and her people.
Mr President, unfortunately, I have learnt with utter dismay that the funds allocated for the fight against the enemy have gone missing as indicated in the Auditor General’s recent 2021 report. The report added that Dr Samateh led Ministry of Health failure to negotiate contract terms with suppliers ATC and AKKA has cost our motherland a staggering amount of D148, 209,858. It could be recalled that sometime in 2020 the same Dr Samateh was caught pants down in the middle of the National Assembly where he reacted to corruption allegations over Covid-19 funds. He further tried so hard to explain to the Members the measures put in place by his ministry to ensure transparency and accountability in the administration of the Covid-19 funds.
The question one might be quick to ask will be; why are we been robbed in broad daylight by the people who promised to protect us. Mr President the truth be told this is what they did to former President Yahya Jammeh who now lives in exile. I know you are a good person, and you can’t afford to follow the same trend as your predecessor. However, the onus now lies on you and the route you take will determine your exit route.
By virtue of the evidence brought forward to you by the Auditor General, all you can do is to summon the Squirrels at the Ministry of Health to vomit the Covid funds. Else, failure to do so, let the full force of the law be exercised without mercy. It really pains when such ungodly actions are treated nicely like a new year’s cake. Corruption should be seen as an enemy of development, and of good governance. It must be dealt with accordingly. Both the government and the citizens at large must come together to achieve this national objective for the better Gambia we want.
Nothing should be brushed under the carpet; the truth must come out and the culprits must pay the price! Such an amount if properly managed could save the lives of our women who had died because of insufficient medical equipment! Dr Samateh and his boys should know that we are watching, and we will follow the developments!
