By Alf Soninke
If your father passes away, and you keep crying nonstop, that shows you are not prepared to take over his mantle. However, if you stop, it shows that you are ready to move on, and this is what is expected of you.
This paraphrased statement of Adama Barrow was delivered at the opening of the NPP’s new headquarters building in Bundung.
The three-floor, multi-million dalasi edifice is fresh confirmation that, historically, the NPP is definitely the wealthiest political party to have ever existed in The Gambia.
The reader may want to visit my earlier article on Facebook, which discusses the NPP’s alleged wealth.
Barrow’s statements, made at last Saturday’s event, included pointing out that he has built modern political bureaus for the ruling party in all regions of the country.
And, listening to Barrow intently, it was clear that he had accomplished his mission to give the NPP a solid foundation, placing it on a firm footing for the future is more evidence and, to this observer, provided the latest hints that he may be preparing to retire, and not seek re-election for a third term, come the next presidential election in December 2026.
And so we expect Barrow to leave the stage at the end of his second term and have given pointers to his likely legacy.
However, by 2027, when we assess that record, among the things history will show is that he took the politics of inducement of the electorate to unprecedented heights in The Gambia.
Of course, we’ve heard stories of Gambian businesspeople, both men and women, who, long before Barrow and his associates entered local politics, invested in political parties and funded politicians and candidates for election. This was as far back as the pre-independence period and continued up to the PPP-dominated first republic.
The second republic under Yahya Jammeh and his APRC was another period when the politics of inducement and the use of fear and intimidation tactics increased to unprecedented levels.
However, going into the 2021 presidential election, and since then, it has been clear that Adama Barrow has imbibed lessons from the tenure of his predecessors on how to win re-election to the State House in Banjul.
And that the tactics and strategies he learned included surrounding oneself with people from the ancient regimes, who coached him, among other things, on how his governing party could continually win presidential elections.
And, in Barrow’s case, it means creating the basis for the NPP’s modus operandi, which relies more on inducing the electorate and less on the fear-inducing tactics of his immediate predecessor.
During last week’s NPP’s first-ever public fundraising gala dinner held in Bijilo, we saw Barrow and political allies – engaged just as did their predecessors – in dining with members of Gambia’s business elite and monied class.
In passing, we recall the claim we saw on Facebook that such fundraising events could provide a smokescreen for laundering money acquired through corruption.
This assertion highlights the necessity for comprehensive electoral reforms to regulate political party financing, election spending, and other related aspects.
Additionally, this enables the police and similar law enforcement public agencies to monitor and prevent the investment of crime proceeds in politics.
Indeed, this is another area that the Barrow Administration may want to address, thereby leaving a commendable legacy.
As part of the event, Barrow made a personal donation to the head of the NPP fundraising committee, presenting an envelope full of cash.
“It’s dollars,” Barrow announced when the event’s MC jokingly asked how much was put in the brown envelope.
Watching it all live on GRTS television, we also recognized and witnessed the presence of the heads of the GRA and GRTS at this purely partisan event. Obviously, the representatives of other public institutions were also there and would have used public funds to “buy” the platinum, diamond, gold, or silver tables advertised to fund the NPP.
This is another reminder of the bad practices of past governments, which the Barrow Administration should have shunned by now.
As for the GRTS, 60 years since independence, the party in power has always monopolized access and misused, most of the time for entirely partisan purposes, the taxpayer-funded national broadcaster.
And, as Barrow and his supporters continue to show that they are not serious about adopting best practices in this domain, it is time for Gambians to take a stand and come to the rescue of the national radio and television services.
The National Institution GRTS must be saved from the hands of our selfish politicians and their spineless technicians, who continuously fail in their duty to properly advise their bosses and insist on best practices for the public broadcaster.
Yet, what we know – and it’s fair to say this – is that the GRTS Act (2004?), which set it up since inception, tied its hands and does not allow the board, management, and staff to be truly in charge of the institution, and to control and operate it in a way that meets our legitimate expectations.
Consequently, the onus was on – and still is – the overseeing Information Ministry after the Barrow Administration had since 2017 failed to allow GRTS staff to operate and realize their full potential and aspirations as true professionals, which Gambians had long wanted to see from the institution over the past years and decades.
Indeed, it’s a shame, it’s hugely disappointing, and a big betrayal that the new government, which was widely expected to usher in a new dispensation in the country, has woefully failed Gambians in that regard.
Yes, this is one area that requires legal reform in the broadcasting sector. And, if the new people in charge at the Information Ministry are serious, as announced, about reforming broadcasting in the country through new legislation, then that must include, in fact, starting with the GRTS to let it operate effectively as a reputable, independent public broadcaster.
However, things do not look promising at all when we see the behavior of the current crop of politicians who are now in power.
Take, for instance, how they used the national TV to cover and stream live, for around four hours, the NPP fundraising gala and how again it was made to broadcast live for several hours – from around 4 pm when the event got underway and ended just before midnight – last Saturday’s official opening of the new NPP national headquarters building in Bundung.
This was the same GRTS whose board members and management staff went on a study tour of Senegal’s RTS, then under the Macky Sall government.
The Senegalese public broadcaster has since undergone a change in management under the new Diomaye-Sonko government, and its programming is now more accommodating of the official opposition, including an increased openness and tolerance for the divergent and dissenting views of opponents of the new government in Dakar.
Yet, in Gambia, the same GRTS continues to behave as if nothing has changed in Banjul – as well as at RTS, whose operations it understudied – being still stuck and persistent in its old ways – which old habits (they say die hard) are actually a blatant violation of this country’s constitution.
To remind the present GRTS board and management, the constitution requires that all media, including state-owned news media, serve as purveyors of news and opinions to the public within the bounds of the law, encompassing divergent and dissenting views and ideas.
To conclude, as Barrow prepares to retire and believes that he wants to be remembered as a good leader, the following are some of the things Barrow must put right before he leaves the scene:
Ensure meaningful electoral reform, including checks on the influence of money on national electoral outcomes; put GRTS on a proper footing as a respectable public broadcaster; and prepare for a peaceful transition and transfer of power.
He can achieve this by facilitating his own smooth departure, enabling the NPP to select a flag-bearer capable of winning the forthcoming presidential election.
