THOUSANDS MARCH AGAINST CORRUPTION
A sea of angry faces converged at Westfield yesterday, to partake in a protest march against corruption in public, and in a few cases, private institutions across the country.
Organised by anti-corruption protest group Gambians Against Looted Assets (GALA), the demonstration saw youths, activists, politicians, social media influencers and senior citizens vent their frustration over the state of the nation.
Protesters chanted slogans with fervour, demanding change and accountability. Their banners read:”All power to the people; “End corruption; “Barrow Must Go;” “Who killed the Cops?’,’ among others.
At the height of the demo amid thunderous applauses and yelling, GALA’s spokesperson, Saibou Camara, outlined the group’s five demands and five letters of petition to various public offices, including the Office of the President: “We have written to the Office of the President for the implementation of the parliamentary committee on the $30 million petroleum scandal and the Ministry of Health has been called to action over the Acute Kidney Injury cases”.
Other petitions were addressed to the National Assembly urging it to investigate land allocations, while the Gambia Football Federation (GFF) has been asked to explain how out of the D414 million it receives every four years, no standard football field could be built. The protesters also wanted the Ministry of Land to explain recent ‘illegal’ land allocations.
While Solicitor General, Hussein Thomasi collected two petitions on behalf of the Office of the President and the Ministry of Health, Hon, Abdoulie Ceesay collected the petition to the National Assembly. Amadou Jallow of GALGA collected the petition for the Ministry of Lands. However, nobody from the GFF showed up to collect the petition letter, prompting protesters to demand that they come forward.
Activist Madi Jobarteh passionately expressed his grievances during the protest: “I am here today to demonstrate my grievance, my anger, my sadness, my disappointment in the way The Gambia government is mismanaging the resources of The Gambia, impoverishing the people of The Gambia, abusing the rights of Gambian citizens and destroying the future of The Gambia through corruption, disregard of the rule of law, indiscipline and inefficiency”.
Jobarteh questioned why the government failed to utilise the country’s resources for the benefit of its citizens.
“If the government can afford to buy one vehicle D12 million for a minister, then there is wealth. But this wealth is mismanaged for the benefit of public officials,” he said.
Jobarteh compared Gambia to Singapore, noting that both countries gained independence at the same time but Singapore has developed significantly while Gambia, with more natural resources, lagged behind.
He demanded the resignation of the chair of the National Sports Council and the GFF for not answering GALA’s call.
However, before the protesters dispersed, Mahmoud L Jawla, the acting executive director of National Sports Council showed up, presumably to collect the petition for the GFF.
Source: The Standard
