New Year Message Of Mr. Ousainou Darboe
Party Leader And Secretary General Of The United Democratic Party (UDP
Friday 4th January 2008

Fellow Gambians,

As we close the year 2007 and open 2008, I wish to take the opportunity once again, as I have done in the past as Secretary General and Party Leader of the United Democratic Party, to extend to all Gambians and non Gambians my wishes for a good and prosperous new year.

I wish to express my gratitude for the constant support that a lot of you have given me and my party in the past years, particularly in the face of some of the most trying times ever experienced in the rule of the present government.

Like the end of 2006, the end of year 2007 saw the observance of two important celebrations in the religious calendar of our nation, and indeed of the whole world - Christmas and Tobaski both of which took place in the same month of December. These are occasions that conjure peace and joy, good neighbourliness and harmony. The Muslim feast of Eid el Adhar is an occasion for caring and sharing. The Christian feast of Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ and marks the beginning of the festive season of peace and good will. In the month of December this year, Christians and Muslims the world over rededicate themselves to peace and renew their hope and pray for a better and more peaceful world in the coming year. This is no less true for the Muslims and Christians of The Gambia.

As we look back at 2007, we see an eventful year. The road to democracy and good governance has been marred by extra ordinary hurdles that have been deliberately placed by the Executive to obstruct and inhibit our march to democracy. This has been done with the complicity of the National Assembly. I must mention here the legislation recently passed virtually overhauling the Local Government Act vesting powers in the President to dismiss elected Councillors of Local Government and Municipal Councils, including Chairmen and Mayors. The Local Government Act was meant, after years of consultations and consultancies, to allow for the devolution of powers from Central Government to Local Authorities thus facilitating the smooth and less cumbersome administration of the affairs of these communities. However, the new legislation seized the little powers that the Local Government Authorities had and centralised them in the hands of the President and the Secretary of State for Local Government. It also thwarts and undermines the independence and autonomy of the Local Government system.

This is a retrogressive step that puts our march towards true democracy in jeopardy. It is for this reason that we, the UDP and the NRP have decided to challenge the constitutionality of this recent legislation because we are convinced that no single person should have the absolute right to subject the local and municipal councils to his personal whims and caprices. This is exactly what will happen with this new legislation. It is the inalienable right of all citizens, irrespective of their political persuasion, to choose a person that he or she believes will better serve the interest of his or her community at the local level. No one citizen, even if he is the President has the right to vary the will of the people expressed in a free vote.

Admittedly, we have learnt to live with the vicissitudes of politics but when outlandish developments are experienced within the body politic of the nation, there is absolute cause for alarm. The cankerworms that are crawling from within the body politic of this nation risk embroiling us all in a quagmire of constitutional and political crisis of proportions hitherto unknown.

We see the year 2008 therefore, as a consolidation of autocratic rule in the country. A year that no serious effort has been envisaged in the recent Budget speech to create jobs for the tens of thousands of our school leavers who join hundreds of thousands of other Gambians who are without jobs or any means of earning a decent living. We in the United Democratic Party believe that it is only a government that is sensitive to the plight of its citizens that can muster the political will to redress the imbalances in our society. The present regime lacks this political will.

While world leaders are opening up to peoples’ participation in the running of their own affairs, our own leader is appropriating extra ordinary powers for himself and unashamedly going against his own much vaunted slogan of “power to the people”.

The economic stagnation that has been the result of the misguided policies of this government has continued to wreak havoc on the population. Prices of basic commodities rise daily despite the apparent fall in the exchange rates of all foreign currencies vis-a-vis the Dalasi. The continued inability of government to make satisfactory arrangements for the equitable and timely purchase of the groundnut produce, the lack of other production avenues for farmers, the non existence of employment opportunities, have all impoverished the country and make life extremely difficult for the average Gambian.

My dear compatriots, the situation of our nation is very serious. The last Budget approved by the National Assembly has shown an increase in government expenditure in the areas of Defence and the Office of the President whilst the social services like health and education have had meagre increases.

A few days ago, we learnt of the passing away of Serign Salieu Mbacke of Touba, Senegal, Grand Khalifa of millions of Muslims in the West African Sub Region and beyond. In his lifetime, this man of great humility and forthrightness, made an indelible mark in the development of Islam and his demise is a great loss not only to Senegal but to the entire Muslim Umaah. The membership of the UDP joins me in extending our heartfelt condolences to his family and the entire people of Senegal.

Fellow Gambians, ours is a great country and we are great citizens. We have the ability to peacefully change this near hopeless situation of our country and leave a legacy that generations yet unborn will be proud of. This, however, we cannot accomplish unless we rededicate ourselves to the building of a just and equitable society. I therefore appeal to every citizen to approach the affairs of this nation dispassionately and as true patriots and this we must do “ towards the common good” as enjoined by our national anthem. On behalf of the entire membership of the United Democratic Party UDP, and on my own behalf, I wish you all, my fellow Gambians and the non Gambians resident here, a pleasant and prosperous 2008. May Allah the Almighty grant us peace and a spirit of tolerance and bless our beloved country.