Jammeh’s Gov’t  Is More Corrupt Than The PPP Regime—OJ Declares

As Politician Calls For The Publication Of The Bamfo Commission Report

Says “ Culture Of Official Corruption Is Endemic In Gambia.”

PPP Ministers Urged To Raise Their Heads Up

By Pa Nderry M’Bai

Popular Gambian politician Omar Amadou Jallow is calling on all former People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Ministers in the First Republic to raise their heads up, as history had absolved deposed President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, and his entire cabinet from corruption, or any wrongdoing as bandit by the Jammeh administration. Mr. Jallow charged that the  Jammeh Government is far way more corrupt than the PPP administration it toppled through a military coup in July of 1994. 

Declaring the Sir Dawda’s Government as the beacon of hope for Africa, and the Gambian Community in particular, Mr. Jallow said the post AFPRC era was greeted by all kinds of euphoria, and cheap propaganda—ranging from wild accusations of “rampant corruption” and abuse office against the former administration, which were later found to be false, and misleading.  

According to Mr. Jallow, the Jammeh Government will hardly pass corruption test, as graft is endemic in this country, with the President Yahya Jammeh lavishly dishing out millions of dalasis unchecked. 

Jallow told the Freedom Newspaper in an interview that the PPP Government had put in place check, and balances—in a bid to promote financial discipline, accountability, and transparency at the time, but today we are witnessing an institutionalized culture of corruption in this country.

Comparing Sir Dawda with the totalitarian ruler Yahya Jammeh, Mr. Jallow said the former President never in  his life time dishes out millions of dalasis, but Jammeh has been openly bragging about his wealth. He said the President had on numerous occasions dished out millions of dalasis without any formal accountability.

“How can Sir Dawda have 27 Million? Where is Sir Dawda going to get 27 Million from. At that time, no Minister can even get one dalasi from the Accountant General, without passing through the Accountant General System.  Could you imagine, Baba Jobe at time going to the Central Bank and took money. How about Lang Conteh, and Ebou Jallow? During  our time,  that was unthinkable,” OJ said.

     Bamfo Commission Report Mystery  

Mr. Jallow said the First thing the former Junta has done when they took over the rein of power was to establish the Bamfo Commission—which was established by Degree 11. The Commission was mandated among other things: to probe the official activities of PPP Ministers, including Jallow. Exposing official corruption was high on the Commission’s agenda, but Jallow said the Commission’s findings have never been made public by the Government of President Jammeh.

Jallow had launched numerous appeals to President Jammeh to make the Commission’s findings available to The Gambian public so that Gambians would know if the former administration were corrupt as claimed by the regime, but his appeals fall into deaf ears.

“I want to use your newspaper to appeal to Gambians to call on Yahya Jammeh to publish for God sake… to publish the report of the Bamfo Commission to which Sir Dawd and all his Ministers went before. The Bamfo Commission was established by Decree 11.  It said the Commission would sit in public, and the report would be made public. Up- to-day, this was the most important Commission have not been released.  They have refused to publish the report of that Commission—only the members of the Council have seen that report,” OJ said.

According to Mr. Jallow, “Decree 25 requested that the report of the Commission before it is published should be sent to everybody who have gone before the Commission, so that our lawyers can  raise objections, and make recommendations, but this has never been done. Not any one of us who went before that Commission saw that report up-t0-today.  And that report should have been the basis to justify, or to disagree with the overthrow of the PPP Government because it is from that report that people would know whether we were corrupt, or we were not corrupt. Let President Jammeh publish the report so that Gambians could see the reality.”

Jallow said the Government’s failure to publish the Bamfo Commission report goes to show that the Commission had never establish any adverse findings against the former PPP Ministers. Mr. Jallow said he wants to read about his past official activities, but the Government of the day is refusing to publish the report.

“That is why I said if there was corruption during our time, I will be happy to read about it. Let him publish the report so that every Gambian will see who was corrupt, and who was not corrupt.  They will be able to compare the 29 years of the PPP, and 15 years of the Jammeh regime,” Jallow posited.

Mr. Jallow who is the interim leader of the People’s Progressive Party said official corruption is a recipe for instability, and therefore calls on the current Government to be accountable to its people. He said the PPP Government never plundered nation’s coffers—compared to the type of system we have today, where accountability, transparency, and probity have been buried under the sea.

He reminded President Jammeh that he (Jammeh) is constitutionally obliged to uphold, and defend the constitution at all times. He said the President should endeavor treat all Gambians equally—irrespective of one’s political affiliation.

Jallow laments that the country’s opposition had been marginalized by the Government of the day in terms of having equal access to the state media. He said opposition views are never aired on both state controlled radio, and TV.

“When you are a President, you are a President of a country, and you supposed to uphold and defend the constitution. And the constitution is the supreme law of the land, that gave every Gambian the right to belong to a party of your choice , to support the party of your choice, to worship the religion of your choice. And all opposition parties should be respected, and should be seen as partners in development, because we have a right under the constitution to establish and register our political parties, and campaign against the government. We are supposed to hold this Government accountable.  We have been denied access to the radio and television to air our programs and policies,” OJ said.

Part three of our interview with OJ will run later.  Please stay tuned.