KOUKOI DEFENDS THE 1981 REVOLUTION!!!

“The 31^st July 1981 people’s revolution aimed at the establishment of Democratic good governance not savage dictatorship that was to assure that all types of corruption, Theft, Bribes, embezzlement of public funds and fraud would be totally eliminated. We aimed at implementing a revolutionary program where democratically the views of minorities were to be taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in Gambian society would be heard in decision making. The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at waging a merciless uncompromising fight against tribalism, Nepotism, Favoritism, state sponsored terrorism, abuse of power and all calculated systems of division, hate and all Jawaras different evil strategies of splitting the Gambian nation into conflicting social, ethic and tribal entities,” Writes Koukoi Samba Sanyang, as he explained the reason behind the 1981 “revolution”. 

 WHY WAS THERE THE NEED FOR THE 31^ST JULY 1981 PEOPLES REVOLUTION IN NEOCOLONIAL SINKING GAMBIA UNDER THE PPP PUPPET REGIME.

The 31^st July revolutionary Patriotic speech by comrade revolutionary leader Koukoie Samba Sanyang was the Revolutionary Political Program of Orientation and action that aimed at totally liberating neocolonial Gambia for national unity and reconstruction.

In actualizing the 31^st July 1981 revolution its ideology and plan of action here is our solemn patriotic revolutionary Declaration redefining and reaffirming our revolutionary belief, position and revisiting our 31^st July 1981 revolutionary Program of action.

THE OPPRESSED GAMBIAN PEOPLE NEEDED FREEDOM,THE RULE OF LAW,ADMINISTRATIVE JUSTICE, PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY AND AN ECONOMIC SYSTEM FOR SUSTAINABLE GROWTH, WHICH WOULD BE COMPREHENSIVE, UNDERSTANDABLE AND WORKABLE THAT AIMED AT MEANINGFULLY REDUCING INSECURITY, ELIMINATING POVERTY AND PROVIDING BROADLY SHARED PROSPERITY.

The 31^st July 1981 people’s revolution aimed at the establishment of Democratic good governance not savage dictatorship that was to assure that all types of corruption, Theft, Bribes, embezzlement of public funds and fraud would be totally eliminated. We aimed at implementing a revolutionary program where democratically the views of minorities were to be taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in Gambian society would be heard in decision making.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at waging a merciless uncompromising fight against tribalism, Nepotism, Favoritism, state sponsored terrorism, abuse of power and all calculated systems of division, hate and all Jawaras different evil strategies of splitting the Gambian nation into conflicting social, ethic and tribal entities.

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions agenda aimed at been responsive to the present and future needs of the Gambian society which was only possible with a genuine people’s revolution and democratic institutions that were to rightly restore the rights of the popular masses.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at introducing direct Participation (Nested Democratic Councils [NDC]) The 31^st July 1981 revolution believed that direct popular

Democratic Participation [DPDP] not autocratic rule by both men and women was to be the key cornerstone of good governance (Direct Participatory Democracy [DPD]).

With a people’s democratic revolution direct Participation was to be direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions of popular representation, and with a revolutionary government by the people and for the people and it is important to point out that representative democracy do not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be only heard but seriously taken into consideration in the decision-making process and that serious practical actions were to be taken.

Direct Democratic Participation [DDP] was badly need for the Gambian society that was under siege by the PPP neocolonial regime and there was need to be informed and organized, this meant working to strengthen the concept of freedom of free speech association and free expression of ones ideas and thoughts (allowing constructive criticism to take roots) on the one hand and an organized civil society (Jamasofadou) on the other hand.

The 31^st July 1981 people’s revolution’s big ambition was for the establishment of the Rule of law not banditry, illegal arrest and detention…Good governance was to require fair legal frameworks that were to be enforced impartially.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at requiring and assuring full protection of human rights, particularly those of the minorities, women and children and not the inhuman treatment of fellow citizens and senseless killings.

With the 31^st July 1981 revolution we aimed at the impartial enforcement of laws that were to require an independent judiciary system and an impartial and incorruptible security and police force.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at the institutionalization of the system of Transparency… (Openness, communication, disclosure of statements etc.) and not the institutionalization of a dark secret colt to oppress and rape the country.

Transparency in the Gambia was to mean that all correct decisions were to be taken in a manner that would rightly follow the rules and regulations of a true democratic revolution not dictatorship and false representation.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at introducing correct educative information and not Press censorship with draconian laws that would be introduced and would be available to all objectively by shaping and enlightening public opinion and were to be freely and directly accessible to those who were affected by such decisions and their enforcement.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at providing enough useful positive information and providing it in easily understandable forms and through an independent free media,

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at being very Responsiveness not childish, arrogant and blindly relying on nocturnal forces…

We strongly believed that good governance is in requiring that correct policy oriented institutions and straight-forward processes were to rightly serve all stakeholders within a reasonable time-frame.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at a Consensus oriented society not spliticist and destructive…As there were several actors / actress and as many divergent viewpoints in Gambian society, good governance in a democratically revolutionary government were to require mediation between the different interests and interest groups within the Gambian society to reach a broad consensus in society on what will be in the best interest of the whole community and how this could have been done and achieved.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution also aimed at a broad and long–term perspective on what was needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development.

This could have been the only result from a clear understanding of the historical, cultural and societal contexts of the Gambian society or community.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution was for Equity and inclusiveness…

With the revolution the Gambian society’s wellbeing were to depend on ensuring that all its members were to feel that they have a stake in it and were not to feel excluded from the mainstream of society.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at introducing  and strengthening the conceit of direct participation and taking into consideration of all interest groups, but particularly the most vulnerable were to get the opportunities for improving and maintaining their well-being,

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at Effectiveness and efficiency…

Here good governance was to mean that all processes and institutions were to produce good results that were to meet the needs of the Gambian society while it would have taken the best use of resources at their disposal.

The concepts of efficiency in the context of good governance were to have covered the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at implementing the concept for Accountability… (Establishing Revolutionary programs that will help discover the causes of success and failures)

According to the 31^st July 1981 revolution Accountability was to be an important key requirement for good governance in the Gambia and not hiding behind so-called state secrets.

With the 31^st July 1981 revolutionary government in the Gambia not only governmental institutions but also the private sector (cooperate Gambia) and civil society organizations were also to be accountable to the public and their institutional stakeholders.

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at establishing clear guidelines for who will be accountable to who as it will be required by the laws of the Gambia and was to vary depending on whether decisions or actions taken were internal or external to the organizations or institutions. This was to make it a reality that no one is above the law.

In general the socio-political organization or the state institutions were to be accountable to those who were to be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability was not and could have not been enforced without transparency probity accountability and the rule of law. It was crystal clear that good governance was to be an ideal which is not very difficult to achieve in its totality.

However to ensure sustainable human development in the Gambia, revolutionary actions were very necessary to be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of making it a reality for positive action,

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at a Socialist Alternative – a Better progressive Future.

Our vision was for a society fundamentally differing from the capitalist aggressive and exploitative society established by the PPP administration – a society where human needs will get priority over economic profits. We were struggling for the establishment of a democratically founded socialism that were to aim at building upon principles of freedom of speech and organization, pluralism and where our society will be in control of the economy. Such a political alternative presupposed support from the broad masses.

However, according to the revolution no ready-made instructions existed to tell us exactly how a socialist Gambia should be organized and constructed. As any society it was to be subject to constant development according to the wishes and will of the Gambian people. We were very aware that we had to establish some central goals for our socialist alternative.

With the 31^st July 1981 revolution we aimed at expanding participatory democracy so that it encompasses economic life. This meant that the power of making decisions were to be put in place in the hands of normal people and their democratic political institutions. Our revolutionary militant response to the globalization of capitalism to globalize poverty was for building and strengthening of a genuine people’s democracy on all levels – locally as well as globally.

In launching the 31^st July 1981 people’s revolution we were aware and sure that Socialism meant fighting against all suppression on basis of position, class, gender, and sexual orientation, ethical, religious or cultural affiliation. This great battle was an issue for the whole society and cannot be reduced into an individual problem. Socialism with no doubt implies equality of opportunities.

With the 31^st July people’s revolution we believe and we were ready to take the Declaration of Human Rights seriously and respect fellow human beings. This meant that the basic rights of life, as put down in The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, were to be followed to the letter. This includes the right of a decent place to live, to work and the right to acceptable food for humans not animals.

However, promoting human rights as a whole also would have implied taking The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights seriously, for example the right of opinion and expression, the right of conscience and religion, and the right of convocation and organization.

Socialism is a premise for creating a society into an ecological balance, to be characterized by a new healthy relationship between human and nature. In a socialist society better living conditions are not assured through constant economic growth, but through just distribution.

The right to clean water, air and safe food should be guaranteed for all human beings. Food safety and care for the environment was our main aim to be promoted through decentralized production. Public transport, recycling of materials and environmentally friendly production would have been our highest priority. The environmental problems we were and are witnessing today cannot be solved without a radical change in the organization of society.

Socialism that is [Jama kankilling aning barra gningma in our mandinka language] for us meant an active peace policy for happiness. The constant demand for more production by capitalism for expansion, access to new resources and new markets is promoting war and crisis. Breaking away from this evil oppressive and exploitative system will make it possible for a real and lasting peace, progress and prosperity.

Our goal were to shift away resources from, indiscipline spending, military spending, into a better use for promoting the good of peace and for developing human needs and our society. The changes we aimed at promoting were to precipitate in international cooperation a conscious political direction, and the dissolving of the imperialist blocs of power.

Socialism also implies a new relation to the world surrounding us. Under global aggressive and exploitative capitalism 50.000 humans die of malnutrition and hunger every day. Our alternative to exploitation and the imposition of harsh economic and political control over developing countries consisted in wanting to live freely and with comprehensive solidarity and mutual assistance.

We aimed at campaigning and promoting the idea for a meaningful revision of the exploitative and oppressive laws of the capitalist institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF, demanding the dismantling of social welfare and reactionary exploitative laws to protect the economy of poor countries. With the 31^st July 1981 revolution we were ready to struggle to defend the rights of developing countries for economic compensation for the after effects of colonial oppression and exploitation. We aimed at supporting all attempts for creating meaningful unity between poor and underdeveloped countries. A new international order is necessary to defend peace and create sustainable development.

The Gambian people needed an economic agenda that was to spur growth, reduce insecurity, and provide broadly shared prosperity and this was and could have been possible and only done by radically and qualitatively overthrowing of statistics. Drawing upon the revolutionary peoples oriented policies the 31^st July 1981 Revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at advancing a socialist economic program that would be comprehensive, understandable, and workable.

With the oppressive, exploitative and laissez-faire neocolonial PPP puppet regime in place, the Gambian nation was in daring need and was ready for radical positive change. With the 31^st July 1981 revolution the Gambian people aimed at rejecting the failed PPP economic policies that reversed the meager gains of the late 1970s with the tourist boom, fishing and groundnut farming and left the great majority of people more insecure about their jobs, their incomes, their health insurance, their children's futures, and their own prospects for a dignified retirement. Moreover, Gambians were impatient with the politics of dependency introduced by the PPP regime, and that was the reason why they considered adopting big and bold ideas for the nation's future. The 31^st July 1981 Revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at proposing and promoting revolutionary socialist ideas that were worthy of this historic opportunity—revolutionary ideas whose honesty can gain public credibility, whose inspiration were to give hope, and whose ambition were to match the scale of the nation's problems created by neocolonialism.

The 31^st July 1981 peoples Revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at addressing the growing gap between Gambia's promise and its problems. Gambia is rich in human and natural resources. It has an energetic and entrepreneurial population, a $ multi-million economy, and with a democratic revolutionary peoples government that the revolution wanted to established and the Gambia would have got the most advanced technologies in West Africa, and a sure and genuine participatory democratic system that were to be the envy of Africa and the rest of the world. But the great majority of working families and growing numbers of low-income Gambians were facing huge challenges that were at odds with the nation's proud history and bright promise because of the infantile foolery of Jawaras neocolonial exploitative regime.

The 31^st July 1981 Revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at offering alternatives to the failed conservative neocolonial pro-capitalist exploitative economic policies which assumes that the best thing government can do was for the enrichment of the wealthy. With the 31^st July 1981 revolution we stood firmly and we were ready to seriously challenge the pervasive argument that Gambians must rely solely on their own efforts (according to Sir Dawuda Kairaba Jawaras concept of Tesito). Let me coin a phrase for these reactionary exploitative policies: "You're on Your Own," or YOYO economics that demanded Gambians to work very hard to make Mr.Jawara, family and clique, i.e. their children and grandchildren to prosper while Gambians remain very poor. YOYO economics holds that the way to solve the economic challenges we were facing—from Social Security to health care to globalization to inequality—was a tax cut, a private health savings account or retirement account, or further government cutbacks.

For most of the time the PPP’s conservative pro-capitalist exploitative economic policies failed to lift living standards. Since independence, the Gambian economy sadly declined at an annual average rate of slightly over 13% a year, but the benefits of this decline was going overwhelmingly to the richest 12% and, among these, to the lower poor 1%. Inequality rose to heights not seen since independence. Gambia that once grew together to fight and gained Independence is seen growing apart due to colonialism and neocolonial domination.

As incomes became more volatile and access to jobs with good benefits eroding, Gambians were also becoming more economically insecure. The share of workers with employer did not provide health insurance or pensions were falling, and so the government's safety net, frayed by years of conservative neocolonial policies, budget-cutting (you're-on-your-own economic policy), was catching growing numbers of people even as its ability to do so weakened. The Gambian people were facing huge challenges in areas like health care or retirement that required more than just supplementing or filling in the gaps of employer-based systems but instead demanded policies that could have assured broad-based access to affordable, quality health care and that can provide a broad-based system for retirement income security.

Fulfilling Gambia's Promise.

The 31^st July 1981 Revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at putting the interests of working families first. Among the proposals put forth were:

Health care and retirement security:

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions agenda aimed at building popular and effective programs for providing accessible and affordable health care and ensuring retirement security, the revolution aimed at proposing and implementing a revolutionary program: (a) that all Gambians must have guaranteed access to affordable health care through employer-provided insurance or a public plan; and (b) that retirees receive at least 70% of their pre-retirement income via a supplement to a strengthened Social Security.

Fair trade:

An alternative approach to globalization and competitiveness were to have included revolutionary policies that would have rebalanced trade, and that were to invest in new technologies that was to aim at generated high-quality domestic manufacturing employment, and which were to promote environmental and labor policies to ensuring that globalization benefits working people in both developed and developing nations.

Rewarding work:

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at including a revolutionary plan for rebalancing the labor market and for raising and indexing the minimum wage, ensuring the right of workers to organize serious unions, and making full employment a central commitment of economic policy.

Building a great proud democratic Gambia:

The 31^st July 1981 people’s revolution had an ambitious great plan which aimed at Economic growth and to aim at stimulating public investment in the nation's roads, bridges, dams, water supply, airports, mass transport systems, universal Internet unrestricted access, and human capital through education and training.

Energizing the Gambia:

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions agenda aimed at adopting a responsible energy policy that was to aim at reducing energy dependency and carbon emissions and would have created hundreds of thousands of jobs by producing renewable energy.

Balancing work and family:

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions Economic and social policy aimed at making it easier for families to balance the obligations of work and family by increasing flexible work hours, providing paid family and paid sick leave, and committing more resources to the education and care of children.

World-class education for all:

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions agenda for Gambian education aimed at improving public education and close economic and race/ethnic disparities by expanding education to include high-quality early childhood education and after-school and summer programs; understanding that better health and housing policies and poverty amelioration as integral to efforts to close ethnic, racial and economic achievement gaps; at making public schools more effective by improving teacher quality and shrinking classes; by making college education available and affordable for every young person who was prepared to do college work; and by providing lifelong learning for every Gambian, by improving and expanding two-year colleges, adult education programs, job training and retraining programs.

A new security:

The 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at making a proposal and putting in place a revolutionary program aiming to build the safety net that will develop a set of policies to ensure that, for those who were willing and able; work was to be a pathway out of poverty. The revolution aimed at detailing how to rebuild the nation's safety net so that people did not fall into privation.

Managing our fiscal health:

With the 31^st July 1981 revolution we aimed at making sure a radically and positive improved fiscal system of taxation and expenditures were to be put in place and rightly create conditions to meet the nation's needs, raise revenues fairly, radically respond to economic downturns, and be fiscally responsible by not escalating government debt relative to the size of the economy over the long run.

Opportunity for all:

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions radical peoples oriented Policies aimed at ensuring that Gambia's core values of opportunity for all were to be embedded in our socialist economic and social programs. Each person, regardless of socio-economic, racial, or ethnic background, would have had the right and opportunity to be able to contribute to the nation's economy and well-being and to prosper accordingly.

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at initiating progressive ideas for the future century. The flagship publication of the 31^st July 1981 revolution which we aimed to create was to be narrative about the neocolonial economy—how we got where we are and what economic challenges we were facing—and the revolutionary agenda aimed at establishing a program for broadly shared prosperity and lessen economic anxieties. Based on transparency, accountability, and probity the 31^st July 1981 revolution aimed at creating a policy Briefing Paper that would be addressing at health care issues, retirement security, work and family matters, globalization, and other critical issues that were to be released on a regular basis.  

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at keeping faith with the Gambian creed that people of good will can build a better country and a better world, and were ready with determination to categorically and patriotically reject the conventional wisdom that says the then PPP economy, with its harmful impact on our society and our democracy, was the best we could have got. All our initiatives were to be based on a simple revolutionary idea: the success or failure of the economy were to be measured not by the value of the stock market or the size of the gross domestic product, but rather by the extent to which the living standards of the vast majority of Gambians will be rising.

This 31^st July 1981 revolutionary agenda aimed at challenging the superficial assertion of the global forces, technology, and competition that aimed at rendering Gambians helpless to do anything but adjust individually to the outcomes of an unregulated market. Despite the assertions of the pundits and policy makers who preach that we should be all on our own, there has never been a single reason for Gambians to despair of our revolutionary capacity to improve our condition.

We are proud inheritors of a beautiful wonderful tradition that believes that a united Gambian people, working together through their democratic government, can make the economy grow, reduce economic inequalities and insecurities, provide affordable and accessible health care, ensure retirement income security, protect the rights of working people, and help households balance work and family life. In the tradition of the nation's Panafricanist patriots, the freedom fighters, the progressive intellectuals and populists, with this revolution were to create a New Democratic Union Deal, a Fair national Deal, conscientious self-reliance, New Frontier, and Great Society, an aware labor, an uncompromising civil rights, and women's patriotic movements, and to build the wished economic and social progress.

The 31^st July 1981 revolutions Agenda for Shared Prosperity aimed at working hard towards a new generation of social and economic reform in the Gambia for peace, progress and prosperity for all.

Very sad and very unfortunate the Gambian peoples hopes, wishes and aspirations that could have be realized through this glorious 31^st July 1981 revolution was dashed away by the brutal, bloody criminal military terrorist intervention or a bloody terrorist aggression as I call it by the Senegalese imperialist forces.

            Our fatherland or death we shall win

               The Central Committee of the       

                                        African Democratic Congress (ADC)

                                                    Banjul The Gambia