It is very disheartening to hear of the constant firing and sometimes re-
hiring of civil servants.  I cannot, for the life in me, fathom why the
gov't is engaged in such a wanton act.

If the people who are fired were incompetent workers, I don't think any
sane Gambian would have come to their defense.  My hunch is that most if
not all the firings are politically motivated.  If these people were fired
in the distant past, one could have been convinced of their incompetency,
but the timing of their firing says a lot about the motive of the
administration - to expunge influential opposition sympathizers from key
gov't positions.

The effect of firing a Gambian civil servant is not just losing a salary,
but it also has a ripple effect on an entire family including little Isatou
and Yahya, who may be shedding tears during the Eid celebration instead of
feasting and cheering with their peers.  This does not augur well for the
gov't as it breeds anger, frustration, and malcontent towards the gov't.
There should be a reciprocal relationship between the administration and
the civil servants woven with the threads of trust and respect, without
this, we are bound for a stalemate.

I hope those people within the current gov't who have the ears of the
leadership will let them know that the strategy being employed will do the
country more harm than good.  Equally, it won't be beneficial to the APRC
or the president.  They have a five year mandate to govern, they should do
so judiciously by respecting the civil rights of all Gambians regardless of
their political leanings.

Every contest has an ending; there should be an end to our political
squabbles as well.  The political fever that infected us should have been
diagnosed and cured on the 19th of October.  We should all head home in
hale for a new and better beginning.  Once again I beg that our leadership
stop the political witch hunt that is disrupting many innocent Gambian
families.

Happy Ramadan
Mariatou

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