Friends,
I agree that constant firing of civil servants can lead to mismanagement.
And I don´t know why the gambians eat it, without protesting. One way of
being compensated or getting better conditions is to have strong unions, and
legislation on working conditions. How to make contracts and how to
compensate when you are dismissed. You can never avoid being dismissed for
one reason or another, fair or not. But you can get conditions where it
costs the employer to get rid of you.

But when that is said, it´s my opinion that some of the firings in the
Gambia are caused by the tempo the president want to create results. He can
not wait, he want people in office to work hard and produce results, better
yesterday than tomorrow. And I feel that some of the people in office are
dismissed because they can not produce the results wanted. My opinion.
The newly elected prime minister here in Denmark went public on the first
day in office and said that his ministers should not sit too comfortable
behind their ministerial desk or in the minister-cars, and not deal with
minor things or become involved into details. They should work hard every
day as politicians and speed up, so that the government could show up
results, and also that this government "made a difference" (to the former).
He also told them, that younger and very ambitious politicians were ready to
take over, if the ministers could not produce the results. I believe it´s
the same to President Jammeh. He can not wait for the results, and that is
some reason for some of the firings.
Regards Asbjørn Nordam, Denmark


on 01/12/01 14:11, Mariatou Sonko at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> 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
> 
> <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>
> 
> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
> at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
> To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
> [log in to unmask]
> 
> <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>