FOROYAA Issue No.2/2002 15 – 20 January, 2002
Editorial
The President And The National Assembly
The announcement of a presidential tour to campaign for APRC candidates came
as a surprise to many since the APRC now has 33 seats in the National
Assembly as a result of a late UDP and coalition boycott. The APRC has
majority to pass any bill other than one to amend the constitution which
requires three quarters majority. The president is to nominate five members
of the National Assembly one of whom will be the speaker of the National
Assembly. Before the amendment of the constitution he could nominate four.
It has now increased to five. It is heading closer to the maximum of eight
provided for in the 1970 constitution. It means that the APRC has 37 seats
out of a total number of 52 seats excluding the Speaker. This is two seats
short of the three quarters majority. With two more seats it could amend
any section of the constitution which is not an entrenched provision
without consulting any representative on the other side. This is not ideal
for a country which wishes to have effective checks on how it is
governed. This is why it was so easy to amend the provisions for the
election of Chiefs in the 1997 constitution.
It goes without saying that the members of other parties however did take up
controversial issues and expressed opinions that earned the respect of the
public. There is no doubt that this gave rise to the wave that led to the
rejection of many NAtional Assembly members of the APRC during their
nomination as candidates for the coming National Assembly elections.
To have dissenting voices in the National Assembly therefore is as important
as having a majority to make decisions. Such voices keep the nation
informed of what is wrong and help the people to take stock of the
strengths and weaknesses of a government when it comes to the end of its
mandate.
On the other hand such voices keep the government on its toes so that it
will be alert to its shortcomings. In our view, if the president campaigns
for a National Assembly without representation for other political parties
he would be campaigning for a de facto one party legislature and executive.
This would expose an inclination towards a monarchical system. It is also
important to add that any coverage by the Radio and TV of the campaign
trail of the president would bring complication for the IEC. The IEC and
GRTS have already agreed on the time to be allocated to the respective
political parties. To give coverage to the president’s entourage would have
required the allocation of more time to other parties.
Once the president goes on the campaign trail the voters should in fact
increase their vigilance. A government which want s to be completely free
from scrutiny is a government not worth trusting. It is in the public
interest to have men and women of integrity, knowledge and maturity in the
National Assembly irrespective of party affiliation.
The voters in the coming National Assembly should concentrate on the
qualities of the candidates and not party affiliations. This is the way
forward.
The Burden Of Taxation
As the government faces a narrow tax base it is intensifying its squeeze on
different sectorts in order to raise more funds.
For example, the admission rate for legal practitioners has been raised from
D787.50 to D,1,500. The admission rate for Notaries Public is increased from
D157.50 to D250. Charges for Memorandum of Association, memorandum of
deposits, Memorandum of Agreement, Articles of Association, Affidavit, Civil
Appeal and Form of Authorrisation have increased from D10 to D100 dalasis,
Bond for the payment of any sum not exceeding D100 has been increased from
D10 to D100. Every additional increase of D125 would mean increase in
charges from D2.63 to D50. Increase in charges will affect mortgages which
moved from the current rates of 1.05% to 5%, conveyance, contract and
partnership agreements, Bill of Sales, Bill of lading, Bill of exchange and
deeds.
This indicates that fees for clients are going to increase as the cost of
the charges are transferred to them. Duties on goods, tax on sales and
service charges are always passed onto the clients and customers as indirect
taxation or charges.
Without the expansion of the productive base of the economy. government
revenue can only be raised through the scraping of the back of the average
Gambian through higher taxation and charges. This does not lead to the
reduction of poverty. On the contrary, it provokes its escalation.
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