The Point </publishers.html?passed_name=The%20Point&passed_location=Banjul>
(Banjul)
November 29, 2000
Lamin
Banjul
Waa Juwara the national organising secretary of the opposition United Democratic
Party (UDP) has declared that the UDP will boycott the local government
elections in the five administrative areas of the country, if the proposed
constitutional amendment to allow the appointment of district head chiefs and
village headmen by the president is endorsed by the National Assembly.
Mr. Juwara made this declaration at his Brikama residence recently. Mr. Juwara
explained that good governance is representative governance and representative
governance is government by the people. He stated that if the grassroots level,
especially the common folks or those in the rural areas cannot elect their own
district head chiefs and village headmen, then their representative local
government have ceased to exist.
Mr. Juwara further stated that the proposed constitutional amendment tantamounts
to replacing white colonialism with black colonialism, which will render all the
efforts in decentralisation of local government null and vold. Mr. Juwara
asserted that if the amendment is endorsed, the APRC regime would be considered
a de facto dictatorship.
"If one man can appoint all the tiers of government ranging from the vice
president, secretaries of state, divisional commissioners, chiefs and headmen,
then democracy has ceased to exist in the Gambia," he said. Mr. Juwara pointed
out that it is only a rubberstamp National Assembly that would endorse the
proposed constitutional amendment bill that would give powers to the President
to appoint village head chiefs and village headmen.
He said the chieftaincy election in Sami is a clear manifestation that the
people know what they want, better than the president.
He further said that the APRC administration would be holding the people in
contempt, if the administration seeks to take away the democratic power of
choosing their own village head chiefs. Mr. Juwara wondered how the people who
choose their president could be denied the right by the same president to choose
their won local representatives at the district and village levels.
Mr. Juwara warned that if the proposed constitutional amendment is endorsed,
there would be open defiance.
Mr. Juwara described the institution of the council of elders as a mockery,
since they cannot decide who should lead them. He recounted that the colonial
authorities had never interfered with our traditional institutions of
governance, including our land tenure system. He noted that the institution of
chieftaincy was used for indirect rule, but the Jammeh administration is using
the institution for direct rule. Mr. Juwara further noted that the choice of
head chiefs and village headmen were left to the district authorities in the
First Republic, whilst the district authorities choice only gets the endorsement
of the President.
He asserted that ex-president Jawara never imposed district head chiefs and
village headmen on the people. Mr. Juwara declared that local government does
not only mean area councils, but the office of the commissioner, district head
chiefs, village headmen and district authorities. The office of the
commissioners, and district authorities have been politicised by the APRC
administration, Mr. Juwara said.
Mr. Juwara asserted that the APRC administration is aware that the people have
disowned them, and that the APRC administration would be no more if the proposed
constitutional amendment is passed to give powers to the President to appoint
district chiefs.

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