Ousainou Mbenga Says Country's Situation Deplorable
<A HREF="http://allafrica.com/publishers.html?passed_name=The%20Independent&passed_location=Banjul">The Independent</A> (Banjul)April 7, 2003
Posted to the web April 7, 2003 Olufemi Jr.
Banjul Ousainou Mbenga, the number two man of the newcomer political body,
National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM) has said "hard economic times are
telling on people's faces in The Gambia".
Mr. Mbenga who is visiting The Gambia from the United States for the first
time in eleven years, believes that the coup that was staged to supposedly
assuage the plight of ordinary Gambians nine years ago has left them in more
wretchedness than Jawara's administration had managed in many years. "The
poverty and hunger in the country is evident on people's faces. Those who
walk the streets look sick and sad. You can tell that something is wrong with
the way the country is being governed" he said, adding that the advent of
NDAM is to transform the fate of an already hopeless population, who have to
grapple with sky-rocketing prices of basic and non-basic commodities and a
restrictive atmosphere where they cannot freely express themselves without
being clobbered into silence.
He said his political organisation is replete with seasoned politicians who
have watched on the sidelines as successive governments had ruined the
prospect of economic progress in The Gambia. He said if they are tried and
tested, they could reverse the ill-fortunes of the past and the mishaps of
the present. He said the fact that Gambians are experiencing an unprecedented
level of poverty and want since independence shows how far the APRC
government has mismanaged the country's meagre resources.The NDAM top gun
spoke blithely against the Media Commission Bill, which he stressed, was
"tailored to stifle criticism." He added his voice to criticism about given
provisions of the Commission, which he said are draconian and meant to
cripple the press and cower journalists to subservience. "If you are scared
of being criticised, then you must be hiding something" he
indicated.According to him people who fear ideas from others should not be
entrusted with leadership, a direct reference to what he called the APRC
leadership's intolerance of other shades of political interests. "If you fear
to try someone else's ideas, then there is a serious problem with you" he
indicated.
His movement, he went on, are not the least trepidated with ideas as "we
struggle for them and not personality cults" he noted.Such issues, he
advised, should be treated amicably. 'The attempted burning of Radio One,
threatening Independent editors will get us nowhere' he asserted, adding that
such ill-conceived initiatives are the most absurd approach in a country that
claims to be independent.'Ideas,' he deadpanned, 'are what moves society.
' Asked whether he would fancy a position in the APRC government, Mbenga,
gave a curt reply. "No, I will not. I am not moved by money as my comrades
and I in NDAM have strong convictions of changing the wretched situation in
this country" he said. The history of the regime, he went on is not
motivational. "What thrills me is to go into a village and see a very
condusive environment for children to grow in. It is not in my interest to
serve in a regime like the APRC. Besides, I'm not looking for a job", he
said.Mbenga said visiting The Gambia was an opportunity to experience
firsthand the level to which conditions have deteriorated under the APRC
leadership."'The wretchedness is visible everywhere, even on people's faces.
It is only a blind person or someone for one selfish reason or the other who
can say otherwise", he argued."We are heading down the same road of mal
development.
The government should not be praised for things that they are supposed to do,
otherwise they should not be there. Development involves more than building a
road from one point of the country to another. It is very important to
develop the people themselves.This fundamental thing is what the government
has not done" he posited.
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are
evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
- Albert Einstein
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear
the government, you have tyranny."
- Thomas Jefferson
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"
- Edmund Burke
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are
evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
- Albert Einstein
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear
the government, you have tyranny."
- Thomas Jefferson
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"
- Edmund Burke
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