INTERVIEW WITH HALIFA SALLAH ON 22ND JULY


Foroyaa: How does PDOIS see July 22nd being commemorated as a National Holiday?
Halifa: The PDOIS held its Congress on the 24 April 2010 to give recognition to the date when The Gambia became a Sovereign Republic. If we had the mandate to manage the affairs of the country, 24 April, Republican Day, would have been commemorated as the most important day in our National calendar. However, since we do not have a mandate, we could only draw the attention of those who have the mandate to the importance of commemorating 24 April instead of 22nd July. In our view every anniversary is a period for stock taking. The July 22nd anniversary is no exception. We need to know what happened on 22 nd July 1994. Should we transform the day into the most important Day on the National Calendar? What lesson should we draw from the day?


We were a living witness to what happened on 22nd July. Radio Gambia was completely off the air on the 22nd July 1994. A statement issued over Radio 1 Fm indicated that the Patriotic armed forces of the Gambia are in full control. People were ordered to remain in their houses. A curfew was put in place from 7am to 7pm.They announced the dissolution of the PPP regime. The Constitution was suspended. All political parties were banned. All former Ministers were asked to report to the nearest police station. The airport, seaport and all borders were closed.

We were assured that “hence forth a new dawn of progress, freedom, democracy and accountability will be the order of government. It was on the 23rd that four members of the ruling council were mentioned, namely, Lt Yahya Jammeh, Lt Sadibou Hydara, Lt Sana Sabally and Lt Edward Singhateh.

On that same Saturday, Lt Jammeh, who was proclaimed the head of the ruling council; told the Nation that the reasons for the take over “are basically that the PPP regime is supposed to be democratic and accountable but this was never the case as there has never been an Independent Electoral Commission. There was rampant and outrageous corruption to the scale that the nation’s coffers were looted by few individuals who for three decades made sure that they were on top. Misuse of public funds and embezzlement of the state machinery for private ends was the order of the day.”            

Lt Jammeh went on to say: “The majority of Gambians are poorer today than they were in 1965 and only a few Gambians obviously at the top at all times live flamboyant lifestyles and have everything at the detriment of the majority.”

Lt Jammeh promised that “The regime is only transitional and as soon as feasible, a transition to a democratic and incorruptible rule will be conducted.” In short, those who took over complained of the lack of democracy of the previous government, corruption and poverty. Gambians should now ask themselves whether they now have a democratic and incorruptible rule after 16 years. It is our duty to gauge whether poverty has been reduced.
Foroyaa: What is you view?

Halifa : We use to issue statements before the President makes his address on July 22nd. This year we have decided to wait to respond to his address. We are studying his speech and the Central Committee of PDOIS will issue a statement which will give a comprehensive analysis..
Foroyaa: Is that all you have to say to our readers?
Halifa: Gambians should bear in mind that July 22nd led to the suspension of the Republican Constitution and the imposition of a Government not on the basis of the consent of the people but on the basis of the barrel of a gun. It led to the banning of political parties, political association, political assembly and expression of political ideas. It gave rise to a quasi monarchical regime which made laws and arrest and detained persons without due process of law. In my view, development projects come from Government’s collection of revenue, loans grants and dividends from public enterprises. This has nothing to do with Coup d’etat. We will prove the total lack of accountability during the coup as manifested by the absence of auditor Generals audited accounts during the coup period. This was addressed because of repeated exposure by the opposition in parliament .We will show how the poverty index shows that between 59 to 62 percent of the population
 are living in abject poverty. We will show the problems and give solutions in our statement to prove that a coup is not the answer to our needs for liberty and prosperity.




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