PPP Plans Serious Political Comeback The Independent (Banjul) PK Jarju Banjul In pursuance of its objectives to reorganize, rehabilitate and revitalize all its organs that were paralysed since the July 1994 military coup that swept it from power, the People's Progressive Party (PPP) last Sunday inaugurated its new Central Committee which would be responsible for the daily running of the party's activities and programs. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, which brought together old and young members of the party, Alieu Kama Badjie a former Minister of Education in the erstwhile PPP regime who gave a brief history of the party, pointed out the need for the reintroduction of genuine democracy, the rule of law, as well as a comprehensive and good governance program in the country which according to him has been completely left to decay by the Jammeh administration. The aged Badjie emphasised the need for members of the party's central committee to be poised to meet the people at the grassroots level to discuss burning issues of the day so as to restore sanity to the country's political arena and to ensure that the constitution becomes the "guiding light" for all decision-making institutions and bodies, particularly the executive which he believes has abused the powers vested on it since the advent of the new dispensation. Mr. Badjie noted that in order to make any significant achievement, members of the party's central committee must only come together but to be committed, dedicated and sincere to the principles that the party stood for which he said are as relevant and noble as in the 1950s when the PPP was founded. He called for honesty, tolerance and room for other members of the opposition parties, which is a means of avoiding conflict. "We as a party are partners and should have a cordial relationship with other opposition parties in the country" he admonished. On his part Dr. Abdoulie Saine, the deputy head of the political science department at Ohio University emphasised the need for a peaceful change of the Jammeh regime, which he accused of having completely mismanaged the the affairs of the country. Saine, who has already opened a fund for the Gambian opposition parties, said he has seen firsthand the suffering of the Gambian people while he is visiting the country. He said such a situation has caused him to look at mechanisms to enhance the possibility for a peaceful change of government in the 2006 general elections. Omar Jallow the party's coordinator stated that the Jammeh regime has not only shown traits of despotism, but has also deliberately mismanaged the country's economy thus subjecting Gambians to the most severe hardship ever experienced in the country's entire history. Mr. Jallow who is also acting as the party's interim leader informed his colleagues of the party's contribution into the defunct coalition of opposition parties in the run up to the 2001 elections. He added that despite being banned for seven years, the PPP was now poised to reclaim its rightful position in the political arena. "The PPP as at now comprises young, old and energetic Gambians who would in no small measure revive the party by injecting new ideas, focus and policies which not only reflect the ideas of the general populace but also the reality of the situation on the ground" he indicated. Yahya Ceesay the party's interim national president who chaired the ceremony highlighted some of the challenges the party was confronted with during its formative stage in the early 1950s and urged his colleagues to brace themselves to stand up to greater challenges of righting the wrongs caused by almost ten years of kleptocratic leadership under President Jammeh. Meanwhile the following people were nominated as adhoc members of the Central Committee. Yahya Ceesay interim national president, Omar Jallow, interim coordinator, Musa Drammeh interim treasurer and Kanji Touray as interim secretary of the party. _________________________________________________________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~