Thank you for the confidence Rene. It is very kind of you to make such a kind statement about me and people like me. Best regards, Baba On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 4:15 PM, <0000023fa19a99c8-dmarc- [log in to unmask]> wrote: > Mboge, it is unfortunate if that should be the case. People like Dr. Baba > Galleh Jallow could have been very resourceful contributors. Our country is > presented with an opportunity to evolve a true democratic dispensation, the > rule of law and the consolidation of institutions and structures that will > last for generations to come. > > Now that we have a regime change, and most Gambians want to take ownership > of this government this is the best time to bring about a system change. If > we miss this opportunity it would be yet another long struggle. > > Looking at the coalition blueprint I was fascinated with the idea of the > Coalition Executive Committee. This is the foundation in developing an > experiment that would have been uniquely suited for our democratic > experience. However, it may be overtly ambitious as the contradictions > between what is possible and what is ideal become a focal issue that test > our commitment to a democratic experiment. > > I believe that is the reason why some contend that the coalition was just > for a regime change. And once the regime is gone the contentious issues of > the character of the regime change become more pronounced. And with it the > idea of the Coalition Executive Committee, I presume, become a casualty: > the highest decision making organ of the coalition government. Its > governing authority. > > This was too good to be true. An "advise and consent' body that functions > just like the United States senate and the US Presidency. The only > difference is that in the US it is constitutionally mandated and in our > case it can only work with the "benevolence" of an Executive President who > wants to partake in the exercise. > > And just imagine if all the leaders of the parties that form the coalition > were sitting as members of the Coalition Executive Committee. And they are > handsomely rewarded with all the benefits that accrue to their ministerial > positions. And instead of serving as minsters they will only serve as > members of the Coalition Executive Committee: the highest decision making > organ of the coalition government. Its government authority. > > It would have been an experiment. After all, American democracy was also > founded on an experiment. > > Rene > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Modou Mboge <[log in to unmask]> > To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Mon, May 22, 2017 1:33 pm > Subject: Re: [G_L] Fw: Development is People > > Bro Rene, that think-tank is no more I guess. It was something as you > know, Halifa was in the lead to get it going but as we all witnessed, > Barrow is following the advise of his father whose party members has a > visceral hatred for anything PDOIS and Halifa. > > best, > > Mboge > > On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 6:28 PM, <0000023fa19a99c8-dmarc-reques > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > Thanks Baba and Mboge. That is why the idea of the think-tank is so > pertinent. What happened? > > Rene > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Modou Mboge <[log in to unmask]> > To: GAMBIA-L <[log in to unmask]> > Sent: Mon, May 22, 2017 11:34 am > Subject: Re: [G_L] Fw: Development is People > > Baba, > > It seems you have been having a telepathic conversation with Associate > Professor Sanjay G Reddy of the New School. Utilizing the expertise of some > in the diaspora can take New Gambia very far. Countries like Isreal, India > and Rwanda have utilized their diaspora efficiently. Hope as you noted the > government is capable of doing so. I am not that optimistic thus far. > See this quote I took from Reddy's piece: > > "Taking an inventory of national capabilities, some of which may be hidden > (e.g. in the substantial Gambian diaspora, small in absolute number but a > large resource for the country) is another necessary early step. " > > https://developingeconomics.org/2017/04/27/an-economic-strat > egy-for-the-gambia/ > > Sharing your piece on my facebook wall and sending you a friends request > as well. > > Best, > > Mboge > > > On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 5:13 PM, Baba Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Machudo Fulbe, Ajaarama. Great that Jolas are now speaking the language of > their masters. We can now call you Pa Saikou Jallow. Hopefully our new > government will listen and take note of well-meaning suggestions from some > of us on the outside. Thank you for the feedback. > > Best regards, > Baba > > On Mon, May 22, 2017 at 9:42 AM, Pa. Saikou Kujabi < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > > "Jaraama machudoJola." Well stated Baba. If Kairaba Hotel could serve as > the seat of government for so long, I wonder why any important conference > cannot be held in one of the hotel's magnificent Ball Rooms. The Gambia has > a long road to travel and a particularly daunting task of recovering from > decades of economic injustice perpetuated by our own governments. We as a > nation have to be able to identify our developments priorities to our > donors, and indeed dictate how those funds should be spent. I couldn't > agree more with you that Education and Skill Training programs are two key > important priorities in achieving our short and long-term development > goals. I would argue that when a people have the requisite academic and > technical skills necessary to do for themselves what others have been doing > for them for centuries, only then can they claim total freedom from the > economic bondage of the west. We do not want to continue begging and > receiving hand-outs for ever. Invest in our young Gambian citizens NOW. > Human Development is National Development. > > Keep it up guys. > > On Sunday, May 21, 2017 4:30 PM, Baba Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > *Development is People* > *By Baba Galleh Jallow* > A recent news report indicates that The Gambia government has just secured > a $50 million grant from the Chinese government to build an international > conference center. The question that immediately came to mind was who > suggested the nature of the project for which this money will be spent? Did > the Gambia government ask for $50 million dollars to build a conference > center? Or was the project suggested and funded by the Chinese government? > The underlying rationale for my question is whether this money could not be > better used funding the education or training of Gambian youths in skills > that would bring prosperity to themselves, their families and our country. > Surely, a conference center is important. But it is certainly not Gambia’s > most urgent need at the moment. It is true that the center will provide > employment for some Gambians and that it could serve as a tourist > attraction. However, I think if the Barrow administration has any say in > the matter, they should indicate that while important, building an > international conference center is not one of our top priorities at the > moment and that the grant money could be more usefully spent on other > areas, especially on the education and training of young Gambians. In the > New Gambia we need our governments both present and future to be more > discerning about our national priorities and avoid spending scarce > resources on projects that, while important, will only add to our national > expenses. Once this conference hall is built, it becomes another expensive > structure to maintain and will hardly generate any significant revenue for > the country. > On the other hand, let us consider how many full five-year scholarships > even $10 million can pay for Gambian students in any university, especially > the UTG? Just $10 million can transform the lives of hundreds of Gambian > citizens and their families. Should our government therefore spend all $50 > million on a building rather than use it to build Gambian lives? Can > another $10 million not be spent on improving facilities at the University > of The Gambia, buying adequate furniture, or equipping university > classrooms with overhead projectors and labs and computer rooms with state > of the art technology that will facilitate research and learning of the > highest order? How about yet another $10 million dollars on the procurement > of vital medical equipment, beds, and drugs for our hospitals and health > centers? That would still leave $20 million dollars which is enough to > build a decent conference center worthy of The Gambia. With all due > respect, one cannot help but argue that spending $50 million on building an > international conference center in The Gambia is unjustifiably wasteful. > We do not doubt the Barrow administration’s good intentions. But good > intentions must be backed by good thinking and planning. We suggest that at > this crucial and potential-rich moment of our national history, there is an > urgent need for more discerning consideration of our national priorities. > Things have been done this way since independence and we have not seen much > improvement in terms of general development of and for the Gambian people. > There is a need to start thinking of new and more creative ways of going > about achieving our national development objectives. Old ways of doing > things have proven infective and if the Barrow administration or any future > Gambian government does not take the time to carefully think about our > national order of priorities and how to do things better, they will not be > able to leave much of a mark in terms of developmental achievements. > The key point we want to make here is that development is about people. > While building expensive infrastructure will give our country some > semblance of modernity, developing the human person through effective > education and training will yield more significant results for our national > economy and community. Investing in people is the key to African > development and so far, African governments have not given this crucially > important issue the attention it deserves. Who knows how many hundreds of > millions of dollars in development aid have gone down the drain in our > small Gambia alone since independence? And what do we have to show for it? > The reason for this is not hard to find. It is simply that hundreds of > millions of dollars have been spent on the wrong projects rather than on > developing our precious human resources. Development and prosperity have > been elusive for our country because hundreds of millions of dollars are > invested in projects that cannot bring about development and prosperity but > take away from the meager resources we have. It is way past time to rethink > our national developmental priorities which demand that we put the human > person at the front and center of public investment. > It is safe to assume that a Chinese company will be given the contract to > build the $50 million international conference center from the Chinese > grant money. This means that while we will end up with a beautiful > structure, the immediate fruits of the grant money will benefit the Chinese > economy and Chinese nationals more than it will benefit the Gambian economy > and Gambian nationals. Needless to say, the project will create employment > for many Gambians during the construction phase, and it will continue to > provide a few jobs here and there afterwards. But these benefits are > nothing compared to what hundreds of scholarships for Gambian students will > yield. Why not consider sending at least 20 Gambian students to China or a > country of China’s choice for training using at least a million dollars of > this grant money? Chinese institutions will still benefit but the benefits > for us will be more tangible and long-lasting. Yes, the Chinese government > is giving some Gambian students scholarships and the conference project > might be a tourist attraction. Still, just one million dollars set aside > for more scholarships for Gambian students will be extremely useful to our > country in the short, medium and long term. Again, suffice it to say that > development is about people and the more we invest in our people, the > closer we will get to whatever developmental goals we seek. > At this moment in our history, there is an abundance of international > goodwill for the New Gambia. The Barrow administration is in a position to > benefit from hundreds of millions of dollars in loans or grants from > well-meaning members of the international community. However, it will be > helpful for the Gambia government to pause and reconsider how best these > monies may be invested for the direct improvement of the lives of the > Gambia people. In particular, the government should try to make it possible > for a part of every single aid package to be invested directly on the > education and training of Gambian citizens, and on other projects that > directly impact the lives of Gambian citizens. Develop the people and the > people will develop their country. > > ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To > unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web > interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html > > To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRI > PTS/WA-ICORS.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://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤