Hi Mr Touray, What are you on about, mate? [log in to unmask] wrote: > " My fellow Gambians today for the first time in our modern history the > people have effected a change in government that was predicated on a free and > fairly contested election . I, in the name of the Almighty would like to > thank and congratulate all citizens who enthusiastically exercised their > ultimate civic duties by flooding the polling stations and ensuring peace > and calm throughout the period which inturn enabled the international > observers to effectively monitor the whole proceedings. I have received a > congratulatory call from President Jammeh and he has pledged to do all he can > to make the transition as smooth as possible. While the people have clearly > given me and our party a clear mandate as evident on the overall margin, we > must understand that democracies by their definition do not consist of > homogeneous ideas . I intend to reach out to the opposition and accord them > every opportunity to partcipate in the life of the nation from ensuring > that their ideas are heard through guaranteed access to the public airwaves > to reforming the legisture to enable them to fully influence the shape of > laws . In the coming weeks our team would appraise the current situation of > the government in all aspects to enable us to establish where we are. Today > however I want to outline to you in a very broad way the direction I hope > would begin to ameliorate the very difficult circumstances under which the > overwhelming majority of you exist. From the struggling government employee > to the farmer scrimping for basic survival , times in sunny Gambia have never > been harder. Compounding this already difficult daily existence is the ever > increasing sense of pessimism that has permeated our society. People have > simply lost hope and do not believe their future lies in their own country. > The tasks ahead are enormous requiring tact, time and relentless drive. As > your President I would do all that is humanly possible to address the issues > , but candor compels me to tell you my fellow citizens that the journey from > our current situation would be a difficult one requiring personal, community > and institutional sacrifice begining with me. I intend to immediately ask my > aids to pare down the cost of operating the Presidency particularly the > elaborate security apparatus at least 50%. While we do not anticipate laying > off government workers we will nonetheless have to restructure our government > to enable it to do those things it is suited better. This may entail > redeploying some people and retraining others. We simply can't keep doing > what we have done for past years which have trapped otherwise smart and > hardworking people in useless and dead end jobs. If we run a ministry of > education that is graduating the most ill prepared high school kids in a > generation but it has nine directors including one who supervises stationery > purchase then we must reform that ministry to make it focus on educating the > future of this country. Similarly we would de-emphasize those aspects of > society that are better handled at the communal level such as religion and > youth affairs. The neighborhood preachers, imams and teachers have over the > centuries successfully thought and maintained our religious values from their > neighborhood pulpits. Creating a central government portfolio or a governing > religious body serves no intrinsic value to the propagation of religions. > The government if it can should therefore help the neighborhood religious > infrastructure based on the imam and the ustash up the street. > > My first priority is to establish the very vital relationships with our donor > and development partners. I have sought audiences with the governments of the > United States, UK, Japan , Canada and the EU to present ideas that would set > us on the course to better living standards for our people and also make us > full a participant as member of the family of nations . The constituional > changes that have been effected would also enable us to ask for debt relief > which to a large extent continues to be a heavy burden and would undoubtedly > impact any overall development that is undertaken. Once we make the > structural changes that sets us on the right track, I am confident our > development partners would accomodate our very pressing needs. > > To our citizens resident abroad, I recognize your interest in events back > home and I want to reiterate your importance to us all . I have met hundreds > of you in both the US and Europe when we came to solicit your help and ideas. > In auditoria and apartments you have manifested an abiding interest in making > your homeland better even from afar. Your contributions to the economy > especially the informal sector is very vital as you continue to subsidize > your families and spur the housing market and small businesses . We recognize > that and I would for the first time establish a coordinating office that > would operate from the presidency with the task of keeping in touch with > every Gambian community abroad with particular focus on facilitating their > government related concerns. My doors would always be open to every Gambian > here or abroad. I will not be ensconced at State house because it is my > intention to make unannounced forays into people and places to more fully > understand the issues people face. > My fellow citizens let us all join in prayer and Ask for the Almighty's > guidance as we embark on a rebirth of our nation. Together we can lay the > foundations for a better country for those that follow us. Wasalam' > > This , list members is a speech I would like to hear. > > Karamba > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > > ----------------------------------------------------------------------------