"When The Elephants Fight It’s The Grass That Suffers"

1,124

By Kemo Conteh

I am not surprised that funding is drying up for the NDP 2018-2021. And because of this, implementation of the plan is slower than anticipated, it’s developmental impact is impaired and in this situation, its you and I, the ordinary Gambians who is losing.

The Plan was conceived and prepared at a time of great hope, great anxiety, great excitement and great enthusiasm in the Gambia. We had just rejoined the world democracy movement after 22 years of suffering in the wilderness under a brutal and divisive dictatorship.

The idea and concept of “New Gambia” was coined with a sharp and highly focussed policy guided national dialogue regime, and the NDP emerged in that positive national dialogue framework, encapsulating a clear vision for the future direction of the country.
It was a comprehensive plan to reform the institutional, infrastructural, industrial and economic base of the country, set it on the path to national reconciliation, development and modernization, and the delivery of efficient public services in a dispensation of democracy, transparency and good governance.

All other countries in the world democracy movement supported us, the UN system offered us technical assistance for the plan preparation, and the EU and the rest of the international donor community (bilateral and multi lateral) pledged to finance it up to $1.7BN.

Within one year of the historic and highly visible launching of the famous plan however, the country is now mired in a web of endless political debates, too much political journalism and too little developmental journalism in the local media, and the policy guided national dialogue regime is now eroded yielding place for a politically guided divisive national dialogue regime.

If our donor partners in the NDP are not responding with their pledges as anticipated, we should be talking with them openly, transparently but we can’t even talk with ourselves properly, how can we talk with other people in our interest as one nation united in our purpose and destiny.

Our politicians have thrown the country into a state of chaos and confusion. They have pitched the whole country between those in state house and those who want to be in state house. They are not united anymore on the developmental priorities of the country.

They are each and all focussed on their individual political agenda with their eyes fixed on state house.

None of them is showing any interest at this crucial time in bringing the country together as one, on a united front to retain the confidence of the international community on our national development plan.