By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
Leaders of Gambia’s Civil Society Organisations (CSO) met with the imminent persons of the International IDEA delegation to discuss reviving the Draft Constitution on Tuesday 15th August 2023. The meeting featured speeches from members of the panel which included religious leaders from the Muslim and Christian faith and other representatives. After speeches from eminent persons, some CSO leaders also made some comments for their consideration.
During the speeches delivered by the representative of the Chairperson of the Gambia Christian Council (GCC) Bishop Bannie Manga, he urged stakeholders to be honest, and put aside selfishness and greed to ensure prosperity for future generations of Gambians. Reverend Louis Prom who is the Secretary of the GCC delivered a passionate speech during the session which served as a reference point for a number of speakers at the session.
After his speech, the President of the Gambia’s Supreme Islamic Council, Sheikh Essa Darboe notified civil society leaders that they held positive consultations with members of the Gambia’s Political Party Leaders and the Inter-Party Committee. During the meeting “all of them expressed their willingness to come and join this important work. They promised that they will set aside their party interest and put the national interest in the forefront. And we hope this time around we’ll succeed. But your role as civil society organisations is very important. We still urge you [to] continue the good work that you are doing. We also as religious leaders will continue to pray for you. To pray to the Almighty Allah to guide us to the best way that we are been looking for”.
Speaking on behalf of Bishop Bannie Manga who was reportedly out of the country, Reverend Louis Prom urged leaders of CSOs to put the interest of the country and future generations forward.
“Before we look further let’s look back. First of all, let’s be honest. Let’s be honest because if want to look further and we want to consider how far we’re going it will really tell on how honest we are. We’ve heard other people talk about, it’s not only about having a constitution but it’s about facing the issues in dealing with them”.
“We all claim we’re a religious nation, we all claim that we are prayerful. We must do so when we look at the Constitution. We must remember God when we take decisions. We must remember where we’re coming from and how we want to put things in place for posterity”.
“So, we must think about how we deal with selfishness. We must think about how — we deal with greed. Because these are things that underline some of the actions that people take. And then when we make decisions, we only consider ourselves and consider what we want. But we must again put the common good of the Gambia before us. And remember when our children tomorrow are going to live under the constitution we want to pass. The first thing when they move into any corridor of power will not be the colour of their skin it will not be their tribe or their religion it be the fact that they are human beings. And how they will be considered, how they will be treated matters”.
“So when we do this let’s remember, today let’s be honest tomorrow let’s be honest. Let’s look back and see what we’ve learnt and let’s not repeat them. We say Never Again, let’s start with being honest. Let’s start with putting selfishness behind, greed behind and let’s consider our children. They all will be playing on the same playing field, they all will be going to the same schools, [and] they all will be working at the same offices. What kind of atmosphere are we going to create for them? It matters for [the] Gambia. We must remember God is the God of this nation. Let’s do so if we’re truly religious. Let’s remember he is watching and he is waiting”.
