By: Buba Gagigo & Landing Ceesay
Hon. Halifa Sallah, the Secretary-General and flagbearer of the People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) has disagreed with the leader of Gambia Moral Congress (GMC) Mai Ahmed Fatty that ‘corruption’ among police in the Gambia is based on low pay.
“There is a lot of corruption in the police force. Why wouldn’t there be corruption? If you are paid two-thousand, and five hundred Dalasi (D2,500) a month, you are a police and you should feed your family, you should pay school fees for your children, use the same money for your health problems, and you should pay fare to go to work just [with] two-thousand and five hundred dalasi. Just buy a bag of rice for D1500, what can the remaining D1, 000 do for you,” Mai claimed at a press conference on 3rd March at his party’s headquarters on Kairaba Avenue.
However, the PDOIS leader said corruption in The Gambia cannot be associated with the poor salary of the security sector.
“The Gambia’s corruption can be associated with the system failure, not the poor salaries of the sector. If there is a system of efficiency, system of effectiveness and system of actual honesty corruption would’ve been a thing of a past.”
Halifa further said politicians are allowed to make comments on things that are important, but they should not associate the country’s corruption to any group, especially the security sector.
“If any politician makes a corruption allegation, he or she must tell you the corrupt person with proof. Because the Gambian law stated that there is always a presumption of innocence unless you can prove a case or you will only continue making allegations you have no proof or proves of,” Hon. Sallah enlightened.
Hon. Sallah made these comments on 8th March 2021 in an interview at the party’s elective congress at Senegambia following the request of one of the reporters of this story; after Fatty at a press conference claimed with proof that the police are engaged in corruption and it is based on their low pay.
Interestingly, Mai during his time as Interior Minister the police did not experience any salary increment.