Parliamentary Opening

Me posing with grassroots organizers after the official Parliamentary opening

On Friday I received one of about 250 invitations to attend the official opening of the Parliament, officiated by the “His Excellency the President, Doctor AlHajji Yahyah A.J.J. Jammeh”. After almost being kicked out by a zealous security guard who saw me taking a picture of the Justices in white English-style powder wigs ceremoniously entering the building – “but no one told me I could not take a photo!” – I made it in with the rest of the party loyalists, diplomatic corps and a few local journalists, plus the surprise late entry by the team from CNN International, there to cover the President’s miracle curative powers, with this event added-on.

State of the Union:

Other than the formal entry of the various branches of government, the President’s speech was the highlight of the program. Similar to a State of the Union address, he outlined points by key areas such as agriculture, energy, healthcare, the environment, communications, education and justice. Within five minutes of his opening, he began to talk about donors, starting with Japanese contributions. The Gambian economy is said to be largely donor driven (i.e., foreign charitable assistance fuels investment) and this upbeat address manifested that phenomenon.

In the foreign affairs section, he drove home the benefits of “South-South cooperation …within a framework of mutual respect … and non-interference … irrespective of size …We’ll maintain our sovereignty at any cost. We will not be colonized a second time.” Folks watching this at home on TV reported some of the key foreign diplomats were shown dozing during this part of the address.

Everyone seemed to perk up in the warm room when the prepared talk ended and the President spoke off-the-cuff. This was the chance to hear the young, ambitious and energetic national chief say what he really had on his mind to the new Parliament: “Nation-building is a collective responsibility. [It calls for] hard work, sacrifice, and absolute honesty…unity of the country regardless of divergences…irresponsibly divergent views leading to a lack of development is unacceptable…” Then, “before the election you told the people promises that even the devil cannot fulfill. Take care of the people that elected you. … Don’t forget them…You have only five years to serve them….”

When the speech ended we were greeted outside by the energy of multiple groups of drummers and dancers, several camera crews and official cars lined up on a red carpet to pick up their VIP’s. Even the driver sent for me walked up to me inside the security gate, as the chief of security comes from his home village. It felt like a party lots of people could enjoy.