By: Kemo Kanyi
Mai Fatty, lawyer and leader of the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC), has emphasized that corruption is an issue that’s endemic in the Gambian society, and because of its level of tolerance, it has become an accepted practice.
The GMC leader added that corruption is something that everyone should be concerned about, stating that it can stifle the development of a country.
He stated that his observation is that Gambians have become immune to corruption.
The former interior minister maintained that he has observed that Gambian has been an active participant in corruption as it can be seen everywhere including in community, political, and in public lives.
“People who benefit or get the reward from corruption are highly glorified in society by our people. If you are a minister, permanent secretary, or managing director, society believes that you should have limitless funds to do all manner of things. The most shocking thing is that corruption is found everywhere in the country,’’ he stated on Coffee Time WithPeter Gomez on Monday.
He highlighted the presence of the act in various daily routines of the Gambian society with the involvement of the giver and taker.
“If you [Gambians] want to clear goods from the ports, you overwhelmed the will of the customs officer by giving money [bribe]. If your child is not qualified to go to a particular school, you go there and bribe the school principal to get your child admitted. You are driving a car with your family that’s defective or does not have insurance, when a policeman stops you for documentation, to evade the consequences of the law, you give some dalasi note to bribe him. This simply means that you are teaching the occupants of that car that it is okay to be corrupt,’’ Fatty observed the state of corrupt practices in the country.
He added that similar things happen at the ferry crossing points and passport issuing department, while he calls on society to fight corruption to mitigate that act.
“Even the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that are making the greatest of noises about corruption have a lot of corruption including their leadership. So, it’s everywhere. Corruption is as old as human nature,’’ he said.
Fatty recommended building capacities of police officers to detect complicated and sophisticated cases of corruption as it’s a criminal offense in the context of Gambian laws.