This question was put to Halifa Sallah and this is what he said:
Privatisation of public enterprises through the back door by introducing private management of what remains as public ownership of the physical assets is beginning to show its ugly face in The Gambia to the detriment of the working population of this land. It is therefore significant for all workers in public enterprises to become alert to the trend so that a national debate on the subject matter could commence before this nation is plunged into the same trap as it did when PWD was closed and GPMB privatised.
One expects government policy to move forward and never to take a step backwards. To build infrastructure like roads only to privatise sources of sovereign national wealth like Gamtel/Gamcel to the detriment of the working population is to move away from self-reliant development and subjugate the nation to the full control of foreign capital. A government that is to defend the sovereignty of a nation must ensure that a country owns as many public enterprises as it has capacity to operate for the benefit of the people and offer investment possibilities to outsiders on concessionary basis if it does not undermine national enterprises and the welfare of the working population.
It should be clear to all Gambians that management service approach to privatisation was experimented by the PPP government when it transformed UHC into MSG, leading to retrenchment of workers to reap profit by relying on fewer staff. Eventually the contract became void and now Nawec is claiming that it can build up capacity to provide services without relying on Karpower and Senelec.
Any government that aims to build a sovereign nation should learn from all the lessons from the past before formulating a policy on what to do with companies like Gamtel/Gamcel.
The government should not enter any plan of privatising public enterprises or their management components without preparing a cabinet White Paper on the subject matter for submission to the National Assembly for a debate on whether the action they intend to take serves the national interest. It should be obvious to every Gambian that any transfer of management of any public enterprise that does not result in the retention or increment of staff and increment of their benefits cannot be in the national interest.
