Good news as Somalia, Gambia look like they are rising from the ashes

After a lengthy period of lethargy and inertia during which hunger and misery seemed to have become the face of Africa, it is gratifying to see a handful of countries initiate programmes intended to bring the grim season to an end.

Gambia, for instance, looks determined to extricate itself from the despicable legacy of Yahya Jammeh, who after more than two decades of an iron-fisted rule, only placed the tiny country in social and political doldrums.

Commendably, Gambians went to the ballot on Thursday to elect a new parliament in what was the first poll since the downfall of the capricious autocrat. The election saw 238 candidates from nine parties vying for 53 parliamentary seats.

The results of the smooth and peaceful election showed that the opposition, spearheaded by the United Democratic Party, won with an absolute majority.

The party easily routed Jammeh’s Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, which only won five seats. Significantly, UDP was a part of a coalition that showed Jammeh the door, and has now reasserted itself as the country’s top political outfit.

VOTER APATHY

Unfortunately, the turnout was a miserable 42 per cent, reflecting a voter apathy trend that has been on the rise in Africa.

The polls should lead to the overhaul of a parliament that was viewed as a mere rubberstamp to the whims of Jammeh, who made laws by executive decree.

Even as the Gambia voted, there were heartening developments in the troubled Horn of African country of Somalia, which recently held an election that saw the popular and charismatic Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo emerge president.

Having rapidly marshalled the support and goodwill of numerous States in his sworn bid to rebuild Somalia, Farmajo on Thursday shored up his country’s hopes of a better future by declaring war on Al-Shabaab terrorists.

It was significant and perhaps a good omen that the president’s declaration was made on the same day as the Gambia was voting. At any rate, hopes of a new dawn for the two countries certainly went a notch higher.

THREATS OF TERRORISM

In the case of Somalia, it was equally significant that the president, who made the declaration during an address to parliament, admitted that his country faced “triple threats of terrorism, corruption and poverty that need to be tackled through concerted efforts by all sectors of the society”.

Beside the optimism surrounding the developments in the Gambia and Somalia, there is also hope that positive changes could be in the offing in other hotspots, including the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On Wednesday, for instance, President Joseph Kabila pledged that a new prime minister would be appointed within 48 hours in line with a stalled December peace deal struck with the opposition.

For all its worth, the 2016 power-sharing agreement was struck with a view to avoiding a full-blown crisis following the incumbent’s reluctance and consequent failure to step down at the end of his second and final mandate.

SUSPENDED TALKS

Still on an optimistic note, an announcement was made last week that the long-suspended peace talks between Sudan and rebel groups would resume this month.

The talks were put on hold in August, but are expected to resume under the aegis of the African Union High Implementation Panel, which is headed by former South African leader Thabo Mbeki.

Deemed as crucial for lasting peace in Sudan, the talks’ resumption will hopefully see the government negotiating with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North Sector and the Sudan Liberation Movement on matters relating to the strife-torn Darfur region.

Sadly, neighbouring South Sudan remains in a quagmire, with reports of an outbreak of cholera in at least one region even as President Salva Kiir on Thursday belatedly declared drought a national disaster.

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