Opinion: Why UDP should fire incompetent spokesman Almamy Taal

By Sainey Darboe:

The United Democratic Party should, without delay, fire its spokesperson Almamy Taal for gross incompetence.

He recently wrote a scorn-worthy press release all in capital letters and festooned with grammatical errors, as he sought to persuade the public his party had nothing to do with protests calling for Barrow to step down after three years.

There is unanimous consensus in written Communication and Public Relations practice that writing in all caps denotes shouting on top of one’s voice, which telegraphs the writer’s brusqueness to readers.

As a trained lawyer with two degrees, Almamy Taal should know much better. Nay, UDP should have known much better. The party broke a cardinal rule of hiring when it designated the man as its image-maker without the needful due diligence.

Throughout his career in private and public sectors, Almammy Taal has moved from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. He has never achieved notable success as a private lawyer and his foray into public service was as brief as it was brutal in its denouement.

According to people in the know, after twelve months on the bench as a high court judge he failed to pass a single judgment. In the face of such stinking incompetence, he was cut loose.

And yes, you heard it from me before: the man moves from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm. He would bugger off to Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry where he worked for a year and such was his performance he didn’t have his contract renewed despite desperate lobbying. Such was his disappointment and withering desolation he didn’t bother to show up for a farewell dinner in his honor.

His most recent reincarnation as legal compliance officer for OIC Secretariat in Banjul ended with termination in murkier circumstances. Almammy, though, has a more pedestrian view of the reason for his sacking and vowed to take legal action.

I have serious doubts the United Democratic Party can summon the superior firepower it needs against Barrow in 2021 polls if it elevates such risible dolts like Almammy Taal to strategically key positions.

Despite the much vaunted university degrees, Almammy Taal seems perpetually stuck in theory with no preparation to deliver on his core proposition to his employers. His performances in media interviews are woefully underwhelming. Dou Sano, a much maligned school drop-out does a better job achieving sale on the public mind of his boss’s agenda than Almamy Taal with his hallowed legal training which makes him a little more than an educated fool.

By appointing such intellectually incurious rubes to key positions, UDP is setting itself up for an electoral drubbing in 2021 that will see political careers inexorably marching to their deaths.

Editor’s note:

Sainey Darboe is a US-based Gambian journalist. He serves as Editor of GunjurOnline. The views expressed in the article are personal views of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Gunjur News Online.