“if security is the sole reason why you want to regulate tinted glasses, then ban it, but don’t say pay 10,000 and use it,” Dr Ceesay.

The politician guru and presidential candidate for Citizen Alliance (CA) has inveigh against directive issued by the IGP’s office ordering tinted glass vehicles owners who intend to continue using tinted glass to apply for clearance.

In a press release issued by IGP almost two weeks ago, the office of the inspector general of police said it examined the issuance of tinted glass clearance for vehicles for what is referred to as “a through and strict consideration of national interest”

Reacting to the directive, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay said “The height of this whole folly is when they said senior government officials, diplomats and others who are those others we don’t know will be allowed gratis, no pay. The darkest tint, 100% free for diplomats and government officials. Ridiculous. Commercial vehicles banned from tints. My question is, if really national security is the issue here, why say pay 10,000 dalasis? Criminals can afford D10,000. If I am a criminal and I do my dealings in my car, and I have a tinted glass and the government says D10,000, I can easily afford that. For me, national security is not the reason then if it has a cost of 10,000 dalasis. It doesn’t make sense.”

The former political science lecturer at the university of The Gambia, reminded the IGP that most modern vehicles, especially vehicles made in 2015 and later, have a small tint to their windows.

“So, why should I buy my car and be punished for that? Why should citizens be punished for that? That is a lot of money for an average Gambian. There are reasons these cars have tints. One reason is that it reduces the amount of infrared, visible light, and ultraviolet radiation that passes through windows of a vehicle. It is for the health and comfort of the driver and passengers. It protects them from the glare of the sun and makes car’s temperatures cooler, especially in hot temperatures like The Gambia,” He emphasized. 

Going further, Dr Ceesay urged The Gambia to come with its own guidelines and regulations based  on technicalities, rather than verbal directives with no legal basis on law. “In fact, we want to know the legal basis of this directive, we need to know these things and it needs to be clear. These random directives are not what move a country. The directive is counter-productive because if security is the sole reason why you want to regulate tinted glasses, then ban it, but don’t say pay 10,000 and use it,” Dr Ceesay advised.

By: Fatoumatta Samateh