Gambia: A nation of celebrations in photos

This is a country that spends millions of dollars in celebrations from the Dictator's 49th birthday to the 7th anniversary celebrations of the discovery of the cure for HIV/Aids by Professor Dr. Yaya Jammeh. Gambians are forced to celebrate the birthdays of the dictator's children to Kunta Kinteh/Roots Homecoming.

The dictator has just completed a 21-day 'celebrations' of promise to make Gambia "Self-sufficiency in rice" in two years when the Gambia currently imports 95% of all the rice it consumes, spending additional millions of dollars in a country that people are dying of hunger. Oh BTW, FAO estimates that local rice production has gone done by 70% in the last decade yet this man wants Gambians to believe his self-sufficiency concoction.

The ruling party has postponed its Congress twice for lack of financial resources, yet the dictator is planning to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of his coup d'etat that brought him to power by asking every Gambian school child to contribute D20.00 (about 50 cents).  

The anniversary is actually on 22nd July which falls on the Muslim month of Ramadan.  August is the beginning of the rainy season when farmers will be busy on their farms that continue to experience a decline in yields because of poor agriculture policies of a regime that is too busy celebrating than governing.  Don't you worry, he'll clear an entire week for more celebrations even if it means interrupting the farming season. To Jammeh. enjoying himself is more important than work.  It's the ultimate.   The laziest person to head a country. 

Zizzla sizzling 

The Gambia is the only country in the world that has cut the work week from 5 to 4 days to make room for more celebrations.  Serious countries are adding hours to the work week in the face of stiff global conpetition, especially in the least developed countries but Gambia has chosen the opposite route.  When this national idleness will end is anybody's guess.