A morally repugnant scheme

The joint announcement by Yaya Jammeh, billed as the founder of the APRC and the political bureau was plastered across the Daily Observer and national television informing the general public that "fundraising accounts... have been opened at the Guaranty Trust Bank" for the purposes of soliciting contribution for Yaya Jammeh and his coup plotters to celebrate 20th Anniversary of their constitutionally illegal act of staging a coup against the government of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara.  A more appropriate fund-raiser would have been to buy new ferries for a ferry-less country whose capital sits on an island;  but that's for another blog.

To kick off the fund-raising drive, the announcement claimed that Jammeh was personally donating the superstition-driven sum of D222,000, and thus arguing all those "who have benefited one way or the other from the 20 years of the July 22nd Revolution" to contribute. "No amount is too small" concludes the plea from the supposed president of the Republic who led the illegal coup and its only surviving member.  The rest have been killed, imprisoned or exiled.

There's something degrading about the idea of a 'president' going around, unashamedly, soliciting funds from an economically-deprived population that live on $1-a-day, in one of the poorest countries on earth.  If the funds were to be used to help alleviate the hunger and suffering of the many Gambians who are presently going to bed hungry, the solicitation might have been excused.  But to mount this massive campaign, using state resources, like GRTS, the national radio and television network, for the sole purpose of extracting cash from an unsuspecting and highly taxed population is unconscionable.

Gambians are presently among the most taxed humans on earth.  Women selling 'akara' and 'mono' on street corners have been driven from their road-side open air stalls into their living rooms, and the more frightened, into their bedrooms, to escape the revenue agents and rate collectors.  These women are being asked to pay D1,000 as tax and/or rates to the state and city when their total annual earnings is probably less than D2,000.  These are the very same people that Yaya Jammeh is soliciting cash from to celebrate the hardship he's brought on them - the women of Gambia, who are among the hardest-working people anywhere.

The APRC party Congress has been postponed because of lack of financial resources.  Previous party functions have been financed exclusively by the party founder, Yaya Jammeh.  That was then.  This is now. Faced with depleted personal bank accounts, Jammeh has resorted to bizarre and repulsive schemes to finance his "extravagant life-style", a phrase that stuck with me for 20 years.  Even this usually friendly business community has run out of patience for someone who's always devising money-making schemes to extract cash from a weary populace.  Business response to an earlier fund-raising effort to fund the Congress has been disappointingly low.  Donor-fatigue has hit the business community too.

If celebrating the 20th anniversary of the illegal coup d'etat that brought Jammeh to power, and with it the corruption, death and destruction that accompanied it, it should be worth his while to either foot the bill himself or ask the state to provide a line item budget, properly reflected in the Estimates.  He knows he cannot do this, coming right at the heels of two successive and devastating IMF reports on the finances of The Gambia, so he devised this very repugnant and shameless scheme to raise money for what is purely a partisan affair.  If referendum were held today on whether the anniversary will take place, it will fail miserably because the majority of Gambians are tired of APRC 'celebrations' and 'festivals' and would like to see their government concentrate on making their lives better by addressing the urgent challenges facing the economy.

Given the deteriorating conditions of the economy, it is, therefore, morally repugnant to be asking for money from the very victims of the most corrupt, repressive and inept regime the Gambia has even had.  No true Gambia should contribute a dime to this fund, and the sooner we get rid of these criminals, the better.

April 10 - 11 victims remembered

Abdoukarim Jammeh was shot in the left leg

The promise we made about presenting a photo editorial to commemorate the April 10 -11 2000 killing of at least 14 school children and the maiming of countless more kids could not be fulfilled due to poor response.

However, we are presenting here a short note of remembrance of our fallen heroes who faced death in defense of their basic fundamental right to petition their government.
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April 10 - 11 are days that will live in infamy when the lives of 14 unarmed school children were snuffed out, and numerous others of their colleagues maimed for life.

It is as certain as the eastern sun that these kids would have been alive if there was no Yaya Jammeh, Isatou Njie-Saidy, Ousman Badgie and Baboucar Jatta.  These people are responsible for the ensuing death and mayhem when AK-47 wielding security agents of the state disguising as soldiers charged into a crowd of petrified school children whose crime was to petition their government.  Their grievances were purely and simply to ask their government to investigate the killing of one, and the alleged raping of another, of their colleagues.

Isatou Njie-Saidy standing in for Jammeh who was on a visit to Cuba was in charge on those fateful days, immediately and without the benefit of an iota of evidentiary proof, claimed that the security forces were responding to fire with fire, when she claimed, the first shots came from a bunch of 13-year olds or younger.  In short, this woman blamed the kids for their own deaths and maiming.  Obviously, that was a lie - a lie she will have to live with for the remainder of her life.

As for Yaya Jammeh, Ousman Badgie and Baboucar Jatta,  they will have to answer, someday, to these and other crimes.  Laws will be passed to de-indemnify all members of the security forces implicated in these heinous acts against defenseless children.  

The kids were crying "we want justice, we want peace."  The Jammeh regime has refused to grant them neither justice nor peace.  A successor government will, and that's a promise.  May their souls continue to rest in peace and those maimed and neglected by a corrupt and incompetent government, we hope a successor government will try to redress the situation where the APRC regimes has failed you.

European Union and United States should impose travel ban on Jammeh and senior-level officials

Yaya Jammeh, Mrs. Zeinab Jamus Jammeh, Interior Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, National Intelligence Agency Director, Army Chief, National Drug Agency Director, Managing Director Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation,  Managing Director Gambia Ports Authority, Speaker of the National Assembly, and Assemblyman Seedy Njie (Nominated Member) should all be banned from travelling abroad until the EU's 17- point demands have been reasonably met by a very callous and repressive dictatorship.  Visa restrictions should also be imposed senior level officials as well.  We are urging the European Union and the United States to take the lead in seeing that the Yaya Jammeh regime is held accountable for its human rights abuses, and it continued.  We are lending our support to this campaign because Yaya Jammeh is not someone to do business with; he is unreliable, dishonest and very deceitful a character to dialogue with.

The European Union's delegation to Banjul, led by the EU Ambassador to The Gambia, Dominique Delacour, met with Jammeh at State House to present the preliminary outcome of her delegation's discussions with the government side, led by the Minister for Presidential Affairs.  The outcome of the recently concluded 4th EU-Africa Summit held in Brussels was also on the agenda.

During her press conference following her closed-door session with Yaya Jammeh, the message conveyed by the EU Ambassador was that while the EU was anxious to "discuss the issues of cooperation, governance and human rights that are of common concern of the government of the Gambia and also the EU", Yaya Jammeh was interested in the outcome of the Brussels Summit - to which he refused to attend after being denied the Chairmanship of ECOWAS - but was "particularly concerned about the (EU's) special statement on migration."

It is characteristic of Jammeh to focus on his own personal and political interest, even if it's at the expense of the common good.  He is inherently selfish and The Gambia is suffering as result of his selfishness, and greed. His particular concern about the EU's Special Statement on Migration is not about the thorough, complex and intricate nature of the subject that links migration, employment and higher education policies which led the head of the African Union, Mrs. Dlamini-Zuma, to say "if we concentrate on improving the skills of our people, investing in them, they will not have to come through Lampedusa" (Italian Island that has become the main transit point for African immigrants).  She continued by saying that when Africans are trained and provided with the skills required by Europe, the African immigrants will be received at airports and regular seaports as regular immigrants.  Obviously, Mrs Dlamini-Zuma gets it and Yaya doesn't, and who, somehow, managed to reduce such a serious and complex subject matter to visas, their issuance or lack thereof to the issuance to his officials and cronies, some of whom have been denied visas in the recent past - probably another neo-colonialist plot led by Prime Minister David Cameroon and President Barack Obama.

Jammeh had convinced Spain and Italy, two 'front-line states' in the battle against illegal immigration that more bilateral aid to Gambia will stem the tide.  This is the wrong policy direction for both Italy and Spain and our claim is borne by the illegal immigrants trying to enter Europe through Morocco.  Since 2000, the figures have increased dramatically with no sign of abating anytime soon.  A regional approach to the migration issue is the most fiscally prudent and effective approach, in an age of austerity - an approach that Jammeh would rather not see for obvious reasons.  He likes to be the ultimate authority, therefore regional cooperation poses challenges to the absolute authority he's come to enjoy exercising.

Jammeh is neither willing nor ready to address the migration issue comprehensively because to do so will force his to address the human rights issues facing The Gambia, including some aspects of the EU's 17-points demands.  He'd rather talk about the inconsequential aspects of migration like EU consular matters ( issuance of visas to his cronies) than the causes and consequences of illegal migration that will then force him to talk about human rights abuses, repressive laws, employment creation, skills development and allowing young Gambians to freely express themselves.  Today, a young man cannot make a public declarative statement about the hard economic conditions without risking going to jail for stating a fact.

The EU, and by extension the U.S, must come to terms with the fact that the "strong and unambiguous political will necessary to meet all the challenges" as stated in the Statement on Migration is not Yaya Jammeh's forte.  Yaya's singular goal is to stay in power for as long as possible, using all means necessary.  It is time for both the European Union and the United States to recognize this fact, and to take measures to get Jammeh to concede immediately to all of the 17-points demands of the EU or risk the imposition of travel bans against Jammeh, his spouse and senior members of his government.  This is the only language Yaya Jammeh understands.

Gambia-Taiwan breakup is final says Jammeh

In a brief and tersely-worded statement from the Office of the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Yaya Jammeh wishes to remind the world that the decision he took on the 15th November 2013 to "severe diplomatic ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan) is final and irreversible.  As announced earlier" the statement continues, this decision has been taken in line with our strategic national interests." End of statement.

Why would Jammeh see the need to remind the world that he meant it when he decided to sever ties with Taiwan in such an acrimonious fashion less than six months ago.

Has Taipei been trying to get Banjul to change its mind?  If so, what good would it do to Taiwan's diplomacy if it is seen to be trying to repair a damage that appears irreparable.  If not, what is Banjul up to.

It is widely believed that Jammeh committed a diplomatic blunder that will continue to cost its regime, both financially and diplomatically for sometime to come.  The financial support that Taiwan was providing has been significant as it was timely due the disbursement method adopted by Taiwan and Gambia.  Payments were made in tranches, as and when Jammeh needed cash to spend, ranging from repairing his ferries, paying for medicines for his Jammeh Foundation Hospital to paying for his numerous 'celebrations' and holiday bashes.

The Gambian dictator's decision to severe diplomatic ties may have been prompted by Taiwan's refusal to approve Jammeh's demand for un-receipted cash payment in excess of $10 million, but he expected that China was going to fill the diplomatic vacuum immediately.  When Beijing did not make the move, partly because of recent truce between the Cross-Straits neighbors over the of 'diplomatic poaching' of each others allies, Jammeh felt both isolated and strapped for cash.

By unexpectedly issuing this 'out-of-nowhere statement" to the world, as described by a senior official, that his decision of last November was not a mistake, and that he meant it, he is signaling to Beijing that The Gambia is ready to tie the diplomatic knot.  Whether the press release will do the trick, remains to be seen.  

The seizure of Olympic House

Faced with an increasing internal opposition to his rogue and corrupt regime, the Gambian dictator has struck once more; this time against the independent, non-governmental Olympic House- home of the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC).

This  move is yet another ammunition in Jammeh's arsenal to divert the attention of Gambians away from their current misery of going for three weeks without ferry services that connect the two halves of the country, and midst of food shortages and high prices of daily necessities of life, like a loaf of bread which is now out of reach of ordinary Gambians.

The GNOC, like any of the over 200 National Olympic Committees across the globe, is an integral part of the Olympic Movement, and to a member of the Movement in good standing, each and every National Committee must adhere to the rules and norms governing the organization.

Building a peaceful and better world by youth through sport is a cardinal aim of the Olympic Movement, and to be part of this Movement every Organizing Committee must comply with the Olympic Charter and recognition by the International Olympic Committee.

In a nutshell, this is the spirit of Olympianism, and one of the cornerstone of a sports philosophy, inscribed in the IOC Charter that "sports occurs within a framework of society, sports organization within the Olympic Movement, shall have the rights and obligations of AUTONOMY, which includes freely establishing and controlling the rules of sport, determining the structure and governance of their organizations, enjoying the rights of elections, free from outside influence and the responsibility for ensuring that principles of good governance are applied."

The seizure of the Olympic House came without notice.  Staff reporting for work Thursday morning were greeted at the gates by paramilitary police who had already surrounded the offices as if it was the residence of a drug kingpin.  A staff member was quoted by a local newspaper as saying that the police told them that "we have instructions not to allow you to enter, because the new interim committee is coming to take over the premises."

In a typical cowardly fashion that has come to characterize this brutal and insidious regime, this police action took place when both GNOC president, Momodou Dibba, and GNOC first vice president, Beatrice Allen, were reportedly out of the country.   This move came two weeks after the GNOC held its Annual General Meeting.

Following the outcome of the elections of the current holder of office at GNOC, the dictatorial regime stepped in, using an inexperienced Sports Minister who lacks basic managerial skills, to set up an Interim Committee filled with cronies (al topehs, in Wollof) and APRC party apparatchiks to run the GNOC until further notice.  Meanwhile, the regime claimed to have barred the GNOC members from travelling because they were not the true representatives of the Gambian sports.

We have seen this movie before in the continued politicization of Gambian sports by an unpopular and corrupt regime that sees it as a promotional vehicle through which it can advance its political agenda. It is a regime that has destroyed Gambian football (soccer) by stacking the previous Gambia Football Federation with army officers who cannot tell Pele from Eve and who ended up recruiting 27 year olds to represent Gambia in the Under-17 World Cup.  Gambia did win but when MRI scans were employed to help determine the true age of the players, we all know the results produced by the true Under-17s.

The seizure of the Olympic House is just the beginning of a long drown-out campaign against the officials who were legitimately elected by the membership of  individual Sports Clubs.  The previous Executive Committee Members of the GFF were unfairly banned for 5 years from the sport they love by a heavy-handed government using proxies to do its dirty work.  Although they were subsequently unbanned, the damage to football had already been inflicted.

The same scenario is being repeated.  Momodou Dibba, Beautrice Allen and the entire Executive of GNOC must brace themselves for a vicious campaign - a  campaign of intimidation and slander will be waged against them by a regime that is on its death dead.  All said and done, and just as we have seen during the GFF election, if fresh elections are forced on the GNOC, assuming the International Olympic Committee supports the actions of a dictatorial regime, and they are conducted freely and fairly, the same officials will be returned to their posts.  The same usual suspects involved in the Gambia Football Federation debacle are at work here too.  We will not hesitate to campaign against them too. The campaign against this brutal and corrupt regime has just begun.

  


       

"We want justice, we want peace"

                                                      ANNOUNCEMENT

The sidisanneh.blogspot.com will be commemorating the 14th Anniversary of the assassination of 14 unarmed school children, and the wounded victims who were exercising their constitutional right to peacefully petition their government.

We are kingly requesting you, the readers, to help us commemorate the day in our own unique way by compiling a photo display of the faces of all the victims, those killed and those maimed for life, to editorialize our grief and the suffering of families and friends.  It is in this regard that we solicit the pictures of those children killed and injured by Yaya Jammeh's army.

You can send photos by email or share through google+.  Please indicate names and ages of each individual victim.

Your cooperation will be highly appreciated.

Sidi Sanneh

Of bread, rice and ferries: The story of Jammeh's Gambia

The level of incompetence displayed by Yaya Jammeh and his regime has surpassed the "denno sabi" (clueless) and "choonay" (amateur) levels, and entering the theater of the absurd; borrowing the lingo of the former Vice President B.B. Dabo's apt description of the Jammeh regime as a bunch of clueless amateurs.

Ample evidence exists to show the inability of the Jammeh regime to manage the Gambian economy either because of recalcitrant behavior and its lack of will to implement prudent macroeconomic policies.

Local inflation has been emerging as a problem for a decade with no concerted effort, on the part of the regime, to control the level of spending resulting in domestic borrowing that is pushing prices upward despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund.  High domestic borrowing, coupled with the fact that wages have been frozen at their pre-1994 level, has eroded the purchasing power of Gambians to levels never experienced before.

The price of a loaf of bread is expected to hit the D7.00 to D8.00 per loaf range on Monday because as a source told me "a bag of flour was D1,400.00 and now they've added D300.00 on top of it."  The price of a bag of rice is now in the region of D1,800.00 and expected to hit the D2,000.00 mark within weeks.  These are unsustainable levels that can only spell trouble for a regime that is already in the ropes as it popularity with the general populace continues to sink.

The prices of basic foodstuffs are going up at a time when petrol (gasoline) prices continue to go up - raising the price of electricity, one of the most expensive in the world - as petroleum products continue to be in short supply.  The suppliers of these basic food stuffs, like meat, fish and vegetables are constantly being harassed by revenue collectors of all sorts, ranging from agents of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) to local government tax collectors, driving prices even higher.

As we speak, there are four ferries moored, and out of service at the Banjul Ports.  The two ("Johe and Kanila) have been out of service for two weeks or more.  The other two (Kansala and Aljandu), which were "inaugurated" as new ferries by Jammeh when, in fact, he knew they weren't new ferries (one was 27 years old) but refurbished. It turned out that the two ferries were of inappropriate designed that needed special ramps, and that there's only one opening for loading and off-loading cars, trucks and passengers.  With no appropriate ramps at both the Barra and Banjul end, these ferries cannot be used.  The Greek partner in the joint venture that purchased these two vessels are currently threatening to sue The Gambia to the tune of €40 million for breach of the joint venture deal.

The inability of the regime to maintain regular, reliable and safe ferry service is in shape contrast to the previous regime that Jammeh ousted claiming ineptitude and corruption as justification.  Under the Jawara regime, there has never been a day without ferry service between the strategic and highly sensitive geographic points connecting the southern half of the country to it northern flank.  This has led many Gambians to ask if a regime can be so incompetent not to be able to run a regular ferry service, how can the same regime be expected to run an entire country without the current debacle with catastrophic consequence unfolding in The Gambia.