Gambia's Attorney General should resign as National Assembly delays bill a second time

IEC Chairman, Carayol 

Justice Minister Singhatey

Gambia's National Assembly has postponed debate on Jammeh's proposed electoral reform bill for the second time in a week because of the controversial nature of the proposals which you can read here and again here

The proposals are designed to eliminate the chance of any meaningful participation of the opposition in future elections.  The fact that the contents of the electoral reform bill were shrouded in secrecy suggests that the regime realized the harmful nature of its proposal. But as soon as details leaked, and the ensuing blow-back from opposition leaders and dissidents groups in the diaspora, the National Assembly postponed the debate until 30th June.  We are now told that the debate has been deferred to 7th July, yet again.

To understand what is at stake, one must look at the events unfolding in Burundi where president Ngurunziza tries to interpret the country's Constitution to make it possible to prolong his stay in office beyond what's allowable under law.  Unsuccessful at convincing the Burundi leader to postpone the parliamentary elections until the constitutional problems are resolved, the African Union and the rest of the international community refused to recognize the outcome of the elections which were marred by violence that threatens to plunge the country into another genocidal mayhem.

The Gambia is moving in the same direction as Burundi if Jammeh and his supporters are not careful. The electoral proposals are unacceptable to all of the major opposition parties, and vehemently opposed by dissident and exile Gambian groups in America, Europe and Senegal.

What is amazing is how the Chairman of the IEC its members continue to allow themselves to be used by Yaya Jammeh to advance his political agenda at the expense of ordinary Gambians.  Mr. Mustapha Carayol and his minions at the IEC are as culpable as Jammeh should Gambia goes by the way of Burundi.

The electoral reform proposals were conceived and crafted by the Executive and handed over to the conniving IEC to shove it  down the throats of the National Assembly, another equally useless body.  The fact that Mr. Carayol is unconstitutionally occupying the Chairmanship proves not to be a deterrence for him to continue conspiring with Jammeh to further deny Gambians the right to vote for the party of their choice by attempting to disqualify as all of the opposition parties.

The odious nature of the proposals have apparently caused some members of the National Assembly to have some second thoughts.  It is being reported that the Attorney General and Minister of Justice has also been reluctant to table a bill that she has problems with.  The tabling will now be done by the Secretary General and Minister for Presidential Affairs which is a desperate move on the part of Jammeh to circumvent his legal adviser.  It is, therefore, time for Mama Fatima Singhatey to resign from the cabinet.  If she doesn't, Jammeh will dismiss her instead.

As the veteran PPP politician, Omar Jallow, reminded us recently, the Minister of Justice is a product of a pedigree that belongs to pre-independence Gambia with an obligation to protecting the legacy of her father who was part of the Lancaster House delegation that negotiated Gambia's independence. She has a legacy, including a good name to protect, Jammeh doesn't.

Do not set Gambia on fire

Sidi Sanneh 

Tomorrow, the Gambian National Assembly is set to debate a number of bills that will raise the registration fee for political parties and/or presidential candidates to D 1,000,000 which represents a 10,000% increase in a country where the average citizen lives on $1.25 per day and were the incidence of poverty nationwide is in the region of 60-70%

Among the measures the National Assembly will be considering is increasing the number of constituencies from 48 to 54 seats in an Assembly that is already overwhelmingly APRC, earning it the name a "rubber-stamp" Assembly.

The death penalty abolished in 1992 by the previous government the Jammeh regime deposed by unconstitutional means was reinstated immediately after the  1994 coup which made it possible for the current regime to extra-judicially execute nine death row prisoners.  Two of those executed were Senegalese, one of whom was a woman.  A third prisoner extra-judicially executed was reported to be mentally handicapped.

The National Assembly is being asked by Jammeh to approve a constitutional amendment that will make it possible to execute those found guilty of murder by non-violent means.  Currently law allows the death penalty only in circumstances involving violence and poisoning.  We have appealed to the good senses of members of the National Assembly in both our Facebook and blog entries.  Approval tantamount to handing Jammeh an AK-47 in exchange for his small caliber pistol.

The electoral measures that the Assembly is considering will effectively bar all opposition parties from participating in the electoral process because there is not a single opposition party that has D 100,000 in its bank account, much less a D 1,000,000.  Only Yaya Jammeh can fulfill the financial requirements to even be on the ballot.

The country is going through the hardest economic times ever recorded since Gambia gained independence in 1965 with high unemployment, especially among the urban youth.  The cost of living is rising near exponential rates.  The rural areas are experiencing food deficits leaving ordinary Gambians hungry with pockets of severe hunger and malnutrition in the middle of the country.

To aggravate a clearly dire situation with a deliberately calibrated sets of political brinkmanship is one possible way of setting Gambia on fire.  Whether the authorize it or not, The Gambia is at the edge. Therefore, Jammeh and his minions need to back off for the good of the country.

Gambia's National Assembly must reject Jammeh's election "reform" proposals

Speaker of the National Assembly Bojang 

Proposals to "reform" Gambia's electoral laws that are already considered skewed in favor of the ruling APRC party are before the National Assembly for debate and approval.

The proposals call for a massive increase in the "deposits" a candidate for public office would have to pay to qualify to be on the ballot, once other eligibility requirements such as age and residency among others have been fulfilled.

If the Gambian dictator has his way, as he normally does with is now referred to as the "rubber stamp" National Assembly, the new rates will jump from D 10,000 to D 1,000,000.  In US dollar terms the rates will increase from $ 222  to $ 22,000 representing a 10,000% increase in a country where the average citizen has now been reduced to surviving on $ 1.25 a day and where, according to United Nations figures 33% of Gambians cannot afford three square meals a day.

There are other equally obnoxious components to these so-called reforms, designed, not to turn the country into a one-party state as claimed in some quarters, because for all intent and purposes, The Gambia already is, since 48 of the 53-seat National Assembly is controlled by the ruling APRC. Other components include increases in "deposits" for candidates for the National Assembly from D 5,000 ($ 110) to D 100,000 ( $ 2,220) representing a 950% increase, and increases for those aspiring to be Mayors.

Before we discuss Jammeh's intent for introducing these electoral reforms, let us look at the sweeteners in the reform package designed to lure the unsuspecting and (some would say) gullible opposition leaders into thinking that it is a genuinely thought through set of proposals to address the opposition's concerns which are growing louder.  Jammeh is also aware of the increasing international pressure that seems to be mounting by the week, from the UN Human Rights Council's Rapporteur Report to the European Union's 17 - points demands.

The IMF has joined the fray by threatening to recommend further painful measures before the "bottom drops out" of an economy in crisis due to an undisciplined macro-economic management team, inappropriately led by Yaya Jammeh, and fueled by an insatiable thirst for domestic spending, using local commercial banks as drinking troughs.  The Fund has informed us that the National Assembly leaders have been informed of the dire situation the country is in, and it is expected that they will step up to the plate on the economic front as well as the political issues.  

The "reform" measures include, among other sweeteners, in situ counting of votes and the transfer of the responsibility of of the issuance of permits for political rallies from the Inspector General of Police to the so-called Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).  These specific proposals are being dangled before the opposition because Jammeh believes they will take the bail because they have been clamoring for the former and complaining about the latter because the IGP has always been, until recently, refusing them permits.  To discuss the merits or lack thereof is a political blunder befitting a rookie politician.  The proposals are a distraction which must be seen and treated as such. Any meaningful electoral reform cannot be achieved in a piecemeal fashion and without a common position by a unified opposition.

The National Assembly unpopularity is of it's own making.  Members have allowed to be corrupted by Yaya Jammeh by regularly bribing them with car loans and 'fish money' here and there while slowing taking away the power vested in them by their respective constituents, effectively neutering them in the process.  Now, Gambia is the only country on earth where a member of parliament can be thrown out by the president even though he/she was elected by his/her constituency.  Sadly, ultimate power rests with Jammeh and not the people.  The fault lies squarely on the shoulders of individual members who were voted in by, and should represent the interests of, every single citizen in their respective constituency.

To vote for these measures is to vote for Jammeh's interest, who can afford the D 1,000,000 nonrefundable "deposit" and against the interest of members of the Assembly who cannot meet the current fees without outside help. So you can imagine of they are to pay D 100,000.  The entire package should be rejected outright by the Assembly which, we hope, will force Jammeh to abandon this very bad idea that is even against the political interest of members of his own party.  

One Gambian youth's revolt against a dictatorship

It's been long time in the making. but Gambian youth have finally awoken from their deep sleep, and are beginning to say to the regime of Yaya Jammeh that they have been duped into supporting a very corrupt, inept and repressive regime.

A Gambian-American rapper that goes by the name of "Killa Ace" has just released a single 4.13 min. rap song entitled "Ku Boka C Geta G", a Wollof saying roughly translated - if you are co-owner of a herd of cattle, you are entitled to a share of the milk that it produces.  Citizens, be they Imams, artists, journalists or ordinary folk, should have a say in how the country is governed and to participate in its governance but instead they are made to disappear, imprisoned, exiled, tortured and killed by a very vicious regime.

The power of the song lies in how it encapsulates the 21-year of one of the world's most repressive regime in few short minutes, with an equally short but powerful message that the Gambia has been hijacked by Yaya Jammeh and a few of his cronies, most of whom are foreigners, and pilfering the national treasury to sponsor D 100,000 dinner galas nights while the rest of the country go hungry.

The irony is that Mayors of effectively bankrupt Municipalities are among the sponsors of these obscene dinners while employees go for months without salary, and residents cannot afford thre square meals as attested to numerous U.N agencies operating in The Gambia. The Kanifing Municipality under Yankuba Colley, is one such functionally illiterate,corrupt, insensitive and incompetent Mayor the song is referring to.    

The economic hardship resulting from bad policies of an incompetent regime is forcing the young to take the "Back Way" - local lingo for migrating to Europe -  an international phenomenon that the regime has refused to acknowledge, and when it does grudgingly, Jammeh blames Italy and the European Union for causing the death of Africans and Gambians in the Mediterranean.  

The lyric is piercingly frank and direct to the point of naming and shaming the person of Yaya Jammeh, the Gambian dictator which must be a first.  Few Gambian artists ever ventured beyond vaguely-worded lyrics disguised as criticism of the regime for fear of being made to disappear, send to the notorious National Intelligence Agency's holding cells to be tortured or held at Mile II prisons which has been classified as among the world's worst.

Jammeh's hypocrisy and lack of national pride, despite his claims to the contrary, also came under attack in the song when we are reminded of how the dictator will import Senegalese artists to Indepenedence and other celebrations, shower them with expensive gifts that include cars and cash in Euros or US dollars, while Gambian artists are left to scrounge around for the crumbs.

There is little doubt that " Killa Ace" faces real danger should he return to The Gambia from Dakar where he recorded the song, according to reports.  The song did not lose sight that the singer may suffer the same fate as many Jammeh critics and opponents when, at the end of song the singer sends a direct message to all that in the event he goes missing, we should know where to look or who to ask because the world now knows"what's going on in The Gambia."  

Because of the political potency of the message which criticizes Jammeh by name, there may be ramifications.  It is therefore prudent for supporters and admirers of "Killa Arc" to take all necessary precaution, as a means of protecting the singers right to free speech and expression.  We are proud of Killa Ace and support his right to protest against a corrupt and incompetent regime.   The youth of the Gambia are finally saying to Jammeh : Enough is enough.

The bottom will fall off Gambia's economy if... says IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief of Mission to The Gambia has finally warned the Government of The Gambia of an impending economic disaster if "corrective measures" are not taken immediately to reverse an imprudent fiscal policies.

Failure to take immediate steps will result in the regime being forced into a painful adjustment program, the Fund warned the appropriate authorities, including Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta and his colleagues of the National Assembly.  

The IMF Mission Chief, Mr. Bhashwar  Mukhopadhyay, made the revelations at a Civil Society Forum last Friday where he lamented at the fact that the regime has been pursuing inappropriate policies for a long time which has led to the country's current predicament, despite many warnings from the Fund and other donor agencies.  The IMF official was quoted as saying "there is no time for Gambia to waste in implementing corrective measures before the bottom drops out."

As we have reported in the pages for the past two-and-one-half years, the Jammeh regime has been financing its political agenda using domestic borrowings to achieve its political agenda resulting in a domestic borrowing that now stands at 50% of GDP in 2014, compared to 33% of GDP in 2012.  The regime's incessant domestic borrowing is fueling inflation, adding to the woes of the ordinary Gambian who's trying to make ends meet.

Public enterprises, such as NAWEC, GPA and GAMTEL, have been greatly impacted by an irresponsible government that has consistently drained them of financial resources resulting in their inability to meet their external debt obligations and to finance their day-to-day operations.

GAMTEL's domestic debt obligations to local commercial banks to the tune of over $ 12 million is still unexplained to the general public despite demands for explanation.  The joint parliamentary oversight committee (PAC/PEC) is derelict in its duty for refusing to demand full explanation of how GAMTEL incurred such a huge debt, and on what was it spent on.

The spiraling domestic debt has also contributed significantly to limiting the private sector access to credit from the commercial banks for business expansion which would have resulted in job creation for the growing army of unemployed youth. These inappropriate policies have inadvertently contributed to the mass exodus of Gambian youth towards Europe.

We'll wait and see whether the IMF will finally put a program in place that will inject some sense into a regime that seem to be over its head.  Incompetence and corruption, unfortunately left unchecked for several years, are the main drivers of the economic meltdown.

A case to try Yaya Jammeh locally

ICC's Fatou Bensouda

Fatou Bensouda, the Gambian-born ICC's Chief Prosecutor has come under heavy criticism lately from the Gambian dissident communities strewn across Europe, the United States and Africa, for what is seen as her refusal to open up a case file against the Gambian dictator, as if there is solid ground for Jammeh's case to be taken up by the ICC.

First let us look at the mandate of the ICC under the Rome Statute which clearly mandates of the Court to try individuals (and not States), " and to hold such persons accountable for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression, when the conditions of the Court's jurisdiction over the latter are fulfilled."

Even the most vociferous opponents of Jammeh will agree that Jammeh's crimes, however odious, cannot be classified as genocide, war crimes or crime of aggression which is defined as "the planning, preparation, initiation or execution by a person in a leadership position" against a State.  Unless Jammeh plans, prepares, initiates and executes a plan of aggression against his neighbors, he cannot be charged with crime of aggression either.

The only charge left on the table that Jammeh could possibly be charged with appears to be extremely remote, and that is crimes against humanity which is defined as "acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed at any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. "

Generally, lawyers agree that the threshold for crimes against humanity is very high and thus difficult to attain, and when it is attained, it is difficult to secure conviction.  In the case of Jammeh, reaching the threshold of "widespread or systematic attack directed at any civilian population" will be difficult, legally speaking, that is.

Yes, you've guessed it - Yaya can and should be tried in The Gambia where most the crimes against the Gambian people are being committed.  It is not as if it will be the first time that the country has collaborated with the international community, through the affiliated agencies of the United Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat, to successfully prosecuted individuals accused of crimes against the State, in an open court of law.

We've done it after the 1981 coup d'etat, and we can do it again after removing Yaya Jammeh from office.  By going this route, we are certain of Jammeh being prosecuted.  The court proceedings will be more efficiently efficiently handled as evidenced in our 1981/82 experience.  It will also be less expensive to the national treasury because a significant portion of the costs associated with the trials will be underwritten by the international community and traditional donors.

EU will continue to withhold aid from Gambia worth $37 million

The European Union continues to block aid money worth 33 million euros ($37 million) earmarked for The Gambia, says Reuters.

The expulsion of the EU representative from the Gambia by the erratic Gambian dictator, Yaya Jammeh, has made it impossible to unblock aid.

The expulsion has also triggered a wave of anger and frustration among some EU members, some of whom want to apply sanctions, including the freezing of aid, because of the poor human rights record and other governance issues, including the rule of law that is being abridged regularly  

A Western diplomat familiar with the talks between EU and the government of The Gambia is quoted as saying that "there's no way the money will be unblocked now."  Another Western diplomat was quoted by Reuters that the talks between the two parties "was a disaster."

Gambia's decision to block consular access to foreign nationals in jails and the meddling into the foreign exchange markets by pegging the depreciating local currency to the US dollar despite pledging to the IMF, EU and other donors to the contrary.

Faced with a shrinking economy, in addition to the toll already taken by the Ebola outbreak, even though the country was Ebola-free, on the tourism sector, the regime of Yaya Jammeh is faced with the most severe financial crisis in its 21-year rule.  The country is also experiencing an exodus of thousands of young able-bodied Gambians to Europe.

At least, all is not lost, according to the European Commission spokesperson who confirmed that 4 million euros previously approved would still be disbursed.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Council will be considering the Rapporteur Report on extrajudicial executions in The Gambia, tomorrow, Thursday, where it is expected that the regimes's atrocious human rights record will come under scrutiny and severe criticism