Gambia : A battered and demoralized nation

The Gambia is like a battered wife.  Anytime the abusive husband enters the room, she instinctively takes on a defensive posture to protect her face and body from the vicious blows that are likely to follow.  Yaya Jammeh has so habitually abused and humiliated Gambians that anytime he shows his ugly face, an entire nation is on edge, wondering when the next blow will throw and where it will land in an already battered body.


The dire nature of Gambia's predicament always reminds me of Yaya Jammeh's uncle's  horrifying warnings to an inattentive nation that the junta's enemies defined as residents of Pipeline, that they will be force-feed chloroquine, if necessary - as punishment, I presume - for being born into privileged families of civil servants.  These unfortunate souls were also guilty of "enjoying" under Sir Dawda's administration while the mother of Yaya Jammeh and both parents of the Singhatey brothers lived in unfinished structures by night while barely eking a living by day in I civil servant's "mansions" as maids.  Little did Gambians know that John P. Bojang, who died recently, meant every word of it.


When I became Foreign Minister in November 2004 - March 2005,I visited Taipei and was received by him in his capacity of Gambia's Ambassador to Taiwan.  Every gesture and utterances of Mr. Bojang, at the time, suggested regret that those words will haunt him to his grave.  I brought it up only to watch him squirm Those were hurtful and vindictive words that became the hallmark of what has morphed from a kleptocratic military "soldiers with a difference" regime of 1994 to the full-blown repressive "Futampaf" dictatorship we have today.


This brings me to the elders of Banjul who, like the in-laws or the good neighbor, are expected to step in on the side of the abused wife or child.  Unfortunately, they have shirked their collective responsibilities toward society in exchange for raw cash, titles and other amenities denied the more deserving and better qualified in exchange for occasional trips to GRTS to sign praise to the dictator and to chastise and admonish good and decent citizens like Imam Baba Leigh or Ba Kawsu Fofana who dare challenge the authority and policies of Yaya Jammeh.


One can see how Yaya Jammeh, a functional illiterate, managed to cling to power by murdering, maiming, torturing, executing women and the mentally-challenged extra-judiciarilly, raping, stealing from the public treasury, raiding the Central Bank and forcing educated Gambians into exile.  Instead of fighting back, we elected to throw away our moral compasses, checked out consciences at the door together with our common decency in exchange for some worldly paraphernalia.  Just watch members of the Supreme Islamic Council seated behind a mountain of chase representing nothing but bribe money without an iota of guilt or embarrassment.  These are the same men moralizing about gay and lesbianism when the entire economy and our livelihoods are going to hell in an hand basket. What a shameless bunch of Banjul Mullahs.


Gambia has been emptied of a majority of its good and decent citizens.  Most of those left behind have either succumb to the repressive forces like the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) or risk being made to disappear or sent to Mile II prisons. Compliance with the obnoxious laws is no guarantee of one's safety because all it takes is the word of an APRC supporter against an innocent person to face the wrath of Jammeh's age. Husbands have turned against wives, sisters against brothers and friends against friends. No more family visitations for fear that you will be set up by your own or friend.


Regrettably, North Koreans enjoy more personal freedoms than Gambians. Who would have predicted this even a decade ago without being laughed off stage.  Today, it is no laughing matter.  Everyone in The Gambia is as scared as the battered wife or the abused child.  The good neighbor is nowhere to be found, his silence bought by Jammeh with cash and patronage.


National salvation lies in our hands - the Dispora Gambians.  It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to give voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless.   We on longer can sit on the sidelines and pretend that somehow the abusive husband will come to his senses and stop the abuse., especially when he's a proven drug addict.


The economy has been so terribly managed that jobs are being lost instead of being created, forcing our young men and daring young women into taking the "Back Way" at great personal risk.


Despite the that fact that the dictatorship has failed the youth, Jammeh has managed, until very recently, lying to them about creating a conducive environment for them to prosper by advancing their education thus increasing their chances of being gainfully employment.  It's all phony baloney as Karamba Touray is fond of saying.


The chickens have finally come home to roost.  Jammeh's own Finance Minister, faced with disturbingly huge deficit numbers had to face his colleagues last week to admit that "2015 is not going to be an easy year" which is still considered by many, including yours truly, to be an understatement.  Things are going to get extremely dire for many Gambians when many of them, exactly 33% of the population cannot afford three square meals a day, and many more facing hunger and malnutrition.  As I pen this blog, children in the CRR are already dying of hunger and malnutrition - a crisis that the regime is concealing from you and me.    

Test

Was NAWEC forced to buy Brikama power station from Mohamed Bazzi?

In what appears to have been a leaked Cabinet Paper (CP) of the Minister of Finance, Kebba S. Touray, laying out the outline of his 2015 Budget Estimates, several stauning revelations and admissions were made to his cabinet colleagues.

The CP's preamble warns of the impending hardship that Gambians should expect in 2015 because of the rapidly deteriorating fiscal condition resulting from imprudent fiscal and monetary management of the economy.

The deficit which was projected to be in the region of 4.5% of GDP is now projected over twice that to 10% of GDP, forcing the Finance Minister to admit to both the Joint National Assembly Members last week, and now his cabinet colleagues that "2015 is not going to be easy."

Despite numerous warnings by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of the devastating effects a ballooning deficit will have on the overall performance of the economy, the regime of Jammeh has proven unable to control spending most of which are of the frivolous kind that contributes nothing to economic growth.

The latest explanation of the ballooning deficit is what the Minister described as "spending on NAWEC's behalf" equivalent to 2.5% of GDP which we estimate to be in the region of GMD 783 million.  What was the amount for?  It now appears that NAWEC was forced to buy the Brikama plant from Mohamed Bazzi, Jammeh's business partner.

We look forward to the Minister's  Budget Statement in the next few days to see if further details are provided to Gambians about this particular expenditure, the rationale for the sale and terms and conditions of the sale.  

Yusupha, Yaya is not worth protecting

The former Deputy Ambassador of The Gambia to the United Kingdom, Yusupha Bojang six others of his former colleagues are presently in remand waiting to be sentenced tomorrow, Wednesday.

What struck everyone, even to the ordinary non-legal person is the huge quantity of loose tobacco product that Yusupha and the others were able to order uninterrupted and interfered with for three years. 

Deputy head of the Gambian Diplomatic Mission in Kensington, Yusupha Bojang, and his colleagues ordered 29 tonnes of rolling tobacco over three years.  They imported more than half a million 50g pouches at tax-free rates for personal or High Commission use and they are not smokers.

Speculation was rife throughout the trial, including this blog, that Yusupha Bojang is taking the bullet for his boss, Yaya Jammeh, and he is taking the rest of his co-defendants to the gallows. 

The after effect of the guilty verdict is beginning to reverberate.   According to sources in London, co-defendants and their relatives "are blaming Yusupha Bojang for their sloppy defence and there is talk of him lifting the lid so he can claim asylum after release."

We hope Yusupha Bojang will garner enough moral courage to step forward, however late in the day, to step forward and speak the truth.  Yaya Jammeh is not worth protecting. 

Scam artists who call themselves diplomats

The futy-free scam that saw seven of the eight members of staff of The Gambian Embassy in the United Kingdom being found guilty in an East London court is one more example of how a once proud diplomatic service has been brought to it knees.  

The scam that netted them 5 million pounds sterling at the expense of the British taxpayers span a period of three years and 32 tonnes of rolling tobacco were ordered tax free.  It was revealed in court that there no evidence that any one them was a smoker.  The extent of the scam has caused the British press to refer to them as " a gang of Gambian diplomats."  All seven are in remand and will appear in court on Wednesday for sentencing. 

The dictatorship under Yaya a Jammeh has transformed the service from one that served the interests and people of The Gambia to a service tailored to serve the interest of the Jammeh clan abroad. 

In countries like the UK where Jammeh only set foot once in 1995, the Embassy is staffed by purely family members who are there to carry out unsavory commercial deals that is not commensurate with their diplomatic status.  And the UK Embassy is not the only one.  There are other diplomatic outposts, like those in France and India where diplomatic staff is engaged almost exclusively in pursuing the commercial and private interests of the Gambian dictator.

In the case of the United States, the Gambian Embassy is pretty much occupied in monitoring the activities of Gambian dissidents and to receive and see off Zeinab Souma Jammeh, Gambia's First Lady who visits the US, at least, once a month to shop.  The Embassy staff's role is limited to providing protocol service to and from Dulles International airport only.  They are not permitted to escort her to and from her $3.5m Potomac home nor to accompany her shopping.   Her drivers and aids are all of Moroccan nationality.

BREAKING : Gambia Deputy Ambassador and seven others found guilty

A jury in a London Southwark Crown Court has returned a verdict of guilty on one count for all of the eight accused in the 5 million duty-free loose tobacco scam.

Gambia's Deputy Ambassador to United Kingdom, Yusupha Bojang (aged 54) and 7 others found guilty as charged in the duty-free scam.

During the trial, Mr. Bojang surprised the court by he was "happy to make profit wherever it came from" suggesting lack of remorse in engaging in criminal acts that netted him and his co-defendants an estimated £ 5 million at the expense of the British taxpayers. 

The eight found guilty are Deputy Ambassador. Yusupha Bojang, First Secretary, Gaston Sambou, 48, Finance Attaché Ebrima John,38, Welfare Officer Georgina Gomez,29,  Receptionist Ms. Audrey Leeward, Secretary Noah, 60, driver Mr. Ramarajaha and Tourism Authority official Ms. Ida Njie, 42.

Correction:  Ida Njie was not found guilty.  She was thus acquitted and discharged.  Error is regretted.

This is a developing story.  Stay tuned......

An Appeal for information on PetroGambia

We are soliciting information from our readers on PetroGambia.  It is an entity that is being described in petroleum industry as " a state company of the Government of The Gambia. 

PetroGambia and Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA agreed to continue offshore exploration and production (E&P) activities  for oil and gas in The Gambia, a PDVSA official was quoted by BNamericas. 

According to a statement by PDVSA the two companies started offshore E&P in The Gambia  in July 2006 without specifying where in The Gambia the E&P was taking place. 

That was then and this is now.  African Petroleum's exploration contracts for Blocks A1 and A4 have suddenly been reinstated after Jammeh nullified them in January accusing the company of speculation.  AP filed for  arbitration in Washington DC which has apparently been withdrawn. 

The Gambia's petroleum sector is shredded in secrecy and it is being treated as the personal property of the Gambian dictator.  Any deposit of petroleum or any other resource within the borders of The Gabmbia belongs to the people of The Gambia.  It in this vein that we are appealing to Gambians and non-Gambians alike to help us shed light on this very murky world of Yays Jammeh.  

We are on Facebook and other social media platforms in case you have some information to share with us as we try to piece together this story.