Ansumana Jammeh attempting to bribe Senegalese border officials

Ansumana Jammeh 

The two-month old border closure has, undoubtedly, dealt a serious blow to the Gambian economy.  Faced with an uncompromising Senegalese Transport Union, the regime of Yaya Jammeh is using every trick in the book to circumvent what amounts to a blockage.

The border closure has resulted in shortages of agricultural produce, ushering in higher prices and economic hardship that is only compounded by electricity blackouts as a result of dwindling fuel stocks.  Prices of cement and onions have shot up 300% since the border closure leading Senegalese union leaders to warn of worse things to come.

The noose is tightening at all border posts with buses and trucks disallowed to enter or leave Senegal, causing consternation within the Jammeh circle.  Mr. Ndir of the Senegalese Transport Union is quoted as saying "Guissa gul dara" meaning he's seen nothing yet, referring to the Gambian dictator, Yaya Jammeh.   The union leader partially blames their own President Sall for being "very tolerant and peaceful" which encourages Jammeh to be more cavalier in his behavior towards his neighbor by unilateral tariff increases without prior consultations with Senegal.

After all attempts have failed, Jammeh decided to try bribery by dispatching his brother to the Senegalese border posts with briefcase stuffed with cash to entice Senegalese border officials into opening the border for truckloads of critical supplies of essential goods to pass through, according to Mr. Ndir.  All offers have been turned down and Ansumana Jammeh was threatened with arrest should he attempt to bribe Senegalese officials again.    

Is Jammeh bribing National Assembly Members to avoid being impeached?

Gambian dictator Jammeh 

Jammeh's unexplained absence from the State Opening of Parliament ceremonies last week, leaving many attendees perplexed and in limbo for hours, left many members of the National Assembly from both sides of the isle frustrated and embarrassed.  His absence was described by a Member of Parliament as "embarrassing and a disgrace."

The fact that it was the first time such an auspicious event, the biggest and most important in the State calendar - after 18th February, Gambia's National Day - was not lost sight of.

And in the midst of the ensuing commotion, speculations abound as to the reason or reasons for Jammeh's absence that ranged from acute diarrhea attack, to a spate with First Lady to Jammeh being disappointed at the low turn-out at the event which has always been used as a propaganda political point-scoring event.

Whatever the real reason, the bad publicity in the midst of an election year and when everything that can go wrong for the regime is going south - ranging from shortages of food and electricity, border closures, high-priced basic food items, high unemployment and a contracting economy.

Gambian's have finally grown tired of a vile, corrupt, incompetent and brutal dictatorship that has lasted for 22 years, and has shown little in the form of economic progress for its 2 million inhabitants, except unfulfilled promises, including but not limited to transforming The Gambia into the Dubai of Africa and to make the country rice self-sufficient by 2016.  All of these promises were, of course, pipe dreams concocted for the consumption of the gullible, the sycophant and the illiterate.

Gambians have finally come to the realization that the regime of Yaya Jammeh, led by a group of illiterates and incompetent sycophants, has always relied on and deception to hold on to power.  The increased awareness of the general public has resulted in the corresponding reduction in what is known known as 'the fear factor'.  People are less afraid to speak their minds on online radios, on street corners and marketplaces.  The police state itself is in the process of disintegrating.

Enters the National Assembly that was once considered, and to some extent, it, still, is a rubber stamp institution but there are indications that members are increasingly disgruntled and unhappy about the manner in which the country is being governed.  Some Members of the ruling party are speaking private against the dictator - about how he's become engrossed in his own personal interest and welfare at the expense of the National Interest.

Sensing the shift in the mood of the National Assembly and following his "no-show" at the State Opening of Parliament, we called for Jammeh's impeachment as provided for in Section 66 of the Constitution for reason of infirmity of the mind.  Jammeh has been physically ill for sometime now and his mental health has suffered in the recent past.  

Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Jammeh has decided to "give" D 700,000 (equivalent to roughly $ 14,000) to the APRC Members of Parliament towards the cost of the preparation of the rescheduled State Opening which will now take place this Thursday.  The award ceremony was conducted by the Vice President - the 'bag lady' for Jammeh - and the cash received by Speaker Bojang and Majority Leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta which they will share among themselves.  Jammeh is hoping that the bribe money will calm the nerves of an increasingly disgruntled members of parliament of Jammeh's own party.  

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OJ blames Jammeh's belligerent foreign policy for the border closure

Banjul-Barra ferry terminal

Speaking at a political rally in Sukuta on Saturday, the Interim Leader of the PPP and former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in the government of Sir Dawda Jawara, Omar Jallow (OJ) puts the blame for the border closure squarely at the doorsteps of the Gambian despot, Yaya Jammeh.

According to OJ, the unilateral decision by the Gambian dictator to increase the tariff for Senegalese commercial vehicles without consulting with neighboring Senegal, as stipulated in previous bi-lateral Agreements, is the cause for the retaliatory action of the Senegalese Transport Union.  The Jammeh regime is finding it extremely difficult to justify a 1,000% in the tariff, without consultation and with only a few hours of notification period before the new tariff went into effect.

The effects of the border closure are being felt beyond the petty traders who manage stalls, fruits stands and shops in both sides of the border and into the Gambian state treasury which is registering lower than usual revenue collection.  The state electricity company, NAWEC, is faced with a dwindling stock of heavy fuel for its generators resulting in heavy load shedding across the country.

The PPP politician contrasted Jawara's friendly foreign policy generally and towards Western Europe and America in particular to Jammeh's belligerent behavior towards Senegal and the West which has resulted in the isolation of the country.  He attributes Jammeh's bellicosity to his lack of respect for others and his limited knowledge of the history of The Gambia.

The current border crisis could have been avoided, according to OJ, if Jammeh had followed protocol by simple consultations with Senegal prior to notification of the new tariff proposal going into effect.  The PPP Interim Leader faulted Jammeh for ignoring the Senegalo-Gambian Secretariat whose good offices he could have used to consult with his next door neighbor.   Good neighborliness is not a strong attribute of the regime of Yaya Jammeh which has resulted in the current predicament of a regime that has acquired a pariah status.    

 

OJ takes the fight to Jammeh, implores the opposition to rally behind a single leader

Omar Jallow (OJ) at last year's political rally

Hon. Omar Jallow, commonly referred to by his initials OJ, former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in the former PPP government and current Interim Leader of the PPP, decided, at his party political rally in Sukuta to take the fight to Yaya Jammeh.

In rallying the troops, he reminded his audience, 90% of whom were made up of young people, according to his assessment of the crowd, the role Kombo constituencies played, including the Kombo North town of Sukuta, in the formation of the PPP.

By invoking the names of Famara Wassa Touray, Sanjally Bojang among other prominent founders of the PPP and citing sons and daughters of Kombo who were PPP ministers and parliamentarians the Serrekunda politician was sending a subtle reminder to the old guard to return to the PPP fold.

A stinging barrage of verbal assault was unleashed on the Gambian dictator by OJ who characterized Jammeh as the "most prolific thief in the entire African continent."  Jammeh's corruption was highlighted by comparing his numerous assets he's accumulated in his 22 years of dictatorship to Jawara four compounds, all of which were purchased with the aid of bank loans.

Jammeh's exploitative behavior towards the poverty-ridden rural  population who are forced to "volunteer" to work on Jammeh's fields instead tending their own farms during the farming season came under attack from the fiery Serrekunda politician.

Jammeh's hypocrisy was not spared either by OJ who reminded his audience that all of Jammeh's children were born in the United States while touting his regime's success in improving Gambia's healthcare services.  By contrast, all of the former Gambian president's children and those of his ministers, including OJ's own were born and high school educated in The Gambia, using the health and school facilities built for all Gambians.  In the eyes of OJ, Jammeh is not only a prolific thief but a hypocrite and a consummate lair as well.

Gambian youths fleeing the economic hardships through the Mediterranean route resulting from ineffective and inappropriate policies with catastrophic results. Gambian youths have drown in the treacherous journey in disproportionate numbers.  An opposition-led successor government will revitalize the economy, create jobs for the youth to stem the tide of the out-migration of our youth who are currently unemployed and under-employed due to the failed policies of the Jammeh regime.

Yaya Jammeh also came under attack for his ill-conceived idea of creating an Islamic Republic in a country that has been a secular state and home to Muslims, Christians and animists alike who have lived harmoniously.  Injecting religion in an otherwise secular state is inviting discord seen in Sudan and Central African Republic.

Appealing to the opposition parties, OJ implored the UDP, NRP, PDOIS, GMC, GPDP and all others to join forces and present a single leader under a single banner to contest the presidential elections in 2016 because a single opposition party cannot unseat the dictator.

Former APRC parliamentarian and current Independent Member of the National Assembly for Kombo Central, Hon. Buba Ayi Sanneh of Brikama attended the meeting and so did representative of the late Sheriff Dibba's National Convention Party.

OJ used the occasion to remind the partisan crowd that the NCP was a breakaway faction of the PPP whose late leader served as Vice President, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Local Government and Lands in a PPP-led government which is seen as another subtle reminder of the need for all parties to close ranks and fight the scourge that is Yaya Jamus Junkung Jammeh.

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IEC Chairman and Members terms of office extended indefinitely in new amendment to the constitution

Alh. Mustapha Carayol 

In preparation for what he is hoping to be a smooth re-election to his fifth 5-year term as president, Yaya Jammeh, the Gambian brutal and prolific dictator is on the verge of regularizing the illegal occupation of the Chairmanship of the so-called Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) by introducing a Bill to amend the Constitution for the umpteenth time in two decades.

According to Hon. Samba Jallow of the opposition National Reconciliation Party who was speaking to an online dissident radio station based in the United States, the purpose of the move is to scuttle the loud and embarrassing criticism of the regime for brazenly contravening the constitutional provisions governing the terms of office of members of the IEC.

Section 42 of the Constitution is being amended in sub-section (4) by substituting the phrase “one further term” for the words “further terms of office” making it possible for the current Chairman Mustapha Carayol who had already served more than one further term to continue serving indefinitely. In short, by virtue of the proposed amendment, the IEC Chairman Carayol would have secured a lifetime appointment.

The proposed amendment is not limited to the chairman but it is applicable to all members of the Commission to be able to serve more.   According to the regime, the reason for the amendment is to allow members to serve indefinitely and to ensure that experienced members of the Commission are maintained to lend their expertise to the operations of the Commission as long as they are able to do so. 

Of course we know the reasons advanced are baseless.  The real reason for allowing all members to serve indefinitely is to ensure that members found to be dancing to the tune of the dictator to steal the elections for Jammeh can be sure of guaranteed lifetime tenure as member of the IEC.    

Transport Union Leader, Sheriff Diba, died in police custody after being tortured

Murdered Union Leader, Sheriff Diba 

Contrary to official version of events, the Union Leader, Sheriff Dibba, collapsed and died while in police custody at the Banjul Police Station and not at the hospital.

The Fatou Network website has confirmed that Diba did not die in the hospital, as claimed by Jammeh's Information Minister, but of "uncomplicated malaria".

According to Minister Bojang, Mr. Diba's illness "took a turn for the worse" and died the next day.  A post-mortem carried out on February 23 found Diba had heart disease, diabetes, lung and liver problems, he added.

The Minister's story has been ruled by many as mere fabrication, including the London-based International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) that described Bojang's denial as engaging in "sophistry" instead of seriously engaging Gambians and the international community as regards the murder of Sheriff Diba.

Information Minister Bojang 

The ITF continues to maintain that Mr. Diba had been tortured while in custody and is demanding that a commission of inquiry be set up to investigate the circumstances leading up to the death of the union leader.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has also joined the ITF and other international organizations in demanding an independent investigations of the death of Sheriff Diba.

In view of the new revelations, Diba was tortured and died while still in the custody of the police at the Banjul Police HQ, contrary to earlier reports, including this blog, that Diba death occured at Mile II prisons before the body was transferred to the hospital.  

Jammeh continues to be contemptuous of Gambians

Sidi Sanneh 

After skipping the ceremonial opening of the new legislative session of Parliament, the regime of Yaya Jammeh has still not offered an official explanation of his "no show", an historic first, or offer an apology to the numerous foreign diplomats and local dignitaries.  Instead, he appeared to have rode back to his home village of Kanilai at nightfall without explanation.

Jammeh's lack of respect for Gambians is on regular display.  His disgraceful absence, without explanation or apology, from the State Opening of Parliament which ended up being "postponed" is one more example of his contempt for Gambians as well as for his foreign guests.

The only announcement to the guests came in the form of a verbal announcement from the Speaker of the National Assembly that the ceremonies were being postponed until further notice before asking the dignitaries to disperse.

Parliamentarians of both sides of the isle were visibly embarrassed and as one of them put it "it was the most embarrassing event I have ever expressed as a National Assembly Member."  Another described the experience as "disgraceful." Some attendees were visibly shocked.

Neither Speaker Bojang nor the Majority Leader Fabakary Tombong Jatta issued a statement explaining why Yaya Jammeh was unable to attend the ceremony after spending millions of dalasis. More puzzling was why was his Vice President not asked to deputize for him.

Instead, Gambians and the diplomatic community will most probably be treated to yet another hyperbolic presentation by the regime's spin doctor cum Information Minister who is fast becoming Gambia's version of Baghdad Bob for his entertainingly bombastic lexicon who routinely explains away Jammeh's increasingly bizarre behavior.