Hi,
Sorry for that mess but I hope one would be able to read it.One thing I
wondering how non Gambian citizens are easyli granted Gambian diplomatic
passport,having in mind the Babanding cse,and ordinary Gambians have so much
difficulties in providing a simple passport to travel.Not even to say the many
non Gambians who have spent years and years in the Country contributing one
way or another to the Gambian economy,and some of them are even married to
Gambians and their children are Gambians,these people find it difficult to
have residential permits and are year after year harassed by immigration
officers without any good reason.God bless the Gambia !!
For Freedom
Saiks
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HI Saul and Others,
Read this one from the OBSERVE,compared to the Idependent case,one will only
start to wonder if the arrest of the Independent jornalist is not
political.Have a nice reading.
For freedom
Saiks
Last evening, government authorities issued a press
release refuting allegations made by UDP leader
Ousainou Darboe, Friday, that President Yahya
Jammeh diverted millions of dalasis from the sale of
crude oil lifted from Nigeria on behalf of The Gambia
to his personal use.
The government release stated: The attention of the
government of
The Gambia was drawn to the clandestine circulation of
certain
documents purportedly relating to a contract between the
government of The Gambia and the Nigerian National
Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) for the lifting of crude oil in 1996.
The clandestine circulation of the said documents is
calculated to
bring the name of the president and the government of The
Gambia
to disrepute.
The government of The Gambia wishes to inform the Gambian
citizenry of some facts relating to the said documents to
avoid their
misinterpretation by ill-intentioned persons with ulterior
motives.
In 1996, the government of The Gambia entered into a
contract with
the NNPC under a scheme that was to benefit many countries
in
the subregion. All documents relating to the said contract
were
signed by government officials who had legal authority to do
so.
A prominent feature of the said documents being circulated
is the
participation of one Mr Samuel Sarr in the transactions. Mr
Samuel
Sarr who claims to be an international business executive
representing the Omni Group in Paris, became involved with
the
government through diplomatic means as a result of which he
was
granted a diplomatic passport to facilitate the assistance
that he
would render the government of The Gambia under the said
contract.
Mr Samuel Sarr however purportedly acting under the
directives of
the president is believed to have used his diplomatic status
in 1997
to unilaterally enter into a subsequent contract without
reference
to the appropriate authority and of course for his personal
gains.
The government of The Gambia, upon learning of this
contract
terminated it with immediate effect. Investigations into the
signing
of the contract revealed that Mr Samuel Sarr in order to
secure the
said contract allegedly on behalf of the government of The
Gambia
presented to the NNPC with authority purportedly emanating
from
the "Ministry" of Trade, Industry and Employment signed by
the "
Minister" of Trade, Industry and Employment in 1997, a
period
when the above nomenclatures had constitutionally changed
to
"Department of State" and "Secretary of State" respectively.
No
government official was present at the time of signing the
said
contract. The documents presented were believed to have
been
falsified and investigations have already been mounted by
the
relevant authorities of government.
The government of The Gambia wishes to assure citizens of
The
Gambia of her continued and steadfast commitment to the
principles of transparency, accountability and probity."
But while delivering his "new millennium message" in
Banjul,
Friday, Ousainou Darboe told journalists that on August 26,
1996,
the then Trade, Industry and Employment secretary Dominic
Mendy granted a power of attorney in favour of Mohammed BS
Jawara, then deputy chief protocol at the Office of the
Chairman
and Head of State, authorising him to sign an agreement,
relating to
the lifting of 20,000 barrels of crude oil per day by a
business
concern Chantrils Commercial SA (CCSA) on behalf of The
Gambia
on a contract earlier executed between The Gambia and
Nigeria.
Darboe accused President Jammeh of giving a power of
attorney to
one Samuel A Sarr, a Senegalese who was given a Gambian
diplomatic passport in April 1996 to sign a one-year
extension
contract with CCSA for the lifting of crude oil from Nigeria
in 1997
on behalf of The Gambia.
Dominic denies
Darboe said during the second meeting of the third
legislative
session of the Assembly on November 3, 1998, Kemeseng
Jammeh
minority leader asked the Trade Secretary whether some
Ecowas
countries have been benefiting from the supply of crude oil
in 1997
and 1998 at a concessionary rate and whether The Gambia was
included in the programme. But according to Darboe, Mr
Mendy
denied any knowledge of The Gambia's involvement in such a
programme. He also alleged that all funds obtained from the
crude
oil were remitted into account number J36650-7C held at the
United
Overseas Bank Switzerland.
He said according to Samuel Sarr CCSA remitted US$1.9
million
into the said account in respect of the crude oil.
Darboe alleged that President Jammeh told Sarr "not to
involve any
government department in the crude oil transaction and that
Sarr
should report directly to him."
Government sued
Darboe said CCSA had sued The Gambia Government for breach
of
contract and damages in the High Court of Justice, Queen's
Bench
Division Commercial Court in UK after CCSA which paid $0.20
per
barrel was dropped from the deal in favour of another
company
which allegedly paid £0.38 per barrel to The Gambia
government.
He added that judgement has been delivered in favour of
CCSA
and the state has been ordered to pay costs of £500.00
within 28
days. CCFA also claimed damages for US$601,635 from the
government, he said.
Asked by Daily Observer about veracity of his information,
Mr
Darboe said, "I will not tell you the source of my
information. If
anybody doubts the authenticity of this document, you go to
Dominic Mendy, he is a signatory, can't you do that? You
can
contact the High Court or the registrar of the Commercial
Court in
UK, ask them is there any suit against the government of
The
Gambia by Chantrils and why?"
Darboe challenged the president to set up a commission of
inquiry
to probe this matter as he did on November 24, 1994, to
investigate
among other matters, the purchase and sale of crude oil by
Jawara's
government.
Meanwhile in his New Year message, UDP leader Ousainou
Darboe
praised Foreign Affairs Secretary Dr ML Sedat Jobe for his
"laudable efforts" in trying to bring peace to the
Casamance.
"As we pray for the success of the peace process initiated
by The
Gambia, we must not lose sight of the causes of the
conflicts in the
Casamance and other parts of Africa and find remedial
solutions to
them," Mr Darboe said.
<br>
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