Folks,
If it is true that president Jammeh took over the Energy portfolio to
expedite the search for oil, why didn't he inform Gambians to that effect at
the time. Here again we have a monumental testimony of the A(F)PRC regimes
lack of tranparency, if Yaya is judged on the basis of his own words. He is
a hired servant of the people of the Gambia, as a result of which he is duty
bound to explain all his actions and decisions to us. But to wait a couple
of years to explain the reasons for any action, indicate incompetence and is
a gross betrayal of the social contract. That Yaya Jammeh has done so is a
further manifestation of his undemocratic and dictatorial tendencies.
The fact that these researches have been in place since colonial days means
that even the worst of political leaderships do try to expand the resource
base of the economy. To do so alone is not enough, we are talking here about
effective utilization of resources to maximize the benefits for the masses
of our citizenry. In the past nine years that Jammeh and his cohorts have
been in power, we have witnessed a worsening in the welfare of the masses,
while a select very few have become rich within the same period. Jammeh and
the A(F)PRC regime have very little to brag about if presently 69% of
Gambians live below the poverty. And this is a government that has a
sickening Human Rights record, and presides over acts of banditry, brutality
and criminality against its opponents and all other progressive forces. If
anything, the A(F)PRC regime over the years has become more skilful in
condoning heinous acts against Gambians. This is being done with the
entirety of our meagre resources at their disposal, one therefore ponders
what will happen if this regime has vast oil revenue at its disposal.
There has been nothing to attest that since Yaya took over the Energy
portfolio there has been meaningful improvements in that sub-sector.
Electricity supplies continue to be as unpredictable as they were on that
unfortunate Friday morning July 22nd 1994, when the AFPRC took over the
reigns of government in the Gambia. Thus if its record is taken into
consideration, there would be no guarantee that an oil rich Gambia presided
over by the A(F)PRC would precipitate maximum benefits for the masses.
Folks, the relevant article carried by the Daily Observe newspaper intimates
that President Jammeh did not give out the names of the companies that were
engaged in the exploration. It therefore naturally follows that the Jammeh
regime does not deem itelf duty bound to tell the Gambian taxepayers the
manner and style in which state revenue is expended. This Government
continues to behave as if the Gambia is a fifedom and Yaya Jammeh is an
absolute monarch presiding over our welfare.
Mr Jammeh has graciously asked gambians to embrace homogeneity on one hand
and avoid sectionalism, tribalism and cronyism on the other. I very
respectfully beg the president when next he meets with members of his
cabinet to look around the table, and try to categorise them sectionally and
tribally. It would be interesting to note how many of them belong to the
same tribe and come from the same region with him. He should then look at
the percentage of his own tribe in our national population, and figure out
whether their number in the cabinet is a fair representation of their
percentage in the national population. I have no doubt that this will prove
his present cabinet one of the most geographically and ethnically inbalanced
ones since independence.
In conclusion, Mr president, I urge you to do the job you are paid to do,
and stop " TALKING LOUD AND SAYING NOTHING!".
Omar Joof.


>From: Luntang <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Oil , gas and heavy metals disvovered
>Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 18:15:37 +0100
>
>Oil, gas discovered
>as well as heavy metals
>By Sheriff Bojang, Madi Njie & Ebrima Jaw Manneh
>Feb 16, 2004, 13:30
>
>The president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, has revealed that huge reserves
>of oil have been discovered in the country. In a
>televised address to the nation on Friday, February 13 at 18:00 from his
>office, State House, President Jammeh said the discovery of
>oil in the country has been confirmed by "Western companies" contracted to
>conduct a study of a possible presence of potential
>natural resources in the country.
>
>The companies, which he declined to name, have completed a thorough
>evaluation of 500 square kilometres out of 2,000 square
>kilometres of deep water, and 3,000 square kilometres of shallow water of
>The Gambia's maritime on and offshore territories.
>
>President Jammeh said before the end of the year, an exploratory well could
>be drilled and tested to confirm the results of the
>study. That, he said, could mark the beginning of a new future for The
>Gambia. "With this first study, we have planted the seeds of
>what we believe...will be prosperity for our people. This harvest will
>change the future of our country," he said. The President
>further revealed that a study has already been commissioned "to study and
>evaluate the extent of oil in the remainder of the Gambian
>deep sea and shallow water maritime and land territories" and that more oil
>reserves are likely to be discovered.
>
>According to him, since 1956, there have been efforts to explore the
>existence of oil reserves in The Gambia. He said the former
>regime of President Jawara contracted a Canadian company [Petro Canada
>International] to undergo a study in the 1980s, but it was a
>failure, and that when he assumed power, he gave it a high priority,
>successfully culminating in the current discovery.
>
>Dubbing the discovery "The Alhamdulillah Prospect", President Jammeh said
>the travails of the Gambian people like hunger and
>poverty, will become "things of the past". He commended the governments of
>Canada, Taiwan, Nigeria, Turkey and Mauritania and all
>institutions and companies who made the project a success within six
>months.
>Justifying the Friday announcement which his critics are likely to call
>premature, President Jammeh explained that he wanted to shed
>light on the speculations following his last new year message in which he
>intimated that The Gambia could undergo a seismic
>transformation from being a borrower nation to a donor nation.
>
>President Jammeh also said he took over the portfolio of Energy from the
>department of state for Trade and Industry because in
>addition to sorting out the persistent electricity problem, he wanted to
>fast-pedal the search for oil.
>
>The president however cautioned the people of The Gambia that the country
>could be wealthy and yet they remain poor if they do not
>change their unsung attitudes and kick out corruption. He said Gambians
>should foster homogeneity and avoid sectionalism, tribalism
>and cronyism.
>
>Windfall
>Meanwhile, Daily Observer has learnt that The Gambia also has large
>deposits of natural gas and heavy minerals like ilmenite, zircon
>and rutile, found along the coastal areas and that more than one million of
>these heavy minerals have already been assessed years
>ago.
>
>Speaking to the authoritative US Defense & Foreign Affairs Strategic Policy
>Magazine, President Jammeh was quoted as saying, "The
>country has a significant mineral potential; and do not exclude raw
>materials for making tiles, ceramics and other types of raw
>materials which could be used for construction."
>
>In September 2002, the Gambia Government began discussing a programme of
>soil classification and base mapping in the country, using
>the Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing Technology
>(RST).
>
>Apart from the importance of such data for agriculture and mineral
>exploitation, the use of satellite reconnaissance to accurately
>define the region could contribute significantly to the 'quantification' of
>The Gambia's assets. By identifying boundaries and
>creating an accurate and comprehensive cartographic base for the country,
>the ground was laid for a valuation of national assets, a
>key to developing national creditworthiness. Further detailed geological
>surveys in which 2D and 3D surveys were also carried out
>and the seismic data reports were found to have been "very positive and
>encouraging".
>
>Hub
>West Africa is proving to be the world's most significant next area of
>economic expansion and strategic energy and other natural
>resources and West African oil is said to be low in sulphur, reducing
>refining cost. But what has been lacking is a viable and
>neutral nexus, to serve as a window for West Africa to the world, and a
>portal through which the international community can focus
>on the region.
>
>However, since 2002, analysts in Washington have held the opinion that as
>West African energy resources take on a new dimension of
>global importance, a new key to addressing the region appears to be shaping
>up in the form of The Gambia.
>The Gambia is seen as an ideal hub or transshipment point for oil and or
>natural gas pipelines as a pipeline network linking the
>West African energy fields with Europe is under consideration.
>© Copyright 2003 by Observer Company
>
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