THIS ARTICLE IS CULLED FROM THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER.
'Govt to pay D332 million in external
loans'
The Gambia Government is indebted to international
financiers by
over D332 million arranged as loans and credits to fund
development
projects across the country, Sidia Jatta the National
Assembly
member for Wuli told a PDOIS rally in Brufut recently.
'From July
1994, when the regime forcibly assumed power, the loan
burden has
constantly increased by D200 million, making it a total of
D332
million as this year winds to a close,' Mr. Jatta opined.
Mr. Jatta who
was PDOIS' presidential candidate in the 1996 presidential
elections
said all the development programmes, which the president
has been
'boasting' about during his meet the people tour are yet to
be paid by
Gambian taxpayers.
He cited the Kombo coastal roads and the airport as the
results of
projects implemented through such loans. According to him,
for the
airport alone The Gambia Government should pay back D100
million.
Mr. Jatta claimed that all the schools, hospitals, bridges,
roads and
other projects the government 'so proudly refer to' were
funded by
loans, which he said are ruining the country's economy,
already
manifested by the dwindling value of the Dalasi. As far as
development is concerned, he said the economy should make
maximum utility of its revenue, instead of depending on
'countless'
loans from international financiers.
He posited that any nation depending on external credits
and loans
to fund its development works is indecisive and bankrupt in
its
resource management. He suggested that the 'millions of
dalasis',
which have been collected 'from the pockets of taxpayers'
during the
recurrent financial year could have been properly utilised
to build
vibrant structures, such as good roads. Mr. Jatta charged
that there
was no sensible use of the country's meagre resources,
which he
said were being used for paying frequent presidential trips
and
buying flamboyant cars for state officials.
According to Mr. Jatta the President alone receives a
monthly salary
of D26, 000 'apart from over D2000 given to him for each of
the nights
spent away'. He said the secretaries of state receive D16,
000 each
while the Vice President receives D23, 000. Commenting on
the
importance of politics in the lives of the people, he said
it creates a
forum through which people can discuss national issues that
are
relevant to their survival. He warned Gambians not be
deceived by
those who use the political platform to destabilise,
disintegrate and
blindfold them. 'The lives of human beings are useless and
meaningless if they are spent on fruitless and thoughtless
initiatives', he averred, The Gambia he said belongs to its
citizens
with whom the sovereignty of the country rests 'as
indicated in
Section one of the constitution'.
In this vein, Mr. Jatta said no power should exist that
deprives the
people of their constitutional rights, and encourages a
situation in
which leaders are 'worshipped as God or as Mansas'. 'This
idea
should completely be negated in the minds of Gambians and
allow
their conscience to dictate the affairs of the nation', he
demanded.
Leaders, Mr. Jatta believed should always show themselves
as
humble servants of the people, instead of posing as
'omnipotent
lords'. Furthermore, he said PDOIS is committed to
enlightening and
awakening the consciousness of Gambians by informing them
about
relevant issues affecting them. 'In a gathering where
national issues
and the election of responsible officials are discussed,
flamboyance
and drumming are not given any chance to manifest,' he
observed.
Mr. Jatta called on Gambians to become 'the masters of
their minds
and control the affairs of the state to salvage themselves
from
external domination'. Commenting on the flight of Gambians
to other
countries from where some face deportation Mr. Jatta blamed
economic hardship, which forces the country's youths to
'escape to
greener pastures'.
The Wuli Assembly member reflected somberly on the
country's
economic situation, which he said is worsening at a 'very
fast pace'.
He said that as a consequence of the economic crisis
Gambians are
hardly placed in good stead financially to build houses out
of their
limited resources, and salaries. 'Thus the nerve syndrome
has
become acute as the years go by,' he posited. On political
intolerance
and thuggery, Halifah Sallah another PDOIS strongman said
such a
situation only exists in a country 'where there is
ignorance and
disunity among its people'
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