Gambia: Ghanaians in Gambia Split Over Prez Kufour's Visit

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                Public Agenda (Accra)
  June 19, 2006
Posted to the web June 20, 2006
  Salam Mahama Reports From Banjul, Gambia
Accra
  Ghanaians living in The Gambia are divided over preparations to receive the Ghanaian delegation, led by President John Agyekum Kufuor to the AU summit in Banjul.
  A section of the Ghanaian community holds the view that the Ghanaian Government should boycott the summit in protest against the poor human rights record of The Gambian government.
  Those calling for the boycott cited the alleged cold blooded murder of a group of 44 Ghanaians travelling through The Gambia in July 2005, an issue which is still being investigated as well as the arrest of journalists and subscribers to an internet based newspaper critical of The Gambian Government.
  At a poorly attended meeting of the Ghanaian Association in The Gambia last week, the members decided to dress in national colours to meet the Ghanaian delegation and to organise a durbar in Ghana Town (Ghanaian fishing community), where over 5000 Ghanaians reside.
  Those who failed to attend this meeting cited fear as the main reason for not attending because The Gambia state security agents could easily have attended the meeting and reported their position to the Gambian authorities.
  Speaking anonymously, a member of the association stated that although the leadership of the Ghanaian community has worked hard to organise Ghanaians in The Gambia and that a number of highly placed Ghanaians have kept their distance from the association. Some have also formed their own association with loose links to the main group.
  On the issue of urging the government to boycott the summit, the member indicated that it was too late but that attending the meeting could present President Kufuor the platform to question the death of the 44 Ghanaians and to press for transparency on the part of The Gambian government in the investigations. The member, however, cautioned that there was the potential that The Gambian government would become less cooperative in the investigations after the summit.
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  He further added that there are real human rights abuses by the government including; the beating and torture of Internet users suspected to be informers to the Internet based Freedom newspaper. It is also an open secret that five alleged coup plotters were killed by The Gambian government only for it to later issue an official statement that the victims had escaped from custody. The families of the victims are known to have performed their funerals already.
  Quite recently too, President Jammeh fired the former Chief Justice of The Gambia who happened to be a Ghanaian and the Speaker of the National Assembly without observing due constitutional procedures. With national elections also due this year, the president also quite recently fired the Electoral Commissioner without recourse to constitutional procedures in what observers see as a flagrant attempt to influence the outcome of the forth-coming elections.
  Constant harassment and physical attacks on independent press houses, the wanton detention of journalists without trial , the frequent detention of opposition leaders, and the murder of celebrated human rights journalist Deyda Hydara last year are a few of the human rights abuses in The Gambia that have come to the attention of the international community.
          
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Ginny Quick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:  Hello, all. Has anyone noticed that not a peep about this was made
from the Daily Observer? Or, I should say,if they've reported on it,
I'm not aware of it, though I've not seen any articles on it, though,
the Point I think ran an article on it.


It is nice to see that more international organizations are
taking note of the current Gambian government's failings, as regards
the Gambian people, and thus, are acting accordngly.


Bad governance and brutality should not be rewarded with aid from
donor nations and organizations.

Ginny



On 6/20/06, [log in to unmask] wrote:
> Millenium Challenge Corporation
>
> June 16, 2006
>
> We wish to inform you of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of
> Directors decision to suspend The Gambia's eligibility for Millennium
> Challenge Account (MCA) assistance.
>
> Under MCC's Policy on Suspension and Termination of Assistance and/or
> Eligibility for Assistance, MCC may suspend or terminate eligibility for
> assistance if the MCC Board of Directors makes a determination that one of
> three circumstances occurred, including that a country has engaged in a
> pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC selection criteria.
>
> Over the past six months, MCC has witnessed a troubling pattern of policy
> slippage by the Government of The Gambia that is inconsistent with the MCA
> selection criteria. The third-party institutions that collect the indicator
> data used in MCC's eligibility criteria have documented evidence of growing
> human rights abuses, increased restrictions on political rights, civil
> liberties and press freedom, as well as deteriorating economic policies and
> anti-corruption efforts. This erosion of commitment and performance has
> resulted in declines on two indicators already reported: Political Rights
> and Trade Policy. In addition, preliminary data suggest pending degradation
> of The Gambia's performance on six additional indicators in future fiscal
> years: Voice and Accountability; Civil Liberties; Control of Corruption;
> Regulatory Quality; Cost of Starting a Business; and Fiscal Policy. The
> declines are summarized in the enclosed attachment. (see below after the
> statement)
>
> As a result of this decline in overall performance on the MCA selection
> criteria, the MCC Board of Directors decided to suspend The Gambia's
> eligibility for MCA assistance. The Gambia was formally notified of this
> suspension and the basis for it, on June 16, 2006.
>
> Under the MCC Policy on Suspension and Termination of Assistance and/or
> Eligibility for Assistance, the Board of Directors may reinstate eligibility
> for a country that was subject to a suspension if it is determined that the
> country has taken corrective action or has demonstrated a sufficient
> commitment to correcting each condition for which led to suspension.
>
> MCC officials are available to meet at your convenience to discuss this
> suspension. If you or your staff would like to arrange a meeting, please
> contact Jake Stefanik at (202) 521-3856.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Frances C. McNaught
> Vice President
> Congressional and Public Affairs
> Enclosure
> THE GAMBIA'S POLICY PERFORMANCE AND POTENTIAL REFORMS
>
> The following is an overview of The Gambia's declining performance on MCA
> selection criteria. This analysis is drawn from the third-party
> institutions that provide the basis for the MCC indicators. To consider
> reinstatement, the Board will look for concrete actions that demonstrate the
> Government of The Gambia's commitment to reform in the policy areas where
> there have been declines.
>
> Civil Liberties (Freedom House)
> The Gambia's decline in Civil Liberties is predominantly due to a documented
> trend in violations of press freedoms and human rights. A 2004 law forced
> media outlets to reapply for their licenses and established harsh sentences
> for all press offenses, while changes in the criminal code enable the state
> to confiscate any publication deemed seditious without judicial oversight.
> Since then, there have been multiple documented cases of unexplained arrest
> and detention of journalists, as well as threats, arson attacks, or official
> raids on independent media sources. There are also increased reports of
> arbitrary arrests and torture by the security forces.
>
> Political Rights (Freedom House)
> The Gambia's Political Rights score declined in 2006 from a 4 to a 5 (with 1
> representing "most free" and 7 representing "least free"). As presidential
> elections approach, the government has placed growing restrictions on the
> movement and activity of opposition political parties and their leadership,
> prohibiting them from holding public gatherings and arresting key opposition
> leadership on charges of subversion. Legal provisions in official records
> enable the National Intelligence Service to search, arrest, or detain people
> without a warrant, and this practice has been repeatedly but selectively
> applied to opposition figures. Freedom House and other third- party
> indicator institutions are concerned that this chain of individual actions,
> in conjunction with a documented deterioration of press freedom, may
> constitute an effort to subvert the electoral process.
>
> Voice and Accountability (World Bank Institute)
> The decline of this indicator is evident in six of its sub-components and is
> likely due to the cumulative result of the situations described above. The
> third-party institutions which provide this data have registered significant
> declines in press freedom, human rights, freedom of assembly, openness and
> transparency, and political competition. Access to information also remains
> problematic, as current state-security laws serve as a blanket restriction
> on freedom of information.
>
> Control of Corruption (World Bank Institute)
> In 2005, The Gambia registered significant declines on the World Economic
> Forum's "corruption in export and import permits," "corruption in
> procurement," "corruption in judicial decisions," "corruption in public
> utilities," and "corruption in the police force" indicators. These are all
> important subcomponents of MCC's Control of Corruption index.
>
> Regulatory Quality (World Bank Institute)
> The Gambia's score will likely decline in future fiscal years due to the
> government's lack of progress in implementing a privatization program,
> increasingly centralized economic policy making, unnecessary business
> licensing, and labor market inflexibility.
>
> Cost of Starting a Business (World Bank Group/International Finance
> Corporation)
> Preliminary data from the IFC strongly suggest that The Gambia will fail
> this indicator in Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07). It is estimated that it costs 222
> percent of average per capita income to register a business in The Gambia.
>
> Trade Policy (Heritage Foundation)
> The Gambia's Trade Policy score declined in 2006 from 3.5 to 4.5 (with 1 as
> "very low levels of protectionism and 5 as "very high levels of
> protectionism") because of increasing evidence of non-tariff barriers and
> fraud, and delays in customs administration.
>
> Fiscal Policy (International Monetary Fund)
> The Gambia is in imminent danger of failing the Fiscal Policy indicator in
> FY07. The fiscal deficit will likely be somewhere between 4.5 - 7.5 percent
> of Gross Domestic Product in 2006, placing The Gambia well below the median
> in its income peer group. Poor performance in this area is attributable to
> high levels of government expenditure, Central Bank financing of
> extra-budgetary expenditures, unreliable statistical reporting, and lack of
> fiscal transparency.
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
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