As threats of Major Economic collapse grips Gambia-President Jammeh
threatens the business Community!!

Jammeh says private businesses who fail to extend helping hands to his aids
cure fund would live to regret it

Local businesses accuse Jammeh of "economic exploitation" and intimidation

GAMTEL indebted to The Gambia Football Association!!
By Our Banjul Bureau Chief Landing Badjie.
Paid for and Commissioned by the Freedom
 Newspaper.

As threats of  Economic bankruptcy grips the Gambian Government, President
Yahya Jammeh has issued a threat against the country's private sector who
refused to extend helping hands to  his ongoing "Operation Promote
Excellence in the Sciences (OPECS) project. The Gambian leader who faces
international isolation, vowed to deal with any parastatal who refuses to
take part on the ongoing fundraising drive to sponsor his aids cure project,
which was widely condemned by renowned Scientists and the medical community.
The Gambia is currently faced by economic crisis with little or no serious
investor targeting the former British colony for economic activities. The
government of the day is facing the  pinch of such economic collapse, as
most importers in the country have stopped ordering goods. This was
attributable to lack of  conducive business climate in the Gambia. The
government in their bid to decide prices of  basic commodities had been
greeted with tough resistance by local businesses here. Trade Minister
Kolley has made repeated appeals to the business community to help import
goods, but no one had yet responded to his request. President Jammeh's
behavioral tantrum has paid yet another dividend when his threat on
parastatals, multi-national and private companies as well as institutions to
patronize his Operation Promote Excellence in the Sciences (OPECS) project
was not taken lightly.

      GPA spearheading the Presidential forced donation solicitation!

The Gambia Ports Authority(GPA) that is now spearheading the promotion and
fund-raising drive, is impressed with the level of public participation in
their annual fundraising musical programme with the Senegalese diva,
Vivianne Ndour and the Gambia's Mbalax sensation, Yusupha Ngom, that they
bought thousands of centimeters of newspaper columns to express their
'sincere' appreciation. According to sources close to the Presidency, Mr.
Jammeh has, before the fund-raising event, issued a stern warning and threat
that companies and their heads stand to lose a lot if they fail to dig deep
into their coffers and donate generously to the fund-raising event. It is,
therefore, no wonder that when the fund-raising activity took centre stage
last week,101 companies came out to generously contribute.

Most of the company owners say they were forced to extend financial help to
the President without their free own will. They cited the possibilities of
the government persecuting them if they fail to answer to the President's
forced donation call. A top business executive who confided to the Freedom
Newspaper in private said "regrettably most of the funds, would not served
its purpose. These funds are going directly to the President's account. It's
unfair for the President to force us to support his aids cure program when
the funds are not going to be managed judiciously. No aids patient is going
to benefit from the funds. It's for the President and no one else. It's
better for them to be frank with us than to use the names of hiv patients to
collect funds on their behalf. I for one regretted why I extended helping
hand to the President." said a Managing Director of a company.

         NAWEC and the police active on fundraising drive!!

From the non-performing Nawec to the poorly-paid police force to the
moribund GPTC to the relatively unknown LB Gaye and Sons company, all parted
in their money to sponsor the event. The feared NIA was also among the
sponsors. In an interview with this paper, many corporate heads lamented the
Gambia government's penchant for fund-raising. " We are aware that we have a
corporate and social responsibilities to carry out but we cannot nonetheless
continue to be milked for events neither whose tail nor head we know. This
modern form of Almudism is becoming too much," said our interlocutor."Today
would be one event and tomorrow is another. If it's not Kanilai Festival or
Futampaf, then it would be July 22 celebrations or Operation Save the Baby.
There is indeed a donor fatigue now and the president should be aware of
this," said a disgruntled sponsor of OPES.

                      Taiwan Under Fire Again!!

The Taiwanese government is coming under an increasing public scrutiny in
The Gambia for aiding and abetting one of the worst vices that has ruined
many African countries-corruption. The Taiwanese embassy's involvement in
The Gambia has been hailed in many quarters in that the island country is
seen as a beneficial and reliable partner to the tiny West African state.
But to many, the Taiwanese government is increasing becoming a consistent
partner to the Jammeh administration in fostering corruption in the
impoverished African nation where people live on less than a dollar per day.

The Taiwanese government is now under the microscope and the country's
embassy in Banjul have been called upon to impress on the government of The
Gambia to account for the millions of dollars given to them over the years.
"The Taiwanese government have to give a cogent explanation if they want
people to believe that all the money given to Jammeh foundation and the APRC
administration are utilized for the best interest of Gambians," Lawyer
Ousainou Darboe once told a UDP meeting in Bundung barely days to the
Presidential elections. But it is not only Darboe who is concerned about the
Taiwanese involvement in The Gambia. Other corruption watch-dog groups are
now also putting the searchlight on the Taiwanese government and their
embassy in Banjul.

In another development, the Taiwanese embassy in Banjul last Monday donated
D10,000,000 to the government of The Gambia as part of their contribution to
the construction of a Science and Mathematics academy in the home-hamlet of
President Jammeh. The aim of the Kanilai academy, according to the Taiwanese
ambassador to The Gambia, Patrick Chang, is to impart scientific knowledge
to youths to better prepare them for future national development
engagements.

But the location of the academy has been criticized well before it takes off
the ground. Kanilai is said to be in a far-flung area of the country and its
remoteness means many Gambian youths, in whose name, the project is
premised, do not stand to benefit from it.

An investigation conducted by this paper's Banjul chief correspondent has
revealed that President is receiving D30,000 for any private function he
attends. The D30,000 is variable and it depends on the head of any
institution to even pledge more depending on the thickness of the company
owner's wallet.

In recent days, the president has been accused of continually endearing
himself to the business community not that he want to promote private sector
growth but to milk them of their hard-earned profits.

                   GAMTEL Indebted!!!

The Gambia Telecommunications Company (Gamtel) is at present owing the
Gambia Football Association a colossal sum of money in advertisement, this
paper was reliably informed. According to sources close to GFA, the
country's telecommunications company is indebted to the country's main
soccer body in thousands of dalasis and persistent appeals by the football
association to recover the money is yet to be heeded. GFA insiders informed
this medium that Gamtel became indebted to the association when it defaulted
in paying rates for their billboards planted in and outside the Independence
Stadium in Bakau for the period under consideration. Our sources however
fell short of stating how much Gamtel owes GFA but hinted that it a
substantial amount of money.

Efforts are underway to ascertain how much the main benefactor of the APRC
government and its never-ending wasteful public events owe the poor football
association.In the meantime, the Gambia Football Association is in dire need
of financial rescue. The association is currently beset with numerous
constraints not least financial bottlenecks.


Posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2007 (Archive on Monday, July 23, 2007)
Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI
Return <http://www.freedomnewspaper.com/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx>

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