The fact is that there is much more to this Central Bank Issue and the reason 
the IMF is after this regime, and Jammeh singling out people to blame is a 
virtual joke and this will become evident when the real facts are known by the 
general public. These people are small fry who were used and are now being used 
again as scapegoats.Jammeh knows full well what the IMF wants to know about 
the Central Bank and other financial dealings.

Jabou Joh

In a message dated 1/27/04 9:40:50 AM Central Standard Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:
> 
> 
> Tremor Hits Central Bank Over D222 Million in the Bonnet, Five Charged
> 
> The Independent (Banjul)

> NEWS
> January 26, 2004
> Posted to the web January 26, 2004
> Banjul
> 
> Operation No Compromise has stepped up gear as past and present officials
> in the senior cadre of the Central Bank were on Friday charged with
> multiple economic crimes against the state.
> 
> In one of the most drastic actions yet by the APRC government in its fresh
> new campaign to rout corruption, five individuals at the country's
> regulatory bank will face trial over so-called economic crimes thought to
> have been committed while they were officials in the bank between 2002 to
> February 2003.
> 
> The Central Bank five include Clark Bajo ex Governor, Haddy Sallah, General
> Manager, Abdoulie Capu Cham, Director of Finance, Lang Conteh ex Foreign
> Exchange Manager and Phillip Akibogum a senior bank executive.
> 
> Baba Jobe who already faces multiple charges was also among those charged
> anew. The Central Bank five were charged under Section 5 Subsection A of
> the Economic Crimes Decree N0 16, for allegedly causing millions of dalasi
> of financial losses to the state after they were entrusted funds to arrest
> the depreciating value of the local currency.
> 
> Between 2002 to February 2003, Swiss Franc 9, 833, 189.64 (D224, 688,383.27
> million) was allocated to the Central Bank to stabilise the serious
> fluctuation of the dalasi, a task that in principle should have lasted for
> two days but which was to drag on for two years apparently due to lack of
> serious thrust from the senior personnel at the bank entrusted with the
> task. Instead they were found to have been involved in illegal side
> contracts to stabilise the local currency, against which other regional and
> international currencies were rallying gains.
> 
> In the same vein, Julakay Engineering and Construction, Camelot Radio and
> Production Services, Camelot Asset and Management Holding and Wechet Faling
> were all awarded illegal contracts by those currently facing economic
> crimes charges for their part in the Central Bank racket. These four
> business concerns have also been charged under the same economic crimes
> decree.
> 
> With their arrest, leading to subsequent charges preferred against them for
> their roles in what is the most outrageous economic crime this country has
> known since the dawn of the Second Republic, startling revelations have
> been made pertaining to who is who in the scale of shares for the four
> business outfits. For Julakay, Baba Jobe is the highest shareholder with 40
> percent, while Ansumana Marena and Foday Lang Sarr have 30 and 15 percent
> respectively.
> 
> For the relatively little known Camelot Radio and Production Services, Lang
> Conteh holds the biggest shares of 50 percent, while Baba Jobe lays claim
> to 49 percent as advertiser Aziz Willan controls 1 percent.
> 
> With Camelot Assets and Management Holding, Lang Conteh controls 51 percent
> of the shares, while his teenage daughter Bintou Conteh has 49 percent in
> her name.
> 
> With Wachet Faling, Mbawula Cham wife of ex Central Bank Governor Clark
> Bayo controls 26 percent of the shares. Bintou Conteh (Lang Conteh's
> daughter) has 24 percent. Betty Saine and Njarga have 25 percent
> respectively.
> 
> This major shakeup at the Central Bank comes barely a month after the World
> Bank issued what passed off as a worrisome statement, expressing disquiet
> over the country's economy. The World Bank lamented the fact that
> macroeconomic imbalances have worsened as evidenced by the weak growth
> performances, high inflation, the sharp depreciation of the exchange rate
> and an increasing fiscal deficit. The monetary growth has been
> substantially higher than warranted, provoking the wrath of the Brettonwood
> institutions who had reportedly threatened to put their involvement to prop
> up the Gambian economy temporarily on hold if "sanity" did not return to
> the country's economic system. One recommendation by the IMF was for the
> government to sack senior executives of the bank who were directly blamed
> for the uninspiring economic performance of the past two years.
> 
> The IMF's displeasure was glaring in its end of year statement about the
> country's economic downturn which was underlined by the following
> observations: "Moreover information that has recently been made available
> to the staff suggests that data and foreign international reserves provided
> to the Fund earlier may have been significantly overstated and that there
> were associated inaccuracies in the data on government expenditure, fiscal
> balances and credit flows in 2001. These developments threaten to impede
> progress on poverty reduction.
> 
> Discussion on the country's PRGF supported programme, which is currently
> off tract, could be resumed once additional information had been received
> and understanding are reached on the appropriate corrective actions. A
> resumption of the Fund's assistance and donors budgetary support is
> important in bringing about a return to macroeconomic stability and
> reducing poverty in the Gambia. The managing Director of the IMF has
> written to the Gambian authorities regarding the understanding necessary to
> bring the PRGF supported programme back on track. The fund's staff is also
> pursuing the issues regarding data on foreign international reserves with
> the authorities to ascertain the relevant facts".
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Copyright © 2003 The Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by
> AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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