Brother Momodou Sidibeh,
The Bretton Wood Instututions do not have the interest of Africa at heart and
heir only significance here as far as I am concerned is that their demands in
the interest in looking after their bottom line happens to reveal some of
the underhanded dealings of the APRC regime.
You wrote:
"The government must think of putting into place an agency or commission with
the power and independence to formulate and execute policies that need to
define, at least partly, the fight against corruption as largely a
socio-cultural problem whose operations are more visible in the economic
domain. Fighting corruption is part of the process of nation-building; it
must be a protracted struggle."
This is true and I agree that corruption in our society is a socio-cultural
problem but in this case, I think it is akin to asking the wolf to look after
the sheep if we are looking to the APRC regime to actually undertake the fight
against corruption when some of the members of this administration are far
from being transparent abotu their oen financial dealings and instant wealth. We
have a government whose most major accomplishment is corruption of the
greatest magnitude and those they are prosecuting not only took the cue from them,
but in most cases, they were acting in collaboration with them. Even if we
assume that Yaya Jammeh did not know about the failure to pay customs duties on
YDE goods, the YDE itself was attempting to be a monopoly of sorts where a head
of state says he was trying to help the people but all he was trying to do was
line his own pockets.The same head of state has become wealthy almost
overnight. I think we are playing the same old game of what the Wollof call "metel
buki jamay Jaka neh eliman ba ngi" if we are callign on this government to
legislate against corruption. I think that first, we need a transparent and sincere
government that will lead by example, and that truely has the interest of
Gambians at heart in every sense of the word and not just people who are
concentrating all their energies on trying to hang on to power and make more money
before we can set out to sincerely tackle this issue of corruption. What is in
progress currently is more of an exercise in self preservation than a sincere
effort at fighting corruption.
Jabou Joh
In a message dated 1/28/04 1:44:17 PM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
>
> Sister Jabou,
>
> The irony is that the bitter medicine that the Bretton Woods institution are
> prescibing for the Gambia are most likely to worsen the patient's condition.
> Genuine attempts to arrest and stamp out official corruption both as
> instigation from the IMF and a house-cleansing exercise by President Jammeh
> may succeed in rustling leaves and removing cobwebs. Unfortunately, the
> drastic exercise in rounding up mega-profile individuals from financial and
> business circles will sadly, fall very short of the huge task of curbing the
> cancer that has now assumed a debilitating social order.
>
> The government must think of putting into place an agency or commission with
> the power and independence to formulate and execute policies that need to
> define, at least partly, the fight against corruption as largely a
> socio-cultural problem whose operations are more visible in the economic
> domain. Fighting corruption is part of the process of nation-building; it
> must be a protracted struggle.
>
> Sidibeh
>
> , for both short term and long term and also helppersonalitiesall far short
> of what
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jabou Joh" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 12:14 AM
> Subject: Re: Tremor Hits Central Bank Over D222 Million in the Bonnet, Five
> Charged
>
>
> 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".
> >
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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