Well put Hamjatta, Karamba and Saul. Again this is a classic case of the
inmates running the asylum. Empty barrels dictating more knowledgeable
people. These people had an opportunity of a life-time (with millions of
dollars) to bring unparalleled development to our country. What did they do?
They stole the bulk of the money and use the rest to engage in some silly
tokenism. They are fond of saying that they built a TV station, several
schools, hospitals (not good enough for their wives to have babies there;
instead their wives are sent abroad to have American babies and passports).
And they compare themselves with the Jawara regime by saying that these
things were not done by Jawara. The argument goes further that, since Yaya
did us the favor of implementing these projects, he is free to abuse us,
order the killing of children, abduct and torture opponents, empty
government coffers, cut the hands of bread-winners (by dismissing them
willy-nilly) and prevent them from feeding their families with dignity. This
is the most preposterous and perverse logic I have ever heard.
For starters, any idiot with more than $35 million can outdo the Jawara
regime. That should not be the threshold. The yardstick should be to measure
Yaya and his cohorts with a government that was brought into power and given
$35 million dollars and told that they are not answerable to a parliament or
the judiciary. A government that if it had the interest of the Gambain at
heart will implement programs that will benefit the whole Gambian community.
What fraction of the Gambian population has access to TV? It is ridiculous
(to say the least) to give a national TV station priority when you cannot
provide adequate electricity for urban dwellers (another small minority
compared to the population in rural communities). It is absurd to spend
millions of dalasis on a TV project while the vast majority of the Gambian
population do not have access to clean drinking water. What would you call a
government that boast about having a TV station when it cannot guarantee the
overwhelming majority of its population (farmers) an environment conducive
to ensuring that the farmers grow their crops and sell it at competitive
rates? I could have gone on and on giving examples to illustrate this
government's misplaced priorities. What these morons did to our country is
unforgivable. When the day of reckoning comes, it would not be a defense to
say that 'we did better than Jawara'. Darn right you should do better than
Jawara. Gambians should have high expectations. If the government does not
deliver on those expectations they should be made aware of that and gotten
rid of.
Hamjatta, as you rightly pointed out, to add insult to injury, the
government then employs incompetent people to do a despicable job on an
already rotten situation. Some of the competent ones have sold their souls
to the devil and are so scared to propose good ideas to Yaya; afraid that
Yaya will think that they are contradicting him. I wish them luck. If they
do not start treating Yaya like the high school drop out he is, he will lead
us to the gallows.
KB
>From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: The Unprofessionalism That Is GRTS
>Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 19:16:45 EDT
>
> Penny-pinching miser that I am, I have finally updated my Real-player
>and
>was able in ages to listen to the audio of GRTS news on Quantumnet. It is
>clear now that like everything that Jammeh centralises and leaves his
>fingerprints on, GRTS is now the epitome of that State ineptitude, bloated
>bureaucracy and political patronage that has become a hallmark of the
>Jammeh
>legacy. Every facet of efficiency, better or average that he touches,
>invariably leaves the soot of his dirty hands on it.
> GRTS staff reporters and presenters can barely pronounce words let
>alone
>properly present, report or document news items and features. Their
>pronunciations of commonplace words are laboured and crossovers between an
>infantile snivel and a third rate ventriloquist trying his luck on Broadway
>success. Their mannerism in front of cameras are coarse, ruggedly uncouth
>and
>bordering on pantomime display of whims comparative to only Teenage daytime
>TV presenting we keep being fed by satellite these days. It's gaffes since
>becoming operational are legendary. From Jessica Sowe sleeping in front of
>the cameras and the innately rude wife of the MD Fatou Dibba Saidy yelling
>at
>the camera crew to turn the glaring illuminations of the camera away from
>her, they have had it all. Oh and of course Caliph General Jammeh's
>bumbling
>idiocy each time he appears on TV to speak as an expert on Islam, the
>collapsing economy, the moneys he has stolen or laundered or racketeering
>and
>to renew his death threats to those who dare oppose him, the Heaven
>ordained
>Caliph of the Caliphate of The Gambia.
> You would have thought that what with all the modern technology and
>techno-savvy staff it employs, their should be a marked difference, but
>with
>half-charlatans like Jahumpa Ceesay and Tombong leading the charge in
>operations, what do you expect? These Jammeh appointed cultural commissars
>are as enlightened as the buffoon himself on subtle and sophisticated
>issues
>like culture in a pluralist society. GRTS has just become the bleak,
>churlish
>and obnoxiously irritating symbol of Jammeh in our daily lives. Each day it
>serves the same cold and un-nutritious pap that is prepared by the State
>House chefs to a nation hungry to be inspired by creativity, objectivity
>and
>the plurality they live each day of their lives. It's programmes [if one
>can
>call them that], are uninspirational, devoid of imagination and generally
>defective in every Jammeh sense. A tool for political spins, patronage and
>the cronyism that Jammeh said 6yrs. ago propelled him to stand up to the
>Jawara regime.
> If at any rate, GRTS has any cluster of talents that can handle
>professional broadcasting, they are being turned into professional eunuchs
>and clodhoppers by an MD who knows next to nothing on broadcasting but is
>depleting the outfit the little human resources it has. If you want a
>graphic
>illustration of how Gambia is sinking in efficiency during Jammeh, look no
>further than GRTS. That monolith of unprofessionalism, ineptitude and
>uninspirational broadcasting in the Gambia. Sadly you and I have to pay for
>it. What a tragedy!
>Hamjatta Kanteh
>
> We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to
>tolerate the intolerant.
>Karl Popper 1902-1994
>
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