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From: SAIKSS@SMTP (saiks samateh)
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Subject: Re: [Groundnut Trade Season Update]
Date: 12-Jan-00 5:08:35 +0000
Dear PA,
Thank you for this infor.and keep on the good work down there,as bro
Bass
would say.However as you indicated there is much to look forward on
this issue
and the fact that it has taken the government much time to even provide
the
30million,whiles taken them less time to provide funds for the funding of
the
renovation of the State House is very disturbing.However let us hope that
the
rest will be provided sooner than later.And hence the President himself
did
acknowledge that the country is in economic difficulties(After emptying
the
Bank of Allah),I dont think it will help much blaming the West as he did
on
Koreteh Day.I believed the government should start thinking of in what
other
way funds could be mobilize to solve this problem.Reducing the salary of
the
president and the SOSs, as they did to the teachers without their
knowledge,no
payment of traveling allowance to the President and the SoS,etc this will
be
a very good signal to the rest of the community that the government is
committed in finding solution to this problem.There is a development
problem
in the country,instead of finding solutions in solving these problems,new
problems are created.One minister was fired and two appointed,could it
have
not been done other wise ?and in the interest of our poor farmers in this
difficult time.
For freedom
Saiks
Dear Kist-members,
The latest in the groundnut trading season is that GOTG has announced
on the
6th Jan 2000 that the the season was now to begin in earnest after so
many
false starts that were souce of lot of disappointment for so many Gambian
farmers and their depenbdents. Inspite of widespread rumours taking the
rounds days before the announcement, the official price of D2700 perton
was
not reduced as many had feared and according to widespread rumours.
Three
private dealers, namely the Farato Farms, New Dimensions (NDL) and
the
UTP-Tulor were said to be ready for buying nuts in cash allover the
country.
This of of course was welcome news for hundreds of thousands of
groundnut
cultivators who had been living in dspair all thoughout the holy month of
Ramadan. Many of these had given up all hopes of turning many a
bumper
harvest to much needed cash , inspite of all prior promises. An estimated
12
500 tons of nut had been screened, weighed and deposited to scores of
depots
around the country without any clewar or firm indications of payments.
This
inspite of the the so-called FOA, or Framework of Agreement, prepared
by the
ASPA, a thorny non-governmental forum of so-called stakeholders that is
backed by EU and local Western representatives but that is vhemently
opposed
by GOTG. Tens of thousands of other farmers had taken their nuts
across the
border to Senegal to be paid prices much lower than both the Senegalese
and
the Gambian officially announced prices. The rest either resorted to the
cut-throating mule-ridden Njogan buyers or, with the help of primitive oil
expellants, screwed the nuts into cooking oil for the domestic market. All
these, needless to say, became major diincentives for participants in the
groundnut sector.
Nevertheless, the economic situation of many Gambian producers and
other
citizens still remain precarious and the masses of the country's people are
still apprehensive.
They have every reason to be so because the measures adopted by
GOTG is like
using petrol to put out a house on fire. Government has abruptly and
without
going through the due process, plundered funds from the Department of
Social
Security, GAMTEL and Gambia Ports Authority to raise the D30 million
now
used to pre-finance purchasing by the three private dealers.
Pro-government sources are really mad due to the high-handed
interfarence by
EU and representatives of other international financiers. They hacve
forced
GOTG,the only financially liquid domestic Õplayer, to stand off from
interference with the trade. Both Farato Farms and NDL, purely Gambian
private companies, are penniless, totally dependent on pre-financing by
potential external buyers. UTP-Tulor, a Swiss-based company of dubious
reputation that was the cause of a major part of the chaos of thisa season,
is operating with a volume much less than the impression it had given to
GOTG negotiators, is the third so far accredited company. Catrl Agency,
another local buyer, has been left out for reasons yet to be known.
But perhaps the most frightening aspect of the whole situation is that
Goverenment has only been able to mobilize about D30 million which can
buy
only about 11 000 tons with a good portion expected to be left unbought
in
the hands of GOTG. Who will pay for the expected losses? The
nbeneficiaries
of the Social Security Fund, Tax Payers, who? What abot the remaing 60
000
tons, who will buy them?
Meanwhile as the turbulence of the groundnut season rocks, cabinet was
again
reshuffled. Mr. Ablie Sallah who last week replaced the Mr. Dumbuya as
SOS-Agriculture, has heimself been replaced by one Hassan Sallah. The
former has taken the portfolio of Health from the over-worked Vice
President.
Papa Njie
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