Gambia-L:
The e-mail below, as usual, came from a source in the heart of the Yahya
Jammeh's government.
Ebrima Ceesay
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Ebrima,
It's been some days since I last sent you anything; in actual fact, I had
some urgent things to sort out, but I am now okay. So from now on you'll
hear from more regularly. By the way, I was at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, just
the other day, and was shown from a distance Ndey Jobarteh of Gambia-L, but
I never had the chance to talk to her about her Gambian trip. Anyway, if all
goes well, I'll introduce myself to the List one fine day. Ebrima, having
said that, frankly, we have a Government of pathological liars running The
Gambia. They consider Gambians stupid, unworthy of being told the truth.
Why? Ebrima, Yayha Jammeh and his cohorts have ruined the economy. The
economy, which was once, awash with re-exported goods to the sub-region, has
all but dried up. The Jammeh regime has driven away genuine businessmen
straight into the arms of Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde and Senegal. These
Governments - Guinea Bissau, Senegal and Cape Verde - have gleefully
received these new investors with open arms and are making every effort to
make them feel welcome and their investment safe. The Gambia’s loss is our
neighbours’ gains. Ebrima, the state of the economy can easily be accessed
through the IMF and World Bank web sites. What these goons, led Jammeh, fail
to realise is that we are now in the Information Age. So, no Government can
provide false information to the governed nowadays. Check the web pages of
the International Finance Institutions and you can access just about any
information on the Gambian economy. This leads me to Foroyaa’s posting on
The Gambia’s external debt situation and the subsequent commentaries from
Katim and others. But before I say a word or two on Katim’s suggestion
concerning contacting Debt Relief International (DRI) in London, I want to
give a quick run down on some of the figures which Foroyaa is rightfully
disputing, which Government must retract and provide the people with the
correct figures. The regime's habitual misleading of the people is
repugnant. It reminds me of the BIVAC case when Yahya Jammeh and Nfamara
Jatta deliberately misled the
businessmen by announcing that with effect from the 4th May 2000, all
payments to BIVAC will be made payable in dalasi. However, when Ardie Sarge
went to pay the following day, he was told that he must pay in US dollars.
Ebrima, the Government was forced to retract its earlier statement. We are
fed-up with these lies from the regime.
Ebrima, The Gambia’s debt is estimated at US$425million. This is
approximately equivalent to over 5 billion dalasi using Foroyaa’s rate of
conversion. And this amount, according to the IMF, does not even include the
dubious loans of US$35million and another US$30million dollars, both
contracted by Yahya Jammeh from the Taiwanese Government. The sad story,
Ebrima, is that these two loans were contracted on commercial terms of about
11% per annum, 2-3 year grace period and 10 years to repay the entire loan.
In contrast, the US$425million was on concessional terms meaning 0.75% fee,
5-10 years grace period and up to 50 years to repay the loan.
The figure that Foroyaa is referring to is the US$425million. If you add the
"known" commercial loans that "these people" have committed to generations
of Gambians yet unborn, we are looking at a figure of
US$500million: a third of the entire external debt contracted within the
last six years that Jammeh seized power. We all know where the US$70million
from the Taiwanese has gone - mostly in the pockets of
Jammeh and his select corrupt friends and business associates. We have
started paying for it. Also, you will recall when the Civil Aviation
Authority was complaining about experiencing difficulties in meeting its
daily operational requirements, including salaries because of the huge
amount of money they have to pay Government ( about 4 million dalasi) every
month to service the Taiwanese debt. Well, Ebrima, that is the tip of the
iceberg. At least, through landing fees etc, the GCAA can collect some
revenue but what of the Arch 22, Bwiam and Farafenni Hospitals. Can the user
fees charged generate enough revenue to service that portion of the loan?
Hell, NO. The Government treasury would have to pay through its nose; that
means you and me and through other fraudulent schemes concocted by Jammeh
and his Finance Minister. Ebrima, don't you notice that the regime is silent
on the debt service charge on the Taiwanese loans. I cannot help you on this
one, Ebrima. Since 1986, the Government has not contracted commercial loans
until Jammeh seized power in 1994 and started taking commercial loans from
the Taiwanese. Thank God, the US Government has demanded Taipei to stop
approving loans of this nature to The Gambia. When was the last time you
heard Yahya speak of "Allah’s Bank"? Katim’s suggestions for concerned
Gambians to contact DRI - although a very good idea - will not bear fruit
because they were engaged to help Gambia qualify for debt relief under the
Debt write-off programme. Their approach would strictly be businesslike. The
Gambia is their client and I do not think that they will do anything that
will jeopardise their chances of success. You may try, but I can assure that
you will not go very far with that approach. We should target the IMF, Word
Bank by outlining all our concerns: the unacceptable level of corruption
starting with Jammeh himself. The Bretton Woods Institutions will ultimately
decide eligibility for debt relief. And any debt relief coming Gambia’s way
with the current Government at the helm will go into Yayha’s pocket, pure
and simple.
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