Hi folks,
It's been so long since I've said anything much about goings on in The Gambia
that I thought I should title this one after Bob Marley's song "Coming in from
the cold." It's been indeed very cold in Wisconsin, given that it's Winter, and
we are now paying the price for having rather warm ones for the past few years.
The snow really came down hard in December, causing all manner of problems, and
making me as why in the world they just don't shut the whole place down ...
My relatively long silence, and reduced participation in the debates and
campaigns on Gambia-L has been deliberate, and caused by the combination of a
busy schedule, and a need to put things in perspective. I am no more busy than
many of you are, but I felt it important to disengage for a while, to prove that
the affairs of Gambia-L, talk less of The Gambia, do not, and should not depend
on the efforts and activities of no one person.
It's fairly common in our national psyche for one to be tempted into believing
that he or she is indispensable to a cause or our nation. For me, the long
break from sending postings was a delight; it proved to all that the opposition
to the dictatorial President Jammeh is very deep, and wide. It is not based on
the effort of just one person, or a few people. For this reason, a successful
campaign was waged to expose Mr. Collins for what he is, and also to bring Rust
College to cancel an invitation extended to Yankuba Touray and Tombong Saidy to
attend a conference there.
My break has also enabled me to ponder and turn a number of issues in my head,
for whatever it's worth. In particular, I have been making a mental tally of the
increasing cost of the Jammeh government to the Gambian nation. We are paying
an incredible price, and an increasing one at that because of the continuation
of the incompetent, corrupt, and bloody rule of President Jammeh. This heavy
price is manifested in a number of ways, and illustrated by a variety of
examples of the terribly inadequate capacity of Jammeh and his group to lead our
nation. I'll try to point out a couple of these examples now.
1. A lorry load of missed opportunities
Last October, 34 sub-Saharan African countries were designated to benefit from
the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of the United States
(http://www.agoa.gov/About_AGOA/about_agoa.html). This act is aimed at
strengthening US-Africa relations through trade, and provides incentives for
African countries that have achieved political and economic reforms. Countries
benefiting from AGOA will also be able to export virtually all products duty-
and quota free to the US market.
In particular, AGOA lifts all existing quota on textiles and apparel (clothing)
products from Sub-Saharan Africa, to a maximum ranging from 1.5% to 3.5% of the
US apparel import market, which totaled about $18 billion in 1999 (see
http://www.ita.doc.gov/industry/otea/usfth/tabcom.html). This means that the
value ($250 million) of current imports of African apparel made with African
fabric/yarns is less than the 1.5% lower limit of the quota above. Furthermore,
at 1999 trade levels, African textile imports into the US can reach $630
million (3.5%) of $18 billion before being subject to tariffs.
Despite the problems some people have with AGOA, there is no doubt that it at
least represents an opportunity for African countries to increase their access
to the US market, thereby reducing their dependence on traditional export
markets such as Europe. Sadly, the Gambia is not one of the 34 countries
designated to benefit from AGOA. Although the Gambia is eligible to benefit
from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, we will only
participate in the program if certified by the US Trade Representative.
The fact that the Gambia is not a beneficiary of the AGOA bill is not only sad
because of the lost opportunities, but also because of the reasons why we are
not, in the first place, eligible to benefit from the Act. There is no doubt
that the development of a textile industry geared toward the US market (and
indeed the rest of the world) would have meant a employment for a lot of
Gambians. This would have also reduced our dependence on industries like
tourism that are yet to deliver all their promises to our people.
The 34 sub-Saharan countries designated to benefit from AGOA include Senegal,
Guinea, Cape Verde, Ghana, Mali, Guinea Bissau, and Mauritania. In short,
almost all countries in our sub-region, with the exception of Sierra Leone
(because they are at war), as well as Liberia, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, and
Cote d'Ivoire. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out why we are
grouped with the likes of Liberia, because we all have dictatorial regimes. I'm
pretty sure Cote d'Ivoire will soon be eligible for participation in AGOA, given
the recent transition, despite the problems, to civilian rule.
Criteria for participating in AGOA include making progress toward a market-based
economy, the rule of law, and elimination of barriers to US trade and
investment. Additional criteria are listed in the AGOA factsheet available at
http://www.state.gov/www/issues/economic/001002_fsustr_agoa.html From all
indications, it will be a while before President Jammeh puts the national
interest before his own, and starts effecting a leadership that positions The
Gambia to benefit from programs like AGOA.
2. Greed that knows no bounds
Please allow me to bring the issue of the Nigerian crude oil deal to the fore.
It was last July or so that the Gambian parliament turned down a motion to set
up a commission of inquiry into the Nigerian crude oil deal in which 20,000
(twenty thousand) barrels of Nigerian crude oil were lifted, sold for $0.20
(twenty cents) per barrel, and the proceeds deposited in a Swiss bank account.
In a judgment in the London High Court, the Gambia government was fined half a
million pounds sterling for breaching the contract that was entered into with
Chantrils SA, the company that sold the oil on behalf of Jammeh. Despite the
fact that the facts of the case are now a matter of public record, President
Jammeh's cronies in parliament have refused to further investigate the matter
because, they say, this would not be in the national interest.
The facts are that this is a government that has gone to great lengths to
disgrace and humiliate people who have been alleged to embezzle public funds.
Somehow, President Jammeh and his cronies continue to think that they are above
the law, and can indulge in all manner of corrupt practices more serious than
they have jailed people for.
But it seems that Jammeh's lust for money cannot be satisfied with Gambian funds
and Nigerian crude oil proceeds alone. Recently, the Gambian government has
been denying UN reports of it's (namely Jammeh's) involvement in the trade of
conflict diamonds from Sierra Leone. This would be a logical step for President
Jammeh to take, in the aftermath of the loss of his Nigerian crude oil deal.
What he fails to realize is that the world is changing fast, and the thin ground
his is standing on is shrinking fast under him. It was just yesterday that the
BBC reported that Liberia is cutting off support for the RUF rebels of Sierra
Leone, in the face of increasing pressure from the international community.
President Jammeh, despite his delusions of grandeur is really a small fry in the
global scheme of things that will, and in good time, catch up with him.
3. Our pariah nation
It is sad to observe that The Gambia has slowly evolved into a pariah nation
because of nothing other than the leadership of President Jammeh. The last I
checked, Gambians have essentially remained the same, and the only major change
in their relationship with the world is in the fact that we now have President
Jammeh at the helm of our national affairs.
Without a doubt, Gambian foreign policy under Jammeh has been a disaster, and
self-serving. As I pointed out on this list a few months back, President Jammeh
used his opportunity to address the world at last years' Millennium Summit at
the United Nations to speak on behalf of Cuba and the Republic of China
(Taiwan). Not once did he bother to mention The Gambia by name as if we, as a
nation, really have nothing to say to the world.
Our relationship with Taiwan is just one example of the way President Jammeh has
forged a foreign policy centered on his own personal agenda, rather than the
best interests of our country. Thus, rather than working to foster peace in the
sub-region, President Jammeh identified himself strongly with the late Gen. Mane
of Guinea Bissau. So much so that his Vice President thought it fit to pay
official condolences to the Mane family in Sukuta, and presented them with
50,000 dalasis when Gen. Mane was recently killed in a gun battle in Guinea
Bissau. Never mind that there are Gambian students lying down in hospital after
being returned from Egypt because there were no more funds to pay for their
medical treatment for injuries sustained in last Aprils student demonstrations,
when Jammeh's troops killed 12 or so of them.
Jammeh's closeness with the late Gen. Mane no doubt contributed to the suspicion
with which he was viewed in the sub-region as being a destabilizing force. For
this reason, we have now become a pariah nation, and this, in addition to
President Jammeh's inferiority complex (well-founded, I might add) has resulted
in a foreign and domestic policy based more on whim, than on serious thought
about what's best for our nation.
For example, a recent announcement that the Gambia would go Sharia was followed
by an almost apologetic speech about tolerance and such. Furthermore, the
refusal to allow the bodies of two members of parliament to lie in state
following a tragic accident was followed by an attempt to appease their families
with money. I wonder whose money it was that was given away to compensate for
the short-comings and short-sightedness of President Jammeh? Fortunately, I am
proud to say that the families of the deceased had the pride and courage to
refuse the money offered them by Jammeh's cronies.
4. We are still waiting ...
Finally, I would like to point out that we are still waiting the official report
about the student demonstrations of last April, and the resulting death of a 12
or so people. Furthermore, we are yet to hear the final word on the "case"
against Ebrima Yarbo, Dumo Saho and Co. who it seems were jailed purely on the
basis of someone's fertile imagination and paranoia. Also, we are yet to hear
any response whatsoever to calls from the late Ousman "Koro" Ceesay's family for
a full investigation of the circumstances surrounding his death.
You might recall a posting
(http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind0001&L=gambia-l&F=P&S=&P=84458)
from one Ebou Colly about the death of soldiers accused of involvement in a coup
plot against the Jammeh government. I think it would be in the interest of
these people accused of being responsible for death of Koro and these soldiers,
as well as in the interest of justice for the victims, their families, and our
nation that the matter be put to rest. After all, Koro for example, was a
Minister at the time of his death, and if he swore to serve our nation, we
should endeavor to give him the justice he deserves.
As you know, there are other unsolved killings and/or disappearances that
continue to plague our national conscience. These are issues that also
contribute to the increasing cost of the leadership of President Jammeh and his
cronies, and reasons for asking when we will begin to put our national interests
before President Jammehs'.
Let's not forget that President Jammeh is in power precisely because President
Jawara got to the point where no one was willing to put his or her life on the
line to defend his regime. The point that every Gambian should bear in mind is
that we are now under the leadership of a person, and his cronies, who has
turned into someone who treats the nation as his personal property, and thinks
nothing of wasting our resources in the name of his own personal aggrandizement.
Fortunately, this is a terrible time to be a dictator, as I always say. For
this reason, it's only a matter of time before history catches up with the likes
of President Jammeh. You only have to listen to what's happening in the world
around you to see what I'm talking about. From Chile to Cote d'Ivoire to the
Philippines, people all the over the world are rising to say "enough" to
dictators who never thought they would never come down.
I will end this with an excerpt from a recent publication "Global Trends 2015: A
dialogue about the future with nongovernment experts" from the United States
National Intelligence Council. I strongly recommend you download and read the
publication because it is not only eye-opening, it is also provides free access
to the thoughts and thinking some of the best minds in the US. Get it at:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/globaltrends2015/index.html
And here's the excerpt for President Jammeh and all of us to consider:
"National and International Governance
States will continue to be the dominant players on the world stage, but
governments will have less and less control over flows of information,
technology, diseases, migrants, arms, and financial transactions, whether licit
or illicit, across their borders. Nonstate actors ranging from business firms to
nonprofit organizations will play increasingly larger roles in both national and
international affairs. The quality of governance, both nationally and
internationally, will substantially determine how well states and societies cope
with these global forces.
· States with competent governance, including the United States, will adapt
government structures to a dramatically changed global environment-making them
better able to engage with a more interconnected world. The responsibilities of
once "semiautonomous" government agencies increasingly will intersect because of
the transnational nature of national security priorities and because of the
clear requirement for interdisciplinary policy responses. Shaping the complex,
fast-moving world of 2015 will require reshaping traditional government
structures.
· Effective governance will increasingly be determined by the ability and
agility to form partnerships to exploit increased information flows, new
technologies, migration, and the influence of nonstate actors. Most but not all
countries that succeed will be representative democracies.
· States with ineffective and incompetent governance not only will fail to
benefit from globalization, but in some instances will spawn conflicts at home
and abroad, ensuring an even wider gap between regional winners and losers than
exists today.
Globalization will increase the transparency of government decision-making,
complicating the ability of authoritarian regimes to maintain control, but also
complicating the traditional deliberative processes of democracies. Increasing
migration will create influential diasporas, affecting policies, politics and
even national identity in many countries. Globalization also will create
increasing demands for international cooperation on transnational issues, but
the response of both states and international organizations will fall short in
2015."
Please pardon this rather long posting. Have a great week, and best wishes in
your endeavors.
Katim
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