Once again the television crews were summoned to Kanilai to play up another
check handing ceremony to President Yahya Jammeh. The money we are told is
part of a 'development  grant' from the government of Taiwan to the Gambian
people. In a bid to purchase sovereignty denied it by most of the world, the
Taiwanese have evolved an elaborate system of ensnaring diplomatically and
financially gullible countries. In the case of Gambia they easily found an
eager client in Yahya Jammeh who following the coup and the subsequent
sanctions that triggered from our traditional donors and development partners
was not only willing to end our decades old relationship with the People's
Republic of China, but was smitten by the prospect of a cash spigot from
prosperous Taiwan. It didn't matter that even a casual observer of
international affairs would conclude that Taiwan's attempts at  recognition
is for the most part going to be something of a third world diplomatic
intrigue with purchased leaders such as Yahya making obligatory silly
speeches about how Taiwan should be independent and recognized. It is not
going to happen and the Taiwanese themselves know it. They are careful not to
ever declare independence since most of the world are pledged not to
recognize them and China is on record as saying such a declaration would
trigger an invasion. Since Yahya and his cronies are in this diplomatic
hanky-panky only for the money, Gambians should know how they are being woven
into a series  of unscrupulous transactional webs  that is primarily designed
to meet the immediate diplomatic needs of Taiwan and the financial and
material needs of Yahya and his cronies. They enter into financial
arrangements that are structured to satisfy Taiwanese law since they must
properly account for expended resources whether it is a grant, a loan or
someother arrangement. However, the Taiwanese are all too willing to let
Yahya and his cronies  to either directly siphon off money contracted in the
name of the Gambian people, or they shamelessly participate in the
President's lies and self aggrandizement regarding Taiwanese aid to the
Gambian people. It is abundantly clear that their commitment is to this
regime and I believe that explains why they tailor their aid and loan
packages to prop up Yahya personally. That is why they are unwilling to call
even token gifts to municipalities just that. Even used items is routed to
this vile dictator so that he can put the very people he is stealing from and
repressing on a charity leash constantly having GRTS babbling how he gave
this group  this and that. Almost overnight, Taiwan has emerged to be one the
countries we owe most money to, all of which was contracted by this
government. You can be sure that Taiwanese gov't lawyers made sure that we
the Gambian people actually owe this money even as they actively saw to it
that it did not actually benefit the people in whose name it was
contracted.The next gov't coming in 2001 would face the vexing problem of the
flawed and scandalous problem of Gambian - Taiwanese relationship during the
regime of Yahya. It was incestuous to the core. The financial burden from the
unscrupulous loans that circumvented established procedures of normal gov't
channels should be on top of the series of issues that the new gov't would
have to resolve with the Taiwanese. Our new gov't should insist that they
cooperate in fully tracking and accounting for all loans, grants and other
such arrangements that Yahya and his cronies entered into. The terms of the
loan agreements which bucked the concessionary terms that impoverished
nations such as ours follow should also be high on the agenda for the new
gov't. Yahya and his cronies simply took big loans on prohibitive terms and
stole the money. That is why schools and hospitals are going unfunded while
millions of Dalasis are going to finance loans that went to line the pockets
of Yahya and his cronies.
With the elections approaching and the noose tightening, expect the Taiwanese
ambassador to show up for more of this propping sessions with checks and
materials for pet projects. They would all be done in the name of  Yahya
Jammeh, with the parrots from GRTS masquarading as reporters  eagerly telling
the nation that their benefactor-in-chief is once again showering them with
gifts and money. The only good that comes from the charade that Yahya and the
Taiwanese have created is the fact that most Gambians are contemptuous of it
all. They can see through the blatant attempts at taking a whole a nation for
fools. They know Yahya Jammeh is a corrupt and brutal thug who until 1994
could hardly afford a sandwich.
Karamba

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