Gassama, all the dude talked about are just threats and nothing more.  Did
he not retain his whole cabinet except for two?  Our economic problems did
not start yesterday, but eight years ago.  Just like Musa Jeng pointed out,
another posturing in he theatrics of "seeming to be doing something about
our economic woes".  Has he offered one solution in all this sermon to our
many problems?  He has been hiring and firing folks before and it has not
solved our problems.  He is realizing that when you continue to fire your
opponents unjustifiably, you end up also firing some of the best performers.
  Not one sector of our economy is performing, including the presidency.  I
suppose, Diatta, Touray, Badjie, Ogoo, Ndong-Diatta, Jarjy, Jammeh,
Singhateh are all performing fine, thus the reason why they are still
lingering around.  No!  No!  No!  All the departments under them  are not
performing.  So what happened to the broom?  He just want to make the
farmers believe that he is taking care of their groundnut problems.  Letting
go of Sillah will also does nothing to regain our people's confidence in the
dalasi and it is not going to stop price increases.  Sallah is gone, we'll
see if the farmer's produce are sold.  He blamed Gambians, it did not work.
He blamed retailers, it did not work.  He embarked of Jammehnomics (trickle
down theory), the butchers scored a point on him.  This is what happens when
people loose confidence in your word.  The monster he groomed is the monster
that is going to consume him.  He lined and nurtured sycophants, thus
plunder is the result.  Work with the government my foot, as if these morons
ever listened to anyone.

It's up to folks to spin this anyway they want, the fact remains thus:  The
dalasi is very devalued; prices of basics are up in the sky; farmers produce
are not sold; Tourism is lackluster; our kids flunked; we are in the worst
of health; unemployment is beyond comprehension; no encouragement of the
productive sector; If as citizens we are afraid to say that the Jammeh
administration failed their mandate, then it is our prerogative.  Folks need
to stop asking us what we can do as if we are running the government.  The
ball is not in our court, but Jammeh's.  You measure the performance of a
government by how they managed the affairs of the state.  Jammeh mismanaged
this economy and that is a fact.  It is very interesting that with all this
economic crisis, Gassama et al are not saying diddle about government
mismanagement, but always embark on discussing the traits of the citizens.
I know, the citizens cannot fire you, but Jammeh can.  If that is the case
then spare us the change.  The results are the results and nothing but the
results.  This administration is bad news for Gambians.

Chi Jaama

Joe Sambou








>From: "Jungle Sunrise" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: <[log in to unmask]>, <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: [>-<] Zero Tolerance for Maslaha - Jammeh
>Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2002 18:08:44 -0500 (EST)
>
>[ This e-mail is posted to Gambia|Post e-Gathering by "Jungle Sunrise"
><[log in to unmask]> ]
>
>
>Hi guys,
>
>I typed this earlier but lost it when I was timed-out from Gambia-post
>without noticing. What follows, are extracts from a very long speech that
>Jammeh gave on the occasion of the swearing in of Mr. Momodou M. Sallah,
>the newly appointed SOS for Trade, Industry and employment and Mr. Alieu
>Ngum Secretary General and head of the civil service. My sincere apologies
>for any typos and grammatical errors that may inadvertently creep in. It
>was culled from The Gambia Daily and Momodou Trawally wrote the article.
>
>Have a good day, Gassa.
>
>JAMMEH DECLARES ZERO TOLERANCE FOR MASLAHA
>
>President Yahya Jammeh has asked members of his cabinet to work hard and
>deliver or resign. After congratulating the new Secretary of State for
>Trade, Industry and Employment Momodou M. Sallah and the Secretary General
>Alieu Ngum after being sworn in on Tuesday at State House, Jammeh said each
>time there is a swearing in ceremony, “you know there was a swearing out
>ceremony before.”
>
>Declaring that, “it is not a pleasure for me to preside over a swearing out
>ceremony, but that is a responsibility I will gladly carry out to make sure
>that cabinet ministers perform.”
>
>“What I expect of every Gambian is a sense of loyalty to your country
>first. And a sense of dedication and a sense of purpose. That is what is
>expected of every Gambian. What is expected of every member of cabinet is a
>sense of self-less service to the country first, loyalty to the country
>first and then loyalty to your self. We must put the nation’s interest
>above our personal interests,” he added. The president declared that the
>country’s interest is paramount. “There is no way that anybody can develop
>this country single-handedly”, adding that there is no president who can
>run a government where he runs every ministry. “This is out of the
>question. This is not practically possible.”
>
>He said that what we need at this stage as Gambians is to love
>ourselves. “If we love ourselves, we will love our country. If we love our
>country, then there will be no need for anyone to ask us to be honest and
>be dedicated to what we do.” Reminding his cabinet colleagues that, “we are
>still a developing country.” Jammeh said he has come to the conclusion that
>the only way to make things work in this country is to have an iron broom,
>which is electrified. “That is the only way things would work in this
>country, and there’ll be no compromise.”
>
>”In as much as I hate swearing out ceremonies, I would not hesitate to
>preside over them, because that is my responsibility. We must all make it a
>point of duty to work for our country. Nobody is working for me.”
>
>Jammeh also said he expects his ministers “to take responsibility,
>collective responsibility, because this is a government. This is one
>government. If all of you have to wait for me to intervene in your areas,
>because you think that it would carry more weight, then if you are
>weightless, you better leave before I show you a red card.
>
>If you do not want to be blamed for what you are responsible for, the most
>honourable thing to do is to resign. What is unacceptable is that you are
>capable of solving the problem, and you know the problem, but you do not
>want to do it simply because you are working for Yahya Jammeh – there will
>be no compromise this time. We are in a new millennium.”
>
>People, he said, think there is a difference between the transition period
>and now, because they think now there is democracy. “But if you are
>democratically-minded you will be more responsible. Because you will know
>that democracy is give and take. People repose their confidence in you, and
>you must reciprocate by providing services that are required of you, with
>honesty, sincerity and dedication.
>
>That is democracy! Any definition other than that is not democratic,” he
>asserted, further pointing out that democracy is a two-way stream – you are
>given and are expected to give back to those who gave you. So if you fail
>to perform what is expected of you, I can assure you that you will not miss
>the next swearing out ceremony. I am sick and tired of talking.”
>
>“For those of you who are coming,” he went on, I have no doubt that you
>will be able to perform. I have no doubt in your ability to perform and
>deliver. This is a small country that we can, with a little honesty and
>dedication, develop very rapidly.”
>
>President Jammeh lamented the fact that there are those who work when he is
>around, and does nothing (or indulge in the type of activities they are
>involved in) when he is not around.
>
>Declaring that, “you are not working for me”. Jammeh recalled his meeting
>in September with ministers and other senior government officers of the
>administration saying, “ if you have forgotten what we discussed, I have
>not forgotten, and this is just phase one of what I promised you to come.
>Unless you change, I have 1.4 million Gambians to choose from. Nobody is
>indispensable. The only indispensable one is the one who is ready to work
>and sacrifice for this country.
>
>If you do not want to deliver, you will go,” he said. If you want to work
>and you make a mistake – we all make mistakes, we will understand. But let
>us be sincere. Where there is no sincerity, the types of mistakes that are
>there are unacceptable. Because they are deliberate mistakes. In fact, they
>are not even mistakes.”
>
>He asked them to make the work of the new Secretary General and head of
>civil service easier by taking their responsibilities seriously. “If you
>can control people under you, you make the running of the civil service
>very smooth. But where you do not want to assert your authority and be
>responsible for the people under you to work, this is where the problem in
>the running of the civil service is. Nobody wants to take responsibility to
>maintain discipline in your respective areas.”
>
>He also decried the tendency to give the impression the president is only
>too happy to fire people, by telling people that it was not their
>responsibility, that they were not even informed about it. “We have come to
>the crossroads. Either you take care of what you are responsible for, or we
>will take care of it for you, including yourself. “I am sick and tired of
>maslaha with anybody, and I have zero tolerance for that anymore.
>
>As from now, there will be no tolerance. You either deliver or you go. And
>you can go in one of two ways – either tell us bye or we kiss you good-bye.
>There’ll no compromise. We either serve our country or we don’t serve our
>country. There is no neutral position – either you are in for progress or
>you are against progress. If you cannot deliver for reasons best known to
>you, just be honourable enough to say, I cannot really do this. Then we
>will look for someone else.
>
>But what is unacceptable is double standards. Cat and mouse games are over.
>If you take care of your area of responsibility, you will sleep peacefully.
>Be irresponsible and know that you can be called at anytime to a swearing
>out ceremony. This is the last time I am going to warn anybody.”
>
>Jammeh reiterated that, “if you know that you are working hard and honestly
>for your country, do what is right and fear nobody.”
>
>Turning to his cabinet colleagues, he told them they are supposed to work
>as one family – meaning collective responsibility. “We should work together
>as a team, and help each other and advise each other, so that we move
>forward as one country, one government and one family.”
>
>He declared that the days of camps in the government are over. “If anybody
>wants to set up a camp, this is not the place. We should work together as a
>family. Cabinet should speak with one voice and one action. And we should
>bear responsibility for the collective action of the government and
>cabinet – not try to blame it on some other members of the cabinet.”
>
>“There is nothing you say in this country that I would not hear. But I have
>heard enough. Now is time for me to act. And surely I will act to make sure
>that this country moves forward. In the process if you are sworn out, don’t
>blame anybody, blame yourself. We will no longer follow any department of
>state to ask what is going on, or what are you doing about this or that. We
>will no longer write,” he said, and warned that delays of projects in a
>sector will not be accepted.
>
>He said he is put in a funny position, when he goes round the world seeking
>for aid for this country, and there are projects and funding. “And then
>some of us deliberately delay those projects, for whatever reason, I don’t
>know. But technicalities would no longer be an excuse for delaying projects
>for which funding is already available. We will set up a mechanism to
>monitor the progress of every project.” He further advised his colleagues
>to tighten their belts, “because there will be no compromise for delaying
>tactics.”
>
>In fact, he said, “there is no tolerance, since my capacity for tolerance
>is already lost. Eight years ago today, we should have done more than we
>have done. But everything is the president; if the president does not say
>it…this is not a dictatorship, this is a democratic government of
>collective responsibility. Why do you need me to come to your and do
>something so that people would be serious enough to work. Why do you want
>me to do it? Why must I do your job for you? Each of us has a
>responsibility! Why do I have to tell you what is wrong in your department?
>Then there must be something very wrong with you.
>
>The bottom line is – as from today, it is for all of you to decide whether
>you want to work and deliver or you want to go home. And if you decide to
>go home, the honourable thing to do is to let me know that you do not want
>to work. Otherwise, I would be obliged to let you go home or tell you to go
>home.”
>.
>.
>.
>.
>He assured all that he has no favorite in his cabinet. “The only person who
>is my friend is the one who is honest and working honestly for the
>development of this country. Those who would do things for the country and
>not for themselves. People who would do things without ulterior motives….If
>you work hard, you are my friend; if you don’t work hard, you are not my
>friend.
>
>“From here, you decide whether you want to work and continue your
>responsibility or you do not want to work and want to go home; then you
>tell us good-bye. We will not accept anymore this cat and mouse game or
>playing hide and seek.”
>
>The president went on to lament the present state of things in the country.
>It is necessary, he said, to figure out how we solve this problem, noting
>that with an abundance of raw materials, “we are not even producing
>matches, then how do you expect we would not have foreign exchange
>problems. We are not exporting anything, because we are not manufacturing
>anything. And how long do we want this status quo to continue? There should
>be some other sources of foreign exchange….”
>
>
>--
>There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
>yet small enough to solve (Mike Leavitt)
>
>
>
>
>
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