Gassama, thanks for your response. When you said:

"Communications has long been identified as one of those ingredients
necessary for economic growth in any country. Because of this, the provision
of universal access has been one of the challenges being faced by many
government-owned communications companies like Gamtel. In fact the provision
of access has been recognized as one of the means to fight poverty. It is in
line with these reasons that we are trying to develop rural communications."

My question still, if I am not literate, don't have capital for large/small
scale farming, not paid for my crops, and cannot put food on the table for
my family, how do you expect me to have access to this thing we call
communication, narrowly or broadly?  Right now as I write most of these
farmers cannot afford to put their kids through school and we trying to sell
them access to communication?  Please let me know if the overwhelming poor
in the rural areas are the target for this sales pitch.  If they are then
it's misguided.  These things are discussed when folks have the basics to
living; food, clothing, shelter, and health care.  Most of rural Africa in
general and Gambia in particular are starving as we speak, why don't we
start with providing the basics.  Is that too much to ask?  Or as usual, the
idea has to come from the APRC?

When I talk of lack of capital, I am not referring to credit extended to a
selected few.  That is not what drives an economy.  I am talking about the
small scale mom and pap ventures and they do not have access to capital.
The small scale entrepreneur is the backbone to even the the most developed
economies.  These banks are not doing anything that their predecessors did
not do.  They will give loans to you and few others, but you and the few
others are not the masses, the reason for this discussion.  Classic third
world vision, the connected, with no better ideas have access to everything,
while the masses just wallow in the wilderness of want.  The masses are the
makers of history, not the gun toting, the suave slickster, or the
connected.  You may be among the very privileged few to not know that Yaya
is among the richest folks in our sub region.  Outsiders know that, our
papers talk about it, yet, you still requesting for proof from me.  As the
intelligent brother that I know you are, I know you know what I'm talking
about.  The fact that dark clouds shield the sun from your view does not
make you believe that the sun is gone for good.  Look at Yaya a day before
the coup and assess him today.  Better yet, the country Gambia does not have
an aircraft, but he does.  Or, do you want me to show you proof of title to
the craft?  You know very well that you cannot name anyone in The Gambia
that is wealthier than Yaya.  Also, you know full well that there is no one
that you can point to that have a stranglehold of our economy like the three
mentioned above, and the person is not affiliated to Yaya.

Regarding the assertion of the Director General of WAIFEM, I take it you
also want proof from him too.  Gassama, I know you know better.

Brother Gassama, to avoid going in circles with this exchange, you know that
your people are hurting badly but you are willing to always present to us
the opposite.  In your last paragraph, are you suggesting that you know
everything that goes on in our country?  On the contrary, we do not just
rely on the net and newspapers.  We speak to people on a daily basis, visit
frequently, and we fund the goings on, and you know that.  If we hold out on
that country for a month, this misery you cannot see or feel would hit you
right in the face, for there is no telling what down and out folk might do.
You may have many opinions of us in the diaspora, but trust me, we know the
reality on the ground, and we mitigate the pains of our people through our
funding.  You also know that of all the new structures you talked about
here, four out of every five is funded from the outside.  It is our civic
duty to reach out to our loved ones and the unfortunate.  It is good to be
opmistic, but please be objective.  You cannot address the assault that our
economy is under without discussing the dirty hand of our government.  After
8 years in power, what sectors of our economy can you say we came out ahead
or are doing well?  None.  Are the people lying when they cry to the media
about putting food on the table with the inflationary pressures?  Are the
farmers lying when they tell the papers that they are hungry and cannot put
food on the table for their families?  Are those that live off on tourism
making stuff up, when they cry about the lackluster performance of the
sector?  Are the banks lying when they say that cross boarder commerce is at
a standstill or Senegalese vendors in the provinces refuse to trade in our
currency?  Crime and armed robbery is on the increase, or is that because of
the "bad foreigners"?

God bless you Gassama for your achievements and accumulations and I wish you
more progress in your aspirations, but please step out of the "we's ok
crowd" and just try to live in, to borrow from you, "the reality of the
masses".  I can see you lamenting that you are part of the masses.  (:!
Don't even go there.  You know you are not, especially when you can afford
the many state banquettes.  What was for dinner, fillet Minion?  (:!

Chi Jaama

Joe Sambou



>From: Jungle Sunrise <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Putting things in their proper perspective.
>Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2002 15:51:59 +0000
>




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