Thank you Mr. Sanneh for your contributions. Gambia should be proud to have
citizens like you representing us in Institutions like the AfDB. I wish
things were such that instead of a mental midget like Famara Jatta signing
that grant on behalf of The Gambia, REAL heavyweights like your humble self
and other top-notch Gambians in Abidjan would be representing Gambia as a
Finance Minister.

I think we all understand the impotence of institutions such as yours in
combating some of the ills in our societies. There is a limit to what you
can do. You cannot simply abandon ordinary Gambian citizens to suffer just
because you wish to eradicate corruption in our society. You cannot simply
oversee the further suffering of Gambians just because Yaya decides to order
the massacre of innocent children. In other words, just because the Bank
wants to punish Yaya does not mean the ordinary Gambians should suffer. This
is a fine line the Bank must walk.

It is then incumbent upon the Opposition to point out to the Gambian public
that these grants have nothing to do with the wherewithal of Yaya and his
cohorts. If baboons were leading Gambia, the ordinary Gambians will still
receive aid when we have a flood. A grant from AfDB should NOT make Gambians
vote for Yaya. Matter of fact, thanks to the moron, millions of dollars that
used to filter through the country through aid agencies like USAID, is no
longer coming to the country. Because of the unpatriotic and callous
behavior of Yaya and his cohorts, Gambia attracts numerous sanctions from
civilized nations. The Opposition has to explain to ordinary Gambians how
Gambia receives funding from foreign nations. Yaya is an impediment to this
funding. Mental midgets like Famara Jatta cannot attract all the funds we
can get. The vermin is too scared to think straight. He is too corrupt to
help develop a country as poor as ours. Where did Famara Jatta get the money
he is using to build a mansion back home? Where did he get the money he uses
to send his children to vacation in the U.S. every summer? These vermin got
nothing to offer us. The only thing they got going for them is the money
they get from rogue nations like Libya and Taiwan. According to reports, the
Taiwan well is even drying up. Now our illegal government uses lies and
blackmail tactics to extort money from Taiwan. They lie to the Taiwanese
that the Opposition endorses Mainland China. All these are childish ploys to
earn Yaya bribe money and funding for bogus projects that do NOT alleviate
poverty. All these lies for what? So that Yaya can continue to replenish his
Swiss bank accounts and dish out money to gullible Gambians and pretend that
he is 'developing' the country. These people are shameless. Gambians are
POORER today than they were before Yaya forced himself onto us. Thanks to
the ineptitude and corruption of the Famara Jattas of this world, ordinary
Gambians cannot even be guaranteed two square meals a day.

Although there is a limit to what institutions such as AfDB can do, these
institutions can surely help the Gambian people and at the same time punish
Yaya et al for their crimes. Take the issue of Decentralization for
instance. The Donor Community need to ask Famara Jatta to reconcile his lies
in his budget with the constitutional amendments proposed by Joseph Joof in
order to Centralize more power on Yaya. AfDB can force Yaya to abandon those
undemocratic decrees.

About corruption, we also realize that institutions such as the World Bank
and the AfDB do not have adequate mechanisms to deal with these vices in our
societies. As far as I know, the World Bank had only recently decided to
factor corruption of 'ThirdWaorld Leaders' in their deliberations as to
whether to grant a loan to a member country. I do not know what AfDB
policies are towards the corruption of African leaders like Yaya. Surely, if
Central Bank records show that Yaya transfered $3 Million into a private
Swiss Bank account, this ought to raise a flag with Donor Institutions. This
is clear evidence that the parasite is stealing from the poor citizens in
order to lead a 'flamboyant' lifestyle. This types of evidence together with
the fact that Gambians have grown poorer under Yaya's watch (while our debt
portfolio is on the increase), should convince Donors to realize that the
aid money that is passing throuhg this illegal government, is NOT going to
the intended victims, the poor Gambian citizens. The pro-poor policies of
this government is NOT working. Gambians are POORER today than they were in
1994.

I do not know how feasible it is for institutions such as yours to do like
the U.S. government and remove our illegal government from the equation. Try
and use NGOs such as Boka Loho to reach the Gambian poor. That way, the
vermin cannot go to Central Bank and steal money. That way, they cannot also
bamboozle gullible Gambians into thinking that we are getting these
'developments' thanks to Yaya and Allah's Bank.

Gambians have to get rid of Yaya so that countries and institutions such as
the AfDB will remove the sanctions imposed on our country. As long as Yaya
is there, we will NOT get all the money we can get for the country.

Thanks again for your contributions. Gambians such as yourself make me proud
to declare that I am Gambian too. I must admit that when I am in environment
where the mental midgets show their faces, I am always tempted to pass as a
Senegalese. The vermin has brought us enough shame to last us two
generations. The sooner we get rid of them, the better.
KB



>From: Sidi Sanneh <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: $500,000 AfDB Grant for The Gambia
>Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 11:01:22 -0500
>
>Dear Katim,
>
>I have just returned to Abidjan after a prolonged absence (for both private
>and official reasons), and shifting through my mail I cannot help but
>notice your posting on the $500,000 "Emergency Relief" grant to The Gambia
>and the additional commentaries from Joe Sambou and MRDGNY. For your
>information, I was present when SoS Famara Jatta signed the Grant Agreement
>in Valencia last week Wednesday.
>
>If you will allow me, I wish to respond to the two issues you've raised
>concerning the grant.
>
>(i) The resources made available to The Gambia is AfDB's contribution to a
>wider emergency relief effort by several donor agencies designed to address
>some of the damage caused by the 1999 floods; the ef
>fects of which are most
>severe in Lower, Central and Upper Baddibus, Fulladu West, Sandu, Wuli and
>Kantora affecting six thousand households. Wells have been contaminated,
>dikes/causeways and agricultural infrastructure damaged and seeds and
>seedlings washed away. The delay in the Bank's response is due to the fact
>that the organisational structure and the overall set up of the Bank was
>not designed to respond to emergencies that have recently befell The
>Gambia, Mozambique, Kenya and Malawi. The frequency and magnitude of these
>emergencies in the Continent forced us to respond to such human
>catastrophies, out of necessity, without addressing the Bank's delivery
>mechanism. In recognition of this flaw/shortcoming, all AfDB emergency
>relief are "delivered" and managed by UN specialised agencies, in this
>particular case by the UNDP in Banjul.
>
>(ii) While I cannot speak for other international o
>rganisations, I can
>speak for the AfDB (until, at least the 30th June, 2001). I recall
>responding to a query raised by a G-L contributor ( O.B.Sillah, I beleive )
>about two years ago on the issue of the loan-servicing record of The
>Gambia.  I confirmed then that The Gambia serviced and continue to service
>its loans (since 1986) and has an exemplary record in this category. Please
>note that AfDB statutes dictate that all Regional Member Countries (RMCs)
>who are current in this department be accorded the right to access
>resources under the existing resource allocation mechanism. Let me hasten
>to add that there are other factors which are considered in extending
>assistance such as governance-related criteria. Admittedly, the weights
>attached to these criteria during the portfolio review process may not be
>significant enough to tilt the scale in favour of withholding support. For
>now at least, this is the pol
>icy. This notwithstanding, the AfDB can and
>has on numerous occasions taken issue with RMCs, including The Gambia, on
>human rights, and other issues which research have shown to impede economic
>development.
>
>Finally, I wish to assure you that the issues you and others have raised as
>share-holders are of equal concern to the AfDB. Those in position to
>influence policy in international finance institutions such as the AfDB
>should take sollace in the fact that members of civil society, NGOs,
>taxpayers and individual citizen's concerns are having slow but positive
>impact in the decision-making processes of multi-lateral financial
>institutions (including WTO and other Trading Blocks)as witnessed in
>Seattle, Washington DC, Prague, Quebec City and, as recently as last week,
>Valencia.
>
>Sidi Sanneh
>
>
>From: "Katim S. Touray" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and r
>elated-issues mailing list              <GAMBIA-
>[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: $500,000 AfDB Grant for The Gambia
>Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2001 23:34:36 -0700
>
>Hi folks,
>
>I came across this press release at the African Development Bank Web site.
>Two
>issues come to my mind.  First, is there a typo in the release or do they
>really mean
>that the funds are "emergency relief" even though this is 2001, and the
>floods
>happened in 1999?
>
>Two, what exactly is wrong with these international financial institutions
>that go
>around giving grants to the likes of President Jammeh's government?  This
>is a guy
>who is yet to explain exactly what happened to the proceeds from the sale
>of Nigerian
>crude oil deal that we only knew about when it landed in a London High
>Court.
>Publicly-available court records show that the proceeds from th
>e sale of
>the crude
>oil were put in a Swiss bank account that President Jammeh was reported to
>own.  This
>President Jammeh guy has squandered $1 million (US) in two equal payments
>to the same
>Public Relations firm in the US, even though students shot in last year's
>April
>demonstrations continue to languish in The Gambia, after the government
>failed to pay
>for their medical treatment in Egypt.
>
>And AfDB would turn around and say they are our development partners?  I
>don't think
>so.  They certainly are not being helpful to The Gambia by throwing money
>at a
>government that is demonstrably corrupt, inept, and above all, has no
>respect for
>human rights and the rule of law.  This grant, as far as I'm concerned, is
>a huge
>stain on the AfDB.
>
>By the way, here's the link to the press release at the AfDB site.  The
>release
>itself follows the link.
>
>H
>ave a great week(end) and best wishes.
>
>Katim
>
>http://www.afdb.org/knowledge/pressreleases2001/adb_am2001_gb_emergency_29ma
>y2001e.ht
>m
>
>
>Press Release [No. COMU///01]
>
>AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK: SIGNING OF A US $ 500,000 GRANT AGREEMENT FOR THE
>FLOOD
>VICTIMS IN GAMBIA
>
>VALENCIA, 29 MAY 2001 - His Excellency Mr. Famara L. Jata, Gambia Secretary
>of State
>for Finance and Economic Affairs and Mr. Cyril Enweze, Vice-president,
>Operations of
>the African Development Bank Group (ADB) signed today a grant agreement of
>500,000 US
>$ for emergency relief to flood victims in Gambia.
>
>The objective of the emergency operation is to assist the flood-affected
>communities
>of the Gambia to cope with the flood damages incurred during the rainy
>season of
>1999. It particularly seeks to rapidly rehabilitate the agriculture
>infrastructure as
>
>well as supply the agricultural inputs needed to produce food for the
>victims of the
>flood as well as provide safe drinking water. The project will involve
>urgent repairs
>of dykes and spillways in the lowlands of the worst affected areas. It will
>also
>involve the purchase of long floating rice seeds and other inputs as well
>as the
>rehabilitation of 35 and treatment of 116 wells.
>
>Bank Group operations in Gambia started in 1971. To date, the Group has
>committed a
>total of US$ 195.26 million on 30 operations out of which about US$ 151.48
>million
>have been disbursed.
>
>
>* 1 UC= 1,26579 $ EU au 1/05/01
>* 1UA = US$ 1.26579 as at May 1st, 2001
>Media Contact:
>K. Saiki (225) 20 20 41 18 - Email: [log in to unmask]
>Samba Chifwambwa - S. Chifwambwa @afdb.org
>Technical Contact:
>M. M. Sabri [log in to unmask]
>Tel (225)20 20 54 39 - Fax (225) 20 20 59 01
>
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