My Fellow Gambians, As each day passes, the scale of the problems in our country becomes more and more intimidating and depressing. In fact, I now begin to wonder whether the damage already suffered by our beloved country can ever be fully repaired. Each minute, each hour, each day, each week, each month, each year that Jammeh remains in the presidency, the more the crisis engulfing our country deepens. My sixteenth message deals with the points I elucidated in a previous posting (Contents of message 16 on 6th September). I have endeavoured to highlight the main issues involved in each point, and should welcome critical response from the readership of these Internet postings of mine. 1. An Overview of the Plight of Gambian Citizens At the domestic level, Jammeh has failed to deliver in every single respect: unemployment is rising daily and rapidly; prices of staple goods are sky-rocketing by the hour; some public servants are not paid their salaries on time; our roads become increasingly impassable; our refuse disposal systems pose even greater health hazards for all the community; our electricity supply gets closer to non-existence; our water supply becomes unsafer; our schools become more overpopulated, under-resourced and under-staffed; poverty of a scale we have never previously known grows; our health service gets closer to collapse and our environment deteriorates. Still at the domestic level, but more importantly in a way, corruption has become the keyword to describe the leadership of the country. Jammeh travels frequently and with an entourage which grows with each trip; the renovation of State House in Banjul is months behind schedule and millions of Dalasis over budget (as well as being undertaken by Moroccans rather than Gambians); central government operations are at a virtual standstill, and the government/public coffers are being depleted at an ever-accelerating pace. I even hear that Amadou Samba is trying to recover the sum of 14 million Dalasis that the Jammeh Government is said to be owing him, but to no avail. The Government is proving to be one built on lies, prevarications, excuses and intimidation: even its own supporters are now saying publicly that Jammeh and the APRC have failed them. Clearly, under Jammeh, attitudes of apathy and fatalism have taken over in our Gambia: the country is dogged by myriad problems. Poverty now exists on a scale that is totally unacceptable, and is threatening the very survival of individuals and families. In fact, some would argue that political repression in The Gambia, at the level at which it exists, is still not the greatest and gravest threat: they perceive that poverty in all its terrible shapes and forms comprises the greatest threat to Gambian dignity and honour. Poverty in the Gambia is now at such a bad pitch that people are saying that democracy will make no sense, unless poverty is tackled immediately: their view is that LIFE itself is the first human right, and that when poverty is allowed to threaten so many of our citizen’s lives, then democracy becomes a illusory ideal. At a regional level, Jammeh is destroying The Gambia’s image and credibility. He is at daggers drawn with President Wade in Senegal because of the Casamance crisis: President Kumba Yala of Guinea Bissau does not trust Jammeh any longer because of Jammeh’s links with Ansumana Manneh: Nigerian President Obasanjo will not even deign to sit at the same table with Jammeh. Even South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki has been apprised of Jammeh’s lies and subterfuge: Jammeh told the South Africans that ESKOM would be given the electricity contract in The Gambia, but later they discovered that Jammeh was actually using Sam Sarr as a cover for his partly-owned company. Our relations with our fellow African states are characterised by lying, artifice, dodgy dealing, cheating and corruption on the part of Jammeh and his government. At this current United Nations Millennium Summit, Thabo Mbeki even went as far as to out rightly refuse to meet Jammeh personally. What a disgusting and depressing state of affairs. At an international level, The Gambia’s image is at an all-time low. Thanks to Jammeh we are now known as a rogue state, a drug state: unreliable and untrustworthy in the extreme. In the not too distant future, we shall also be accused (and rightly so) of being a terrorist state because of Jammeh’s illicit dealings with countries that support terrorism and terrorist atrocities. No wonder at the present UN Summit in New York, Jammeh is seen as a joke of a leader, and no other world leader of good repute wants to have anything to do with him. Jammeh blames Sedat Jobe, his Foreign Minister and Blaise Jagne, the Gambia’s Ambassador to the UN for this state of affairs, but the truth of the matter is apparent to all of us clear-thinking Gambians. We can lay the blame directly at Jammeh’s feet. Even the leaders of the Arab countries are running away from Jammeh, because it has become clear to them that the man is a fake and a scoundrel. They note that he even uses his LEFT hand to hold the Kurus (Islamic beads)! They are now realising that Jammeh is only interested in the money he can get from them. Whichever way you look at it, Jammeh is known now as a man of lies, corruption, unreliability, disloyalty, shadiness and cunning. He is also slated for his extremely low levels of intellectual ability. 2. A Closer Look At what Gambians Now Have to Contend With As long as Jammeh remains the president of our nation, the future of The Gambia will remain uncertain. For this reason, all Gambians MUST now take a more proactive role in the day-to-day running of the country. As a people, history will certainly and justifiably indict us if we watch our country slide ever more quickly and certainly into anarchy and chaos. We have a duty of conscience to ourselves, to humanity at large, to posterity to work together and uproot this evil demon from office, and to put in his place a leader who will be truly orientated to The Gambia, and who will have our country’s best interests at heart. The prolonged nature of militarism and despotism in The Gambia must be brought to an end with all speed: authoritarianism has had its day, and we have to give precedence to seeing the back of it. Also, the economic crisis has to be dealt with as a matter of immediacy and urgency: given the current desperate state of stagnation, the very sovereignty of our nation is at risk. And without any effective economic base, our country is finished. We really do have to come together as a people determined to fight against military rule masquerading as democracy, against the violation of the fundamental human rights of Gambians; against lawlessness and social chaos. We can never hope to move forwards under an oppressive regime as epitomised by Jammeh’s. Gambians are having to contend with terrible pressures: repressive acts, the suppression of a free and honest media, the politicisation of the judiciary, economic partiality on the part of government; electoral interference by the ruling party; theft on a grand public scale; intimidation of ordinary citizens; MURDER by government decree. We cannot stand idly by and watch the social, economic, judicial and political disintegration of our homeland. We absolutely HAVE to take action and reclaim our rights as Gambian citizens. We have the right to expect justice, freedom, equal opportunity in all areas of life (including health, education, infrastructure): we have the right to be consulted by the government we elect: we have the right to be respected by our leaders: we have the right of citizens to high national, continental and international reputation: we have the right to look to contribute to the development of our nation in every aspect: we have the right to live freely and without fear. 3. Assuming "People Power" We absolutely have to assume "people power": to expect that our leaders and government agencies will take note of our views, our dreams, our ideals. Ordinary Gambians have the entitlement to an opinion freely held and freely expressed: they have the entitlement to expect that each and every citizen can make an important and effective contribution to national development. People have to be encouraged to perceive themselves as constructively critical agents of their leaders: they have the right to disagree or agree; to suggest improvement or to criticise improvements. Until Gambians understand that their leaders are not demigods or intrinsically "better" people than themselves, then we cannot progress. The empowerment of the people lies mainly with the attitudes of the people themselves, and we have to work towards this wholeheartedly and with commitment and belief. 4. Using The Ballot Box To Best Effect The ballot box is going to be the tool of the people in deciding their own preferred future: we have to commence a massive political education and sensitisation programme in order to ensure that every Gambian with a vote, uses that vote freely and with understanding of all the issues. We have to ensure that each Gambian of voting age, registers for a voter’s card: that there is no collusion or conspiracy to avert the true electoral process. We also have to ensure that we involve as many national and international agencies as possible in supervising the whole electoral process, to ensure that the forthcoming elections are truly free, fair, incorrupt and representative of the true will of the people. 5. How Ordinary Gambians Can Move The Country On Ordinary Gambians have a paramount role to play in moving their country on: they have to learn to be discriminating; to be truthful; to be reliable; to be hard-working; to be decent; to be socially aware; to be mindful of the views of others; to be tolerant; to be just; to be committed to freedom and democracy; to be fair in their judgements; to be honest in their reactions; to be willing to compromise in the national interest; above all, to have self-respect. 6. Gambians Looking To Their Own Personal Future If we can get our attitudes set on a fair and true course, then we can genuinely expect to make a positive difference in our country. By looking to our own futures (in terms of educating ourselves and our children to the best of our abilities; to developing our sense of social responsibility; to contributing personally towards the wealth and health of our nation; to accepting personal responsibility; to cultivating the best in our human nature), then we can move ourselves and our families forwards, and put our country back on the right tracks to prosperity, decency, independence and democracy. Gambians should be looking to the betterment of individuals, of their families, of their village, of their District, of their Division, of their Nation. We have seen what will happen if we leave the running of our country to our present leaders: it is tantamount to committing suicide. Gambians absolutely have to play an active part NOW, and in a post-Jammeh administration. "As we sow, so shall we reap". We have to be looking towards protecting the integrity, the sovereignty, the prosperity of our nation otherwise all these ideals will be jeopardised in the medium and long term. Protecting our own future starts with protecting our country from top to bottom, from tip to toe. We really do have to become more proactive; to take ourselves seriously; to take education seriously: we have to learn, and get "co naissance". We have to be developmentally orientated, business orientated, politically orientated; innovative; self-reliant. We have every right to expect that our freely elected government will be responsible and accountable for the day-to-day governance of the nation, but we also have to acknowledge our own involvement in this. In the post Jammeh era, we have to become self-disciplined, hard working, self-reliant. In all these things, we have to start at home in our own personal, domestic and employment lives. If we are going to move our country on, then we also have to move ourselves on. 7. Safeguarding The Electoral Process The ballot box has to be our major focus: how we sensitise our people to the important personal role each one has to play is going to be crucial. All political parties will need to work hard to educate, educate, educate. All national and international agencies will need to monitor, monitor, monitor. Every case of corruption or nepotism in the electoral process has to be noted and reported. As citizens we have to be certain that the electoral process is truly free and fair: that every vote cast is counted accurately; that every shade of opinion is respected and given media time: that all our electoral officers and officials are incorrupt and decent Gambians. We should leave no stone unturned in making sure that elections in The Gambia lead to a true and representative reflection of the will of the people. 8. Our Responsibilities, The Elections and The Economic Plight of Our Nation My Fellow Gambians! The message is very clear! The situation in The Gambia is drastic in the extreme, and it cannot improve under Jammeh. We have to take the minute-by-minute deterioration seriously. Were it not for the financial aid that many Gambians living abroad were sending home, then the domestic situation could be even more traumatically serious. However, the reality is that not every Gambian has a brother or sister or cousin working or living abroad. Most are self-reliant, and for them the pressures of daily life are becoming insupportable. Our problems are numerous: solving them starts with changing the leadership of our country. All the background to the current crises is the result of bad governance. No Gambian needs a reminder of the devastating situation in our land: it is there for everybody to see. The sooner we eject Jammeh and the APRC from power, then the sooner we can endeavour to put our country back together again. With God’s good help, and by working together with The Gambia’s best interests at hear, WE CAN DO IT. Ebrima Ceesay Birmingham, UK. _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface ----------------------------------------------------------------------------