EDITORIAL JAMMEH'S IMF GRAND COMMISSION- A TALE OF A DROWNING PRESIDENT Octoger 25, 2005 Is this the beginning or the ending of a new Commission of enquiry against President Jammeh? Jammeh confessing to the IMF? Confession about what? The Kanilai man is behaving as a legal guru. He cleverly tried to convince the IMF with his substandard and distorted facts regarding the missing central bank millions. Jammeh, your letter to the IMF is not only revealing, but incriminating as well. We learnt with great shock that state funds were being disbursed without documentation or proper monitoring. You call it unprogrammed projects. Could you tell us what these projects were in the interest of justice? We don't think that the missing millions went to the Kombo Coastal road. These funds need to be accounted for. The Gambia needs these missing millions very badly at this hour. Our country is denied development by some selfish and greedy politicians. Thanks to our investigative journalists, such a story was uncovered. This letters are not private as far you continued to occupy the Presidency Jammeh. The said piece is in the public interest and we harboured no grudge or malice for publishing such a damning confession letter emanating from the Presidency in Banjul. We are doing what is expected of us as responsible journalists. Please take note of this Jammeh. What is most amazing about Jammeh's letter was his confession about the central bank missing millions. The question that comes to mind is: Where was Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy, when Jammeh dispatched such a letter to the IMF leadership in Washington? It is on record that VP Njie Saidy had in the recent past denied any financial malpractices at the Central bank of The Gambia. The VP was quoted as saying that there was no missing millions at the Central Bank. Now her boss Yahya Jammeh is today saying that there was indeed a problem at the central bank. Jammeh described the missing millions as a worrisome development. Now, who among the two is to be trusted? We are initiating an opinion poll for our readers. Feel free to vote in this enquiry. There is nothing wrong for one to own up to his mistakes and try to address them. What is interesting about Jammeh's assurances to the IMF is that, he never honoured his promise to tackle the root causes of the central bank missing millions. Instead, he went ahead to recall fired corrupt public officials in his government. Jali Yankuba Touray former Information and tourism minister respectively was fired because of alleged corrupt practices. Yanks was said to have sold a greater part of Gambia's Tourism Development reserve Lands to his friends and close associates, without observing a government policy, which stipulates among other things-that such lands cannot be disposed without inviting prospective buyers. Non of the plots of land sold to some Lebanese and prominent Gambians were advertised in any local newspaper or radio station. If my memory serves me right, people who purchased lands from Jali Touray were asked to hand over sale papers issued to them by Yanks and co to a Commission tasked with the responsibility of probing the TDA land corruption scandal. Guess wha? The same Yankauba Touray was rehired by Jammeh, even though Touray was indicted for corruption by the Paul Commission. Funds amounting to over D2Million dalasis meant for the Tourism and roots festival annex office also went missing under Yanks tenure as tourism minister. These funds are still not accounted for. To add insult to injury Jammeh also recalled Justice Minister Sheik Tijan Hydara who was also indicted for corruption by the Paul Commission. The minister was also linked to land graping and other alleged corrupt practices. The list goes on and on.... What is the point of writing such a "confession letter" when you are not ready to implement IMF's request to end graft and reckless government expenditure? We need a total clean up of Yahya's government. From Jammeh to the last man in his government should be probed. Corruption is reaching an alarming proportion in The Gambia. It sad that our country is being governed by corrupt politicians. How can the likes of Yanks, Hydara, Jammeh and others talk about corruption, when their hands are not clean? We will continue to talk about the central bank issue. We want Jammeh and co to tell us the whereabouts of the missing millions. We will not rest until justice is done on this high profile economic crime against the state. Baba and Lang are serving prison terms. How about other accomplices walking scot free in the streets of Banjul? As Lang Conteh is scheduled to be released on October 26, we thought it necessary to remind him about the Central Bank scam, which led to his imprisonment. lang is privy of such letters written by Jammeh, Balla and Famara. We hope and pray that all those who have hands in the Central bank missing millions will face justice. Jammeh as the President of The Gambia cannot exonerate himself from wrong doing. Government is about collective responsibility. We challenge him to resign and allow a credible transitional government to probe this embarrassing state of affairs. The ALLGAMBIAN will continue to serve as a watch dog. We have zero tolerance for corruption and maladministration. Let those presiding the state of affairs, be aware of our determination to expose graft. As long you don't want to give up stealing, we will continue to expose you. We have the know how and the experience to gather such news. Take note of this Jammeh and co. Jammeh's commission on the central bank continues. We rest our case. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤