jabou , you will be shock to know that yahya was involve in this criminal enterprise a long time ago . i use to reside close to Boto .Boto is the founder of boto construction . he live in Talindinkunjang . he was initially owner of the construction company but later run the jolla connection came to play ,yahya invested in the company .Boto was use as a cover to front the company but in reality yahya is the main investor. Boto's truck use to carry scores of ladies from talinding to kanilai farm every single day . women came from all over the place to labour for there dear leader at a minimal wage if any .so about amadou samba ,that is well non . what about taf ? well taf too use to freuqent a sarahule close friend of mine call haji camara . this man ,taf would confide lots of things to .i use to see taf park his four wheel drive near our home every two or so days. he use to meet ansumana manneh (late) in haji's compound .ansumana manneh was then in leadership struggle in bissau .they use to transport haji to bissau to use his charms in making the late ansumana's leadership role a success. taf may also be having secret land deal from yahya as the broker. the man is into many other things. he is determine to be multi rich at all cost . [log in to unmask] wrote: -----Original Message----- From: SUNTOU TOURAY yahya has introduce a mafia style business ethics in our country , he most get a cut in every major deals . the guy is now more than alcapone. Suntou, That is exactly what is happening. Yaya Jammeh has been systematically working on controlling every avenue of profit generating business in that country through a cleverly or should I say not so cleverly disguised set of dummy corporations, and in these crimes he is orchestrating against the Gambian people, he is aided by his various partners in crime. This injustice being exercised against these small business owners who sell fuel is nothing but another attempt to frustrate those people so that they can take over that business. Just watch where it goes from here. Jabou Joh ABDOUKARIM SANNEH wrote: Jabou Thanks for the forward it seems there is a shortage of very commodity in that country. Gambia is facing hyperinflation and you did not need to be a graduate of economic to know about that. Life is getting day by day difficult for average household families in both urban and rural areas. Fuel storage. cement shortage soon will be rice shoratage. APRC regime have failed our people dismally. informal sector of our economy which is the major employer is constraint by non functioning state mercenary. [log in to unmask] wrote: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue Issue No. 70/2007, 18 - 19 June, 2007 Editorial FUEL SHORTAGE Economic Sabotage or Attempt To Frustrate Small Scale Importers SoS For Finance and SoS for Trade Should Explain The queues near fuel stations are growing longer. Transportation is becoming a problem and the informal economy is being put under strain as small scale producers find it difficult to move their goods to markets or do so at increased transport cost. What then is the cause of the shortage? The SoS for Finance and Economic Affairs and SoS for Trade and should give an explanation. Foroyaa would like to give them facts to investigate. First and foremost, we would like to draw their attention to the attempt by the SoS for Agriculture to suppress the informal sector in the purchase of groundnuts in the 2004/2005 trade season in favour of monopoly by GAMCO. Foroyaa cautioned that the Gambian economy depends on the informal sector for its survival. Small scale enterprises run by people, generally considered illiterates, have proven to be resilient, irrespective of all the shocks the economy goes through including the border problem that had already been overcome. We emphasized that any attempt to suppress the operation of small scale enterprises would lead to closure of market access to farmers, impoverishment of retail traders, shortages of commodities, rise in inflation and growth in poverty. Apparently, a government whose economic foundation rests so much on the informal sector does not appear to have done a comprehensive study of this sector in order to determine the type of policies, institutions and procedures and regulations it need to adopt to protect and promote its development. The present shortage in fuel and rise in the price of cement are clear testimonies to the absence of a coherent government economic policy regarding the informal sector. If the SoS for Finance or SoS for Trade disagrees they should call a press conference to defend the position of the government. One may now ask: How does the absence of a coherent government policy on the informal sector contribute to the present shortage in fuel and rise in the price of cement? The answer is simple. Foroyaa was approached by a friend of some informal sector operators to indicate that some of them have been asked to stop selling fuel they imported because of the claim that they do not possess licence to sell fuel. He claimed that they were advised to go to the Department of State for Trade to get the licence. There they were told to go to the commissioner of petroleum at the office of the President. There too it is claimed that they were asked to write a letter to the Secretary General to find out what should be done since that office was also not responsible for issuing the licence alluded to by police personnel. He indicated that they were advised to visit Foroyaa’ s office where they are likely to find people who can write the appropriate letter for them. Reviewing the case, it became apparent that the people concerned were in possession of certificate of business registration stipulating the sale of fuel as their angle of trade, tax identification numbers (TIN), receipts indicating payment of income tax and taxes to area council, as well as customs receipts for paying duty for importing hundreds of thousands of litres of petrol which commenced since 2005. These young entrepreneurs, whom the government have been making appealing to rise up to take charge of the informal trade, have receipts totalling over 7 million dalasis that they have paid as importers of fuel and cement. We could not believe our eyes that the informal sector was contributing so much to government revenue. We have asked them to seek an appointment with the SoS for Finance who has established a quota for revenue collection by the National Revenue Authority. He would then determine whether such successful young entrepreneurs need incentive to enhance their business or sanctions to drive them out of business. Since the matter had gone all the way to the courts we asked the young people to hire legal counsels to maintain them on a permanent basis to protect their successful enterprises if they fail to get sympathetic hearing from the Secretary of State. The next day after the advice we were informed that the security forces had been instructed to remove about 29,900 litres of fuel from the premises of the Gambian entrepreneur for storage at a place determined by a commissioner of police. At the moment, while there is petrol shortage we have been reliably informed that that these young entrepreneurs have 70,000 litres of petrol up country which they are told not to bring into the Greater Banjul area; that some of them have stocks exceeding 49,000 litres in Senegal which they are afraid to bring for fear of conflict with the law. The people we met appeared shattered for having been put in cells. They claim that as people from religious backgrounds who grew up as Arabic students in informal koranic schools, they have no way to make it except through honest trade. They claim that they have been advised by their religious teachers and parents to respect and abide by the law; that before they started their activities they consulted with government institutions to get guidance, that up to this time they do not know where they have gone wrong. In our view, while the court has power to play its part, the SoS for Finance and SoS for Trade have a duty to provide the conducive environment for young Gambian entrepreneurs to carry on legitimate trade. In our view, investors should not be spending money to search for advice on how to invest. It is the duty of government to guide investors to invest. In short, the Department of State for Trade should have a unit serving as an Indigenous Business advisory body that should have identified all the businesses functioning in the informal sector, prioritize their volume and prepare brochures on the regulatory environment for their smooth registration and operation. Such bureaucracy which pushes an investor from one office to another is tantamount to economic sabotage, since it frustrates the operators of small scale enterprises. Immediate action is necessary to save the situation. It is such vacuum in policy and administration which has compelled Foroyaa to restructure so that it can take the mantle of a fourth estate. We will have a section on economic and social development whose reporters will receive reports of all obstructions to the development of enterprises, all tendencies towards monopoly which increases inflation and throw light on the protective environment by interviewing lawyers and insurance brokers who can help to protect the interest of vulnerable enterprises. We will engage the policy makers and administrators and challenge them to provide the conducive environment necessary for economic and social development to take place or stand exposed. Emerging economies from underdevelopment need huge investment and democracy. Foroyaa will conduct studies on investment pattern and the requirements for democratic solutions of the country. All these developments will take place after Foroyaa’s anniversary in August 2007. “See Halifa Sallah’s Interview in the next issue on the restructuring drive. †FUEL SHORTAGE HITS AGAIN By Fabakary B. Ceesay & Yaya Dampha Since last Wednesday, private and commercial drivers have been experiencing difficulty in acquiring fuel for their vehicles to conduct their normal daily business due to scarcity of fuel in the country especially within the Greater Banjul areas. On Sunday, Foroyaa reporters went around to various fuel stations within the Kanifing Municipality to assess the situation and the problems motorists are experiencing. At the Shell petrol station at Churchill Town, the whole station was virtually empty. At Castle Filling Station at West Field, there was a large queue of waiting vehicles and a group of disgruntled people holding empty gallons to get fuel. Sale at this filling station was intermittent rather than continuous. There was another large crowd of people at Elton Station along Sayerr Jobe Avenue with a long queue of vehicles. Pump attendants were seen supplying fuel only to customers that had coupons. Many people complained that they are also customers and should be considered. At the Shell Filling Station along the same road, no single person or vehicle was there to get fuel. A staff member told Foroyaa that there is no single barrel of fuel at their company. They said their consignment is on the way and they expect the vessel to dock at the ports at any moment from today. Some government drivers with coupons from Shell Company indicated that they cannot get their fuel due to scarcity at Shell. A Lebanese businessman told Foroyaa that fuel companies should have measures in place to tackle such problems before they arise. He said his business had been at a standstill as he could go to work since Friday. CONTROVERSY OVER A SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION By Abdoulie Dibba On Monday 11 June 2007, a controversy ensued at the National Assembly over a supplementary question between the Speaker, Hon. Netty Baldeh and Hon. Sidia Jatta. The controversy arosed following a question raised by the National Assembly Member for Lower Fulladu West, Hon. Yerro Mballow, as to whether there was any fertilizer purchased for the last cropping season for the farming community? a). If there was no fertilizer purchased, why? b). If there was any purchase made how much was distributed regionally? In response to these questions the SoS for Agriculture, Kanja Sanneh, indicated that fertilizer was not purchased for the last cropping season for the farming community because there was a balance of stock from the previous season. In a supplementary question, the member for Lower Fulladu West, Hon. Yerro Mballow, raised the following question: Hon. Speaker, could the SoS tell this Assembly whether the balance of fertilizer was adequate for the farming community? This question however, led to a controversy as the Speaker ruled out the question saying the question was not a supplementary one but a new element. But Hon. Sidia rose up to observe that it was indeed not a new element but was rather supplementing the main one, making a follow up on the SoS’s reply. Mr. Netty Baldeh also rose to support what the Speaker had said and went further to stress that the Speaker’s position was final because according to him the Speaker had already over ruled the question. The Wuli West NAM rose up to demand from the Speaker to make an observation. The Speaker also asked whether it was on the same matter, to which Sidia answered in the positive. Netty Baldeh, however, stood up to insist that Sidia should not make any further observation on the matter. Sidia, who must have felt surprised, asked Netty whether he was the Speaker of the National Assembly, Netty answered in the negative. The Speaker then thanked Netty for helping to protect her and later said the way he saw Sidia was like somebody who needed sympathy but Sidia said he did not need sympathy and retorted that he did not need sympathy from those who need to be sympathised. He, however, emphasize his point on the fertilizer purchases which the SoS should clarify but the Speaker insisted that it was still a new element. The majority leader who rose to defend Hon. Baldeh’s position indicated that even if Hon. Jatta was right, the fact is that the Speaker had already overruled the supplementary question and that Hon. Jatta’s position should not be tolerated. NAMS SCRUTINISE MANSAKONKO AREA COUNCIL By Bubacarr K. Sowe National Assembly Members on Tuesday, June 12, questioned the Secretary of State for Local Government and Lands on the revenue collected by the Mansakonko Area Council (MAC) since 2005, when the Council’s books were last audited and how many students are being sponsored by the council. Ismaila Sambou, Secretary of State For Local Government and Lands, said the Council collected D4,508,182.69 (four million five hundred and eight thousand one hundred and eighty-two dalasis sixty-nine bututs) between January 1 to December 31, 2005, D4,766,822.95 (four million seven hundred and sixty-six thousand eight hundred and twenty-two dalasis ninety-five bututs) from January 2 to December 31, 2006 and D1,673,573.07 (one million six hundred and seventy-three thousand five hundred and seventy-three dalasis seven bututs) from January 1 to May 31, 2007. SoS Sambou also said that the accounts of the Council were last prepared in 2006, noting that the accounts are currently being audited. When he was asked by the member for Jarra Central to shed light on how many students are being sponsored by the Council, Mr. Sambou said the Council is sponsoring ten students at senior secondary schools, twenty students at upper basic schools, ten students at basic cycle schools and one member of staff, at The Gambia Technical Training Institute. Answering a question raised by the minority leader and member for Kiang West, Momodou Sanneh, the Secretary of State said the major areas of expenditure of the Council in 2005 and 2006 are personal emoluments (salaries), supply and service, vehicle maintenance and fuel, health and social service, development projects requested by the communities and contributions to “Tesito.†SoS Sambou added that fifty-one permanent staff were engaged up to December 2006 by the Council. BABA JOBE & CO CASE High Court Dismisses The Defendants’ Application By Bubacarr K. Sowe The four defendants in the seven million dalasis civil suit filed by the Guaranty Trust Bank may file an appeal at The Gambia Court of Appeal. Justice Haddy Roche on Friday overruled the application made by lawyer Janet Sallah Njie. She ruled that the plaintiff has to prove the allegation against the defendants; Philip Thompsett, Lynn Wilson, Lloyd Bourogh and Baba Jobe, a former majority leader at the National Assembly. Defence Counsel, Mrs. Sallah Njie, on Tuesday, June 12, submitted that the defendants are not liable to the claim made by the plaintiff and urged the court to dismiss the case. When her application was turned down on Friday, she told the court that she would appeal against the ruling at the Court of Appeal. In delivering the ruling on the matter, Justice Roche stressed that in the statement of the plaintiffs it alleged that the defendants had agreed to pay, therefore, the court would go ahead with the hearing of the matter. The judge also ruled that the court cannot dismiss the matter and put the case into a controversy, adding that the case needs to be tried to prove the allegation the plaintiffs are making against the defendants. FOCUS ON POLITICS THE 1981 POLITICAL CRISIS Sir Dawda Given A New Mandate; Dibba Lost His Seat, Awaits Court Verdict With Suwaibou Touray We have been using this column to focus on politics, in general, and Gambian politics in particular. In the last issue we have dealt with the 1982 election campaign where the opposition leader was detained, pending the outcome of his trial as he was accused of treason and many other offences. We have stopped where we said, ‘during the state of emergency, the illiterate politicians did not know then that one could hardly do or say anything during the campaign without putting oneself in trouble’. Let us continue from where we have stopped. The results of both the presidential and parliamentary elections which were held simultaneously were not a surprise to many enlightened observers. The President, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, won a landslide victory and many parliamentary candidates of the ruling PPP also won, giving them another clear majority and mandate to manage the affairs of the country for the next five years, 1982 to 1987. For the opposition NCP, even though, they had gone through the whole episode with dignity, the number of seats had infact dropped. They had lost what was considered their main seat, that of Central Baddibu, to Honourable Lamin Kebba Saho of the PPP who contested against S.M Dibba. However they emerged triumphantly with the Illiasa and Lower Baddibu seats, as well as Bakau. This was understandable given the circumstances in which the seeming contest was staged. For the next contentious area, the URD, Mr. Bubacarr Baldeh, an independent candidate, managed to defeat the ruling party candidate with a clear margin despite the fact that the NCP filed a candidate in the same place. This was a clear indication that if the people will it, they could decide the course of events despite all the loopholes against them. The other independent, Mr. A.K Touray of Sandu also defeated a high profiled PPP candidate after a tough campaign which appeared like a semi war. Despite all the threats and intimidation, the people decided that Alh Musa Dabo should not represent them. Mr. M.C Cham, of Tumana, however, escaped the independent net. He defeated Mbemba Tambedou, a new comer to the scene. But Mr. Kebba Fadera, a lone independent in the Kiangs defeated Hon. J.L.B Daffeh, a long term serving Parliamentarian who also served as Cabinet Minister of Health, Labour and Social Welfare, and of Agriculture and Natural Resources, as well as a Parliamentary Secretary. So the independents emerged with a clean bill of health but the fear remained as to whether the government was going to allow Mr. Bubacarr Baldeh who appeared to have spearheaded the group to continue operating as head of the Freedom From Hunger Campaign (FFHC), an NGO. The question was very valid because, at the time, no matter how competent one was, if one stood under the banner of an opposition ticket in an election, one would be barred from not only holding government positions but all attempts would be made to stifle one’s private initiative from progressing so that one eventually succumbs to the mercy of the ruling party. But if one were to stand under the ruling party banner and failed, according to M.B Jones in the Outlook newspaper, everything would be done to rehabilitate that person. On 11 May 1982, the President was sworn in. This was the first time in Gambian history for a President to be seen being sworn in an open ceremony. The then Speaker of the House, Sir Alieu Sulayman Jack; the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Sir Phillip Bridges, Ministers of State, Justices of the Supreme Court === message truncated === To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask]