Folks,
Ten years ago, to date, the hopes of Gambians were
raised only to be dashed last month. It is a common practice of our President to
keep the people hanging on hope and on him. The notion of Vision 2020 is a clear
example of his delusive promises that by the year 2020, The Gambia will be as
prosperous as Singapore. This notion is widely held by those who believe in him,
forgetting they were once told that The Gambia will be a "Donor-Nation" in
2014.
Below is the unabridged speech he gave to the
nation on what he called a historic day. As usual it is a long one.
I hope people in the Gambia will read this speech
and come to terms with whom they are dealing.
Prince
=================================================
HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT YAHYA A. J. J. JAMMEH'S
STATEMENT
TO THE NATION ON OIL EXPLORATION
DELIVERED ON FRIDAY FEBRUARY
13, 2004
Fellow Gambians
It is important that I speak to
you today to lay to rest speculations that have engaged many of us following my
address to the Nation on the occasion of the 2004 New Year. Some Gambians are
aware of the fact that there has been a long history of oil exploration in The
Gambia beginning in 1956.
In the earlier years of the exercise none of the
companies exploring for oil in our country carried their exploration work beyond
the initial phase except for Chevron, which drilled an unsuccessful offshore oil
exploration well in 1979 called Jammah-1.
Under the auspices of the Canadian Government and
funding, Petro-Canada International carried out studies in the 1980s and between
1999 and 2002 an Oil and Gas company also carried out study work and a Seismic
programme whose results were very questionable, to say the least, as this
Government has always believed that oil not only exists in The Gambia but exists
in very large quantities. As a result their application to extend their license
was rejected by Government.
We did not extend the latter's license agreement
because of their failure as well to meet their work obligations under the
license and because of a request that the financial terms of their agreement
with The Gambia should be changed. The changes requested would have resulted in
The Gambia receiving very little benefit from any commercial oil development
which, to be precise, is 5% of any commercial oil development. This was also
unacceptable to Government to say the least.
Thereafter Government contracted a Western Company
to review all previous work done in The Gambia and to advise us on whether our
belief that the Gambia had a very good potential for oil was correct or
not.
After reviewing all the work that had been done
previously they were able to tell us that in their opinion the potential was
very high but that a large study and three-dimensional seismic programme known
in the industry as a 3D Survey should be undertaken to confirm our
beliefs.
Working with this Western Company, we completed a
thorough evaluation of the oil potential of 500 square kilometres out of 2,000
square kilometres of Deep Water and 3,000 kilometres of Shallow Water of our
maritime or offshore territory.
Fellow Gambians
I now have the humble duty to
announce that the results of the study are very positive. It tells us that there
exists oil in The Gambia in very large quantities especially in the study area.
All the information is recorded on a compact disc.
Therefore, before the end
of this year we intend to have a test or exploratory well drilled, to firm up
the results of the study. This would be the beginning of a new future for The
Gambia and our people.
With this first study, we have planted seeds that we
believe will end in a harvest of prosperity for our people. This harvest will
change the future of our country.
However, we are not contented to assess the
possibility for oil in just this small part of the territory of The
Gambia.
We have already started to study and evaluate the
extent of oil existing in the remainder of The Gambia's deep water and shallow
water maritime and land territories. These studies will continue until we cover
all the maritime and land areas of the country.
It is our belief that these
studies will lead to the discovery of more oil reserves in these areas of The
Gambia. Of course, many of you would have been wondering why I decided to take
over the portfolio of Energy then at the Department of State for Trade, Industry
and Employment. One reason was to address the chronic power supply problem in
this country but the most important reason was to ensure that the oil issue is
quickly dealt with.
My Government has been engaged in the search for oil
since 1995 but then the portfolio under the Department of State for Trade,
Industry and Employment was beset with a lot of failures, disappointments and a
lot of other unpleasant activities that would have been detrimental to the
country. As a result of all those activities that were not in our interest, I
decided to take over the portfolio and to make sure that work is done
expeditiously.
Fellow Gambians
I am indeed very happy with the
discovery because it has spelt the end of the dark days of The Gambia as we have
always been on the list of the world's smallest and poorest countries. With this
discovery which is only one-fifth of one of the areas in the deep sea, we have
the potential of turning the smallest country into the richest country on earth.
As I have stated earlier, it is not only in the deep water area of The Gambia
but also the shallow waters as well as on-shore where huge potential for large
quantities of oil remains to be discovered. On the other hand I am worried by
the present attitude of we Gambians. Even if the oil were to flow into our
bedrooms, the majority of us would still remain poor as long as we do not change
our attitude. It takes a patriotic citizenry to build and make a rich country.
It takes honest, dedicated and Allah-fearing citizens to make a wealthy country.
Secondly I am worried because the discovery of oil or its potential would lead
to more laziness and complacency on the side of Gambians. As far as the
Government is concerned and as far as I am concerned I will fulfil my duties and
obligations to the Gambian people. I cannot force you to work; I cannot force
you to be active but at the end of the day I feel sad when I see most of you
living in abject poverty. In order to make life easier for me and for you, let
us, for God's sake, change our attitude towards ourselves, our neighbours, our
people and our country. There is no doubt that if you do not love yourself, you
cannot love your neighbour. There will be no reward for no work. Of course you
cannot be rich by not working. Any day that it is discovered that you have
stolen, you will lose all those ill-gotten riches. You must remember that it is
only Gambians and good friends of The Gambia that can make and build this
country into one of the wealthiest and smallest states on earth. Nobody can
develop your country for you.
Fellow Gambians
If we do not forget our
differences in language called tribes, differences in political ideology and
live together as Gambians as enshrined in our National Anthem, the wealth that
the Almighty Allah has given us in the form of oil would unfortunately not
benefit us and neither your children nor my children.
Fellow Gambians
The oil is in only one area and
during the 2003 July 22nd celebration, I did mention that The Gambia has the
potential of strategic mineral resources. Since we are talking about oil, I will
not disclose what the potential is or what minerals we are talking about. I will
let you know in due course what we have in terms of strategic mineral
resources.
I will not want to be the President of a country
that has a great potential for agriculture but still becomes food insecure
because people have abandoned their farms on account of the oil. This would be a
tragic mistake since nobody will eat or drink oil. Given the size of the
country, every body can be very rich and self-contained. It would be the worse
and most lethal mistake a country would have ever made to abandon agriculture
because of the discovery of oil. Some countries are paying for this. As a matter
of fact it is not even possible for everyone to work in the oil industry. I do
not want The Gambia to fall into that category. The axiom is that agriculture,
education, oil and health together build a prosperous nation. You cannot be
prosperous if you are in ill health. Being in good health is part of being
wealthy.
This country's future and your future lie in what
you and I do to make this country a great country.
Fellow Gambians
I am aware some of you may want
to know the security guarantees in place given the fact that oil has been
discovered in The Gambia. You will have noticed that since 1998, I've been
preparing your psyche for this. Regarding defence and security, you can be rest
assured that this is what I've been preparing for during the past six years. I
will not tell you what we have or what we do not have but the important thing is
that Gambians are assured of their defense and security.
My dear citizens, this oil will only benefit us
when there is absolute peace and tranquility. Of course it would benefit us a
great deal when discipline and patriotism are added. Indiscipline is a recipe
for human tragedy. As far as this Government is concerned, OPERATION NO
COMPROMISE will extend to all sectors of human life: zero tolerance for
violence; zero tolerance for laziness; zero tolerance for corruption; zero
tolerance for indiscipline and zero-tolerance for treachery. This is a
peace-loving country and the majority of Gambians are peaceful but there is a
small minority which is not. We will not compromise, for whatever reason, the
maintenance of law and order in this country. If you are a tailor, be a tailor
and be serious in what you are doing; if you are a teacher, be a teacher and
concentrate on what you are doing. Whatever you do, it should be at the back of
your mind that any activity that would bring instability in this country, you
will pay the highest price and be the first to pay. We will not compromise on
security and the peace and stability of this country for whatever ideology.
There would be zero tolerance for indiscipline and disorderly conduct or
violence. Let me also make it very clear that we will uphold the rule of law and
the principles of a democratic society. You are free to do whatever you want to
do politically as long as your actions do not encourage or incite violence,
instability and insecurity for individuals or a collective body of people or for
the nation. Any attempt to divide people on the basis of religion will be dealt
with without mercy. Similarly any attempt to divide people on the basis of
tribes will be dealt with without mercy. Any attempt to destabilise this country
will demand the highest price because with oil there would be certain people
whose intention would be to make sure that The Gambia does not benefit from this
resource. But I can assure you that as long as I'm alive and as long as there is
one Almighty Allah, this oil belongs to all Gambians who will benefit from it.
Nobody on the face of this earth can prevent that from happening.
So fellow citizens, Seyfolu, Alkalolu,
Commissioners, Heads of Families, Religious Leaders, Politicians, Legislators,
the Judiciary, Students, Teachers, Educators, Doctors, the Armed Forces, the
Security Services and any other institution, whatever you do let justice guide
your actions and live by the prayer in the National Anthem in that we will
strive, work and pray that all, irrespective of tribe, race or religion would
live in peace, unity and freedom in this country. Any activity you are engaged
in which undermines this principle, would be undermining your own
existence.
Fellow Gambians
I wish to congratulate you on
this very important discovery and let me remind you that this is just one-fifth
of the deep-sea area excluding the shallow waters of 3,000 sq kilometres and the
on-shore land area. It may well be that your house is built on oil or you may be
driving on oil. The most important thing is that the oil would not on its own
bring wealth. We are to create the wealth ourselves by exploiting the oil.
However we must do so with honesty, which means putting the interests of every
individual and the country before personal interests. The one reason for
fighting corruption is not due to pressure but I would like to ensure that I
clean this country before the oil begins to flow. For instance, if you have a
stain with some other liquid, it could be removed but an oil-stain is always
very difficult to wash-off. If the flow of oil finds a situation of corruption
in this country, that stain cannot be easily removed. Hence despite the
discovery of oil OPERATION NO COMPROMISE will continue; the cleaning up exercise
using some powerful detergent will continue before the oil comes
in.
With this in mind, I would also want to assure
citizens that in view of the speculation about rice shortage, I will ensure that
by the grace of the Almighty Allah, there would be no rice shortage. I am aware
of the activities of some people to hoard the rice in expectation of higher
prices but if they know what I already know, they should sell the rice that is
in store. There is no need to elaborate on this. It behoves all patriotic
citizens who love this country to ensure that activities of hoarding are
reported to the Police. What would the D5,000 hush-money mean to you if Gambians
end up buying a bag of rice for D600 ? I will never allow that to happen.
Reporting hoarding or the sale of expired commodities is part of your patriotic
duty thus I want to thank all those patriotic Gambians who believe in God and as
true citizens of this country have always reported these activities. By their
action, they have proven that honesty can avert human catastrophe.
Fellow Gambians
I want to reassure you that you
have oil in The Gambia and all the details are contained in compact disc format
called The Gambia Off-Shore Project. The prospect of the discovery would as from
today be officially known as ALHAMDOULILAH PROSPECT replacing the alphabetical
designation. It means that we give thanks to the Almighty Allah for whatever he
has done for us. This is a blessed country and you can be rest assured that
poverty and hunger would be a thing of the past if YOU and I and everyone in
this country live by the prayer in the National Anthem; live as good citizens,
good Christians and Muslims in our country.
On this great historic day I want to thank
especially the Government and people of Canada for their invaluable assistance
towards the realization of this project.
I also want to take this opportunity to thank the
Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan, the Government of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, the Government and people of Turkey and the Government and
people of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania for being true friends of The
Gambia and for assisting in one way or the other in the realization of this
great project. I also want to thank the last two companies which my Government
worked with to realize this project within a period of six months. I also want
to thank you The Gambians for not being too curious to know what was happening
around your backyard until this day. As from today you must be interested in
your country and try to know what is going on so that nobody can surprise you
even though this is a very pleasant surprise.
May the Almighty Allah bless, guard and guide our
endeavours to build a new future of greater prosperity for all Gambians and for
everybody who would live in this country.
I thank you all for your
attention.
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