The following article is culled from The Point on the Qanet web page. __________________________ The Point News Paper is hosted and maintained by QuantumNET ...Gambia's first internet service provider This Issue was last updated on 03/12/99, by QuantumNET Monday's Issue Last Week's Issue WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THE REPORT AND JAMMEH THREATS News Watch looks at the debate by the general public of the Auditor General's report and President Jammeh's threat to dismiss any civil servant involved in the theft and mismanagement of public funds. Since News Watch talked to some civil servants to get their reaction, the names of the people involved will not be mentioned as it is against government rules for civil servants to talk to members of the press. As you will see, people have mixed feelings about the issues. M.M. Jallow:- "If the President says that all those involved would be dismissed, then we are in a serious problem because this thing is widespread and it's not possible to dismiss a very large section of the Civil Service. This would also mean that all the monies involved will be lost. I suggest that the best thing to do is to set up a system whereby they would be allowed to continue working and a percentage deducted from their salaries until the full amount is repaid." T.A.K - :- what the President has said is true, nobody has the right to misuse government funds but this is not just dealing with junior civil servants. You are talking about starting to clean from the top right down, so a lot of people will be affected. As the saying goes, when you start digging, dig carefully because the kind of soil you find at the top and the one at the bottom might be totally different. Aji Fatou - Market Woman: - "As you know we don't know what is happening in the government, all we know is what the radio tells us. Anyway, if they are talking about corruption I can only say that it is among themselves, because it is they who show off a lot of money and drive in big expensive cars. As for us, the market women, all we know is that we stay here without selling for a whole day, and at the end of the day we have to pay taxes to government. Whose pocket it goes into, we don't know." Ceesay Rtd Civil Servant:- "My brother, what do you expect to happen when the salaries of the executives can be increased and the rank and file left to suffer. They will steal to survive. The President has nothing to say. Let him allow himself and the State House to be audited first! The hand that holds the whip cannot whip. Ah! look for yourself and see, where is he now, either overseas or Kanilai. What do you think, don't you think that money is needed for all of this?." F. Marenah:- Ex-July 22nd member. "The President has taken the move to show that no matter who you are or what party you belong to, if you misuse government funds, you will be dealt with. This is something he said himself, and I believe him because he is a man of his word. If he says that the corrupt will be removed, then be rest assured it will happen." Njie - Department of State ... "My friend, you and I are here and we have seen what is happening. In fact, things are much worse than before. I wonder what happened to the once frequent use of slogans like: eradication of rampant corruption, transparency, accountability and probity. Maybe they should start by probing the Office of the President." Mendy :- "Look, the last thing I want to discuss is Yahya Jammeh or what he says. To me, they are all the same, none is better than the other. All I am concerned about is maintaining my job and that my family eats at the end of the day." Senghore-Businessman:- "Well, the fact that they have been able to come this far with the report, and having the National Assembly openly debate on it is a good sign. But what I would like to see is that the former junta members be audited on individual basis starting from July 22nd 1994 to date. This way, people will have more confidence in them and what they are doing." A Journalist- "I think that Jammeh should start by setting up a commission for himself and his Cabinet before thinking about setting it up for other people." ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------