Jammeh warns AUTHORITIES As rice tops Kerewan meeting

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

President Jammeh has warned district chiefs, Alkalolu, governors and even secretaries of state to stand firmly in support and protection of poor farmers against exploitation by rice dealers and retailers or he would be forced to use his electric broom.

The president made these remarks on Monday, on day one of the “Dialogue with People’s tour’, in Kerewan, North Bank Region. He told the chiefs, Alkalolu, governors and secretaries of state to work towards preventing rice traders from exploiting the poor.

He declared that it should be the obligation of every Gambian, especially those in authority to take anyone to police for selling a bag of rice at D900.

“If anyone is selling a bag of rice at D900, take him to police because it is unlawful. I recently agreed with the major importers of rice into the country on the maximum price of a bag of rice to be at D800, which will start by June/July 2008. Therefore, anyone selling a bag of rice at D1,000 should go to jail. In fact, from now against September 2008, government will make sure that the price of rice is stabilised,” he said.

Back to the land

President Jammeh stated that to ensure food self-sufficiency, Gambians must change their attitude and go back to the land. According to him, since 1994 to date, he has been repeating this clarion call, but only to be disputed by certain people.

He highlighted the assistance from government to support back to the land call, inlcuding the provision of tractors on two occasions, which he said, were misused. “Since the first ones were not properly used, today we have another 500 tractors which are not for free. This will help us to sustain them and there will be no free tractor services anymore”, he stressed.

The president informed the gathering that if his back to the land call was fully heeded, the country would have been saved from the current predicament. “If the president is farming, what is the Alkalolu, the dhiefs, the governors and SoSs and even the ordinary Gambians waiting for,” he challenged, while calling on Gambians to change their attitude.

Fertilizer

On fertilizer, the Gambian leader told the farmers that government would never provide fertilizer for free, as this priviledge had been abused in the past, when farmers used to get free fertilizers, which were then sold at weekly markets and at the borders. “If you buy it and know the cost of it, I don’t think you would sell it. But from now on, there shall be no free fertilizer for farmers”.

Youths and men

To the youths, President Jammeh urged them to desist from taking the illegal route to ‘Babylon’ and urged them to work towards national development.

He lashed out at the men folk for being carriers in the strive for a modern Gambia and saluted Gambian women for their patriotism, and he promised the women folk of the North Bank that he would purchase all their produce, which would end marketing constraints. This, he said, was in support of their strive and response to his call for back to the land.

Yankuba Touray, the secretary of state for Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, amplified the key issues raised by President Jammeh, including his call for back to the land to attain food self-sufficiency.

According to him, this year, government would provide 250 tons of groundnut seeds to farmers in NBR, but he warned that anyone caught selling it would face the consequences. He then unveiled President Jammeh’s plan to introduce irrigation projects across the country.

Hon Mam Cherno Jallow, the NAM for Upper Niumi, saluted the president for his exemplary leadership and reassured him of their fullest support. Hon Jallow used the platform to appeal for a vehicle for Juffureh Police Station and announced his region’s full participation in the forthcoming Roots-Home Coming Festival.

Ousainou Fall, the APRC chairman in Central Baddibou, Alhaji Lamin Ceesay, the chairman of Kerewan Area Council, chief Fafanding Kinteh of Lower Baddibou, chief Jim Fatma Jobe of Jokadou, Aja Haddy Panneh of Njawara, Foday Drammeh, a youth mobiliser, Alhaji Mod Dibba of Salikenni, Ousman Faal, the APRC chairman for Central Baddibou, and Alhaji Jawo Drammeh, the APRC chairman for Upper Baddibou, all spoke at the meeting.

In a similar engagement, President Jammeh also held a meeting in Amdalye on Monday, after inspecting the Amdalye-Barra Road Project.

In the Kerewan meeting, the gathering witnessed the announcement of the defection of the NRP candidates for National Assembly and local government elections.

by Alhagie Jobe on tour

Comments

There are 9 comments - add your comment

bubacarr - Louisville, Kentucky

Wednesday, May 07, 2008 9:24 PM

It is indeed a shame and ridiclous that a country like The Gambia with atleast 22,000 acres of fertile land for growing rice with an abondant river water for irrigation has its president saying that a bag of rice can cost D800.00 but not D900.00. A month a go, when I didn't know about the world food crisis, I wrote an article explaining how important it is for the government to prioritize its spending.
I did say that it was important to build schools and hospitals, but since our resources are very limited, it was more important to invest in agriculture for food self sufficiency, and save as much foreign currency as possible to help lower the cost of items that are necessary for survival and most be inported like food and clothing. I did further say that building an air port, roads, schools, bridges, and arch whose expenditure are far more than our available resources was a mere political gimmick, but it is not the interest of the majority of the Gambians. My argument has now been vindicated.
Can you imagine if all the white elephant projects that the Jammeh administration has embarked up on since 1994 were all invseted in rice production, by now we would have taken this advatage of world food price hikes and earn lots of foreign currency by exporting rice instead import rice with an unafordable price not to poor but even to the rich Gambians. Gambia needs change of leadership. We need a leader who knows how a nation's economy works especially in this hostile enviroment of globalized economy.

e.s.sisay

Thursday, May 08, 2008 1:51 AM

Bubacarr, welcome back from your long absence. You ran away from my previous challenge (which wow deleted)didn't you? You wrote:

"Can you imagine if all the white elephant projects that the Jammeh administration has embarked up on since 1994 were all invseted in rice production..."

Did i hear you say "ALL"? Are you out of your working mind? What about EDUCATION, HEALTH, ELECTRICITY and DRINKING WATER, COASTAL EROSION, GOOD ROADS and etc.? Is that your vision for Gambia? Thank God you are not the President of our beloved nation because you are proving to be a real ignorant. Do you want to rewind all the strides made, as mentioned above, back to the state of 1994? My brother you have no compassion for the Gambian people. While you think you are enjoying you so-called comfort in the US,you wish the Gambian people dackness and backwardness due to your personal grieviances. Gambians are now educated and enlighthen, thanks to President Jammeh, and no fool can fool them. This is why they keep on returning him to office. Your opinion here is useless, pointless and irrelevant to the reality on the ground. You can only satisfy the hearts you share the same ego with, but they are just a few disgruntled ones. Forward with The Gambia!

bubacarr - Louisville, Kentucky

Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:04 AM

E.s.sisay, lets face the fact. If you are in the Gambia now, no matter what kind of job you have, I know you feeling pinch of the food prices. And you might be one of the richest in The Gambia. Can you imagine how some other people who are far less fortunate than you are, feeling now with this sky rocked food prices? This is something that could have been avoided, if the wright economic policies are put in place. Agriculture, agriculture, agriculture is the only means to have a secure future. Look, river Gambia is the most valuable natural resource we can get. Rice is the staple food for whole world except Europe and North America. Rice is better than gold, diamon, and petroleum. We are fortunate to a conducive environment for rice cultivation. why can't we make best use of it? but instead we are buying a bag rice at a price much more than the salary of an average Gambia civil servant. E.S. Sisay, there is something wrong with economic policies of the Jammeh administration whether you like to hear it or not. Gambia can do better when it comes to food self sufficiency. there is no doubt about that. We just lack the political will from our leaders. This is why I'm calling for change in the leadership and bring in people who understands where to begin and where to end when it comes to nation building for the benefit of every body including Yaya, you and I.

e. s. sisay

Thursday, May 08, 2008 10:13 AM

Bubacarr, first you said that Gambia's priority should be factories, not "white elephant projects". Remember that? Now, it is agriculture. Either way, don't you know that both can't be sucessful without the right supporting infrastructure and the right educated human resourcee ("white elephant projects").

Bubacarr, it is easy to seek popularity by writing anything some people like to hear. Let me engage you in a real academic debate, no hearsays, no assumptions no theories and no imaginations but concrete facts, Ok.

You talk too much about wrong economic policies but I don't think you really know what you are talking about. I don't think you know the economic policies of the government. Proof me wrong by answering this question adequately and please just don't assume, document your answer by quoting your sources concretely:

WHAT IS THE GAMBIA GOVERNMENTS ECONOMIC POLICY AND HOW DID THAT POLICY FAIL?

I will put my hat off for you and will respect you if you for once can do that. The ball is on you court

bubacarr - Louisville, Kentucky

Thursday, May 08, 2008 12:36 PM

First of all let tell you that don't be narrow minded when I use the word agriculture. Agriculture encompasses many things including agro-industries. So when I say factory, I mean factories that we can feed with enough raw materials and thats non other than factories that process our agricultural produces. In a nut shell, agriculture is a very broad term.
To answer your question E.S. Sisay, i dont need to make a research and give you theoritical facts. The facts of the Jammeh administration economic policies are out in the open. When Jammeh came to power in 1994, he realized that the Jawara administration had lots foreign currency in the central bank but there were few infrastructural development going on. He thought it was a waste of to have such an amout of foreign currency in the bank with such few hospitals, schools, roads, brigdes and a modest air port, as a result he withdrew all the foreign reserve from the central bank spend it on construction. At that time he used to say God is his bank. All the construction projects he started at that time were completed with record time period, hence the name A.P.R.C was born. But as soon as that money finished and he knew it was crucial for his political gimmick, he began to contract loans with high interest to continue his construction program.
As i said before, there is nothing wrong about constructing if the construction companies are Gambian owned and the construction materials are made in the Gambia. But this is not case. So, constructing a single building, a meter of a road or bridge come with a huge cost to Gambian economy interms of foreign currency. This weakens our dalasi to an extend that it cost the business people lots of dalasi to import foregn goods. Consequently, these imported goods will cost a lot for Gambian consumers to buy them from the business people.
This is the main reason why the dollar spring from D9 to almost D30 in 10 years (1994-2004), like wise the pound and the CFA. It also refleted on the high prices of goods and services to the Gambian consumer. Now we can see that prices of the basic comodity like food has reach to an unprecedented level and every body in The Gambia whether rich or poor is suffering at this given point in time.
I think if that foreign currency reserve that Yaya was calling the God's bank was divided in to two, one half should have been left in the central bank untouch, and the other half was spent on agriculture and agro based industries. If this was the case for the past 14 years, we wouldn't have been talking food crisis in the Gambia neither would we have been talking inflation. This would have made the Gambia more livable and also attract heavy investors and make the Gambia a better place for all of us.

e.s.sisay

Friday, May 09, 2008 4:25 AM

Bubacarr, first of all I will start by telling you that I can't debate with you on this forum just for the simple reason that this forum is not a level ground for my opinions. My comments have constantly been deleted even as early as yesterday. Some moderator on this forum has his/her own agenda and thus does not like my comments. The truth hurts sometimes, and some dislike hearing the truth.

That said, I will not even attempt to respond to all you assertions due to the fact that you have all the way been assuming, as usaual. Nothing new. Just for the sake of showing you how vague you are, I will put this to you:

Are you or were you working with the Central Bank to have pocessed all that (I call it) misinformation on foreign exchange/reserves, etc.? You just go on the loose saying what ever you want without having any facts to back yourself with. If I tell you, just for wanting to tell you what I want, that the Central Bank has a present foreign exchange reserves of 200 billion dollars, without providing you my sources, will you call that credible? I rest my case on this one.

Bubacarr, will all those factories you are ranting about work without electricity but on firewood? And how will you store your produce in the heat of Gambia prior to distribution? How will you transport the "raw materials that shall feed" your factories, on ditch hole roads of the Jawara era? And how will you transport and/or export your produce without proper communications networks - roads, air and seaport? The list goes on. I told you that you just don't have a clue on how the real world works and you need to educate yourself to that aspect. You still have a lot to learn. I wish Good luck with your studies.

PS! Am not sure you will read this one because some moderator (is it you?) might not like these fact and will therefore delete it.

j.b njie

Friday, May 09, 2008 2:34 PM

bubacarr this pictures is making your heart to bleed. Pictures dont lie. It shows a leader who is love by his people. cos he doing a great job. So keep on writting you looser.

bubacarr - Louisville, Kentucky

Friday, May 09, 2008 4:14 PM

E.S. sisay, I have read every single word of your respond. By the way thank you for wishing me good luck for my studies. it is unfortunate that you feel bad about wow.gm but I personally think that wow.gm are doing a wonderful job for letting my voice and other people's voice like yourself heard. We need this kind debate on issue concern our country in every news outlet in the Gambia, and wow.gm has started it and it a step in the right direction. As the editor said, he or she must have deleted your comment mistakenly. I wish you continue the debate with me, because you are very intelligent and informed person. Your comments are always civil and substantative unlike many of the other comments i recieved. Howevr, that fact of the matter is that you wont compare wom.gm to the Daily Observer who is a ruber stamp to Yaya Jammeh's wishes. Thanks

e.s.sisay

Saturday, May 10, 2008 1:47 AM

Bubacarr, I hear you. Thanks! Getting to the point, once for all, I still didn't get answers to the questions I raised. Can you, from your economic and development expertise, enlighthen us how you will solve the problems raised in my last post. I await your respond for a healthy discourse. Cheers!