(JollofNews) – Numbers don’t lie!
The defense spending figures for years 2017, 2016, 2011 and 2010 are not available. The proportion (%) of defense to total expenditure not available for the same years and the defense spending figures for 2012 are definitely erroneous. Taking the remaining 5 years data (11+11+20+27+21)/5 years = 18%. Gambia spent on average 18% of her total expenditure on defense. This is insanity for a poor/sick nation like ours.
Debt servicing is reported only for 2008, 2009 and 2016 of the last 10 years. In 2016 interest payment to service our debt is D3.72b that represents 22% of our total expenditure. I couldn’t find the figures our Total National Debt that is estimated at about 60-70% of our GDP. We will never on earth will be able to pay that back.
Until then though interest servicing will crush us to hell. At some point we can hope for some Debt Relieve Program and/or creditors tie Write-Off to some structural reforms. That is ‘moral hazard’! The debtor knowing in the long run she won’t be oblige to pay back what she owed. As a practical matter that encourages bad African governments to mismanage and turn around to contract new debt that will probably never be paid.
These are bad numbers. Yet our government eats up 75bututs of every dalasi we produce (taxes and business financed with our taxes). We spent about 20% on armed forces that we truly done need. Those 2 costs centers only accounts for 95% of what we produce. Only 10% of our own worth is left. This will be about D800m of 2017 taxes and non-taxes revenue. 
Our GDP is projected at D3.6b (US $0.8b). Our national debt is estimated at about 60-70% (D2.16b – D2.52b). Everyone involve (past & present) with these numbers knows we are not on a sustainable path.
The Armed Act was passed in 1984 to create Gambia National Armed Forces on the ashes of the failed Senegambia Confederation. The stated functions per 1997 Constitution are:
The principal functions of the Armed Forces are:
* to preserve and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of The Gambia
* to aid civil authorities, at their request, in emergencies and in case of natural disasters; and
* to engage, at the request of the civil authorities, in productive activities, such as agriculture, engineering, health and education for the development of The Gambia
* It shall be the aim of the Government and the Armed Forces to maintain harmony and to foster understanding between the Armed Forces and the civilian population, and to that end
* the National Youth Service shall be organized with co-operation and assistance of the Armed Forces;
* the Armed Forces shall establish training programs for their members at all levels to equip them with skills and trades, and a program of secondment to civilian occupations, so as to enable members of the Forces to return, after their service, to a full and productive civilian life; and
* there shall be established an army reserve.
* It shall be the duty of the members of the Gambia Armed Forces to respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of other persons
In addition, Jawara created NSS, Gendarmerie and PIU along side mainstay Police Forces of The Gambia. This was the largest singular expansion of government since February 18, 1965. The only other such expansion of government payroll was when ActionAid turn in their schools/teachers to the Ministry of Education in the 80s.
Jawara unjustifiably bill the Gambian taxpayers underserved security apparatus that didn’t afford average Gambian an added protection yet burden us with prohibitive costs. Besides impoverishment our rights continued to be systematically violated by these institutions either directly sanctioned by government and/or they look the other way.
Jawara wasn’t served; Gambians not protected and Yahya produced just 10 years (1994) after the Armed Act passed. We know what happened since. Hundreds and/or 1000s killed, unaccounted or badly harmed. Our cultures, traditions and moral values/virtues changes for the worst. With the current opportunity unless we are act appropriately Yahya 2.0 is only a matter of when and not if.
The fundamental questions are:
Do we need an army?
Can we afford it?
On our list of needs/wants do we have higher priorities than army?
Here are main rationales of proponents of Gambia Armed Forces and Elaborate Security Apparatus:
To Preserve Our sovereignty and Territorial Integrity: These are indisputable goals except we do not need to have a standing for army for our sovereignty and territories. Our geography and intertwined cultures/traditions with the Republic of Senegal has sealed us from external harm. Our government’s primary Foreign Policy agenda should be peace and economics prosperity with Senegal to better lives in both nations. A minimal fraction of monies spent on buying guns, ammunitions, uniforms, shoes, food, housing, offices, etc. will be needed to maintain good relations with Senegal. In additions to savings of money we will eliminate all chances of those guns/ammunitions been use to kill us and/or abuse our rights.
To Serve As A Deterrent Of Kukoi-Like Attempted Coup: This is a flat argument. We don’t want coup(s) in Gambia! Period! Avoiding coup(s) by fully arming and training few while the rest are unarmed increases the likelihood of coup(s). Consequently that’s what exactly happened. We had one Kukoi in 52 years. In the 33 years (existence of Gambia National Armed Forces) we had over a 12-coups/attempted coups all from 1994 to date. By laws of probability/statistics our chances of no or fewer coups are better without a standing army. Further more civilians have a better chance confronting untrained armed person(s) than professionally trained armed soldiers
We Need Soldiers Because Police Are Not Armed: This is very troubling view from person(s) of a free democratic society. It means they are okay with use of force (army) on citizens rather than follow due processes of law. Our army (reference the constitutional functions transcribed above) has no ordinary law enforcement role. Law enforcement is not about having guns to force citizens into subjugation. It’s about applying laws – the due processes and presumption on innocence until proven guilty at a court of law. We asking for the use of Armed Forces in law enforcement is a serious lack of capacities on the issue. Notice that for emergencies and natural disasters army could be use provided the appropriate triggers are met. My hope is Act(s) of National Assembly will detail those triggers out rather than leaving it to the egos of Commander in Chief. Lastly if/when law enforcement in our nation requires use of firearms, there is nothing stopping our government to appropriately equip The Police Forces.
Army Provide Employment To Many: This is VERY TRUE. Sadly the government of Gambia’s role is not to expand public payroll. Instead the primary roles are protection and judiciously use our taxes on our needs/wants. Employing me or you and/or any other person(s) is merely incidental in government transaction. We can’t afford to keep a standing Armed Forces for employing young men and women. Reallocation of the resources thrown into the Army into productive sectors will create more employment for our citizens and generate more taxes that could be reinvested.
Most In The Army Are Good Citizens; Don’t Stigmatize The Whole: Our argument is not about individual citizens serving in the army. Our argument is why spend money on something we don’t need. We’ve made similar arguments against Ministry of Information and Communication in 21st century Gambia. The army costs too much and we truly don’t need it to preserve our sovereignty and protect our territories. The taxes of Gambian should pay for jobs that advance our common cause. We don’t employ people because they are good people who deserved to have a job.
To nurture our small gain thus far:
Dissolve The Gambia National Armed Forces and all the special security apparatus such as Gendarmerie, SIS, PIU, etc.
ii) Build a well sized, trained and equipped Police Force
Cease installations and operations of all Police/Security Check Points around town. Provide adequate vehicular fleet for police to move around with citizens to execute their law enforcement roles. Probably no new vehicle purchase will be needed if we ground all those vehicles used for none public purposes
Train all members of Police Force Laws, Regulations, Ordinances and as well the Due processes of Law in their interface with the public anchored on presumption of innocence until proven guilty at a court of law. Violations of these fundamental principles should be harshly punished including termination of service and imprisonment
Decentralize The Current National Police Force into Regional Police Forces with Regional Commands, Regional Jurisdictions with operational cooperation. This would require An Act of National Assembly. Effectiveness highly depends on decentralizing governance (power, authority, resources, etc.) to Regional Governments
Called on UN to help in discarding our military hardware. Turn the military installations into needed facilities such as Schools of UTG, Prisons, agricultural training/research centers, etc.
God Bless The Gambia
To The Gambia Ever True
By Burama Jammeh
For the simple reason that Mr.Jammeh, I am sure could not have analyse the situation so clearly 15 or 20 years ago is reason for a perusal of his advocacies, no matter how plausible they sound.
I aggreed wih some proporsitions like the size of the government (ministries) etc…but the security of our Sovreignty is near impossible without an Army.
Infact many national development projects could be accomplished by an Army that is well structured to sooth the reasons and objectives for which it is instituted for. Mr. Jammeh I believe should get in touch with the Gambian Authorities and elites so can brainstorm sincere and candidly for the democratisation and future development of the Gambia.
Gambia economic independence 1,2,3:
1. Scrap GAF
We are a peaceful people. Our only potential external threat is our family members in Senegal. In 2017 it is an undisputed fact that GAF is a relic whose time has passed. An albatross on our economic independence, a complete waste of resources.
2. Fiscal responsibility
We can manage our affairs efficiently and reduce the size of our government and still deliver services at an optimal level
3. Wage a war on corruption
There are many types of corruption, it it wasteful, expensive and demoralizing .
We will need help from our foreign partners and friends for structural adjustment to renegotiate external debts, and receive needed aide, after we have cleaned our own house.
We must aggressively go after ALL Gambia assets stolen by Mr Yahya Jammeh and his “men”.
Finally we must be open to advice from professional financial management firms as Consultants to help us develop a Gambia Economic Recovery Plan
God Bless The Gambia
I think a redo of the army or what is called GAF is much more an appropriate task to be undertaken by this government. This proposed new establishment should comprise of and administrative body of University and high school leavers with exemplary achievements in their studies. The aforementioned might not be a sufficient criteria so the help of expert training teams of advanced and professional armies across the world of democracy countries might be needed. It is not practical at all for any country to be without and army in the 21st century. The 2500 trained shooters, who necessarily may be laid off can be reprogrammed and trained and reinstated in agricultural field work and public infrastructure building and maintenance.
Nations of the world are not just foreseeing an immediate menace of a potential enemy to establishing an army. A well trained army, the personnel of which won’t take pride in the torture and killing of their fellow citizens, is and essential part of every sovereign Nation. In other words when we say and army, we must not be referring to the band of militia men that is being called the GAF. Lot of it’s members are mentally backward when it comes to awareness about nationhood and citizens’ rights.
Apart from (1), I totally agreed with Dr. Isatou Sarr on her economic independence strategy (2) and (3).
I am not an economist so I thank Mr. Burama Jammeh to be learning from his well written write ups.
Looking at Burama’s figures, he appears to know more than Gambia’s Minister of Finance. If the debt ratio of 90% of GDP is right,{and not 108%} then Gambia can afford an army and contribute its quota to its peacekeeping missions across Africa. National defence is a necessary protection against those who see conflict as a means to an end. I agree with Kabir, in that Burama would be well suited in either the field of accountancy or fiscal strategy. Meanwhile the size of government needs a cut back on all spending especially on itself.
Historically all threats to our sovereignty has been internal not external, all have been illegal military coups by killers and opportunists of the GAF. We have no external natural enemies and even if we did we do not have enough capital to develop, train and sustain a professional armed forces. It’s like wasting the little money you have, to train a goat instead of a dog to defend your compound. The return on investment is always zero. We must remove sentiments and national pride from the equation, as a practical matter we do not need a force nor can we afford one. ECOWAS can always lean on Senegal, Nigeria and Ghana for subregional security. They have money and they have the troops.
Our biggest challenge is economic reform, we need to make very difficult choices, but those must be smart choices above all.
A post-civil war Sierra Leone and Liberia have decided to maintain their armies anyway, even with the ever hanging reminiscence of people like; Valentine Strassa, Foday Kalleh and Samuel Doe, Prince Johnson respectively and etc etc.
It is needless to mention the fact, the Gambia needs a well educated, well trained, well equipped and a very shiney police force to run the law enforcement of the Gambia’s civil society and on top it, an up to date scientific/forensic departments, but at the same time, the maintenance of and army of the latter standards is a formidable expenditure that every independent country must have to incur. The deadliest impression one can portray of the Gambia is that, they lack the need for and army. It is a weakness of one’s foresight in projecting a better Gambia without an army. Besides the lowest probabilities of any military engagement with an enemy one might imagine, no independent country should permanently assign the surveillance and security of her borders to any external, international or regional forces. The E.U are the strongest economic community in the world but no member country compromises her border security to the competence of a neighbor or neighbors.
We should be very very angry with the conduct and involvement of GAF in the country’s purely civil affairs, but that shouldn’t warrant the scraping off of, the idea of re-establishing a much more sophisticated and a civically aware army.
I feel obliged to come to Mr Jammeh’s aid in the face of attacks from Mr Scales and brother Kabir. Time would however not permit to dwell on the individuals points here, hence an outline should hopefully suffice.
In the first place, I am sure we all agree that the available financial reports vis-a-vis government defense expenditure over the past decades has been anything else other than value for money for the taxpayer. Now, compare the latter to a major stockholder of a joint-stock company in this situation. I am sure if the person is not a financial illiterate, as many of my compatriots unfortunately still are, this fact alone calls for urgent actions aimed at remedying the untenable situation – i.e. improving upon the efficiency of the business division or closing it down totally. In any case, this is what basic managerial economics teaches us.
One of the options faced by this major shareholder would be trying to convince management of the need to cut off this source of wastage totally by closing down the division concerned. Not least, in that it has been documented that the raison d’etre of the whole project – having an army – is based on spurious arguments that are no longer valid. Remember that the armies of our day around the world have been preparing for the digital age for decades now while we are still talking about whether or not to have a standing army at all.
Secondly, as Senegal is our closest first cousin on the African continent and no Gambian or Senegalese in his/her right minds can envisage war between the two brother states, certainly Senegal and The Gambia can enter into different types of mutual defense agreements in the absence of a standing army. Needless to say, in light of the knowledge we have today of the probable causes of the lack of success of similar agreements in the past.
In the interim, as I said in an earlier piece, we can established a tailor-made cyber-branch in the Police Services with a view to building up strategic expertise in the field. In place of a standing army, we could copy the “Swiss model” in this regard, not least given our favourable geographical location on the north-western coast of Africa. If all goes well, this model would catapult us into the ranks of super flexible 21st century armies. By the way, there is no standing army in Switzerland, but they are still one of the richest and most secure countries in the world.
Thirdly, it is obvious that we cannot improve the taxpayers’ well-being without first addressing one of the major causes of the latters’ impoverishment: Our defense expenditure is simply untenable under these circumstances. Period!
Even though I do not necessarily agree with his proposals as a whole, I also think Mr Jammeh is right by pointing out the importance of some basic knowledge of the juridical term called the Rule of Law amongst members of the security forces. In addition to that, I would like to suggest the enactment of laws stipulating minimum educational requirements for our NAMs and ministers. The arguments against such laws in our country so far are no longer valid having regard to the realities on the ground: there is a growing pool of highly qualified Gambians in any field today.
In the meantime, provide our new NAMs with instructors in the fields of basic constitutional law, government and politics, economics and our official language, English. This will undoubtedly lift the standards of the average NAM and thus enable them to be better at scrutinizing Bills presented before them in the Assembly not to mention educating their voters on issues of the day.
Then we hopefully would avoid embarrassing scenarios where a politician openly blames the taxpayer for his misfortunes at the pools. I happened to read an internet article in The Point some six years back during a lunch-break in my office in Greenland where our current minister for youths did precisely that in the wake of the 2011 elections!
Not knowing the fact that the voter/taxpayer in this context is comparable to a business customer: He/she is never wrong vis-a-vis the business-man/woman.
Last, but not least, let us closely study Mr Jammeh’s arguments and proposals, and subject them to a wider national debate … for The Gambia our homeland.
Mr Manneh, thank you for that further enlightening and compelling argument. Just two questions>>>Do you think the UK France and The USA should give up its nuclear weapons ?
Secondly, do you think Gambia should rely on Senegal for protection?
Thanks for the questions posed above … and I’ll try to answer them to the best of my abilities.
Thank God I’ve never argued against some sort of defensive structures on the ground; all I’m against is having a standing national army in the conventional sense. Indeed, I’m alive to the fact that one can proffer a number of good arguments in favour of having one, as a rule. However, our geopolitical realities on the ground fortunately permit us to search for ways of modifying this conventional approach. Note, however, without necessarily relying on Senegal alone for defense, hence a joint Sene-gambian defense team would do.
Furthermore, unlike most other African countries, the relationship between Senegal and The Gambia compares favourably with the one that subsists between the UK and Australia and New Zealand: There is a blood relations between us, and the borders between us today is subsidiary to this in practice on a number of practical occasions. Luckily, the leadership in both states still remember the genesis of the current borders – these borders were in due course drawn up by selfish and ignorant white men. At some point or other, however, we have to have some form of a Sene-gambia Defence Force. The realities on the ground dictate that … and it is doable.
On the matter of the nuclear weapons question, I think the answer to that question is obvious: The countries you named there have been Imperialists for hundreds of years, and they still have Imperialistic ambitions the world over. It is such policies that drive their defensive needs – unlike little Gambia.
Yes, The Gambia’s defense needs call for an unconventional solution.
Mike, yes Gambia can rely on Senegal for Her protection just as UK has been and is still relying on France for some of it’s defense protection since David Cameroon cut the size of the UK army. Like Saikou said, we have to develop sound treaties between the two nations. Besides the entire Western Europe is relying on each other for their security despite having fought two world wars.
Mr Manneh; Switzerland was and is a Neutral country through two world wars. Do you think Hitler would have honoured its neutrality if it had won the war.?
My good doctor; You always make sense;
I think there may be an excellent opportunity ” to kill two birds with one stone”
In order to facilitate new business and skills, Western armies offer skills training to a very high standard. This leaves the recipient with good foundation skills to further commerce or enhance the skills of existing enterprise’s. I know in my own experience, when looking for skilled and disciplined staff, the British business community valued army skill training very highly. So much that attracting such valuable personnel was in itself competitive. Whilst using the Army to tend fields and build infrastructure, may at this stage be an economical and convenient way to use soldiers, I would suggest allocating a soldier’s time towards filling the Gambia’s skill shortage would reap substantial gains for employment and business creation, leading to an overall increase in commercial activity and national revenue/taxation.
I know from my own market research in Gambia, the lack of skill allied to lack of opportunity was thought to be addressed by skill centres.
Sadly it was all talk and the APRC did little to further this idea.
I can say without reservation, that I took orders from British Companies for small manufacturing/ retail items and gave several Gambian tradesmen a blueprint of the required item, only to find a very limited knowledge and application to convert into finished product.
Businesses don’t grow on trees/ more’s the pity/ They start from very small beginnings.
Thank you Mr Manneh: I am happy to accede to your greater local knowledge. I must simply give way because my perspective of Gambia was a commercial one, seen through the eyes of a businessman of european orientation. For the most part, we do things differently but our objectives are the same. Of course you are right about past and present history. France being the Senegalaise partner by history and Gambia being a British colony from a bygone era.In Africa the status quo has been a history plagued by long time rulers, ruthless and little caring for the poor. An Africa ruler can live in sublime luxurious palace, but less than a 100 metres away a child dies for lack of clean water and regular food. My only reservation about relationships is when one partner becomes the decision maker and the dominant force. Usually the strongest one. When such occurs the weaker partner become the silent one. I don’t see Gambians being a silent partner. You are the most vocal African’s I have ever met. I have met quite a few.
I think I will pass on further comment as this is definitely not a call for me to make.We all make decisions based upon goodwill and what it should be . Only to find out illusions only make us weak. Better to go slow and take time to watch and learn.
Thanks for the perspectives expressed above Mr Scales … yes, your concerns are valid.
Indeed, The Gambia did experience something resembling your reasonable fears of dominance by one of the partners in such projects in the past. Actually, that is why I referred in my comments to the experiences we have up to now had with Senegal in this regard, not least during the “confederate days”. We can learn a lot from that experience in our attempts at avoiding similar errors in future. However, in the short term our best option is military cooperation with Senegal in one form or the other.
That is, in spite of some short-term intrinsic risks involved.
Many Thanks Mr Manneh; I feel this forum can make progress; In my 10 year support of the online media, this was something not thought possible. The clientele is growing the site is growing and solutions are flowing. Impressive exchange;
Thank you Mr. Scales.
Indeed, the culture of democratic debate is an indispensable pillar of mature democracies, and I love making use of the freedom. It is my hope that our new democracy in due course develops to an extend where we worship this vital freedom – for our own sake.
The consequences should be far-reaching. Amongst these: better quality decision-making, tolerance of contrary viewpoints and improving upon citizens’ ability to engage i fruitful debates over topical issues instead of mudslinging.
In short, an indispensable life-line for the long-term survival and development of each and every democratic dispensation on the globe.
You are the pinnacle of West African ambition.
Per Mike Scales:
“My only reservation about relationships is when one partner becomes the decision maker and the dominant force. Usually the strongest one. When such occurs the weaker partner become the silent one. I don’t see Gambians being a silent partner. You are the most vocal African’s I have ever met. I have met quite a few”.
Then you go on to say:
“I can say without reservation, that I took orders from British Companies for small manufacturing/ retail items and gave several Gambian tradesmen a blueprint of the required item, only to find a very limited knowledge and application to convert into finished product.
Businesses don’t grow on trees/ more’s the pity/ They start from very small beginnings”.
You appear to constantly remind Gambians that you hold a panacea that you are seldom taken upon by Gambians! It would help to make your position(s) clear regarding what you stand for!
Don’t you stop to think that the problem(s) would be associated with the packaging and selling of business concepts/opportunities that you claim to offer Gambians? Your claim to business experience and success should lead you to creating a business incubator in The Gambia for the object of training and nurturing young Gambians with the tools and skills needed to take on business concepts and run with them! The same business incubator will also serve to link aspiring entrepreneurs with serious investors offering sustainable business proposals! If you truly believe what The Gambia has to offer, invest in the youth and the market for the long haul.
I am not a big fan of “European Business Leaders”, the photo-op kind, with no discernible credentials or resources, that keep throwing out there, the sweeping statement that Gambians do not possess the acumen to adopt and grow business concepts. We may all agree that “Skills Centers” as we know them in The Gambia are woefully underfunded and under served with skilled training personnel. Thus the need for targeted funding to prop up skills and business training hubs.
You may be well advised to encourage your investment partners and your good self to invest in training resources, targeting specific areas on the ground in The Gambia. The need for seed money is also an expressed need in The Gambia. The philosophy/guiding principle would be to invest now to reap benefits down the road. Gives you a leg up? Or not?
One area that I can think of right off the bat is training in Crop Technology/Food Processing in support of the Agriculture and Natural Resources sectors!!
The approach would not constitute charitable giving but investing in bright minds and the Gambian economy in support of a vision. A healthy business environment could very well be assured for all Gambians!!
Andrew, Scales has no “business leadership”. He has been a “disabled” UK pensioner for the last 20 years.
Also, some TEN years ago, JollofNews editor PK, wrote to Freedomnewspaper praising Scales for “assisting” someone. Scales wrote to Freedom denying the assistance (Both available online!).
Essentially, Scales is very misleading and what he says should be taken with a pinch of salt!
BUT GAMBIANS TEND TO TRUST “TOUBABO” – UNLIKE US EAST AND SOUTH AFRICANS (Lol!)
Andrew; You ask for clarity/You ask for my position/ You encourage me to reinvest in Gambia with particular emphasis on youth.
On the 14th April 2000 I was ushered into a meeting with The Mayor of Banjul. In that meeting he expressed concerns over the poor relationship with Britain and could I do anything to assist.?
After a couple of phone calls I was invited to Trade Partners on Victoria Street in London. There I met DHC Bharet Joshi and Steve Moore who listened to the invite from The Mayor Of Banjul. To my infinite surprise The FCO were very interested. I was then given a letter of support by Trade Minister The Rt Hon Richard Caborn.
We set up an advertisement in All Africa Magazine and I created a business called Jantabi International Ltd. The magazine advert was largely written by Trade Partners but I did add some salient points.
The add was entitled ; Doing Business in Gambia.
I then handled business enquiries from British businesses wanting an introduction into Gambia. I accompanied many of these people. But found most were more interested in making a quick buck than fostering bilateral trade. All but one of these business interests manifested into disappointment and loss of invested capital.
In the end I set up a business of my own, but lack of time of my part was probably the cause of failure. I had three successful business needing time here in the UK. In the end I decided to invest in local programmes which were very successful but with no financial return. I continue to do so.
Regarding going back and setting this up again. I would have to be paid. This does not mean I don’t have plenty of venture capital. It just means I would need a high level invite with security. I would then need to understand your government’s true objectives. Those that know me were surprised how I managed to call on the UK’s primes sports resources for support. I am very persuasive. I think I could do better things with my time/ Be reassured I am involved. Now and with Gambian partners.
I trust this answers at least part of your enquiry. I view transparency in business essential in anything connected with Gambia.
LoL! See my comments above – HA, HA HA! Mike is FUNNNNNYYYY!
Per Mike Scales, again:
“I then handled business enquiries from British businesses wanting an introduction into Gambia. I accompanied many of these people. But found most were more interested in making a quick buck than fostering bilateral trade. All but one of these business interests manifested into disappointment and loss of invested capital.
In the end I set up a business of my own, but lack of time of my part was probably the cause of failure. I had three successful business needing time here in the UK. In the end I decided to invest in local programmes which were very successful but with no financial return. I continue to do so.
Regarding going back and setting this up again. I would have to be paid. This does not mean I don’t have plenty of venture capital. It just means I would need a high level invite with security. I would then need to understand your government’s true objectives. Those that know me were surprised how I managed to call on the UK’s primes sports resources for support. I am very persuasive. I think I could do better things with my time/ Be reassured I am involved. Now and with Gambian partners”.
Being a “friend” of The Gambia that ostensibly loves The Gambia and Gambians, you must then not only project a good image of The Gambia but also actively promote The Gambia going forward!
Paid for what services Mike when you admit to sitting on venture capital? A venture capitalist would jump at the opportunities that The Gambia offers post Yaya Jammeh.
While failure in business is akin to dusting oneself up after a fall, a proven track record does lend credence to claims of business savvy.
Three successful businesses but failed on promoting business interests of Trade Partners and sundry? What happened to knowledge of investment zone (The Gambia) plus crafting sound entry strategies for the benefit of investors that counted on your professed expertise?
So, why the “A high level invite with security”? Anything to show for this request short of taking Gambians for retards??
Mike, will you come clear that you weren’t into and still plan on latching on to investors’ coat tails for personal gain?
I will go with Dida (Sunu Gann Gi) on this one that your claims to business success may be just that. Dida’s is very well on point. Here’s a Brit that I can smell from afar! Hot air, an ego trip plus showing the traits of a “Two Bob” (not Toubab) looking to make a few quick Shillings on the backs of unsuspecting investors and Gambians at large!!
Otherwise you wouldn’t keep dangling a proverbial carrot that has never been and can never be found!! It may serve you well to declare yourself a Gambia Commission Agent looking for fees for services rendered but certainly not a Gambia Expert, a promoter or “friend” of The Gambia. This is a small world AND you CAN BE THOROUGHLY VETTED!!
Your statements over time on this medium and others just don’t add up. I gather that you do offer donations, in what amounts to pocket change, to JollofNews, in return for according yourself the role of online moderator and effusive commentator on all and sundry!! Again, “a high level invite with security”? For what? Not a church mouse of a commoner! I seldom get mad but I’m getting really upset here! You do owe Gambians an apology for labeling our nation a bad money pit plus what amounts to ……!
You do not necessarily owe me answers but please go ahead with telling the readership, in itemized bullet points, the Gambian success stories that Mike Scales has to his credit plus what exactly Mike Scales has done and can do for The Gambia going forward!!
That’s not a tall order!
Yes Dida! HA HA HA HA!
MIKE is indeed FUNNNNNYYYYY!!
Yes Andrew, this is the funniest: “A high level invite with security”? LoL!
Andrew contact me via Sambagate.com (editor)
1. Gambia is not in any worse situation than most of the countries in the continent, when it comes to scarcity of resources in relation to national development needs. Hence, our situation should not be an excuse to shirk our sacred national duty to defend, protect and preserve the territorial integrity and independence of our country.
2. It is wrong, unethical and quite frankly, simply naive to hold the view that we can rely on Senegal for our national defence needs, without incurring expenses that are, more or less, proportional to our defence needs, which we would have incurred anyway. Senegal will not provide our national defence needs for nothing. They will not only want to see a good return on their “investment”, but they will never see us as equal partners, knowing that they are the guarantors of our national defence needs and territorial integrity, and who can tell what such a relationship would eventually lead to ?
3. It is true that almost all of the situations that threatened our national security were created by either serving or former members of the GAF, but I think this was mainly due to the fact that we failed to develop the capacity and professionalism of the institution for it to be able to carry out its functions. This failure of the GAF is definitely not good enough reasons to advance for its complete disbandment and eradication from our national institutions for good.
I think we need to restructure but maintain a well trained, well disciplined and well managed GAF, whose capacity to defend our nation should gradually be enhanced, as we improve the state of our economy. As some already suggest, the GAF personnel can be trained and deployed in income generating ventures like peace keeping, civil engineering, farming, etc, to engage them all year round, rather than leaving them unoccupied and idle, when not on sentry duties, parades or traing/exercises.
No amount of training or investment will transform GAF into a professional defensive force. Besides, to what end? To defend against who? Senegal? Seriously! You can waste our resources until hell freezes over we can’t defend ourselves against any invading force. We can spend our money to train idiots that will later become enemy of the people and turn their guns against our citizens like Yayhya Jammeh. Gambia is in a precarious financial situation, we must stay our pride. Nobody on this forum has made a compelling case to justify GAF existence besides some self inflated sense that we need a force because ALL sovereign nations must have one. Well we are a BROKE nation. What is sovereign about dependence on others for food and shelter. Unless you can tell me how you plan to pay for and train the troops it makes no sense. Especially since our troops traditionally and historically are incapable of fulfilling their constitutional responsibility.
God Bless The Gambia
“Nobody on this forum has made a compelling case to justify GAF existence besides some self inflated sense that we need a force because ALL sovereign nations must have one.” – At least I didn’t says that Dr!! Goodnight.
Well, if you can’t defend yourself, what’s the point of developing yourself ? Ask Kuwait about relying on the goodwill of another (a neighbour) for your national defense needs.
And why can’t the GAF ever be professional ? If Jawara didn’t leave Ndow Njie to ruin the moral and professionalism of the GNA that was inculcated by the BATT, (British Army Training Team) and replaced him (Njie) with the Nigerians (the most coup prone Army in Africa at the time), we would probably never have arrived at July 22nd.
We are a BROKE country, but we spent about D80 Million on celebrations, D100 Million on aircraft mentenance, over D30Million on travels, D400 Million to purchase a hotel, just to name a few. How will we pay for the GAF ? Come on, sometimes you just need to ask and you will be assisted to lay the foundations that you can build on. We don’t lack the resources; only the skills and the will to manage them for the good of all.
Gambia is unlike any other nation. Kuwait was a RICH careless and decadent nation. They had vast amount of cash and natural resources. Things desired by other nations that makes them a target. We are not Kuwait. The fundamentals of our situation does not change just because our leaders make poor financial decisions. I will never advocate that a country should be defenseless. What we have here is a unique situation . A land locked country with no natural resources, insolvent, with 22 year legacy of state sponsored terror. Why would any sane country want to invade a leper country as it were. For now what is left is the good children of Gambia and the friends of Gambia. We may get to a point in our metamorphoses when we need an army, but not now. Not yet.
God Bless The Gambia
This is not about GAF. It is about re-establishing an army of new generation of educated and mentally sophisticated Gambians who should be as intelligent and sophisticated as members of the Senegalese army or like all other moderate armies of African nations. This project may start with 200 men and be expanding in time but the money should be there as ‘sacred’ for the purpose. It is absolutely irrational to underestimate the intelligence of a whole citizenry that, they are not capable of learning to improve and get better. An army in anyway is not a guarantee of total security from invasion or attacks by outside element but a stake to every imaginable invading forces that destruction and sorrow awaits the invader as well. The size of an army and hardware may
count in the assessment of a country’s capability to defend herself from invading forces today, but not as much as strategy and technology. A country with a militia of uneducated and untrained thugs is like a terror machine to oppress the citizenry whilst an educated and trained army is as important as the border marks and the national flag of a country. In 2017 no one should expect any country of ECOWAS or Africa at large to provoke a cause for invading another country.
A country’s army is very much essential(in liaison with police and customs) to secure and protect it’s borders from other detrimental elements as many as one can imagine, different from imaginable warring Invaders. The lack of a national defense apparatus in the Gambia will have very serious consequences to be realised in a very near future.
Long live the Gambia.
“Senegal will not provide our national defence needs for nothing”, indeed my in-law, and the most obvious threat at the moment is Jammeh-funded terrorism by Cassamance Rebels.
I think I agree with you on this one my in-law, not least because like Mike I need “a high level of security” – just incase my in-laws choose to send me to heaven prematurely and give my compunds to my children!
Hey, it’s SOS Labour ! Calamitous night at the locals. Can’t believe Tories got Birmingham Mayor. Not looking good for the nationals in 8wks.
We shouldn’t kid ourselves about Senegal. It has its own national interest and it will pursue those in the Gambia, whenever it can, just like any other country. I think we should thank God for Senegal’s position, in support of the Coalition’s case, and the quick resolution of the impasse, for two things:
1. Jammeh’s stupidity and animosity towards Senegalese authorities;
2. The instant “chemistry” between President elect Barrow and President Sall.
Who knows where Senegal’s support would have been, if Jammeh had headed a government that was good for them ? We have seen brutal murderers and dictators being protected by powerful allies to protect their own national interests.
Well I feel constrained to come to my aunt’s (Dr. Sarr) aid – indeed one of my dad’s brothers is married to a “Sarr” – in light of the compelling nature of her arguments.
Perhaps the country would need a standing army some time in the future. As of now, however, the facts on the ground tell us that our present standing army is by no means “fit for purpose”.
Secondly, she is right that we as a country have a very favourable geopolitical position which has to be utilized to the maximum in order to come up with alternative defense strategies, instead of maintaining a “standing army” that we in any case cannot afford in the short to medium term.
Thirdly, I don’t think you will meet a Gambian with our level of education who cannot envisage possible pitfalls when it comes to having some form of defense engagements with Senegal or for that matter any former French colony in our neigbourhood. We have already gained some experience in that regard during “the confederate days”: this can be utilized to avoid those pitfalls.
France’s influence over them is simply “too strong” for the liking of former British colonies on our continent, “none of whom will ever accept the Bank of England as their co-Central Bank” where we deposit our individual national reserves. The interest that the French government earns from these deposits alone must be in the region of “billions of Euros” per year! Nor will they ever accept the UK constantly interfering in different aspects of their internal affairs – amongst these military interventions and blackmailing of one type or another.
But now there is a third player in the equation: ECOWAS. The latter could be given powers to veto decisions unfavourable to the sovereign rights of Gambians should Senegal (or France for that matter) abuse its dominant/privileged position. Or requiring ECOWAS to accede to major military decisions involving The Gambia. Thus, it is “but our creativity” that sets limits as to how we as a nation can avoid abuse of Senegal’s dominant position in any future Sene-gambian Army.
In short: Where there is a will, there is always a way – as the saying goes.
Saikou M.D.Manneh:
“Perhaps the country would need a standing army some time in the future”.
So, let us not throw the baby out with the bath water now.
Personally I have no doubt that the Gambia needs a lean and professional standing army now – quite simply because the Cassamance Rebellion can easily spill over into The Gambia. I also think a well-organised and trained professional army can have other uses – such as having an efficient “Agricultural Battalion” engaged in nationwide farming and an “Engineering Battalion” engaged in nationwide construction of roads and bridges and a “Flood-Fighting Battalion” for the rainy season.
Dormu Rewwum Gambia, thanks for the perspectives above – better late than never.
You are, first and foremost, hereby referred to my previous comments on the matter: There, you will find that I espouse the redeployment of members of the armed forces in one way or the other. The types of battalions you refer to above could be but one of these, amongst several others. In fact, the type of tasks for the battalions concerned are performed by a separate force called Civil Defense Forces here in Denmark – and many other parts of the world.
Secondly, dismantling the current standing army does not necessarily mean discarding its assets, among these their personnel. While I was in Greenland in the year 2009, that country drastically down-sized the number of municipalities in the country. However, that did not mean throwing away all the assets of the former municipalities. Far from it, the lion’s share of the personnel were redeployed in one way or the other; ditto in terms of other assets.
In conclusion, it is only creativity as a nation that sets limits for us when it comes to how we should re-use the assets of the present army.
Bax; A well thought out analysis; The other concern is the threat from terrorism and the many coup attempts over many years. The need for a functioning and well trained security agency that can rightly franchise with other West African Nations on shared intelligence is these days,,,vital.
Bax; It was almost as I predicted; My one regret is for Tim Farron and the lib/dems.
Ukip have shot their bolt/ Labour are disunited and the Tories making gains in wait for it>>>Scotland.
Not too dissimilar to Gambia’s National Assembly ?
Dr Sarr/ A soldier follows orders not his conscience/ Jammeh played on that one/ didn’t he just ?
When does a soldier follow his conscience ?
when he is planning a coup/
Without security you will say Bye Bye to the Tourists.
Final thought to Dr Sarr;
That’s why doors have locks.
But Mike why lock an empty safe?
But why lock the door of a hut of thatched walls and roof….
I guess it’s to warn the FORTY off before Ali B. Nothing more.
Ouch! Dr Sarr! “Why would any sane country want to invade a LEPER country as it were”?
Gambia’s precious peace and humanity has depended largely on its poverty – almost like the bible proverb about the “rich man and gates of heaven”. So I wouldn’t use the word “leper” at all in reference to the wonderful and peaceful Gambia.
I answered your main point earlier: it is the armed Cassamance Rebels who are most likely to invade or terrorise The Gambia if we didn’t have an army. Senegal has not been able to defeat them for a generation now – and I don’t see Senegal as being an effective security for us against the Cassamance Rebels. But Senegal can be an effective guarantor of our democracy by rejecting ANY coup in The Gambia – and we all know why Senegal allowed Jammeh to take power in 1994.
Finally, as I have noted, a standing army can have many civilian developmental uses – which development partners will just be happy to assist financially.
Please never use the word “leper” in relation to my Smiling Coast again – or I will have you charged with Treason!
I plead the fifth Sir. It is not an accurate descriptive of our beloved Gambia, but a very poor choice of expression. For this I render a sincere apology and immediate retraction.
God Bless The Gambia
Apology graciously accepted – on behalf of my beloved Smiling Coast!
Quite some intriguing comments; one could be tempted to bet they are coming from Place de l’ Independence.
What a shiver in the bones.
God shave the Gambia let it stand tall in the ECOWAS.
Bourne; “God shave The Gambia”
Does that comment have an economical mind set ?
Come on Mike, that phrase suppose to be; “God save the Gambia”. Absolutely spiritual.
Dr Sarr; If the safe is empty/ where has all the money gone ?
In the bank of Kanilai Mike.