Gambia presidential affairs minister describes EU as “crazy guys”

Dr Njogu Bah

Dr Njogu Bah, minister of presidential affairs, and secretary general and head of civil services has referred to the European Union as crazy guys for imposing their 17-point demand on The Gambia government which he said they (the EU) don’t have the moral authority to do.

“Looking at the EU’s submission, we find it very insulting, to say the least; lack of respect to our independence and sovereignty,” Dr Bah said on Monday, during an extra-ordinary session of the National Assembly, convened for parliamentarians to discuss the demands of the EU to The Gambia government.

The EU has presented a 17-point demand to The Gambia government in which it is requesting the government to revise the portion of the Criminal Code that allows for prosecution on the charges of sedition, libel, false publication to a public servant within 6 months; revise laws on freedom of expression and media regulations within 24 months; review the death penalty by the National Assembly within 12 months, and review the provision of the death penalty in the element of the Criminal Code and other laws for most serious crimes within six months.

Dr Njogu Bah said the EU does not have the moral authority to demand that the Gambia government implement these changes in the laws.   

“The laws of The Gambia are adequate as they are,” he says. 

According to him, whatever action taken here (in The Gambia by the government), are taken within the dictates of the laws. 

“They [the EU] have their own laws, but we can pinpoint many flaws in their system, they are not perfect and that is clear to all of us; in fact there is no perfect system in the world,” Dr Bah said.

By telling the government to implement these changes, the presidential affairs minister said the EU is trying to bring chaos and anarchy into the country.

European Union may cut aids to Gambia

Euro Banknotes: Source: Gophoto

The Gambia could lose a lot of million Euros from its main donor, the European Union, as a result of President Jammeh’s outright rejection of the governance reforms that they, the EU, has demanded The Gambia government to undertake in order to improve the country’s governance and human rights situations.

The European Union has presented a 17-point demand to The Gambia government which are strongly condemned and rejected by President Jammeh forthrightly.  The EU has also scheduled a meeting - EU Article 8 Intensified Political - with the government slated for 11^th January 2013 during which the demands are to be discussed. 

In a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Jammeh denounced and rubbished all the demands by the EU saying that there is no need to meet with the EU because “none of their demands is subject for discussion”.

The EU says it demands are prompted by the significant deterioration in the human rights situation in The Gambia in recent months, notably the execution of nine death row inmates, the forced closure of independent radio stations and newspapers, the trial against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation and the arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists and human rights defenders.

Among the reforms that they are demanding from the government are: the upholding of moratorium on the death penalty with immediate effect, revision of laws on freedom of expression and media regulations within 24 months, provision of information regarding the recent executions, including location of burial to the families.  [See below the story all the 17-point demand of the EU.]

However, the strong refusal of President Jammeh of these reforms could have some chilling effects on the government and The Gambia as a whole because the EU is the country’s main donor and it is an open secret that most or all the aids by the multilateral agencies are tied to some conditions like the ones demanded by the EU to The Gambia. 

For instance, the EU has cut financial aid to Kabul due to inefficiency and lack of progress in governance and justice system reforms in Afghanistan.

Again, it has cut aids to Bulgaria due to the government’s little progress in the fight against corruption and organized crime in the country. 

So could it also cut aids to The Gambia for Jammeh’s refusal to improve the governance and human right situation in the country?  It is worth noting that human rights, democracy and the rule of law are core values for the EU and these determines to a large extend the Union’s external relations policy and support to any country.

The Gambia continues to benefit millions of Euros donation from the EU in form of projects in different areas like infrastructure, rural development, food security, climate change, water and sanitation all of which continue to positively touch the lives of thousands of Gambians both in rural and urban areas.

For instance, the country is benefiting a lot under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF), which is EU’s main instrument for providing development aid in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the overseas countries and territories (OCTs).  Under the 10^th EDF, the EU is assisting The Gambia government to address the key issues that are hampering economic and social development.

For the period 2008-2013 (10th  EDF), €70.6 million was allocated to The Gambia with two priority intervention sectors: transport as a focal sector, with a broader emphasis on infrastructure and regional interconnectivity, and governance, in order to help the government in undertaking reforms at the macroeconomic level as well as in the judiciary.

The complementary objectives of the 10th EDF Country Strategy for The Gambia is reforming and improving governance, human rights and the rule of law situation in the Gambia and which areas the government is not even entertaining the least of reforms.

As for now, efforts to get to get comment from the European Union office in Banjul, as to what next after President Jammeh rubbishes their demands, proved unproductive.  However, we wait and see the official position to be taken by the Union.