Gainako Newspaper

One youth killed and two others hospitalized is the result of the
accident caused by the president�s convoy on Saturday near the
Tabokoto junction on the main Brikama High way at about 8pm.

The accident occurred when the president on arrival at the place
threw a packet of biscuits which landed on the tar road instead of
off the road. This reporter was in a vehicle which was going towards
Tabokoto junction and found a vehicle that appears to be like a state
house vehicle standing and surrounded by a group of people. He
then alighted from his vehicle to find out what had happened. He
discovered that the victims of the accident had already been
evacuated to the RVTH hospital in Banjul. He could however see
blood stains everywhere.

The reporter then spoke to an elderly woman named Binta who said she was an eye witness to the
accident. Asked whether the accident was not serious, she said it was very fatal and went further to
explained that by the time the president was throwing his biscuits when his convoy arrived at the place
but one packet dropped on the road which the youths raced to get. She said the youths did not know
that another speeding vehicle was coming behind them; that before they realized that, that vehicle had
already caught with them which hit all the three of them. She said she observed one to have been
dead, the other was crying and calling her mother and saying that she is dying while blood was
dripping from his body and head. She said the third was not talking but has signs of life.

This reporter made some effort to verify whether the youths are at the RVTH and discovered that one
of them had died on the spot as narrated by the elderly woman and was sent directly to the mortuary.
He has also found out that the two are hospitalized with very serious injuries. The two are seen to be
recovering at the time of going to press.

Rumour also has it that a similar accident occurred in Basse which took the lives of two people but
this could not be independently verified. Many people wonder why the president�s convoy move with
such a high speed especially when in town and the president is throwing biscuits.

.............THE BOOK
TREATISE ON FOUNDING A FEDERATION OF AFRICAN
REPUBLICS, (FAR) LAUNCHED: 2016 Set For Africa�s Unification
...........................By Solo, Banjul correspondent.....May 29th, 2008
The Launching of the Book �Treatise on Founding a Federation of
African Republics; (FAR) took place at the paradise Suites on Sunday
25th May 2008 with the objective to also mark the African Liberation
Day celebrations,(A.L.D).

The launching attracted over a thousand people from across the country
including Pan Africanists in the Diaspora, religious leaders like Hafiz Faye
who did the Muslim prayers and Mr. Bah of the Ahmaddiya Jammat, Pan
African youth groups and progressive individuals and sympathizers.Dr.
Assan Jaye of the MRC chaired the occasion.

The print media is fully represented but the GRTS, National and Television Services has not made any
representation or coverage.The children of Nyakoi Nursery school mesmerized the crowd by naming
the capitals of any African country asked by members of the audience.

A Pan African musical and theatre group sang a song written by Mr. Suwaibou Touray entitled,
Africa, we should unite now or perish, we must unite Africa! The song cited names of many Pan
Africanists and freedom fighters in both the Diaspora and in the mainland, such as Patrice Lumumba,
Cabral, Samora machel, Edouado Mondlane, Steven Biko, Marcus Garvey, Dubois, Sylvester
Williams, Titina, Nzingha Ngosi, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nkrumah, Mandela etc who have in
one way or another sacrificed their lives for the African continent.

They also sang a song entitled, our transformation shall succeed, succeed! With dedication and
determination! These two songs have achieved their purpose, ie. to thrill entice and inspire the
congregation.

The group also staged a play written by Suwaibou Touray on the present day realities of ordinary
Africans as they tried to eke out a living in their various countries, such as a Somalian beset by the
endless war which has not made any sense to them but create all kinds of problems. Another from
Kenya who lamented about her country�s problems such as the lack of peace and inter- tribal
warfare, instability etc. The one from Nigeria is from the Niger Delta worried by the exploitation of
their resources without any regard to the environment or the people living in the area. Another from
Zimbabwe who laments on the fact even though they had fought for independence in which they have
sacrificed everything, they are still without Land, Work, peace or progress. The one from Dafur
Region of Sudan spoke of the fratricidal war which has made untold suffering on them the ordinary
people and another, a Gambian youth lamenting about the smiling coast not providing any outlet for
the groundnut crop while they the youth continue to experience unemployment and low pay etc. He
insisted that since he has no future in his homeland he would go anywhere his legs could carry him, and
said he would go and no one would stop him etc.

Then a voice of Kwame Nkrumah emerged to greet the people and to remind them of the Hour of
Decision, THE UNIFICATION OF AFRICA. The voice also explained what Kwame had told his
fellow leaders in 1963 and 1965 on the merits of Unity and demerits of Disunity, in a brief speech
which has given answers to the main problems cited.

The Theme of the Book Launch is, �Awareness is the Mother of Liberty and Prosperity� In a one and
half hour speech, Halifa Sallah espoused on his book. He emphasized the importance of knowledge
and awareness building. He also said the era of heroes and heroines has passed and Africa does not
need saviors but that we now live in an era when knowledge must become the property of the people.
Mr. Sallah moved into the realm of philosophy and quoted Aristotle who he said indicated the stage of
development during his epoch in the Athenian states in the following words; That �The Nations that
live in cold regions and those of Europe are full of spirit but somewhat lacking in skill and intellect. For
this reason while relatively free, they lack political cohesion and the ability to rule over their
neighbours. On the other hand the Asiatic Nations have in their souls both intellect and skill, but
somewhat lacking in spirit, so they remain both enslaved and subject. The Hellenic race, from which
he Aristotle came from, occupies a mid position geographically has a measure of both; being spirited
and intelligent. Hence, it continues to be free, to live under the best constitutions, and given a single
constitution to be capable of ruling all other people�

Citing Dubois, Sallah said Dubois argued in his writing that Black Africa influenced Rome; that many
of her great men were called the �African� because of their birth and blood ties; that the culture of
Egypt went across the Mediterranean, lighting fires in Crete, inspiring Asia from Southern Arabia to
Syria and the Western Asia Minor. In Cretan art, Negro heads appeared, and in the late Minoan age,
at the time of the expansion overseas, a black Minoan captain led Negro troops and so on.
Sallah said Herodotus, a great historian also mentioned in his accounts the names of nearly all the
Greek Gods derived from Egypt, and certainly the Greeks continually turned towards Egypt for
cultural inspiration and scientific information.

Sallah said in the age of Pericles, Black Africans were considered equals to, though different from
Greeks and superior to European and Asiatic barbarians. According to Sallah, the Pan Africanists
intelligentsia read widely and drew lessons from the mythology and history of other Nations.
Citing Dubois further, he said, science for years tried to separate men into great groups called Races;
at first the object was to explain human history by human differences. He said that it was later evident
that mankind would not fit accurately into any scientific delimitation of racial categories; no matter
what criteria were used.

The author then went into the evolution of African nationalism that History teaches that the struggle to
unite the African peoples found an African nation which can protect them from their woes, which gave
birth to African nationalism, is older than the struggle to unite African micro-states to found a united
state of Africa.

The author cited the global slave trade and African Nationalism. He cited Oluadah Equiano, who was
kidnapped and sold into slavery at the age of 11 years but managed to buy his freedom in 1766
before the U.S gained independence, did not hesitate to recall the horrific experience he and other
slaves went through in his autobiography which should be standard reading in literature classes in all
African schools, Sallah opined.

Sallah said Equiano indicated clearly how attempts were made to obliterate the sense of dignity and
self worth of the person of African origin by compelling him or her to accept bondage through
floggings and subjection to improvident avarice; that over 100 million Africans were transported
across the Atlantic to become chattels in Brazil, the US and the West Indies.

Sallah did not forget the efforts made by Africans on the home land to stop the inhuman trade. He
cited the king of Congo (Bakongo) who petitioned the king of Portugal who turned a deaf ear to his
concerns for human and peoples� rights.

After citing the struggles of various Africans such as the Black Jacobins of San Dominique which led
to the proclamation of the Haiti Republic in 1804. He said even after the abolition of the slave trade in
1807, the slave trade continued clandestinely while the internal slave trade flourished in many
countries. The revolts therefore spread unabated toBarbadoes in 1816, Brazil in 1828 and 1837,
Bolivia in 1840, Cuba in 1844 and Jamaica in 1861.

The author then concluded that these revolts spelt doom to the reliance on slave labour for raw
material production. This was why he said a new system had to emerge to safeguard the sources of
raw materials for industrialists of the North. �That new system is called Colonialism� He said.
Sallah then explained what Colonialism meant and dwelt into the first Pan African Conference, the
juridical instruments proposed by the Congress, how the Pan Africanists helped shaped the thinking of
the League of Nations through their petition and the demand for Self determination. This was how the
links between the African peoples at home and Diaspora developed in form and scale.

The author Halifa Sallah took his audience through the process towards Independence at a National
congress of British West Africa, and how the Second, third, Fourth and Fifth Pan African Congresses
influenced the UN Charter etc.

Sallah explained how Dubois influenced Nkrumah when a breakthrough was made on the 6TH March
1957 when the Gold Coast became Independent. Quoting Nkrumah who expressed his conviction
that no single African country could emerge from colonial economy and build industries and the
necessary infrastructure to compete with the capital base of the multinational corporations and
emphasized the need for Africa to be united to make use of its abundant mineral and natural
resources. Halifa then went through the experiences of those who like Nkrumah wanted unification
and those who they considered as gradualists. He gave a long and tedious explanation on the purpose
of Pan Africa, expounded at conferences of independent African states and the All African Peoples
Conferences; that Nkrumah examined the material and subjective conditions which prevailed at the
time and observed the enthusiasm everywhere.

Sallah explained how Ghana and Congo tried to form a nucleus of a federation, how Lumumba sought
the help of the UN and how Ghana sent troops which served under the UN commanders and how
Belgian troops snatched Lumumba from the UN troops and how he eventually got murdered by the
Belgian troops; that even one of the Belgian troops confessed recently that he took a tooth of
Lumumba after they murdered him as a souvenir which he said shows how dehumanized they were at
the time.

He then explained further how Ghana and Guinea tried to forge a union government but argued that
that could not serve the same purpose with that of Ghana and Congo because as he said Congo has
vast mineral resources.

The author followed the second All African Peoples Conference, the achievements and challenges of
the liberation struggle, the Birth of the OAU,the progress made after the failure to adopt the major
proposals of Nkrumah. He said the OAU established the following commissions which became
operational before African Nationalism went through its greatest crisis with the overthrow of Kwame
Nkrumah in February 1966;

1) Economic and Social Commission
2) Defence Commission
3) Educational and Cultural Commission
4) Scientific, Technical and Research Commission
5) Transport and Communication Commission
6) Commission of Jurists.
7) He said these key institutions were established in 1964 to complement the operation of the
Economic and Social Commissions such as the African Development Bank.

Sallah went through the nature and goals of each of these Commissions and draw the conclusion that
all the institutions were established to create an African Union Government, but it was only left with
the political will to implement it. �Instead of redirecting these institutions, African countries therefore
drifted into unequal relations with the developed countries and remain producers of primary products
and importers of value added products� He asserted.

But the author summed up the failure of micro- Nationalist States and the opportunities of African
integration, which he calls the lost decades; 1970-1980, 1980-1990, 1990-2000 as first, second, and
third lost decades respectively, in which sub Saharan Africa became the most heavily indebted region
in the world, at 270% of export earnings and 75% of GNP, and is chronically in arrears.
Halifa asserted that the indebtedness and marginalization of the African continent compelled the Heads
of state to meet in Sirte in Libya, in 1999, to look at the factors which have been stifling the movement
of the continent towards sustainable economic, social and cultural development.

He dilated on the constitutive Act and the building of a united Africa, the need for a programmatic
policy document, the introduction of NEPAD which he opined could bring development but not the
ultimate development that is required. He also argued that NEPAD has not captured the fundamental
lesson of global economics that multilateral trade negotiations are best conducted by regional trading
Blocs which have built up intra- regional trade links to enhance their international competitiveness and
bargaining power.

The author finally went into the way forward and said the arms of the state has been established; that
the treaty establishing the African Economic Community, the Constitutive Act and the Protocols which
emanated from them provide for the establishment of continental Executive, Legislative, Judicial,
Social and Cultural structures which are expected in a Federal state. He explains the principle of
Collective Sovereignty of states, irrespective of size, have been accorded equal voting rights; that
decisions are based on consensus or two-thirds majority; that the Pan African Parliament avails equal
representation to all countries in accordance with concept of peoples rights inherent in the African
Charter.

Sallah said the process to attain the full union or Federated state is in phases, from one to eight. The
8th phase leads to decide the faith of the Draft constitution and a summit should proceed in 2015 to
establish a task force to prepare an implementation blue print to be approved by the 2016 summit for
the establishment of the Federation of African Republics.

�History is indeed in the making� says Halifa Sallah; that the third and final phase of Pan Africanism or
African Nationalism; the total Liberation of the continent from poverty, dependency and tyranny will
reposition Africa in the world and set a new agenda for internationalism which will aim to transform the
world into a universal home for all human beings to live in Liberty, Dignity and Prosperity.
For Sallah, the African must build a civilization in the 21st century which will ensure a destiny of
liberty, dignity and prosperity which he said is a verdict necessity and dictate of conscience and
reason.

Africa he said shall rise like a star among the world constellation of Nations and as he asserted, we
have a contract with Destiny to bequeath a Homeland to the new generation than they have found it;
and that only unity can avail us that opportunity. Africa, he concluded must unite or perish. The future
is bright! ALUTA CONTINUA!

Gambian-US student graduates
with Top Honours Magna Cum Laude:
.........................By: Alieu Khan.....................May 29th, 2008
Ismaila D. Badjie made all progressive Gambians proud, when he
recently graduated with Top Honours Magna Cum Laude with
Bachelors in Chemistry at the prestigious Tennessee State University,
USA.

'It was truly a tribute to the hard work and sacrifice of my beloved
parents Dembo and Haddy Badjie along with endless support from
my siblings Malick, Fatim, Ebrima and Isatou. Our family's success
has always been the top priority on my parents list and therefore it's
a great feeling knowing they are proud of what we have grown up to
be. That to me is and will always be the greatest gratification possible.
' He said in an interview.

Ismaila, the son of a Gambian Diplomat and also brother to Gambia's new Information Secretary of
State, was the head boy of Gambia Senior Secondary School in 2003. He was keenly involved in
youth initiatives, until in 2004 when he left to pursue his first degree in the USA.

During his four years studies at the Tennessee State University he has always been on the Dean's list
of academic excellence. He was the team captain of his university's quiz bowl team for almost three
years. His team won the National Championship in 2007, bringing a sum total of 50,000 US Dollars
for the university.

In a university of 9,000 students coming from 46 US States and 45 countries, this 23 year old
Gambian was highly respected by both the students and lecturers for his academic prowess. Last
year, he took the bold initiative to establish the Beta Omicron Chapter of the first Black Greek Letter
Organisation Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. This organisation was formed in 1906. It is mainly
service oriented and promotes manly deeds, scholarships and love for all mankind.

Ismaila's high scholastic through out his studies also led to his induction in to national honors societies
Phi Eta Sigma, Golden Key international and Phi kappa Phi.

In August 2008, he will be starting his doctorate degree in Pharmacy (PharmD) at the Purdue
University School of Pharmacy. Already, Ismaila is nurturing plans of creating a pharmacy and
research lab in The Gambia, focusing mainly on diabetes, malaria and high blood pressure.

In another development, the first batch of Gambian students in Taiwan is graduating next month, after
successfully completing a four year degree studies. Almost all of them are currently in a frenzy of
excitement as they eagerly wait for the big day.

......The Sins of Gambia's
...Imams, Priests and Other Religious Leaders
..........................By -The Watchman........May 28th, 2008
In these United States, the preaching of a pastor or two could
determine who the next leader of the free world will be. Candidates
Barack Obama and John McCain have been dogged by
controversial statements voiced by their high profile religious
backers, the Revs. Jeremiah Wright and John Hagee respectively.
While the controversial aspect of their teachings are open to
debate, there is no denying that in The Gambia, religious leaders
are guilty of an utter dereliction of duty and conscience that make
the rants and raves of American church leaders tame in comparison.

Yahya Jammeh has been emboldened by the embarrassing silence of imams, priests and reverends,
custodians of moral and religious guardianship, and the result has been the emergence of a peripatetic
god complex on his part. Before readers jump to a conclusion and issue a fatwa for The Watchman's
head similar to Salman Rushdie's plight in 1989, I ask all to lend me some ears.

For starters, let's begin with equal opportunity secularism by examining the role of 2 of the world's
major religions that affect The Gambia specifically, Christianity and Islam. One of the biggest blights of
Christianity was the Spanish inquisition, the name given to a fundamentalist tribunal established in 1478
by King Ferdinand and his queen Isabella to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms. This
inquisition became particularly notorious for acting as an instrument of repression against the significant
Spanish Jewish, and the Muslim populations after the last battles of the Reconquista, and for
essentially dehumanizing and enslaving the native populations of North and South America as the new
international power extended itself to the new world's continents.

Fast forward history and the sad events of 9/11 2001, a crime committed by Muslim terrorist Osama
bin Laden and one sees an episode that not only tarnished the name of Islam but resulted in a great
loss of life as Afghanistan was attacked and occupied by Western powers, Iraq was assaulted in the
ensuing paranoia against the Muslim world and the exponential occurrences of terrorism have
effectively rendered planet Earth a much different and grimmer habitat.

These shameful epochs of religious history reflect a powerful fact: that belief systems and those who
serve as their figure heads play a significant role in the course of nations in times of peace and most
crucially in times of war or national crisis. Hence the questions: why is it that religious leaders in The
Gambia who were accustomed to the relative tranquil of the Jawara years maintained silence during
14 years of immoral and ignoble misrule by the Jammeh chain gang? Was any explicit condemnation
and pressure brought to bear against The Gambia's wayward "authorities" when 14 students were
murdered in cold blood in 2001? How come we never hear the moral weight of the mosque or
ministry in agitating for the release of political prisoners detained without due process? Have the
Catholic church, Anglicans, Muslim brotherhoods and sects voiced concern over the senseless
annihilation of fellow African citizens of Ghana? Which priest or sheriff is making pronounced edicts in
aid of Fatou Jaw Manneh?

The dearth of significant action on the part of The Gambia's religious authorities betrays a lack of
confidence on their part in believing that they can be assertive enough to positively amend Yahya
Jammeh's disorderly conduct but they are mistaken. The most significant political breakthroughs of the
last century were engineered by a coalition of religious and civic groups who proved spectacularly
successful in dismantling tyrannical politico-socio economic especially during the height of the Cold
War.

Take Poland for example. During the cold war, the Solidarity Movement, a coalition of labor unions
and the highly influential Catholic church led by Lech Walesa, organized a series of boycotts, sit ins
and demonstrations that eventually led to the fall of the Communist Soviet puppet junta in 1989. It
should be noted that this religious resistance to the soulless, spiritless and godless system called
Communism produced one of the most significant religious and political figures of our time, Pope John
Paul II. His visits to Poland gave moral sustenance not only to the foes of Soviet rule but encouraged
Nicaraguans to resist oppressive Sandinista governance, and even Mikhail Gorbachev the last head of
the USSR stated that without the meddling of Pope, the Soviet Republics might have still been intact.
Further, to illustrate an action on John Paul II's deed s that affect us Africans directly, he supported
the Jubilee 2000 initiative by Bono of U2 to alleviate debts of poor nations.

Closer to home, the Mourides of Senegal guided by their powerful leader, the caliph, exemplify
beneficial involvement in affairs of the state. Like his predecessors, the grand caliph is politically
cautious. Per the New York Times, his father, Sheik Bamba, who is remembered for opposing
colonial rule, established a pattern of collaboration with the French after returning from exile. The
French, benefiting from the stability that the Mourides provided, allowed them to thrive. After
independence, Senegal's presidents also relied on the Mourides for political backing and gave them
great autonomy in return. In 2000, the day after his election, President Abdoulaye Wade, himself a
Mouride, paid a high-profile visit to Touba to receive the grand caliph's blessing. Mr. Wade, who said
in an interview that the grand ca liph had never asked him for any favors, comes here every few
months.

In few places in West Africa is Islam so well organized and politically powerful as in Senegal, a
country at the same time considered the region's most open and Western-oriented. There are four Sufi
Muslim brotherhoods in Senegal, each led by a cleric called a grand marabout. It is through the
marabouts that the faithful -- most of Senegal's 10 million people -- practice this mystical form of
Islam. The brotherhoods have had friendly relations with the state and, as essentially moderate groups,
have helped provide it with an unusual degree of political stability.

''It is only in Senegal that brotherhoods dominate to such a degree, where they are inseparable from
Islam,'' said Khadim Mbacke, a Mouride who is a professor of Islamic studies at the University of
Dakar. Perhaps more than other Muslims in Africa, Mr. Mbacke said, the brotherhoods have adapted
Islam to African culture. Brotherhood members follow a strong leader, in keeping with African
tradition, and leadership is passed down through sons. Among the Mourides, because many of their
early leaders were peanut farmers or traders, those practices became essential to their way of life.

Now the key, word associated with the Mourides is stability. By virtue of their civic involvement and
the credibility and power of their caliph, an influence successfully built over many decades, the
Mourides, more so than Senegal's legislature, the Assembly Nationale and its supreme court, the
judicial arm, have acted as a watchful check on the executive president. To put it more succinctly,
Senegal's religious leaders have put their considerable cachet to good use instead of manipulating it for
disastrous ends. They are in a partnership of almost equality with the state, a fact not lost on proud
Mourides who send remittances to Touba to keep the prestige of their order intact. Some might argue
that the Casamance region disproves this fact but that conflict has complex ethnic dimensions to it and
with the exception of rogue factions, the violence has lessened somewhat and is not a national
conflagration the likes of Biafra or Somalia.

Hark back to The Gambia and one finds the contrary. The so-called religious leaders kowtow to
Yahya Jammeh's foolish whims and initiatives, scurrying to state house like dutiful inferior subjects
every time he wants to use them as mere photo op props. The Christian leaders don't say much to the
unruly head of state as long as their diocese maintains its membership and ecclesiastic aims. The
Muslim elders shy away from vocal opposition to executive misconduct for fear of the various many
punitive actions the Butcher of Banjul might mete out to them because essentially in the same vein that
he capriciously dismisses alkalos, intelligence apparatus chiefs, ministers and even his wives, Gambia's
idiot of state can ostracize and stigmatize them within the religious comm unity. Yahya Jammeh struts
around in white to signify his "purity" and cannot seem to let go of his prayer beads. In secret, it
wouldn't be a surprise if he fancies himself the leader of all Muslims in The Gambia.

It is clear that so far, Gambia's homegrown media and opposition, its exile anti-Jammeh coalitions and
influential citizens have failed to introduce political changes by dint of pressure tactics on the
disgraceful Jammeh administration. With their moral authority, widely held respect, and immense
devotional following, Gambia's religious leaders can pick up where the rest have lapsed in making sure
some sanity returns to the socio-economic confluence that is our state of affairs. They can do so
effectively only they call on their faith to give them courage to lead us from this cruel wilderness of
national despair. If they don't think so maybe they'll be inspired after making a phone to that great
dismantler of an evil system, B ishop Desmond Tutu. All Gambians should contribute to make this
possible.

Author can be reached at gambiaswatchman@gmail.com

.THE AFRICAN DILEMMA:
..Hunger and poverty reduction through economic 'growth';
the paradox of the market system.:By Alasana Njie (London, UK)........May 27th, 2008
"Twenty percent of Africa's children will die before the age of five" 'Every year six million children in Africa die
from malnutrition before their fifth birthday'. 'More than 800 million people go to bed hungry every day and of
these, 300 million are children. Of these 300 million children, only eight percent are victims of famine or other
emergency situations. More than 90 percent are suffering long-term malnourishment and micronutrient
deficiency'.
The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which attempts to guide, not
determine, the economic development agenda of developing countries for the medium term, and which
should serve as the foundation for long term development, encompassed the following:

(1) To eradicate 'extreme poverty and hunger'.
(2) Achieve universal primary education
(3) Promote gender equality and empowerment of women
(4) Reduce child mortality
(5) Improve maternal health
(6) Combat aids/ malaria and other preventable diseases.
(7) Ensure environmental sustainability
(8) Build a Global Partnership for development.

Development partners, which include amongst others International Monetary Fund, the World Bank,
African Development Bank and other donor agencies have agreed to have a greater degree of
coordination and collaboration, to make sure aid and assistance is more targeted and effective, to
achieve the set goals above. The general consensus is that a focus on 'sustainable growth' rather than
'redistribution' will provide the 'alchemy' for reducing extreme poverty in Africa and thus provide the
platform to achieving the other MDGs. Sustainable growth is perceived to be best achieved by
embracing free market policies and a meaningful, if measured, degree of economic and financial
liberalisation. To this end, there has been a shift from traditional IMF conditionalities, which used to
dictate what economic policies and reforms recipient countries should adopt and within what time
frame, to 'ownership' through the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, which are designed and
determined by participating countries in consultation with IMF and donor agencies. The essence here
is that there has been a shift from 'conditionalities' to 'consultation/ partnership' in designing the
development strategies of participating countries, which are guided to achieve the MDGs. In order
word, instead of prescriptive policies, a broader framework has been adopted within which countries
can manoeuvre and formulate their own strategies for development, but to a certain degree, within the
confines of this framework towards markets systems and greater integration into the global economy.
This, its believed, will help promote the efficient use of resources but also growth and the benefits of
such growth will trickle down to the grass roots to help alleviate poverty and its related problems. It is
believed that markets will provide and drive such growth initiatives and government policies should be
designed to support such and also effect the integration of our economies into the global economic and
financial system (globalisation). What is undisputable is how the world economic and financial systems
are interdependent. Take for example the international financial markets. Financial sector liberalisation
means that global corporations and economies have become financially very closely linked. A speech
by Ben Bernanke of the Federal Reserve (US) has the potential to move world financial markets
within seconds following interpretation of his references to future growth and inflation. A set of
economic data releases such as CPI or Non-farm payroll in the US takes seconds, to affect bonds
and equities prices on the FTSE 100 (London) or the XETRA DAX Index (Germany). One will only
appreciate this impact if you are sitting in front of a trading screen /platform/ladder. The fallout from
the sub-prime mortgage market in the US, has put a dampener on all major industries, not just
financial services companies, around the world. From Northern Rock in the UK, BNP Paribas in
France to UBS in Switzerland to world food prices. The rapid growth rate of China and her need for
more raw materials and energy is driving world oil prices, which has hit an all time high of $135 and is
expected to rise even further. Her unprecedented construction boom has affected such raw material as
prices building rods, which is felt remote countries as the Gambia. Every major economic
development in any of the key player on the global economic scene will have a direct impact on even
the least economically insignificant country in the world.

It is without doubt that globalisation, particularly viewed from an economic perspective, has presented
the International economic and financial system with continuously evolving challenges, which includes a
greater degree of contagion volatility and instability in the global economic and financial system. But it
has also presented unprecedented opportunities for growth and development for those countries that
positioned themselves and their economies to effectively benefit from it. Those countries or economic
blocs that have been able to successfully realign, restructure or even undergo a fundamental
transformation to with stand these challenges and take advantages of the opportunities that came with
globalisation and the market system, have generally enjoyed steady economic growth, even if volatile
and with it, a fair degree of success towards poverty alleviation. The Asia Tiger economies are perfect
examples of this phenomenon. The export-led economic reforms undertaken by these countries in the
1980s and 1990s enabled them to take full advantage of the possibilities of an expansive global
market place. Today China, a country with a deeply entrenched history of communism (an extreme
opposite of markets and globalisation), is one of the most successful to have taken this path. And let
us remember, African countries in general, attained independence well before most of these Asian
countries but their record of growth is incomparable to African countries in general. The Chinese for
example never believed in markets, as a communist state. It was only in the 1980's that it started
introducing some market reforms, partly due to pressure from the IMF and US. Example in April
1999, when Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji went to the US partly to finish off negotiations for China's
admission to the World Trade Organisation. As part of this process, the US treasury insisted on faster
liberalisation of China's financial markets. It is true that China never adhere to the pacing of the
reforms insisted on by the IMF and the US but it has surely but slowly reformed it markets,
restructured and developed it economy into the export-orientated giant it is today. The difference is,
China took the initiative and done so at its own pace and in its own time. In order words, most Asian
countries 'owned' their development programmes as opposed to being dictated to. They initiated most
of their development and reform requirement and determined the pacing of these reforms, to meet
their needs and circumstances of the times. They did not structure their economies to serve the intrinsic
interest of the west but instead on a mutual relationship, where control or initiative is not granted to the
former. China today is breaking all growth statistics, enjoying double-digit growth and with it,
spreading its global influence especially in Africa, where it gets most of its resources to sustain this
unprecedented growth rate. United States has been the economic benchmark of the world for
centuries and the reason is because it has made markets work for its economy. If a deeply communist
country like China can undergo such transformation to markets and make it work for themselves, why
not African, with its richly dynamic human resources, raw materials and mineral resources, fertile and
expansive arable lands and without the deep rooted baggage of communism / socialism should be
fairly able to make the transformation and make it work, with the right approach. One thing glaringly
missing from Africa's resources mentioned above is a ' vibrant, efficient and functional capital market'.
This is technically different from a banking system.

'The African Dilemma and the paradox of the market system' are: almost a decade after the
'ownership' of our development and reform initiatives through the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers'
promoting market system;

(1) Our one-dimensional dependency on the West for aid and assistance has never been higher
(2) Extreme poverty, hunger and destitution on the continent are increasing.
(3) Child mortality and maternal health are in the main developing for the worse. Between 12 and 14
million African children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. (source: World Bank/UNICEF)
(4) Improvement Gender equality and empowerment of women is painfully slow and where prevalent,
are mainly symbolic and at worst cosmetic.
(5) The prevalence of preventable diseases such as HIV Aids is ravaging the continent to pieces.
(6) Environmental degradation and desertification through global warming is ravaging Sub-Saharan
Africa at unprecedented rates, further made worse by deforestation.
(7) More Africans are fleeing into exile due to economic hardship and persecution from the very
governments that swore to protect them.
(8) Governance and developments in protection of human and people's rights are increasing
developing for the worse in many parts of Africa.

All these developments are at a time when we can technically claim 'ownership' of our development
policies through the PRSPs and at a time when we are embracing markets across the continent to
achieve these. Why, when others with who we are in similar situations are embracing and benefiting
from it but we are moving backwards doing the same. What a dilemma; what a paradox!!!!!.

The problem fellow citizens, is not the system, but we as Africans. It is absolutely a failure of
leadership over generations that has fashioned our present state and unless we are willing to accept
this and stop blaming it on the west, we will always try to find an excuse for our failures.

Cynics and opponents of globalisation and market systems, particularly those with
socialist mindsets, would argue or would like to argue that globalisation has not really delivered the
promises of reducing poverty especially in the third world countries but has actually made them worse.
They would blame it on unfair trade policies and unfair terms of trade as reasons why we are loosing
out. They can point out to data on growth, poverty, disease etc as prove. What we have to
understand is that the market system, upon which economic and financial sector globalisation are
based, is a model. This model's functionality is based on certain conditions and its applicators have to
create these conditions to make it work. Even if all trade tariffs and subsidies across the globe were to
be eliminated, we will still fail at it because we don't have the systems to take advantage of this and
cannot seem to come of with a system that will adapts to current circumstances A fundamentally
important such conditions is 'ownership'. Ownership not so much as a technical requirement but
determining our own direction and destiny in the global economy. But the fact is, we the so called third
world countries, particularly African nations, has never really taken our own initiatives to allow us to
take full advantage of the promises of globalisation. In as much as the 'Poverty Reduction Strategy
Papers' approach is a small step towards 'ownership' it is not technically our ideas. It being linked to
the Millennium Development Goals means that the agenda is still being set for us. It was a way of
compensating for the unpopularity of 'descriptive conditionalities'. Our leaders just seem to be big on
vision, but totally lack substance and therefore the West have to hold and guide their thinking and
actions. They just don't have the mindset to independent thinking, to come up with novel ideas of
dealing with the challenges we face as a continent. Even if they are given a step-by-step manual on
how to alleviate poverty, they will still request ' technical assistance' to implement this. What a
dilemma. We have the mental mindset that the West has to help us take the initiatives and sustain any
possible gains that may ensue. Even though geographical colonialism in most parts of Africa ended
more than half a century ago, we are still colonised with a form (economic colonialism) that is equally,
if not worse than both slave trade and colonialism. This is because it enables the West to design the
systems and we participate in that system, rather than being partners in developing the systems upon
which our world functions. This keeps us dependent on the West not only for our short-term
livelihood, but more worryingly our long-term development and survival. We never have any
independent coherent development that would be geared towards our emancipation and eliminate our
one-dimensional dependency on them. They don't have to be present on our soils to determine the
direction, level and extent of our socio-economic and political development or even our foreign policy.
This enabled the West to continue ruling us without being physically present on our soils and it is up to
Africans and Africans only to change this status quo. Colonialism and slave trade will always be a scar
/ a legacy on the African continent and will always be part of our history, but we have used them to
create a victim culture, that we use as an excuse for everything that is gone wrong in the continent and
almost resigned to the fact that it also meant we have no future as a continent and as a people. Our
leaders use this victim mentality as an excuse for their failures of the continent. Africa is seen as a
continent 'that might have been' but 'never will be'. Africa 'should have been' a major player in
international socio-economic and geo-politics but personally 'I don't believe 'it will never be', but this
can only be effected by Africans and Africans only, by owning and sustaining development initiatives
that are directed at our long-term economic liberation.

I am talking about Africa as a continent because I subscribe to the concept of Pan Africanism like our
great ambassadors such as Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Toure, Sheik Anta Diop etc, but unlike them, I
don't believe socialism can bring about the socio-economic liberation of Africans. This is because our
concept of 'redistribution means autocracy, dictatorship and this provides a fertile breeding ground for
corruption The only way we can eradicate poverty and its associated ailments is to develop
independent thinking and 'ownership', to embrace markets well, shift our focus from redistribution,
which creates a fertile ground for corruption, to growth. We have to completely move away from
trickle-down economics and target resources straight at the grass roots to 'able' them to carve our a
sustainable independent source of livelihood. We have to create a culture of individual responsibility,
opportunity, risk taking and rewards. We have to eradicate the culture that the only way out of
poverty is to get some education and get a job; we have to create an entrepreneurial culture supported
by the right media, for people to take risks and explore opportunities. Create a society where one's
social background and gender, tribal or religious affiliation should have no bearing on his / her ability to
access resources for opportunity and personal development. A culture, where hard work and hard
work only, productivity and greed to get rich legitimately can lead to one's social emancipation. This is
what will reduce poverty and this is what I call 'empowering' people. This is because along with
poverty comes powerlessness and voicelessness and always the subject of political manipulation and
international power play. Such empowerment is the only way to improve democracy and governance
in Africa, because African politics and politicians breed on this powerlessness induced by poverty.
Our governments fear the citizenry being economically less dependent on their politically motivated
petty projects. They want to maintain a situation where the poor see them as their only saviour, that
without us you will die of hunger and disease. This culture is the worst disease that is killing Africa on
its feet, not the West. Unless the masses become capitalist minded, greedy to be rich legitimately and
be independent, the poverty will never end and African politics will remain to be a politics of
exploitation, repression and mental slavery, while politicians are using public property to enrich
themselves and their cronies all at the expense of the desperately hard working and suffering masses.

'Truly independent people are a free people, and with freedom, comes power. There is no one more
powerful than an economically 'independent' people. This is the only scenario in which we can hold
our governments accountable, where we don't depend on their bribery and handouts for survival.
Where poverty would not tempt us to be part of the endless corruption that has become synonymous
with the word Africa. Independence in this context means you don't rely on handouts before you
make meaningful economic decisions. It is the only way our voices can be heard as a continent and
occupy our rightful position in the global community. It is also the only way we can force a level
playing field in the international economic terrain and be able to fully benefit from the promises of
globalisation.

Fellow Africans and our leaders in particular let us remember: 300 million of our children go to bed
hungry everyday. What a dilemma.

May God bless Africa and Africans.

Please direct comments to: alasananjie@hotmail.co.uk.

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