Senior members of the Gambia’s ruling Alliance for Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) are convinced that their once affluent party is facing bankruptcy. This comes ahead of the APRC’s planned meeting in Basse, which must be funded by the party’s senior members. According to leaks arising from a secret APRC held few days back, the cost of the Basse campaign will be shared among chiefs, members of parliament and women leaders (yayi compins). The campaign, aimed at diffusing the fast growing United Democratic Party grassroots support, costs 1.7 million Dalasis. It was decided that each of the seven chiefs in the Upper River Region would provide two cows while chiefs in other regions each contribute a cow. Also each APRC sitting parliamentarian is asked to provide D10,000. Women leaders (yayi compins) who own APRC tractors will each dash the parry D20, 000. Even ordinary party members in respective wards have to contribute. Each ward is asked to provide two vans.
Reaction to the details of secret meeting has been full of anger and disgust, with APRC members questioning the rationale for emptying their coffers for the sake of a Greedy, Arrogant leader who is richer than the country. The APRC camp is riddled with sadness, one party source that begs for cover, tells Kairo News.
Kairo News sources say Yahya Jammeh is scared of an opposition defeat in Basse. He is not happy that the UDP held its rally in Basse, a town whose natives have beef with Mr. Jammeh for denying their former fallen minister burial rights in the land of his ancestors. Hon. Buboucarr Michael Baldeh of blessed memory was buried in Medina Qunas in Senegal instead of Basse Mansajang Kunda where he was born.
Ends
This shows that Jammeh does not have the resources to import enough voters from Cassamance to turn around a presidential election in his favor. December’s election is for opposition to loose. Jammeh cannot win the election. The opposition can help him win the election by discouraging people from coming out to vote.
Jammeh’s lost is not caused by his constant Human Rights violations but his serious economic mismanagement – there is hunger in the land, lots of hunger and hopelessness and he can’t turn that around even though his life depends on restarting the wheels of commerce. He ruled through patronage and repression. Jammeh’s resources for patronage has dried up. Repression is not scalable because he cannot fund his bloated security apparatus. He now has to arm a lot of the security apparatus to halt the arsonists, which is risky for him because he will loose his monopoly of the instruments of violence.
Long story short, Jammeh has shot himself in the foot, and election or no election he can’t sustain his regime.
whereas culture may not prohibit a man from wearing a bangle, the apparent Quran he is clutching in his left hand strictly prohibits men to wear one especially those who envisioned an Islam republic as incumbent chieves of regimes.
In a true and moderate Islamic country, Jammeh and what he portrays of himself can be brought forward and Islamic court’s trials. Look at all these innocent women’s plastic smiles. Nothing but plastic smiles moulded out of fear.
The end is near…