The Gambia government has angrily reacted to the expulsion from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, saying it was a good riddance. In a statement issued by the Office of the President in Banjul, the Gambia government blamed the United States for not having good intention for Gambians. It also said the Gambia has never benefitted from AGOA. Find below the full text of the statement: The Government of the Republic of The Gambia congratulates the Government of The United States of America for the removal of The Gambia from the list of eligible sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which Act The Gambia has never benefitted from in the first place, since a US Presidential Proclamation designated the country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country on March,28 2003. Furthermore, in light of remarks in interviews and statements in the local media made by the Charge d’Affaires of the US embassy in Banjul, it has now become unequivocally clear that the Government of the United States has no good intentions for the people of The Gambia. Consequently and bound by an unshakeable faith in the Almighty Allah alone,it should be clear that the dignified people of The Gambia will not succumb to outside pressures of any kind nor from any source, for, the well being of her people remains paramount for the Government of The Gambia. Office of The President. December 27 2014 Ends
at some point Africans have to show the mighty USA who we are. money is not everything and African will no longer retreat because of western pressure. this need to be very clear so that in the future if they are coming with their money they should know where we stand. no strings attached. we are poor but we will never be slaves to fellow humans but to ALLAH.
The “Growth” and “Opportunity” in AGOA were purely for American Companies – to compete with the rampant Chinese. Even if AGOA may have been intended to benefit Africa, it couldn’t – because you can’t have a level playing field between our Little Ant traders and the American Elephant traders. But I appreciate that the issue is now NOT the benefit or otherwise of AGOA but the political fight between the US Govt & Diaspora Gambians on one hand and the Govt of The Gambia on the other.
The statement is typical of this regime. My concern is about how Kairo News headlined the story. The statement “Gambia did not benefit from AGOA” should clearly be attributed to the Gambia government or president even in the headline.
Thanks