THE GAMBIA: FY07 MCC SELECTION PROCESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANJUL 000707 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2016 TAGS: EAID EFIN KMCA PREL PGOV GA SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: FY07 MCC SELECTION PROCESS REF: STATE 187635 Classified By: Ambassador Joseph Stafford, reason 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (SBU) Per reftel, Ambassador informed Foreign Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa that the Millenium Challenge Corporation's (MCC) Board of Directors did not re-select The Gambia for Compact eligibility for FY07 as it was currently suspended. Ambassador urged the GOTG to address the areas of policy slippage on eligibility criteria that had resulted in suspension so as to begin the process of seeking reinstatement. He also reiterated that the Embassy remained at the GOTG's disposal for consultation on steps that the GOTG could take in pursuit of reinstatement, while also indicating that the GOTG bore full responsibility for taking such steps. Jahumpa took note of Ambassador's presentation, but made no substantive comment. ¶2. (C) COMMENT: Following the mid-June suspension of The Gambia's MCA eligibility, we have time and again reviewed with the GOTG the areas of policy slippage that prompted the MCC's decision and urged the Gambians to address these areas so as to earn consideration for reinstatement in due course. So far, there has been little evidence of the GOTG taking corrective action, particularly in the area of "ruling justly," where backsliding was highlighted by the deteriorating human rights environment following a failed coup plot in March. Focus on intervening events -- in particular, the GOTG-hosted African Union Summit and Presidential election, in July and September, respectively -- are doubtless a factor in the GOTG's failure to engage with us actively on the MCA dossier; another factor may well be ongoing resentment over the suspension by The Gambia's volatile and erratic President, Yahya Jammeh. END COMMENT. STAFFORD