JAMMEH ANNOUNCES ZERO TOLERANCE FOR THE DRUGS TRADE

UNCLAS BANJUL 000103


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET KDEM SOCI SNAR GA
SUBJECT: JAMMEH ANNOUNCES ZERO TOLERANCE FOR THE DRUGS TRADE

SUMMARY
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1. On March 27, President Jammeh strongly condemned the trade in
narcotics and urged the country's judges to exercise no mercy for
drug dealers in his annual speech to the National Assembly. This is
Jammeh's strongest condemnation of the drug trade to date, and could
be a reaction to recent events in Guinea-Bissau. In his
wide-ranging speech, Jammeh also condemned increasing violent crime
while insinuating that it was the fault of immigrants (Nigerians),
took a relatively mild shot at homosexual behavior, gave an
optimistic outlook on oil exploration, praised major donor Taiwan
and Nigeria for providing assistance, expressed hope Obama's
election would lead to the renewal of U.S. assistance, announced an
undefined program of civil service reform, and warned about the
looming impact of the global economic crisis.

DRUGS AND CRIME
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2. Speaking at the annual State Opening of the National Assembly
(the one time he deigns to appear in Parliament each year, a
constitutional requirement) Jammeh said his government would
exercise zero tolerance for any kinds of drugs because they are
synonymous with violence and corruption. He urged the country's
judiciary to help the government in its fight against the drug
trade. Referring to The Gambia's main domestic drug issue, the
widespread growth and use of cannabis, the President told the judges
that there cannot be any mitigating circumstances for a man who
deliberately grows cannabis because he knows it is illegal.


3. Jammeh also expressed concern at what he said are the increasing
incidents of violent crime such as rape, kidnappings, murder and
contract killings (crime statistics are not avialble, but anecdotal
evidence would seem to support the President). His statement
follows the recent arrest of a group of Nigerians who kidnapped an
Australian man and held him for 10 days. In what could be
interpreted as an indictment of foreigners for these crimes, Jammeh
appealed to all foreign nationals living in The Gambia (particularly
other West African nationals) to respect the country's laws. He
went a step further by urging foreign diplomats to appeal to their
communities to be law abiding. Jammeh also made a thinly veiled
attack on homosexuality, calling it "strange behavior that even God
will not tolerate." This, while still a reason for concern, is a
major step back from his bombastic attack on homosexuality last May
(08 Banjul 163),and we do not believe it will lead to any increased
persecution of homosexuals in The Gambia.


OIL EXPLORATION
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4. Speaking about The Gambia's efforts to exploit its assumed
offshore oil reserves, President Jammeh said the first test drilling
will now take place in 2010 and not this year as he had originally
announced. He said the delay was due to difficulties in securing a
drilling rig on time for the program. Jammeh said interest was being
shown in exploring the other offshore blocks but re-stated his
government's determination not to grant prospecting oil companies
more than 10 per cent of the proceeds. (COMMENT: This could be the
main reason behind the seemingly low level of interest in The
Gambia's oil exploration efforts. END COMMENT)


PRAISE FOR DONORS AND REFERENCE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
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5. Jammeh also spoke about his government's efforts to increase the
cultivation of rice - the country's staple food. He announced that
with the help of the Taiwanese, his government would this year
commence the implementation of the Expanded Rice Development Project
which will involve the long term cultivation of an additional
250,000 hectares. He said this would make The Gambia
self-sufficient in rice. He then added: "Our friends, the Americans,
have refused to give us the seeds for Uncle Ben's (rice) but now
that Obama is in power, he will get us the seeds." Jammeh also
devoted some time to praising relations with Nigeria, perhaps
balancing his implied criticism during the crime segment. In an
uncharacteristically mild jab at the British, he criticized recent
changes in visa requirements. He said since the British had
occupied The Gambia without visas for 400 years, by his calculation
Gambians should be free to travel to the UK without visas for
another 356 years, as they achieved Independence 44 years ago.


6. In what has become a regular theme at such events, Jammeh again
spent several minutes of his speech glorifying the women of the
country and attacking the men for being lazy. He said women play a
pivotal role in the country's socio-economic development and provide
the food in 80 per cent of households. Without explicitly attacking
the practice of polygamy, Jammeh criticized those men who marry
young girls when their first wives become old.

CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
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7. Jammeh also announced that his cabinet has approved a civil
service reform strategy which would introduce a special allowance
package for civil servants. He did not give any further details or
say when it would become effective. (We have been briefed on the
package and requested to fund it, along with other donor nations and
institutions). He also spoke about the current project of erecting
street lights along major roads in the Greater Banjul Area (paid for
by Taiwan) and said that with two additional generating sets being
installed shortly, there will be no power cuts in the area.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS
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8. Talking about the global economic crisis and its effects on The
Gambia, he said the projected growth rate in the country's Gross
Domestic Project would drop from the 6.1 per cent achieved in 2008
and the official inflation rate for the next three years will
average around 5.5 per cent. He also made reference to the influx of
mainly Nigerian banks into the country, and urged them to provide
better banking services in order to positively influence the
economy.

COMMENT
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9. While the opening of the National Assembly is an important state
event enshrined in the constitution, this year's event was turned
into a highly politicized event with large numbers of ruling party
supporters and cultural dancers lining the route and the Assembly
grounds. A public address system played pro-Jammeh songs to the
audience outside, and multiple wide-screen TVs (also donated by
Taiwan) magnified Jammeh's image inside the chamber for all to see.
His speech, although an hour and a half in length, provided no
surprises and was generally short on details. Jammeh apparently
departed from his prepared text frequently, but did not stray as far
from the norm as he has at times in the past. His strong focus on
the evils of drug trafficking is a positive development, but the
real proof will lie in how his government takes action to defend
against encroaching trafficking groups. END COMMENT