[ Contribution ] The “Seguragate” or The Story of A Rather Unusual Cola Nut
On September 25th, just a few hours before leaving Senegal after a 3-year mission as IMF Resident Representative in Senegal, Alex Segura was invited to a farewell dinner by the President of his host country. Little did he know that the quality time he was going to enjoy with President Abdoulaye Wade was going to have sour and perhaps lasting repercussions on him and the institution he is working for. The two suitcases with “substantial amount of money” he was given at the end of his “high-profile hang out” are at the centre of a huge controversy between Senegal and the IMF. People keep wondering in Senegal whether Mr. Segura knew about the content of the suitcases – € 100,000 and $50,000 respectively—at the moment or if he was just bamboozled by the 84-year old man. Segura distinguished himself with his relentless and harsh criticisms towards the Senegalese government’s governance model, which owed him the sympathy of most Senegalese as well as that of the opposition parties and independent media. He was seen both as a staunch defender of good governance and an outspoken officer committed to curbing some unorthodox practices and guaranteeing a greater transparency in Senegal’s public finances. Against a background of continuous allegations of huge money squandering by Senegalese officials, Alex Segura came to the fore as a true Robin Hood. No sugar coating, no cajoling. He felt free to use some prominent news outlets to hammer on the government to the happiness of the common Senegalese who at last, felt protected against rampant financial delinquency. One can say for sure that Mr. Segura was not the President’s best friend. One can equally assert that he will never spend holidays with some government officials whose unsavoury transactions he kept denouncing during all his stay in Senegal. But what one cannot say with absolute certainty is if the Senegalese leader is going to be prosecuted after his term on corruption charges and if the appropriate sanctions will be applied to him. At the outbreak of the scandal, the communications Minister tried to gloss over the facts. He came out with a lame blanket denial of the corruption case, but with the determination of the public to keep that executive misconduct on the radar, the IMF eventually issued a press release yesterday to restore the truth. The press release makes it clear that the President recognized his “mistake” in this carry-on cash scandal. A presidential mistake or blunder is, in diplomatic terms, another way of saying a presidential abuse of authority or felony. Early this week, both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs unashamedly brushed the affair off and ascribed it to an age-old custom in West Africa known as the cola-nut tradition. That tradition consists in offering some valuables to a guest who is about to leave the country, but in the case of Segura, was it really a way for the President to acknowledge and thank Mr. Segura’s alleged contribution to the country’s governance? Did the President “play” Mr. Segura with his well-known wiles? If so, such a tradition of hospitality has been twisted as it only serves the vile interests of a person or a group of people. Is it an attempt by the Senegalese government to wean away any ounce of trust the Senegalese people may have in IMF especially in light of the last scandals that affected the Bretton Woods institutions? Did the President want to build a ‘Chinese wall’ between Senegal and IMF and other donors? Is it just a strong signal to all international donors so they won’t be led in the future to meddle in the country’s affairs? One thing is at least sure at this juncture: the President succeeded in blurring the IMF message. Despite the IMF revelations, Mr. Segura’s substitute will be facing the daunting task of restoring the institution’s credibility in the country and putting her point across as openly and frequently as her predecessor*. This scandal is likely to inhibit her and reduce her intervention scope. Judging by their sarcastic even jubilant tones, one is tempted to say that the Senegalese officials have reached their objectives and that all this was just a set up. Both Mr. Segura and his colleagues still have a lot to learn from other cultures and will surely ponder on that African maxim: “When you are in a foreign land, you need to know where to put your feet and when.” Members from the civil society felt at times bothered by the untimely public apparitions of the man they dubbed as a “little” IMF agent who mistakenly thought to be bossing around people in a conquered territory. Mr. Segura’s unbridled language and his stringent remarks did him a great disservice, to say the least. Otherwise, chances are that he would never have been invited to have dinner with the President and receive those hefty and treacherous suitcases. By pressuring on a regular basis the Senegalese government to exercise much higher standards of transparency and accountability, he drew the attention of the “generous” incumbent who is known to take liberties with public funds, and ended up by having a bite at that rather unusual cola nut. This case begs the question as to whether the Senegalese government is really committed to stopping corruption. In light of this scandal, is not the Senegalese President sending a wrong signal to his fellow citizens? Is he not supposed to be a role model, the role model? Is not this growing the seeds of more corruption? With a 90th rank and a score of 3.4 (Corruption Perception Index, 2008), it seems that Senegal has an uphill battle to fight in that regard. Given the scarcity of financial resources and the multi-faceted crises facing the country, it is a foregone conclusion that the money could have a better use: Thousands and thousands of people leave in muddied waters and literally flock to the streets of the capital city in quest for something to eat. Schools are open, but kids are still at home because most of the peri-urban areas are flooded. Power outages have become the daily lot of people in big cities. Staple commodities are beyond price, and the list of issues to be immediately addressed by the Senegalese government goes on and on. The average Senegalese think they have no interest in this other unethical executive conduct; they will shrug their shoulders in indifference and let you know that they are used to it as it takes place on a spasmodic basis. All they are interested in is to deal with their challenges on a daily basis and with their own means. They do not want to hear anything about soul-searching at IMF or rejoicing Senegalese officials; they have more pressing needs to tend to.
* We just learned from the IMF press release that Mr. Segura will be replaced by a woman. Her name is not known yet.
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REUNION DES CADRES LIBERAUX. Mamadou Lamine Keïta massacre la langue de Molière : "on doit se bomber le…torche". (Ce n’est pas fini, lisez le texte)
samedi 31 octobre 2009
Keita
Son intervention d’hier laissera des marques indélébiles contre l’oubli à Terou Bi et ce, pendant longtemps. Lors de la conférence de la Coordination nationale des cadres libéraux, le ministre de la Jeunesse, Mamadou Lamine Keita, inspiré par on ne sait quelle médiocrité grammaticale, a remporté la palme. En effet, durant son speech, le maire de Bignona, qui a des problèmes de prononciation pour prononcer « s » à la place de « ch » a fait rire toute l’assistance, tout en faisant pleurer Molière. D’abord, dit-il : « on doit se bomber le…torche ». Les libéraux (dont certains sont des Toto), ainsi que les journalistes ne pouvaient se retenir. L’homme, n’ayant rien, absolument rien compris de ce qui faisait marrer les gens, croit qu’il a commis une faute sur l’utilisation de l’article, reprend : « on doit se bomber… la torse ». C’est l’hilarité générale dans l’assistance. Mais le plus succulent reste à venir, lisez la suite…
Keita (bis)
Déboussolé, Keita s’enfonce dans le maquis grammatical : « Excusez-moi, mais je ne sais pas pourquoi les gens sont dans cet état ». L’assistance continue de se marrer, le ministre s’interroge : « c’est le torse ou la torse ? ». Mamadou Diop Decroix va alors à sa rescousse. Mais Kéita revient à la charge. Ainsi, à l’assistance, il demande :« est-ce que c’est un problème de prononciation ? j’ai bien dit le torse, je pense bien ». Il se retourne une nouvelle fois vers Decroix et lui demande : « c’est le torse ou la torse ». Le « Folliste », qui visiblement n’en pouvait plus, lui chuchote : « on dit le ». Faut être un peu indulgent. C’est vrai que ministre des Sports…
SENEGALESE MODOU MODOU IN NEW YORK LIVE CNN: YES, YES, YES: M. PRESIDENT WAIDE IS NOT GILTY. WADE GO TO ANGOLA PRISON IN NEW ORLEANS PENITENCERY FOR TREE YEARS. I TALK TRUSH BARKI SERIGNE TOUBA.
SENEGALESE MODOU MODOU IN NEW YORK LIVE CNN: YES, YES, YES: M. PRESIDENT WAIDE IS NOT GILTY. WADE GO TO ANGOLA PRISON IN NEW ORLEANS PENITENCERY FOR TREE YEARS. I TALK TRUSH BARKI SERIGNE TOUBA.
OUSMANE MOREAU ALIACE KHOULO NOPI: PLEASE, PLEASE A LA JAMES BROWN TU VA NOUS TUER. QUE C EST MARRANT. LES CONTRIBUTEURS GALSENES CONSERVATEURS WOLOF ET FRANCOPHILES VONT ENCORE SE FRACASSER DANS LE WEB A CAUSE DU INGLISHE. GAR LES GAMBIENS VONT CONTRUBIER.
BLOMBOCLAAT THIOUU JE SUIS LE 15! ANA GUAGNIS? WAOUH! MANI: IL EST OU SOULEYMANE FAYE DE XALAM GNAR, IL FERA MIEUX QUE LES COMPETITEURS INTELECS ISSUENT DE L ACADEMIE SENGHOR, AVEC SA CHANSON SENEGALAIS S EST SE DEBROUILLE: CHANTER AU FRANCOFOLIE. THIEYE! LE TEXE: LE FRANCAIS DIT POT DE CHAMBRE, LE SENEGALAIS REPETE POTOU SAMBOUR. LANGLAIS DIT IM TILE, LE GALSENE DA MA TAYELLE. GAGNI DO LENE DEBROUILLASSE, PAS UN SEUL TUNKE KATE, IL SONT OU LES FAMEUX TRADUCTEURS DE LA POSTE DE DAKAR. BOK LENE THI WAYE. WERE THE SENEGALAISE MOTH?, SHE SALE THE CATE. C EST LA GREVE OU BOYKOT QUOI!
je pense que c'est une bonne chose que d'écrire dans une langue étrangère. ces dérives du régime actuel doivent être portées à la connaissance du plus grand nombre. Seneweb doit encourager cette initiative. Thank you, Mr. ousmane moreau! keep up the good work!fo surtout pas payer attention à ces morpions.on les retrouve partout
WADE IS AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL. Now senegalese can thank themselves for voting Diouf out and Wade in, just like the Americans voted Bush in. 1 Diouf is better than a 1000 Wades. This man is ugly (not presentable), cruel (very dark heart) corrupt (very greedy) selfish (thinks of his family only)..... the list goes on. Senegal and Africa, for this matter, deserves better. Now all what Senegal can do is deport him and his family to France, there is where they belong.
On September 25th, just a few hours before leaving Senegal after a 3-year mission as IMF Resident Representative in Senegal, Alex Segura was invited to a farewell dinner by the President of his host country. Little did he know that the quality time he was going to enjoy with President Abdoulaye Wade was going to have sour and perhaps lasting repercussions on him and the institution he is working for. The two suitcases with “substantial amount of money” he was given at the end of his “high-profile hang out” are at the centre of a huge controversy between Senegal and the IMF. People keep wondering in Senegal whether Mr. Segura knew about the content of the suitcases – € 100,000 and $50,000 respectively—at the moment or if he was just bamboozled by the 84-year old man.
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