relocated to The Gambia in 2023
chief potter
public health worker
principal fermenter
surfer
benachin & bagel enthusiast
#BostonFermentationFestival organizer
When #Senegal’s government uncovered $13 billion in hidden, unrecorded debt left behind by former President Macky Sall’s regime, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko led debt audit revealed part of the national debt had been concealed, prompting the International Monetary Fund, IMF to immediately freeze and suspend its $1.8 billion lending programme.
Then disagreements emerged regarding the handling of this issue.
President Faye insisted on a pragmatic, compromise-driven path. He was willing to accept IMF-mandated austerity measures, including politically sensitive cuts to energy and fuel subsidies, to steady the economy and unlock the frozen funds to get more funding from IMF.
Prime Minister Sonko declined this approach and instead advocated for a sovereignist approach. Sonko fiercely opposed bowing to foreign lenders. He resisted cutting subsidies, imposing taxes and demanded a renegotiation of oil, gas and mining contracts with multinational companies.
Then a complete deadlock in the government.
Their disagreements also extend to the handling of legal cases.
Several former officials who served under President Macky Sall are accused of mismanagement and involvement in the political violence that claimed dozens of lives between 2021 and 2024.
President Faye favored a more cautious, reconciled approach. Fearing that aggressive prosecutions of the former regime would destabilize the state, fracture the security apparatus and alienate key institutional actors, Faye resisted hardline judicial purges.
As Prime Minister, Sonko pushed heavily for accountability, retributive justice, demanding that the amnesty law (passed by Sall's regime to shield his officials upon exit) be repealed so that Sall's former ministers, police chiefs and judicial officials could be tried for corruption, financial mismanagement and the deaths of youth protesters.
Ultimately, the government became entirely dysfunctional.
Faye used his executive power to reclaim sole control of the state, firing Sonko to build a government in his own image.
By securing the second-highest political office in the country, Sonko has effectively flipped the power dynamic. He went from a subordinate role inside the executive branch to leading an independent branch of government.
Faye will find his executive powers severely limited by a hostile legislature, and a ruling party that is not his own, leaving him with no choice but to wait until November 2026 to legally dissolve parliament.
Source: Local sources, @France24 (Debt crisis).
Who actually gets to go to the World Cup? With US President Donald Trump's strict immigration policies, some fans may never make it past the American border. Because while teams qualify on merit, passports don’t.
Al Jazeera's @MissSamJohnson explains.
China's distant water fleet is decimating sea life around the world. Look at how the fleets concentrate around Africa and South America. They target smaller countries without the resources to confront the state sponsored ships.
This is an economic and environmental disaster.
Thanks for reporting on this important, tragic & enraging story @GraceEkpu. Living in #TheGambia people often lack "fish money" due to rising fish costs & at the same time we find hundreds of dead fish on beaches next to Gunjur Chinese fish meal factory. https://t.co/yJ2Eukt0r7
Thank you for reporting on this important, tragic & enraging story @GraceEkpu. I live in #TheGambia and people often talk of the lack of "fish money" due to rising costs of fish.
https://t.co/yJ2EuktygF
Graham is the real fucking deal.
He’s going to defeat Susan Collins & he’s going to be a Senator who relentlessly fights the egregious income inequality that’s destroying this country.
In the past 2 weeks, we have sent more than 4,000 messages to Congress urging support for Peace Corps. Before this Wednesday, we need thousands more messages or phone calls to your Senators, urging them to sign the Peace Corps funding letter. Take action: https://t.co/oQMpVNLhD2
Public media is under attack from every direction:
Funding eliminated in the Administration’s budget
Executive order targeting NPR + PBS
Grants to kids' educational programs cut
Save it now @MyPublicMedia: https://t.co/DN9DLNVFkp #ProtectMyPublicMedia
Join the effort to protect public media @MyPublicMedia! Sign the petition now to safeguard your local public media stations. https://t.co/riYbJP6n5H #ProtectPublicMedia
The Trump administration’s partial budget proposal revealed deep budget cuts for the next fiscal year; it does not include any references to the Peace Corps. Follow this link to write your House Reps to encourage them to sign the letter immediately: https://t.co/QD3UMFs9TV
@PeaceCorps has been such a big part of my family's life. Now is the time to call or write your leaders and urge them to fight for the future of the Peace Corps
Take 4 mins for send an email at:
https://t.co/OTWyPbnxjC
Memo lays out suggested plan to replace USAID with a new U.S. Agency for International Humanitarian Assistance with a “narrow mandate" including a "modified" PEPFAR. https://t.co/h6wJGsCQi3