The Opening of the National Assembly

Today was the opening of The Gambian National Assembly's legislative year. Our professor scored some tickets for gallery seating, so Tiereney, Blair, Otto and I went to observe. The opening was designated to start at 3 pm and President Jammeh was supposed to give a speech at 4 pm. However, we must remember that this is Africa and things rarely start on time. By the time all the guests arrived it was 4 pm. By the time all the assembly members were seated it was 5 pm. And by the time President Jammeh arrived and began his speech it was 7 pm. So we began about 3 hours late.
President Jammeh was a very charasmatic speaker. He addressed issues like The Gambia's achievement of all 7 Millenium Development Goals, his Vision 2020 plan, and violent crimes like rape. The Gambia is the only African country so far to achieve all 7 of the UN's Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), which are development targets meant to improve African quality of life. The goals were set by the UN in the 90s and The Gambia just achieved all the goals last year; this is a great accomplishment for a small country. Jammeh also advised Gambian's not to "rest on their laurels" because there are still goals for Vision 2020 that need to be accomplished. He wants more women in business, more kids in school full-time, and more Gambians at work instead of harassing tourists on the beach as "bumsters." Then, he went into detail about how violent crimes will not be tolerated in The Gambia. Apparently, last year saw an increase in the amount of violent crime and Jammeh was concerned that these new crime stats would discourage tourists from coming to the country. Because tourism is their biggest export, a decrease in tourism could dramatically affect their economy in a negative way. He expressed outrage at the rape of two girls by older family members (two separate incidents). Jammeh told the assembly that even his pigs on his farm in Kanilai know not to rape their piglets, so Gambians ought to understand that too. When a lot of people in the audience laughed at this, thinking it was a joke, he told them he was not joking and that this is a serious problem that would affect The Gambia's international image. Although they quieted down, it was obvious they were still uncomfortable with Jammeh speaking publicly about sensitive issues like rape, because Gambians, like many Africans, prefer a "don't ask, don't tell" for issues dealing with sex. However, a woman sitting a few seats to my left slept right through his whole speech, so she must not have been too uncomfortable.
Jammeh's speech was over a little before 8 pm, which has to be a record for him. Normally, his speeches carry on for a long time. It was obvious from the mood of the assembly members and the guests that they respect and like their President and place a lot of faith in his and the assembly's ability to lead The Gambia.