Is anyone else noticing what happened with reports from Gambia? The International Y2K Cooperation Center at www.iy2kcc.org had reported a "yellow" condition for Gambia and had announced that the Treasury department along with Customs and other government agencies had severe Y2K problems and had put out a call for help. I printed off that report, by the way.

But now the condition is green and there is a note that the report from a number of media houses was unfortunate and not correct. And that the Monday "holiday" is not related to these problems but a normal holiday. If this is the official government and World Bank site, how can that be? Bogus reports coming from the government's own site and then quickly recanted? Something is not right here.

-- Ron Sellar (y2kbook@telusplanet.net), January 02, 2000

Answers

According to the iy2kcc this is "old and inaccurate" information. See latest report on gsw site -- http://www.iy2kcc.org/country/GAMBIA.html -- "Additional Remarks: 3RD JANUARY 2000 IS A MILLENIUM HOLIDAY. THIS IS NOT DUE TO ANY Y2K RISKS . NO Y2K PROBLEMS IN INFRASTURCTURE IN EITHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE SECTORS. this is an update. All sectors in the Gambia are OK. The situation as reported BY SOME MEDIA HOUSES IS UNFORTUNATE. ALL CRITICAL SECTORS INCLUDING POWER, TELECOMMUNICATION, AVIATION , BANKING AND GOVERNMENT SERVICES HAVE NO Y2K RELATED PROBLEMS." (Date Submitted (GMT): 02-Jan-2000 16:48)

This was the original message at the IY2KCC site - from an over zealous staffer?

General Comments: The Accountant General's Department (The Treasury) will experience problems. These will NOT BE ENTIRELY DUE TO Y2K. The problems exist in the Internal Reveune Department too. Here too their a level of non complaince but disruption or delays in service WILL NOT BE DUE TO Y2K ALONE. Thses expected reduced capacity are partly due to delay in receipt of promised assistance from donor/s and in the implemetation of planned overhaul of their systems. Work is progressing but HELP WILL BE APPRECIATED FROM GAMBIANS ABROAD AND other interested agencies in procuring the needed hardware and software and meeting the cost of installation.

How widespread is the problem?exist in the Treasury, Internal Revenue and Customs and Excise Department. These are the revenue generating department which explains the gravity of the problem When will it be operational?work is progressing. More help is needed in procuring and installing the needed hardware and software. HELP FROM GAMBIANS OVERSEAS WILL BE APPRECIATED.

-- Steve Davis (Columbia, MD) (Steve@davislogic.com), January 03, 2000.

According to this report, Gambia expected Y2k disruptions.

"The Gambia - Consular Information Sheet, September 14, 1999" at http://travel.state.gov/gambia.html

GAMBIA, WEST AFRICA UPDATE: The Gambia is not heavily reliant on computerized systems; and appears to be unprepared to deal with the Y2K problem. Although the Gambia continues remediation efforts and contingency planning, at the present time, it appears that there may be a risk of potential disruption in the key sectors of energy, water, telecommunications, finance, and health care. U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in The Gambia in late 1999 or early 2000 should be aware of potential difficulties.

It is difficult to predict the severity or duration of Y2K-related disruptions. U.S. citizens in The Gambia should take practical precautions, anticipate the potential for disruption to their daily activities, and be prepared to cope with the impact of such disruptions. Information about personal preparedness and Y2K is available in the Department of State Worldwide Public Announcement of July 26, 1999 which is accessible on the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html.

-- Dona Clement (dkainc@aol.com), January 03, 2000.

After reading a post on this board titled: "It's so frustrating how the news is removing the Glitch stories (meg davis, meg9999@aol.com, 2000-01-02)", I've decided to post for you all the reports I have found about Gambia. (in case they disappear from the Net too)

Be advised... I snipped parts of the reports for brevity's sake, to place in my personal folder.

GAMBIA, WEST AFRICA - The small nation of Gambia (International Y2K Cooperation Center) - A notice under Government Services section in the report for Gambia. This appears to be the first negative report on the IY2KCC site. "Major Service Disruption -- The Accountant General's Department (The Treasury) will experience problems. These will NOT BE ENTIRELY DUE TO Y2K. The problems exist in the Internal Reveune Department too. Here too their a level of non complaince but disruption or delays in service WILL NOT BE DUE TO Y2K ALONE. Thses expected reduced capacity are partly due to delay in receipt of promised assistance from donor/s and in the implemetation of planned overhaul of their systems... GAMBIA HAS DECLARED MONDAY THE 3RD JANUARY 2000 AS A MILLENIUM HOLIDAY." -- http://www.iy2kcc.org/country/GAMBIA.html

GAMBIA - *Update: Significant power outages, major or significant disruptions crippled air and sea transportation, the financial sector and government services, reported the Washington-based International Y2K Co-operation Center. The centre pointed out, however, that the power outages were not Y2K-related and the problems in the other sectors could not be blamed entirely on the computer bug. Failures have been reported in the Gambian Treasury Department, the national tax service and at the Customs Service...-- Peter de Jager's Year 2000 Ticker News.

GAMBIA, WEST AFRICA - RETRACTION: (Reuters) - An official at Gambia's Y2K task force (West Africa) said on Sunday his country was working much as normal and he was perplexed and angry at reports of problems with computers in government offices and elsewhere... "The central bank, the energy, telecommunications, financial, transportation and government sectors have not reported any Y2K- related problems as indicated in the reports... We have been working on this for two or three years and right at the end it is being spoilt. We are very, very angry indeed." -- http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/000102/bo.html ABIDJAN, Jan 2. GAMBIA, WEST AFRICA - UPDATE: Jan 3, 2000: Their web site was later updated with a message confirming widespread disruptions but added that the Millennium bug was not confirmed as the cause. -- http://www.jvim.com

GAMBIA, WEST AFRICA - UPDATE: All Is Normal, WASHINGTON, D.C., 2:00 p.m. EST - The National Y2K Coordinator for the Gambia has updated his report to the Global Status Watch operated by the International Y2K Cooperation Center (IY2KCC). All sectors are now reporting normal operations. A previous report had indicated the possibility of problems in delivering certain government services. That situation has been clarified, and no disruptions are expected. The Gambia report states, that "3 January 2000 is a millennium holiday. This is not due to any Y2K risks. [There are] no Y2K problems in infrastructure, in either public or private sectors. This is an update. All sectors in the Gambia are OK. The situation as reported by some media houses is unfortunate. All critical sectors including power, telecommunication, aviation, banking and government services have no Y2K-related problems."

GAMBIA UPDATE - According to this report, Gambia expected Y2k disruptions. "The Gambia - Consular Information Sheet, September 14, 1999" at http://travel.state.gov/gambia.html : The Gambia is not heavily reliant on computerized systems; and appears to be unprepared to deal with the Y2K problem. Although the Gambia continues remediation efforts and contingency planning, at the present time, it appears that there may be a risk of potential disruption in the key sectors of energy, water, telecommunications, finance, and health care. U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in The Gambia in late 1999 or early 2000 should be aware of potential difficulties. It is difficult to predict the severity or duration of Y2K-related disruptions. U.S. citizens in The Gambia should take practical precautions, anticipate the potential for disruption to their daily activities, and be prepared to cope with the impact of such disruptions. Information about personal preparedness and Y2K is available in the Department of State Worldwide Public Announcement of July 26, 1999 which is accessible on the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs home page at http://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html.

-- Dona Clement (dkainc@aol.com), January 03, 2000.

Also note this apparently official Gambia release, which was posted on www.gambianews.com:

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No Y2K problems in The Gambia

It has come to the notice of The Gambia National Taskforce on Y2K that the British Broadcasting Corporation and other media houses on 2 January 2000 reported wide-ranging Y2K problems in The Gambia.

These reports are erroneous in the extreme. The National Command Centre of the National Y2K taskforce hereby declare that the central bank, the energy, telecommunications, financial, transportation and government sectors have not reported any Y2K related problems as indicated in the reports.

These reports may have been due to a misinterpretation of information posted on the website of the International Y2K Co-operation Centre in Washington.

We want to reassure the international community that The Gambia, which has been working on the issue for several years now, has so far not experienced any Y2K related problems in any given sector.

THE GAMBIA NATIONAL TASK FORCE ON Y2K

INDEPENDENCE DRIVE

BANJUL

TEL: 00220-372-947; 390-679; 373-912; 996435

FAX: 00220-374-242

Copyright ) 1998 GambiaNews Send email to query@gambianews.com Last modified: January 03, 2000

-- John Baker (jb5911@yahoo.com), January 04, 2000.

Gambia sounds a lot like Namibia - and their now exposed coverup. See www.dingdingding.com for the story and the links.

-- Ron Sellar (y2kbook@telusplanet.net), January 08, 2000.

Is anyone getting this error when you try to access the Dept of State Y2k home page which contains information about Gambia etc? Maybe it has been removed...

http://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html HTTP 404 Not Found The page cannot be found. The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

"U.S. citizens are encouraged, in addition to review the consular information sheet and updates on the Department of State Y2K home page http://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html for the most recent status reports on the Y2K situation in individual countries. The Department of State and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad have been following the Y2K problem closely for the past year. Governments or businesses with more limited resources or expertise, or that are not paying appropriate attention to the problem, may experience more significant difficulties, although it is difficult to predict to what degree or in what sectors."

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 09, 2000.

Regarding Ron's first comment that "Something is not right here" about Gambia

I just read a post that says the State Department has lifted Y2k warnings for countries like Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. (see GICC post of Jan 9 titled "U.S. lifts Y2K travel warnings for Russia" by Jasmine Brown, JasmineBrown12@hotmail.com, *thanks Jasmine*)

That explains why the State Department's Y2k status reports page (http://travel.state.gov/y2kca.html) has been removed.

I was looking over the State Department's Consular Information sheets again, every country from A to Z. The Department has updated some of the pages and added new comments at bottoms of the pages. These comments note which items have been added or deleted.

On pages of countries whose Y2k comments have been updated, it is noted that there were deletions of Y2k advisories. Here's one example: (http://travel.state.gov/russia.html) "Russia - Consular Information Sheet January 7, 2000 .... This replaces the Consular Information Sheet dated December 15, 1999 to reflect the cancellation of authorized voluntary departure, to remove the corresponding Travel Warning and to delete Y2K information."

On Gambia's page, the header still remains: "The Gambia - Consular Information Sheet September 14, 1999" .... The comments at the bottom read: "This replaces the Consular Information Sheet dated October 30, 1998." There is no mention about Y2k info being deleted. Yet, the Y2k info WAS there. (See previous posts)

It's as if there were never any Y2k warnings on the page. This could just be due to human error... or could it be intentional? Hmmm. I'm not ready to put this puppy to sleep yet.

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 09, 2000.

Also see on this board: "Rport form Gambia 31-Dec-1999 10:59 (GMT"

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.

Correction: "Rport form Gambia 31-Dec-1999 10:59 (GMT"

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.

(See italicized paragraph below for Y2k info about Gambia. Italics mine)

Falling Costs Eased Year-2000 Computer Problems, Report Says Washington, Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of making computers Year- 2000 compliant plummeted in the months leading up to the date change, making it easier for late-starting countries and companies to protect their systems, a United Nations report found.

The costs of fixing the problem fell after automated Y2K tools were created in 1998, according to a final report by the UN's International Y2K Cooperation Center. The cost of patching the software glitch went from $4 per line at the beginning of that year to only a few pennies per line by the end of 1999, the report said.

``Because of information sharing, the late starters did not need to repeat the work of those who had tested all the systems before them", the report said.

Isolated problems persisted in some locations, including malfunctioning kidney dialysis machines in Nicaragua and Scotland and the disruption of Gambia's income tax system, but the report generally painted a picture of global cooperation and information sharing that prevented more widespread computer system breakdowns.

Governments and companies spent an estimated $300 billion, half of that in the U.S. alone, to combat the software bug, but the spending varied greatly from country to country. Sweden spent $318 per automated system while only $2 was spent by Bulgaria, the report said.

Source: America Online News, Feb/16/2000, 19:33, no url available

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), February 28, 2000.