By far, this year's Independence celebration is the best that describe freedom and democracy in Gambia. no Institution was required to empty their coffers or buses around KMC with only one color green, it was a true national celebration. By far, this year's Independence celebration is the best that describe freedom and democracy in Gambia. no Institution was required to empty their coffers or buses around KMC with only one color green, it was a true national celebration. But did the poor Gambian in the proviences get the chance to witness an occasion for the first time their lives... we can all confirmed that even the independent night dinner was dominated by gambian who live abroad. not a bad things but what am seeing isnt promising. There is one problem will is going effect all: 1. The creation of the Ministry for Diaspora, I stand firmly to question this portfolio, what is the point of the Ministry of Foreign Affiars or even the Gambian embassies...? who are these Diaspora someone is Senegal, Europe or USA. what can the Diaspora MInister offer or do for the Gambia abroad. expectations are HIGH.Becasue some of the coalition leaders/members were doing trips abroad lobbying for money to finance their campaign does not guarantee anything return. Now they are claiming a foul play... 2. The appointment of Halifa Sallah and 3 others as advisers to the President is something good but were is the legal backing, Barrow can chose to listen if he wants. The truth is there is a UDP govt, which we don't have prob with. there is saying in wollof 'never forget what made you, otherwise u are a slave''.. who picked Barrow.
3. Mr President is heading the right direction to change Gambia but with little advise from the coalition as they all betrayed their promises. and many are claiming they are the reason why change happen. The Gambia isnt a 'Game of Throne" 4. we are happy about joing the commonwealth n the British Foreign Secretary came to the Gambia on a short notice, but dont he attend the Independence? I tell you the truth.. he is interest in bringing back the Gambia asap, becuz the amount of aid money coming.. another question... will the Gambia pay its pass subscriptions it misses....????? more to come We dedicate the special day to Solo Sandeng and all the departed souls who couldn't witness this great day February 18th,2017. May their souls rest in perfect peace.We continue to pray for peace and unity among Gambians. We pray that Allah gives us strength and the knowledge and wisdom to move our country forward. We are yearning for diversity in workplaces. Equal rights and justice for men and women, boys and girls and young and old. The victims of jammeh should be called out tomorrow for all the Gambians to hear their names. Those alive should be visible and the deceased to be represented by their children and love ones. The victims should make a March past including the cabinet ministers from OJ, Isatou Touray, lawyer darbo to amadou sanneh. This is not a mere independent celebration but a total liberation from homegrown brutality. Gambians home and abroad should use the opportunity to forgive and embrace each other and chant no more dictatorship.Our gambianness must be jealously guarded. Kingdoms come and Kingdoms fall but the nations remains. Jammeh came and went as Barrow himself said. He too will go. This is what jammeh denied because he refuted the world is three days. The happiness we have is more than our celebration from colonial rules. The imperialist were more kind to us than our own brother jammeh. The ppp government had the best human rights records in the whole of Africa at the time. Gambians should continue to love and forgive each other. Our focus should be on nation building and giving justice to the victims of aprc government. We cannot have peace without justice. Justice is the mother of peace. Justice is the fruit of democracy. Let's fight for equal rights and justice. Let nobody be discriminated based on his tribe or ethnicity. Let nobody be discriminated based on his colour or creed. Peace and unity should prevail in our smiling coast. Our freedom is not a new found freedom. Our freedom is a well earned freedom. We fought for this freedom over two decades. Many paid this freedom with their lives and properties. Some with their freedom by innocently stuffed in prisons. Some with their flesh by innocently being tortured. Some went into exile by leaving their families and love ones behind with no hope of seeing them again. Some never returned and some left with trauma and a gloomy future.Our independent celebration is a double pack. It's in fact the happiest event in the history of Gambia. Gambians all over the world are celebrating this event. The world is celebrating with us. We know without the intervention of our neighbors we couldn't get the freedom. The world is getting more and more close. ECOWAS and our neighbor Senegal should be commended for their utmost efforts to defend our rights and enforce our will. We are enjoying our freedom because of them. We thank almighty Allah for giving us a bloodless change. Nobody could imagine this. With the campaign of military intervention, more than forty thousand Gambians left for Senegal. With the help of Allah, nobody was hurt and all returned peacefully.
Democracy must be our song. Without the votes, the world couldn't support us. We therefore must put democracy first. Democracy goes with freedom of speech and independent judiciary. Nepotism is a virus to kill democracy. Corruption and nepotism are the parable of chicken and egg. The purpose of nepotism is to be corrupt. We should fight both of them to sustain democracy. We thank of all you and ask for your forgiveness for those we may have hurt. Happy independent. Happy inauguration. One Gambia. One People. For the Gambia, ever true. BY FODAY JAWLA Never did our voices count for more in determining the future destiny of our country than now, we've learnt an enormous lesson from previous administrations and will not allow a semblance trait to linger. We the people must not be reduced politically to have those protective of the current administration who are so mean-spirited, politically unawake, blindfolded and impulsive in their reactions to stifle our discontent and dissent on our country's affairs. We are Gambians and must speak out if the government errs, we voted for change to have democracy entrenched and strongly protected. One must not agree with my assertions but the tenets of democracy espouses the right to free speech. The current government should be rolling up their sleeves in pursuit to improve the lives of the people. We the people mustn't allow our elected officials to exploit us so that they'll live in luxury while we wallow in poverty. The grand and general optimism is at it's peak and people's expectation of the government is enormously high, we the people mustn't allow our country to be divided by ethnicity, religion, class and wealth but a broad generalizations of equal opportunities irrespective of any affiliation, we are Gambians first..
I was appalled upon hearing, that this baby government is expected to lavishly and extravagantly display an amount close to D30,000,000 to foot President Barrow's inauguration ceremony. what a hullabaloo! What a waste! This is absurd! The display of pride and pomp for the inauguration is incidental, we have much work to do, our country has been impoverished by the precious government, i think the current government need to reconsider and take a complete reversal of such a wastage, the enormity of such an amount could be better channeled to help revamp our economy and get people back to work..The country has a ready labor market whose talents are wasting. Our government mustn't be allow to blunder in such a festive wastage of our money.. We need to speak out, our money need to be exhibited in a better way to yield dividend at our advantage not at our expense. We mustn't condone wastage festivities, it's a recipe for corruption. My only fear right now is a normalized widespread corruption, this will derail our progress and have us slipping backwards while the political class slips forward. Well, President Barrow needs an overhaul improvement on his pronouncement and reading skills when giving speeches, our president was repeatedly noticed to have struggled to pronounce certain words, and this is unacceptable. The man should have an ample rehearsal to better position himself to read fluently and confidently so that people will clearly relate and understand what he has to say.. By the way, the issue of eye contact is improved compared to his last acceptance speech during the convention, he wasn't hell bent this time, looking at the paper without any eye contact, kudos on that improvement Mr president.. In a more serious note, President Barrow in my opinion gave an enormous and assuring speech of being a total opposite of the previous government, and under his purview, democracy and the rule of law will simultaneously function intact, and I like the fact, that he emphasized, under his administration, the spirit of national unity and reconciliation will be an outward face of his government, so as to have a tranquil atmospheric environment where a peaceful coexistence is nurtured and preserved.. Hopes are being renewed and emboldened on agriculture, tourism, education, security and the health sector, Gambians under his watch will see a complete overhaul of these main sectors to our vantage, and hopefully our country will soon be economically affluent so that our lives will be bettered.. And lastly, our relationship with Senegal will unequivocally be at its best, in which both countries will mutually benefit, similar strong ties will be extended to other country's of the African nation and the world at large, no more creating hostility and making adversaries like the previous government, but forming allies and friendship to all other nation in pursuit to propagate and promote development and world peace. In coming months and years Gambia will smile again! Good luck sir! NOTE:
Happy 52nd Independence Anniversary to a country I proudly called home; The Gambia, a country I profoundly love and adore. It was this day in 1965, that the Union Jack flag was lowered and the National Flag of The Gambia was enthusiastically heightened, it was this day, The Gambia broke away from the colonial shackle, manifesting to the whole wide world, that Gambians are capable of governing and managing their own affairs. My highest respect to those that emancipated The Gambia from the colonial yolk to independence.. I have vehemently pledge allegiance to the flag below since childhood and I continue to do so.Home sweet home, there's no place like home, wishing my country a joyous anniversary, I continue to pray for peace progress and prosperity to continually reign in The Gambia.. The Job Of The Gambia Police, Their Powers, Their Responsibilities Must Be Made Very Clear2/13/2017 What Is In A Name....? With the changing of the name of the formerly notorious NIA to the new SIS (State Intelligence Services) and now there is talk that the name Gambia Police Force will also change to services, one is tempted to ask, what is in a name? Will the name change make a difference in and by itself? One thing it shows is that our Chief Servant Adama Barrow is really serious about breaking with the past. He has already shown us that he wants to put in place methods and mechanisms to promote the respect for the Rule of Law and Human Rights.... that is a good thing, no doubt. But still one may ask.... will it make any difference?
As far as the police is concerned, we all know that it is one of the most important security service in a country. But it is also true that the perception of the general public towards the police force in the era of the previous government took a huge shift due to the way they were made to appear. The police were made to look like a tool in the hand of the president who could use them to intimidate, arrest, prosecute or imprison anyone and at anytime. This was wrong, of course, but in spite of this, there were - and still are - men and women of conscience among the police force. These people are patriots who were, and still are, caught up in a quandary. We need to acknowledge them and give them reassurance that their services are appreciated, and still needed. Instead of just changing names, which has already shown the government's seriousness on the matter, we should go further to strengthen the services, make them more professional and give them their due. We must make them better servants of the people all together. The job of the police, their powers, their responsibilities must be made very clear. We cannot have other security agencies snatching, as it were, their roles and thus making them look incompetent. What I mean is that, we can't have the NIA and the National Army arresting people. That is the role of the police and no one should take it from them. The issue of corruption is another area in which we need the police. If their pay is poor, it will be difficult for them to be effective in the fight against corruption. We all know that the perception of Gambians is that because the police are poorly paid, if you bribe them, they will let you off the hook no matter what your crime. Now, in order to change that we must give them better pay so that they cannot be tempted. Give the police better pay rather than a new name! BY THA SCRIBBLE BAH When I heard the news that Honourable Hassan Jallow has been made the Chief Justice of The Gambia by the new government, I was both elated and angry. It is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. It shows that there is high hopes of salvaging The Gambia and halting the seemingly sinking ship before it reaches the bottom I said I was elated and angry. You may wonder why? I was elated because the level and calibre of Hassan Jallow as an authority on law, constitution and related issues is such that we can rest assured that we will see real and true judicial independence henceforth. The importance of this independence is so paramount that it should never be compromised. This has been observed recently in the United States where the president wanted to ban a particular section of the world from entering the country. But because the courts in that country are independent, they blocked and threw the ban to the trash. Having a judiciary that is independent will go a long way in strengthening the Rule of Law and the protection of Human Rights. This is a plus for democracy. Also, Hon. Hassan Jallow's character is impeccable and therefore we can have hope that everything will go smoothly. I said I was angry because realizing that we have such Gambians and yet only had foreign chief justices for the past two decades made me angry. A few months ago, I was reading Hon. Jallow's book, The Law of Evidence and then I said to myself: 'If we have such Gambians working around the world, how come Yahya Jammeh could not find one Gambian to entrust the justice system to? Was it because he knew he would not be able to control them like robots? Was it because they will not agree to illegally jail their compatriots? Whatever his reasons, we have booted him out along with his psychopathic cronies. Good riddance! We are taking back our country brick by brick, squire metre by squire metre! Come on, my people, let's go! THE HANGOVER FROM THE YAHYA JAMMEH NIGHT Like the stormy and thunderous rains of September, the lightening and thunder continuing long after the rain has stopped, the aftereffects of Yahya Jammeh's brutal regime will continue to be felt for a long time. Until now, weeks after the dictator has left, there still are reports of missing people who are alleged to have been picked up by the 'octopusic' NIA. Families are reporting these people missing and still there is no luck. One of these poor souls happens to be my cousin, Lamin Bah, an immigration officer who is reported to have been picked up shortly after telling a regime loyalist that Yahya Jammeh should step down after having lost the December 1st election. He has since not been seen. The case has been reported to the authorities and assurances have been given that investigation is going on.
It is traumatizing to say the least. One thing is clear, the hangover from the Yahya Jammeh night will continue long into our democratic and freedom day. That is why the setting up of a Commission of Truth and Reconciliation cannot come soon enough! We put our trust in the All-knowing God and hope that all the families who have had their loved ones disappeared will find them soon. We pray for all those people who have been unwitting victims of Yahya Jammeh's regime to have solace. May the families be granted the strength to go through this most difficult and trying time. Our new government promises to be that; 'new government' which will respect the Rule of Law and Human Rights. I, for one, have every confidence in the New Government and I am sure with the seriousness they have already shown, we are heading into a New Day of Freedom and Democracy. BY THA SCRIBBLE BAH Lamin Cham Has The Right To Voice His Dissent Against The Coalition Government If He Chooses To2/13/2017 Lamin Cham has the right to voice his dissent against the coalition government if he chooses to. That is the Gambia that so many of us fought for. Just because he was in Gambia, had one or two stings from Jammeh, and remained quite under the fear that most of us who campaigned against that brutal regime ran away from does not take away from him the right to speak up under a new era founded on the principles of democracy. I know so many people who came to America, filed asylum but never showed up at any protest. They prioritized their Gambian vacation once a year than the freedom of the nation. Fast forward to today, Banka Manneh was released from jail and they all went there with their #GambiaHasDecided t-shirts celebrating with him. Well, you did not protest with him. Let's talk about that hypocrisy. Such people had a choice, unlike Lamin Cham who was in Gambia. And we saw clearly the choice they made.
I know so many people, who had helped Jammeh dine and lavishly spend on foreign artists and celebrities and when they fall apart with him, they run to U.S. then speak up against Jammeh for the first time. And they join the struggle and we work with them and hail them as heroes. They never said a word in Jammeh's Gambia. What some of us fought for is a Gambia where a Lamin Cham can speak up. Where those that deleted me from Facebook for their own safety can add me again and feel like they will not end up at Mile II for merely liking my post. Just because we spoke against Jammeh 4,000 miles away does not give us the express and exclusive right to be the only ones to praise or speak against the actions of our new government. We fought not for regime change but a system change and Gambians voted for a change for all Gambians; and President Adama Barrow is not president for only those that voted for him but for all Gambians, even if you had been a Jammeh praise singer . Whether the amount he said was budgeted was wrong or right is one thing but whether he has the right to voice dissent is not to be questioned. It is his constitutional right. Period! BY SAMSUDEEN PHATEY |