Africa is a strong but disunited land, according to American singer and songwriter Akon, and must come together to harness effective collective efforts for any meaningful development and progress to come. Akon, also known as Aliaume Damala Badara Thiam was speaking at the Coco Ocean Hotel Sunday, where he gave an inspirational speech on youth empowerment and the role of young people in the new Gambia. He is here to launch his project Akon Lighting Africa, which started in 2014 together with Samba Bathcilly and Thione Niang, and aims to provide electricity to solar energy in Africa. And speaking ahead of the launching at Sare Pateh, the top musician said: “As strong as Africa is our biggest weak weakest link is unity. If we just figure out a way to come together for ten years. “How about we just try for ten years? Let us come together harness our energy for all things positive. If I am in conflict with the country next door, let’s just have peace for ten years. I know it sounds like a lot because in ten years two presidents might come and go or president might not want to go, but at least we will have peace. “ Akon also talks about light, saying: “The advantages that come with light is unprecedented because nothing in life happens without electricity or any kind of energy. I am surprised we last this longer without it. Literally, it shows how strong we are, how smart we are and how we know how to utilize nothing and make it into something. So now imagine if we position each other to where we all could have something?He also took questions and listened to concerns or issues facing entrepreneurs in the country. Mr. Thione Niang, the founder of the Give1 project, gave an inspirational speech: “Today the young Africans should dream about touching the moon and creating the opportunities. Millions of our people are dying every day of small little disease that can be cured. If you go to anywhere in Africa, our women are dying having babies, some of them in malaria. Some of them, more than six hundred million Africans today, living in the dark. If we do nothing, nothing will happen.” According to him, Africans cannot wait for nobody to fix their problems. “Africa’s problems need Africa solution and you the young people of Africa are the solution of Africa today,” Mr. Niang observed. Hundreds of young Gambians and entrepreneurs gathered at the Coco Ocean to listen to inspirational speeches by the various speakers, including Mr. Papa Yusupha Njie of Unique Solutions. Top singer Akon also interacted with the attendants, posing for selfies and others BY ALAGIE MANNEH- JOURNALIST YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Join the conversation. Leave a Comment
Moving Gambia (Progressing ) towards Beginning of the Beginning - beyond speeches.As Gambians, most of us grew up hearing about a Country that is viewed with a mixture of awe, envy, model of vision for Policy Ideas and most often singled out for praise and emulation: Singapore.Unfortunately, Both Presidents Jawara and Yaya Jammeh's vision(s) of Gambia failed to materialize. Singapore has a population of about 5 million, with no oil resources and lots of tribes; but their leaders are aware of all those vulnerabilities its small size brings and able to adapt to changing circumstances. So how did they overcome all these issues that have Balkanized our societies? They too gain independence a little over 50 years, with no resources and limited land – but were able to produce a free education, efficient public services, a competitive economy and high per capital income.Moreover, their leaders discovered the testicular fortitude – to solve tribalism by integrating common sense inclusive policies that are nothing short of phenomena. They have inclusive educational programs with great standards and high passing rates, that many countries looked up to for inspiration. Their Centralized Government has put in policies that ensures fairness while retaining the liberties needed for the free market to flourish. This has helped their economy to flourished a great deal. This is something we can learn and hope Adama Barrow will send our permanent sectaries, who craft policies to have Public Policy training course and study models that work. We have extreme poverty in Gambia. Our leaders have to project a sense of confidence and a willingness to try things that work for other Nation. Their country (Singapore) had effective housing policy and accelerate economic development. I think President Jawara had same housing idea when they had Kanifing housing estate and Bakoteh housing estate. The idea was to give people equal housing opportunity and able to own a home. Singapore housing was a great success as 90%of their population owned a home. There Government allocated lands for a massive housing project. Housing policies were implemented and were able to get its target but giving low-interest rates to their citizens.The only way we can get a New Gambia is taking challenges head-on and making the level plain field for opportunities. The University of The Gambia has to be free completely and have all amenities students needs. Housing projects and building of new Communities will create jobs and security for Citizens. To be continued.... BY THEGAMBIA CAUSE YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Join the conversation. Leave a Comment
The recent press conference of the spokesperson of the Gambia's ruling coalition government, Mr. Halifa Sallah, on Thursday, 2nd March 2017, on behalf of the Coalition party members and somewhat against other party members, begs one to question the wisdom of the Coalition government's retention of that portfolio of a coalition spokesperson; after taking charge of the governance of the country, with a Minister for Communications and Information, as well as a Press Officer at the Office of the President. Much more, having a spokesperson for the coalition, who also doubles as the leader of one of its member parties, to be the impartial messenger to inform or clarify Coalition internal disputes to the press. Halifa's press conference, which he described as intended to clarify Coalition's position on the upcoming parliamentary elections, had created much confusion, rancour and acrimony within the Coalition's support base, that one could be forgiven for connoting other motives than just the mere clarifications claimed! It left many to blame other Coalition party members, i.e the UDP and NRP. Leaving their supporters despondent and cried foul play by Halifa's depiction of the party's position in the Coalition's approach to the upcoming parliamentary elections. This has compelled many of these parties supporters to demand a response or clarification from their parties in response to Halifa's supposed clarifications. Quite simply, they felt betrayed by Mr. Sallah, who failed to realised that by being a Coalition spokesperson, he also doubles as a spokesperson for both the UDP and NRP. The veteran politician, quite simply could not remove his feet from the PDOIS shoes, to become an impartial representative or spokesperson for all the political parties to the Coalition. Consequently, he appeared to have represented the Coalition's position, on the upcoming parliamentary elections, from the perspective of his party, PDOIS, vantage, rather than from the vantage of all parties in the coalition.This left many to perceive divisions within the Coalition, agitating them to level blames, vilifications, etc, at their perceived instigators of the disintegration. These compelled the disaffected parties to react to the criticism from their perceived nemesis. Such an uproar ought not to have ensued as the reactions to the venerable spokesperson's clarifications, had he done a good job at representing the whole coalition and not just one side of the story. The venerable spokesperson would have also done a marvellous job had he de-escalated the rethoric from what he presented as fracas, had he mellowed it to a differing of opinions, or from what he presented as good and bad or right and wrong to alternative models or suggestions to the Coalition's best chances of securing more seats in the National Assembly.But the venerable spokesperson could not simplify the issues to less sophistication, leaving the Coalition's supporters in a rumble. Simply because it would appear that the venerable spokesperson was out to sell his and his party's agenda, which he explained quite eloquently, as the model adopted at the selection process of the presidential elections. That is for a Coalition backed independent National Assembly members. However, the alternative model advocated by UDP and NRP was not explained in much detail, except that "two parties within the Coalition gave reservations" to their model. This lack of detail of the two competing models had left many to draw their own conclusions, that the UDP wants to opt out of the Coalition, because of their perception of being the majority party, or that Darboe wants everything for himself, etc. The most heartless of all even opined that UDP leader's freedom was a detriment to the Coalition's progress and that of the country. It's disheartening to note that such an rancour or acrimony could ensued, as a result of the clarification of a spokesperson for the Coalition. This ought not to have happened had the spokesperson done a fair job for all the Coalition members. Simply because it is not wrong for a party or parties in a Coalition to have a differing opinion or model or suggestion, about how the Coalition should contest a Parliamentary election. That quite simply ought to be expected. But when that message is twisted to give the impression that some parties in a Coalition, are interested in just their personal or party interests rather than the collective interest, such could give rise to unintended consequences.The issue, is quite simply about two competing models of how the Coalition should contest the upcoming parliamentary elections. One advocated by the PDOIS and rest, whilst the other by the UDP and NRP. There is nothing wrong about either side subscribing to a different model. The only problem however seems to be how that was presented to the country by the spokesperson, which resulted in the real fracas. This leads me to the question of my title, does the Coalition really need a spokesperson? I doubt very much that the Coalition do at present and furthermore I would disagree vehemently that that position continues to suit Halifa Sallah. I believe, if the Coalition requires a spokesperson, that position will now suit a person who will be neutral and can represent the position of all parties in the Coalition impartially, without fear or favour for any. Otherwise, I believe the President or his spokesperson should be ideal to speak for the Coalition as a government. Therefore, in the ensuing confusion after the Coalition's spokesperson's press conference, we need the President to come and settle the dust for us. BY YANKUBA BARBOE NOTE: HALIFA' S UNCOOPERATIVE BEHAVIOUR: 1. He dismissed Mai's claim that Yaya withdrew a lot of money from CBG before his departure. He did this to discredit Mai since Mai was stealing the spotlight. 2. Announced the appointment of the Vice President and later criticizing it to be unconstitutional. 3. Refused to take cabinet positions offered to both him and Sidia. He promised to give the reason for their refusal to take up cabinet positions which he never did. Instead, he announced that he wants to be an MP 4. He was not at the reception on the eve of the independence anniversary 5. He was aware of the decision to table a bill to parliament to repeal the age limit and also the deposit requirement. He did not say anything before the sitting. Two days after, he denounced the move as being unconstitutional. 6. Few days before the negotiations on how to approach the parliamentary elections, he declared that PDOIS intends to put forward 20 candidates for the elections out of 54 candidates. 7. While negotiations are still ongoing, he used his position as the spokesman for the coalition, called a press conference declaring that negotiations are ongoing but UDP and NRP want to contest on their own. BY MAX JONE YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
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As a professor, I often challenge my students to back their statements with current research to add value to the body of knowledge. Over the weeks, I have written papers on the need for a smaller government and direct investment instead of borrowing.When the coalition government in the Gambia talks about “our development partners” they are actually talking about our creditors. The loans and grants have conditions, and adopt western lifestyles. One of these conditions will be the need to reduce overhead. In fact, the coalition government may 100% realize the grants and loans, but only 10% will recognized. The reason that there is donor skepticism of developing countries of using most of aide for their personal enrichment. The coalition government will not be an exception to this skepticism. On the April legislative elections I’ve read the coalition’s MOU and it is totally vague on whether candidates for the April legislative elections should be sponsored by the coalition government. The MOU does mention whether the successful candidates for the April parliamentary elections should serve out the remaining mandate of the coalition government. In fact, this might even be a violation of the constitution.Can President Barrow pass an executive order by temporarily suspending the legislative branch for the remaining months of his mandate? Will this be viewed as a dictatorial power? Without providing any legal opinion, any candidate that runs under a different political party other than the coalition government may impact the outcome of the April 2017 parliamentary elections. To compound this, there is a possibility of independent candidates, and the sponsored candidates from the APRC, and GDC. I think President Barrow and his team should begin negotiations with the leaders of the political parties within the coalition so that his mandate is protected by having a majority member representation in parliament. If my memory serves me correctly, I read somewhere that Hon. Ousainou Darboe and Hon. Hamat Bah are entertaining the idea of sponsoring candidates from their respective parties. If this prevails, there will be a cloud of suspicion and interparty fights will prevail. This might even affect cabinet meetings to an extent that President Barrow may have to fire some of his ministers.Brothers and sisters, and friends of the Gambia, please do not sit on the sidelines. I encourage you to engage the coalition government before the situation gets worst. The Gambia is now free and you should not be afraid of objectively vetting out your opinions. We cannot allow the 22 years of our struggle disappear because of interparty fights. The Gambia belongs to all of us. Dr. Lamine Jassey Conteh YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Join the conversation. Leave a Comment
In recent days, a barrage of laughable background rhetorical extremes has come to light on our timelines on social media , demonstrating a shift away from what was once common sense.Perhaps most intriguing — and dismaying — the two adoptive parents names have been going back and forth, because we don’t — and can’t — live in perfect consistency with our ideals. It seems like every week, there’s a new horror story of political correctness run amok. So what is going on? Most ordinary Gambians are concerned about the long rope of tone, tolerance , discipline, neighborliness and high spirit, which we all got adopted to in helping us avoid quite a few number of problems— after December 1st Elections — all the way to when President was sworn in, is gradually sleeping away. Now every rob to dust off the unclear mirrors of the [I Intentionally left it blank because its now at hated word] to help us see clearly the direction of progress, irritates people so much. The typical response to an opinion piece, speech or position is — "dismiss the positive and demagogue the rest". No matter what is being put forth, they cherry pick and only hear whatever they wanted to hear. It tells you a lot about how everything is now balkanized into identity politics and ideology. The same people who praised a particular stance yesterday, as a campaign surrogate now, are horrified by them. It’s an understandable response . One can debate their sincerity, but the head-in-the-sand denial, only encourages people to ignore the substance of discussions. This has over shadowed everything — and now, developmental goal projects and economic growth have fallen out of vogue . Indeed, on this point alone, pretty much everyone agrees.
Why are we so much in such a hurry to squander the hard-won victories we just won? But at this point, plans are less important than the will to put them into action. How can anything get done, when there seems to be party surrogates eclipsing everything with non issues? It seems people are more interested in adding fuel to the unfolding catastrophes around us. People don’t t want to talk about anything they can’t blame on Halifa Salah , and likewise Lawyer Darboe. When can we get back to issues that threatened our Nation, stop triggering warnings of divisions happening — because of ignoring uncomfortable ideas and appointing commissioners on Truth and Reconciliation Commission? I hope when appointing the Commissioners, we will not start fighting what party has more representatives on it. shsssssss!!!! Gambia No Problem! BY THEGAMBIA CAUSE The values that of us learn at parents knees growing up - always to have a “reservoir of goodness” in your heart for people, has helped us a great deal to avoid prejudging people and assuming the worst about others.Others learn the same values but didn't take time to understand it's true meaning or much less put them forth in everything they do. so therefore — the reservoir of anxiety, disinterestedness and disgust within them, always shows outright, in their conversation and dealings.In light of when things get worse , we learn from our parents that —what we need most is to be hopeful and think of strategic actions — "efforts" to reassure yourself and calm your anxieties with a can do attitude. This is not what we see today, with some of vocal people on Social Media. When out Nation or Political party leaders — takes unpopular positions or we found ourselves with difficulties , unusual National Conversations; they start cursing out, fuming with anger and finding a scapegoat.When I see such things happening or about to happen, as a Gambian, I constantly affirm those values with positive messages — to walk through from those challenges, lift up the spirit of people, treating them with kindness , respect and understanding. We all care about our Country and most people with be amazed reading our families history towards Gambia's development and their Contributions to our Society today. Some day, people will learn when the times comes .Again let me repeat that line I referenced earlier. In light of when things get worse , we learn from my our parents that —what one need most is to be hopeful and think of strategic actions — "efforts" to reassure yourself and calm your anxieties with a can do attitude.What I see mostly is when people find themselves in such situations, they start labeling everyone with names, using disingenuous opinion as facts and trying to quote a text from holy book , without understanding why that verse was revealed . Some of us came from families , whose contributions to the deen is written on google history books as they taught great knowledge to thousands of students. They will Continue cursing out and fuming with anger. Most of us cannot sit on our hands and watch far across. Therefore as Gambians , we stand up and constantly affirm those values I mentioned early — to lift up our nation from its challenges, lift up the spirit of people, treating people with kindness , respect and understanding.In doing so, we should anticipate that at any given moment there’s going to be flare-ups of bigotry that we may have to confront and vanquish. Again, it's worthy cause. For example, we all watched with shock and dismay —seeing on our timelines , the conversations that have erupted after Coalitions Spokeman Press Conference about NRP and UDP Party leaders - not yet agreeing to running under Coalition ticket. It's just a sad fact that everything is reduced to blame game, instead of uniting people.For ordinary Gambian, we all thought the 3 year transition period "hand shake Contract" with the population , must be maintained — instead of switching sides to party politics. There is enormous mess , many enormous challenges to tackle on and lots work that haven't even started yet. However, it is very disappointing to see people on their respective political home pages, turning up their energies against people and Halifa Sallah.Instead of focusing on what is honorable and good in human nature to encouraging their party leaders , they are ruminating on our lesser instincts.Guest what, now we all learnt hard lessons . We have surely come into contact on a daily basis with people who both adore and detest you - for either who you are or what you stand for. The reality today is our society is balkanized with identity politics, as people see what is good for their party , unflinching support to their leaders , instead of looking for what's good for our Country.But again, that's life for you. You will be exposed with people of "good will" — and likewise regularly exposed to worst .Gambians are not fools. We seeing a lot of things happening and get a lot of hidden messages of daily happenings. However, instead of wallowing in pessimism and mistrust which led the regime of Yaya Jammeh into astray, we all focus on the positive.A good person should always try to find the worthiness and dignity in all human beings, while simultaneously acknowledging our common humanity and commonality. We hope party leaders listens to the voices of reason and do the right thing. We are watching. BY THEGAMBIA CAUSE YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Join the conversation. Leave a Comment
The Student Union of the University of the Gambia has criticized the university’s staff Associations move on a sit-down, describing it as both ‘unfair and unfortunate’ for the students and their parents. The association began a sit-down yesterday following allegations of corruption and embezzlement in the Senior Management Team of the UTG.They are demanding the resignation of the vice-chancellor and the dissolution of the university’s Senior Management Team, accusing them of “mismanaging resources and misplaced priorities”.And at a press conference yesterday at the Law Faculty, the student body called on both parties to come together and find a lasting solution to the crisis. It is unfortunate what is happening here at the UTG,” Mr. Ansumana Bojang, President of the Students Union, told journalists. “For us at the student union level, there is no way we can condone such actions because we have a big obligation which is to make sure students register on time, pay their tuition fees and come to class. So we see no reason why students should come to class and will not find people who are supposed to give them service in the class. We will not accept that from anybody,” Mr. Bojang stressed. According to him, at their Brikama campus, “lots of students came to attend lectures but couldn’t find any lecturers there because of the sit-down strike.”He stressed that there was no formal communication to effect that protest. “So for us students everything is normal. We advise our students to come to class on time as scheduled on their various timetables whiles we look into the matter.” He also called on the President of the Staff Association Dr. Ismail Ceesay to have a meeting with the council and sort out the issue. “I think students have had enough during the political impasse. “From our point, going on this strike is not fair to the students, and to their parents,” Mr. Bojang observed. For his part, Almamy Taal, lecturer, and president of the Gambia writers association, insists that the staff associations move is based on no ground. “What authority, based on what law or what consensus in the organization are they making this demand? This demand is not reasonable, is based on nothing.” According to him, the decision is “malicious, and intended to cause mischief.”
Ousman Nyang, acting vice chancellor said stressed that any staff who does not report to work without any legitimate reasons will be sanctioned accordingly. For Musa Sawaneh, a recent graduate of the UTG, the SMT must be dissolved.“They have been here for the past 18 years and a lot of impediments have happened. “It is crystal clear, even visible to the blind and audible to the deaf. For the past 18 years, we have no website, things are very slow in terms of improvement. What about the SMTs salary increment. They never talked about that or the buying of flamboyant cars?”The Staff Association of the UTG was not present at the press conference. BY ALAGIE MANNEH See how Gambians around the world showing their frustration in the coalition government heading to the parliamentary election. There is greed and hungry for Parliament seats which is causing all these inner fighting.I believe that this Coalition standoff could have stemmed from a deep rooted political deference between some leaders. I believe that this Coalition standoff could have stemmed from a deep rooted political deference between some leaders. I have tried to address it in my post yesterday. No one side should shoulder the blame entirely, yet no leader must be treated good and the others bad; all must share it. The moment we try to see our leaders differently in a coalition, praising some and persistently condemning others, that's where it all begins. One could blame Darboe and Hamat for pulling out at this stage (Indeed I hold them responsible because I believe pulling out isn't the solution), but others can also blame PDOIS for not accepting any Cabinet portfolio. One could further argue that such a position wasn't helpful to the unity and that the push to remedy Jammeh's wrongs must be done collectively. So my recommendation is for the leaders to see issues in the context of national unity and consolidation of democracy. They need to be together to complete this task. UDP and NRP must revisit their position and embrace the coalition for the polls. In the same vein, PDOIS also needs to revisit its position and join the Cabinet. That, in my view, will strengthen unity and avoid people speculating on disunity . Here are two parties that are opting out of the Coalition agenda for legislature, but here is another that has opted out of the Coalition Cabinet. How do you reconcile that difference? That's why I said all of them are responsible for the current situation. I challenge them to look inward and search for amicable solution that will put this final phase of the country's political struggle to rest. All of them - let me repeat for the sake of clarity - all of them need to compromise. On The Gambia political situation, once upon a time there was a coalition but not anymore: the UDP n NRP have parted from the coalition leaving the rest in uncertainty, there is greed n hungry for Parliament seats which is causing all these inner fighting. The very coalition we voted in did had secret individual agendas. We never knew. The only candidates who can move Gambia forward now is Independent Candidate. Let's warn or parents n friends not to vote for any political party, they have shown their true colours yet again, someone once said Jammeh will laugh within or after 3 months she is about be right. Banjul do not make the simplest mistake of welcoming any political party, they will come will lies. I reserved myself for the bogus and misinformation, but time has come to hit the nails on the head, You've listened to hypocrites and misinformation from self manifested people, a good judges always listen to all complaints from the people involved in the matters. UDP will have radio updates on issues at hand THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS No rumours no speculations but FACTUAL INFORMATION. We passed a situation where people gain cheap popularity, sweet talk take you no where, Like I always say TRUTH, HONESTY AND COMPROMISE is the key to success, all hands should be on deck we work hands in gloves and see our country first, underground politics and misinforming our electrodes will never bring people to listen to you if you are not saying truths to them. THE SUCCESS OF COALITION GOVERNMENT IS THE SUCCESS OF THE GAMBIA if you don't want to work for President Barrow and his Government leave as simple as that, don't bring animosity and confusion to our country, A country whose good citizens sacrificed hundreds of thousands dalasis jobs from UN, world bank and other international organizations for the sake of the Gambia those are the citizens we will listen to and have trust in them, we will not lists to people who in there capacities refused to help the country in this trying times. IF U DON'T WANT TO WORK LEAVE PERIOD Are we heading to Politics 101? There seems to be sufficient evidence that the rainbow coalition may not hold together for this upcoming National Assembly Elections. This will be a disappointment for many of us who had been calling for a coalition platform since at least 2005. The greatest mistake for any of the parties is to belief that they have enough support to do it alone. To me Jammeh was voted out by Gambians not for the popularity of any political party or a candidate but the urge to take back their country from the Dictator. Freedom and dignity for our homeland. We will soon see independent candidates all over the place and hopefully we do away with party politics. The diaspora organizations need to stand up and reinforce the call for a coalition platform. We have sacrificed a lot of time and resources just to be left in the cold again. Politician in The Gambia have used us for financing their campaigns when they are really in need of those funds but go back to their old habits of partisan politics. This chicken and egg story Must End If Halifa wanted to Unite and defend the coalition, he should have being more committed and bind himself by accepting a cabinet Post as the other Party leaders. Coalition is a Team work and partnership with deferent Expertise. Oj, Hamat, Fatty, Gomez, Touray and Darbo are not less effective than Halifa. They are all better in their fields of expertise and thats how success imerge from any coalition government.You have halifa undermining every thing his Partners did just to potray himself as the Supermann. His ambitions are clearly coming up and Gambians do not have to be decieved by his socall constitutional brainwashing.The truth will prevail! As parliamentary elections fast approach & parties discuss how to move forward, it is unsettling to imagine the Coalition contesting as a single party. To begin with, it was never intended to treat the Coalition like a political entity. Secondly, the Coalition was always planned as a temporary political arrangement to harness their collective efforts for political change. Third and most importantly, the Coalition contesting as a single political party will undermine our democracy and potentially delay the return to single party rule. The rule by a single party in a multi-party system is the most democratic form of government and upsetting that ideal form will taint our political system for years to come. It is inconceivable that the political parties within the Coalition will even contemplate the move to contest National Assembly election as a single party unit. Over six months ago I make it clear that the Coalition is a transitional government whose primary task was to amend or draft a new Constitution and to prepare political parties for the rapid return to party rule. Promoting a long-term development plan, for the country, as the Adama Barrow government did, was never supposed to happen. Instead, rather than serve as cabinet ministers, political party leaders and citizens should have been freed to develop their parties, create new ones and sell their party agendas across the country in preparation for the return to party rule. It should never be forgotten that the return to party rule is in the supreme interest of the nation; not getting stuck in a Coalition that undercuts the democratic process, and hinder the rapid return to single party rule. Finally, for all the reasons clearly articulated in a post yesterday, the AFPRC military party should be banned and unregistered as a political party. From party leader Yahya Jamneh's lust for human blood, the criminal dereliction of duty by the party's National Assembly representatives, and the assassination spree of the party's Junglers wing, this military political party has long ago forfeited every right to exist in a civilian multi-party system. Simply put, not disbanding and banning the party will be the ultimate betrayal of the cause for which the Gambian people have fought and died. In December 2016 we finally saw what was achievable all along by coming together as one unified block. The adage unity is strength was amply demonstrated during the Presidential election campaign and confirmed on 01/12/16. My opinion is this: if the coalition does not contest the upcoming parliamentary elections as a block, A(F)PRC and GDC will win enough seats to hinder the constitutional reform and reform of institutions we so desperately need. If even there is the slightest possibility that this could be the unraveling of the coalition and paralyse the new administration significantly - why risk it? For What? Let us not get comfortable in thinking that we are out of trouble yet, the Dictator is gone, but imagine he was only 10% of our problems. The systems, machinations, and personnel he utilized are still intact to a great extent. So we need to see the agreed THREE YEAR transition period through before embarking on the Dog eat Dog world of party politics WE WANT A UNITED COALITION TO CONTEST IN THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS! If it comes to party politics in The Gambia, I'm sure many of my acquaintances on FB would attest to the fact that I am UDP to the core. However, as we approach the National Assembly elections, scheduled for April 2017, I want us all, the opposition supporters of The Gambia, to find common ground in unity and advocate and prevail on the coalition party leaders to contest the upcoming parliamentary elections, in the same united front as they approached the Presidential elections of 1 December 2016, which drove out the Dictator Yahya Jammeh to Equatorial Guinea. I just returned from The Gambia, yesterday 28 February 2017, the unity of our people under the Coalition Presidency of President Adama Barrow, is paramount and crucial to the promotion and sustaining of unity among our people, peace and progression of the country, during this trying times of our county.There is a serious threat of divisions in The Gambia along the Mandinka - Jola tribal lines, an unfortunate legacy of Yahya Jammeh's 22 years of divide and rule dictatorship. The least Gambia needs, at present, is to further broaden those fault lines into Mandinka-Jola-Fula and Wolof tribal lines, which is the risk, if the coalition should further disintegrate or gives the impression of such. For this reason, in the interest of national unity, I think we must all abdicate our political party interests for the greater good of our country's national interest and unity just for the next five years. At that point the memory of Yahya Jammeh's legacy would have been a distance past!The diaspora Gambians have played an important role in bringing and achieving the coalition that defeated Jammeh on December 1st, 2016, we can achieve the same in the upcoming parliamentary elections of April 2017. To achieve this, we ourselves must remain united behind the coalition and make the same clear to our various party leaders that we want our victorious coalition of December 1st, 2016 to be victorious again in the upcoming April 2017, parliamentary elections. My opinion: We all know what PDOIS is doing. It is called blackmailing. Their so-called wanting to go to the parliament as a Coalition is fake. How can PDOIS have their own gofundme to sponsor their candidates and still claim to be part of a collation? How do u want to be a Coalition when you still keep your party name and ideas? Please give us a break! There isn't anything anything anything principled or special about PDOIS for everyone to abandon their parties just to massage their entitled egos. Halifa Sallah, we all know all these attacks on Fatoumatta Tambajang is because your people think Halifa should get what halifa wants. What kind of a bullcrap is that? Imagine any other party saying that. What has halifa Sallah and PDOIS done or brought on the table to deserve that? Oh i forgot. 'Come January 18, if jammeh did not step down he will be a rebel leader'. That is what he is supposed to say because he was the spokesperson. He was speaking on behalf of the Coalition not his own. But we ignore the sacrifices the others have made, having the members of their party killed, raped and all their party leaders in mile 2 prison. My advice to PDOIS is you are either party of a Coalition or you are on your own. You politicians must stop playing with our brains majority is what I called democracy!!! PDOIS is the only party that refuses cabinet appointments under the coalition government out of the eight parties that form the coalition and they called it a democracy and we should not worried about their stand. I called it a betrayal to the rest. UDP/NRP according to Halifa are the only two parties out of the eight that differ in their approach to the parliamentary elections. I am Calling their decision a betrayal to their fellow member parties in the coalition government. IF YOU ALL HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS/VOTERS IN THE CONVENTION TO SELECT A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE I SEE NO REASON WHY YOU CANNOT ALL HAVE THE SAME EQUAL RIGHTS/NUMBERS IN NOMINATING THE MPs. UDP/NRP what ever your excuses are, I am with the majority that form the coalition government and I join the rest of the Gambians to wait for an explanation from this two camps and pls don't tell me the size of your party here cuz it was never considered during the convention. It is Easy, VERY EASY indeed, to talk about "Problems", about "This" or "That", especially if you are talking about it on here Facebook, online radios and social media.And sometimes when you are Cheap Talking you are even sitting on your toilet seat, sipping a can of soda, or even beer. That is Easy, VERY EASY. Anybody can do that on the phone. Talk is CHEAP. The QUESTION is: Are you part of the solution or part of the problem?
WHAT are you doing to help "solve" the "problem", other than Cheap talking about it on the phone through Facebook and online radios?Besides, the Leaders now confronted with the "problems" are more experienced and more qualified than you to handle the "problems".It is one thing to critic, but when criticisms become useless, unwarranted and divisive cheap talk, geared to be self-gloating in most cases, such instances of "criticisms" become a Disservice, Uncalled for and just plain wrong and premature. There are more Gambians overseas Talking CRAP than there are in The Gambia. With adequate planning and few dollars or pounds, anyone could be in The Gambia in less than 3 weeks from America, London, Senegal or anywhere overseas. The Gambia is "FREE" now, and so you can practice all your online journalism, cyber warrior advocacy or whatever you call it, right here in The Gambia.BUT then again, are you looking for Cheap Popularity or Cheap Attention by talking CRAP about The Gambia on online radios and Facebook? Are you looking for "Chesp Fame" through talking CRAP on online radios and Facebook? Plan it, and in no time, you will be in The Gambia and be part of the "solution". What is "preventing" you? Or are you just okay talking on online radios, Facebook, blogs and social media so that you can get your 5 or 15 minutes FAME?What are you? Are you part of the "problem" or the "solution"? What are you doing about it other than cheap talking about it on Facebook and online radios?The Gambian people on the ground are trying to do their BEST under current circumstances. The Least they need or want at this Critical junction are select Gambians overseas having nothing more productive to contribute than to spend hours uselessly cheap talking on social media. Over the past several weeks, I have pointed out the blunders of the Coalition at every opportunity I have. And prior to that, the Gambia Consultative Council (GCC) had articulated how a Coalition government ought to compose. But, overlooking these recommendations has caused political and Constitutional dilemmas, as we approach the National Assembly elections in April Originally, the GCC had recommended excluding political party leaders from cabinet positions in the new Coalition government to allow the party leaders to focus on rebuilding their parties and selling their platforms to their constituents, in preparation for elections. GCC, however, recommended for each party to nominate a candidate to a new Coalition government, with the rest of the Coalition cabinet comprising civil society in the diaspora and at home. And this brings us to the dilemma now facing the Coalition; a dilemma of identity. With the political party leaders serving in a Coalition government, the challenges of how to contest in the April elections has turned out to be almost surmountable. But, this was an avoidable judgment blunder, if only the Coalition was amenable to professional advise, as opposed to amateur guesswork. But one thing is clear, the Coalition was never designed to be created as one party state, and the Coalition contesting elections like a single political party, isn't recommended nor was it supposed to happen. And as it is, with political party leaders serving as cabinet ministers, the National Assembly elections dilemma can perhaps only be resolved by Constitutional action. In addition, with such a short space of time to campaign, National Assembly elections planned for April, ought to be delayed until June, 2017, to allow parties enough time to rebuild and sell their party programs to the voters. Secondly, President Barrow has the option of dissolving the National Assembly, or allow it's term of office to expire in April, and rule by emergency order until a new National Assembly is sworn after the June, 2017 elections, in the event of elections delay. Once a new National Assembly is sworn in, the Constitution should again be amended to allow both the Presidential and National Assembly elections to be held on the same day. Perhaps most importantly, the Constitution should be amended so that the life of the next Assembly would be pegged to the three year duration of the Coalition government. But there is no doubt there will be some political and Constitutional contortions before we can get things right and in order. But, this is a necessary and perhaps even inevitable. The messy business of electing a Coalition National Assembly is getting murkier as a few of the parties propose fielding individual candidates. There are several relevant things for Coalition members to consider in regards to this political morass.
First, to agree among the parties to limit the term of office of a Coalition National Assembly to the three years duration of the Coalition government. This may require Constitutional amendment. Second, allow each Coalition member party to nominate a candidate to a constituency, who are then primaried for the purpose of selecting one candidate. Third, the need to elect a Coalition National Assembly and amend the Constitution to limit its duration in office to that of the Coalition government is designed to avoid a political and Constitutional nightmare that may likely occur. Fourth, ban the current AFPRC National Assembly members from contesting Assembly elections, and amend the Constitution so both the Presidential and Assembly elections are held on the same day. Fifth, due to time crunch to do anything substantially meaningful, the proposal to delay National Assembly elections until June, 2017 while the Coalition and member parties work through this dilemma, is highly recommended. This proposal has the capacity to ensure that each party maintains it's individual identity, and prevent the Coalition government from transforming itself into a one-party state. Finally, the end of elections on 1st. December, 2016, and Yahya Jammeh's eventual departure, was a torturous period of nightmarish wait. Let's not go again through that long duration transition. Amend the Constitution to avoid this ever happening again. BY JALLOW MATHEW The Barrow Administration is neither a Mandinka nor UDP government. It is the Coalition government as it reflects all the constituent members of the Coalition. Any insinuation that it is anything else as perpetuated by clandestine APRC and Yaya Jammeh supporters must be debunked in the strongest terms possible. The Coalition government indeed reflects all the parties and ethnicities and gender of the Gambia and therefore to falsely claim it is dominated by one sector is false. The fact is that even the cabinet of Yaya Jammeh had a single ethnic group with the highest number of members yet it was never considered a Mandinka government. How therefore can we claim this government to be so? Secondly, the removal of Yankuba Badgie and David Colley among others has nothing to do with tribe. It has everything to do with justice. In the first place the appointment and continued presence of these thugs was unconstitutional as they spent their entire tenure on abuse of power and destruction of the rights of Gambians. Thus anyone who concludes that the Coalition government is targeting a particular ethnic group by removing these criminals is an unfair and dishonest allegation intended to misinform and mislead the masses. The case of Solo Sandeng is a genuine case and must be the first to address because it is the last such atrocious case of such enormous proportions. Thus before anything else, the Barrow Administration did well to handle this matter. Again we can see in that case that this government is not approaching it in any tribalist manner as the suspects include criminals from all the ethnic groups. The names of the nine suspects is a testimony to this fact: Yankuba Badgie, former Director General, Louis Gomez, former Deputy Director, Saikou Omar Jeng alias Sir Jeng, former Director of Operations, Haruna Suso, Yusupha Jammeh, Lamin Lang Sanyang, Tamba Masireh, Lamin Darboe and Baboucarr Sallah.
Hence APRC members should stop spewing the false information that this is a witch-hunt based on tribalism. We applaud Barrow for this urgent and right move.Yes, the new government has taken steps, which potentially pose a constitutional crisis. But to therefore conclude that this government is therefore dictatorial is utterly false and APRC folks should face the truth and stop misinforming. Yaya Jammeh and APRC tortured, raped and killed Gambian sons and daughters and plundered our wealth with impunity. Let APRC remember that. Always. We must bear in mind that the challenges Barrow faces are, in the first place problems created by Yaya Jammeh and APRC. If they did not tamper with our constitution, Barrow would not have faced these challenges. Hence in these turbulent times, we would see various missteps and mistakes, but this is nothing comparable to the deliberate and conscious abuse of power by Yaya Jammeh. The good thing remains that in the Gambia of today, our people have the freedom to raise issues and concerns and criticize Barrow and his government without fear of arrest and torture. This was not the case with Yaya Jammeh. Hence to attempt to ridicule Barrow and vindicate Yaya Jammeh is completely and totally unfair, dishonest and misleading. There is no government that does not make mistakes and errors. But a good government always goes back to correct itself and acknowledge its faults. So far Barrow administration has shown that they are no different in that regard as can be seen how they are dealing with the VP issue. Thus let APRC shut up and support the country go through this turbulent time created by Yaya Jammeh and the APRC. A Coalition government is not an easy animal to manage. The fact that Halifa Sallah is not in the Cabinet does not warrant any unnecessary and unfounded speculations. Halifa has a right to serve as a minister or not. He has said that Barrow desires the best position for him, hence there is nothing wrong with the Coalition. If Halifa decides to go to the National Assembly, it is still in the right direction for the Coalition. The Coalition must ensure that they control the National Assembly with the best sons and daughters of the country in order to create the best foundation for democracy and good governance for the Gambia. I therefore fully support Halifa and PDOIS for their decision. While APRC has a right to criticize anything, yet they have no moral justification to criticize Barrow and the Coalition government. This is because any and every problem the new government faces is because of the obstacles that were placed before them by the APRC and Yaya Jammeh. Thus all that we expect APRC and Yaya Jammeh thugs to do is to support the process of democratization in the building of the New Gambia. But they must not be on the sidelines seeking to foment tribalism and incitement to violence against the new government and the country. That is unpatriotic. Go on Chief Servant Adama Barrow! God Bless The Gambia. BY MADI JOBARTEH Justice Minister Baa Tambadabou opened a window we had difficulty seeing through of what goes on behind the Scenes at the Judiciary. The brilliant young lawyer gave us the bold assessment that even a fortune teller would avoid, and the impressive thing is – he has been Justice Minister /Attorney General a little more than few weeks, but showed us the first obvious signs of how this important Pillar (Branch) of Government was off its axis. What does that look like? Lawyer Tambadou elevation to head the Judiciary is a victory for Gambia and a moral honest voice needed to resuscitate his department, that was used to repressed Gambians. Judging by his Tuesday’s radio interview at FN Network, 15 lawyers that worked at the Justice department do not even have proper functioning computers. Some Amendments to the Constitutions were in Pamphlets, and circled around within the departments at Judiciary. Gambians Judges were fired, recycled, humiliated left and right, whiles trust seems to be shrinking to mercenaries, without any judicial craftsmanship. It might take little time to careen past the chaos the unhinged, unmoored and unglued dictator left the judiciary with….. before they can race through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions. On the other hand, an age limit clause was inserted into the Constitution to prevent experience able Gambians Judges (moral arbiters of the Courts), to serve on the benches. This was revised today at the National Assembly, with respect to the age clause. Now it has become evidently clear Gambia under the Stewardship of the former Dictator, that all branches that held the pillars of the Nation; Public Enterprises, Business and people, all together experienced the same reality of Dictatorship. We had a bandit regime that morally and politically collapsed, and won’t actually go away. Furthermore, the regime was passive, and judiciary was filled with mercenary machinery- full of sound and fury, but signifying nothing – excepting sending our fellow citizens to Mile -2 Concentration Camp. They got paid in dollars, provided free accommodations, and orderly. They returned the favor by giving a carte blanche to dictator and handed him the power in sentencing guidelines, using flimsiest legal grounds. Remember the “Black Dictionary law”, the DPP reference in The State against tortured Women (heroines of April 14th 2016 events) whom were eventually jailed for 3 years. It’s was really interesting how many of qualified Gambians Jurist woken up with knives in their backs, fired , humiliated, and their departments unmanned by leaks- with the help of NIA attachés (Informants ) at the Judiciary . The conclusion is obvious because members of Gambia Bar Association were being detained too at Mile-2 Prisons. Yaya was able to give the mercenary boys few thousands of dollars , “occasional lollipops” and steals the verdicts on their benches to his favor. This is the Same Schemes he used to siphoned us - Millions of Dollars from Central Banks. He Gave a 22 years old lollipops and a big title “Chief of Protocol”, [Chum!!! Whyyy- Palace (Position)], the guy was smiling to the Bank without even knowing he was rubbing us for his Boss.
Luckily, we have brilliant Lawyer like Baa Tambadou who few weeks have understood exactly the issues that plagued our Judiciary, Prisons and Constitution. He immediately stop all the avenues that brought this important Branch of Government to its knees and Striking out away from the dead end, that the Dictator set us up with his traps. BY HABIB In terms of personal character and ideological seriousness, everyone knows Halifa Sallah is a principle person. One of the most dignified politicians Gambians have produced , one who turned his cheeks away from vicious attacks, refused to use profanity and rarely showed an angry side. Equally shocking, Gambians couldn’t bring themselves to understand why someone who is fully committed to the Coalition agenda ,instead of play-acting, is being attacked for articulating what Gambians voted for. Even more extraordinary, any publicly articulated preference from either a citizen, politician or public officials, can cause so much havoc instantaneously and gets exhaustively interpreted in 100 different ways. It does not take a political genius to understand —certainly, the war of words, accusations, WhatsApp recordings etc, —among partisan pundits, strategists , activists, has yield unintended and undesirable consequences, with a possibility of causing an insurmountable divide within the Coalition. The demonization campaign cannot work anymore. Regrettably, it appears that things that abruptly upends the dynamics that made everyone to turn their back away from our Nations affairs , along with all its flaws, is beginning to disrupt the cooperative spirit we all enjoyed briefly. More Gambians have finally come to grips with this relatively simple fact. We are now in something like another the fifth round of […. ], as surrogates start rising to their feet to declare with preposterous arguments and it’s getting old.
Most of their arguments are shockingly spurious given the intellects involved. Our Political leaders should work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades. Our fellow Gambians need robust economic plan to relief us from poverty. So our Government should sketched a vision that reverts or rebirth new hope, lowers costs of livings and creates opportunities. There is one very clear lesson to be learned from history .The principles that should guide our Nation is the Constitution and should always be giving its due respect to guide any administration. Halifa saw error with respect to AMENDEMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION WITH REGARDS TO 65 YEARS AGE LIMIT FOR PRESIDENCY WITHOUT COMPLYING WITH SECTION 226. Gambians see the vivid handwriting on a not-so-distant wall than can crumble the plans of the transition period in the face of self-interest, sour expressions and stone-cold eyes looks by certain policies at the seats of power. Even more extraordinary, perhaps, was the revealing picture caught by the cameras at press conference today by Coalition Spokesperson – Halifa sallah revealing the leaders of UDP and NRP haven’t committed to running under Coalition independent ticket . ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: CHAPTER XII AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION Alternation of this Constitution. (1) subject to the provisions of this section, an Act of the Constitution National Assembly may alter his Constitution. (2) Subject to subsection (4), a bill for an Act of the National Assembly under this section shall not passed by the National Assembly or presented to the President for assent unless- (a) before the first reading of the Bill in the National assembly, the Bill is published in at least two issues of the Gazette, the latest publication being not less than three months after the first, and the Bill is introduced into the National Assembly not earlier than ten days after the latest publication; and (b) the Bill is supported on the second and third readings by the votes of not less than three quarters of all the members of the National assembly. BY THEGAMBIA CAUSE Since my comments on the Fatou Badgie case, I have seen all sorts of comments emphasizing the issue of cultural norms and values as it relates to elders. Many condemned Fatou for being impolite and some went even further to say she should be disciplined or rot in prison. I see lot of conservatism, partisan and tribal undertones in those expressions. I see more emotional outbursts than deeper critical analysis to understand the nature of issues. Let me elaborate. I agree that in any society, individuals must not insult each other for any reason. I consider insults as an act of verbal violence and one of my fundamental principles is non-violence. Hence I condemn anyone seeking to insult any other person. Certainly we have culture and religions in which the use of profanity in any way is discouraged. Our religions teach us to use language that is peaceful, re conciliatory, decent and productive. However, let us understand democracy so that we do not mix issues that will only pull us back and keep us stagnant in one place. Some made reference to the West and therefore argued that if we were not trying to confuse democracy with the West, or rather impose Western culture on the Gambia.
Let me say that Democracy itself is an aspect of culture. The democracy we see in the UK or Sweden or the US is not their traditional culture. Every society has culture and I know Europeans had a more oppressive and exploitative culture than Africa if you go back hundreds of years. It was because of that oppressive and exploitative culture in Europe that gave rise to ideas of freedom and democracy until they were able to build a society that they have today. All of us today indeed admire the quality of democracy in the West and we have seen how that democracy became the basis for a free and developed society. Many Africans run away to the West because we face oppression or poverty in our home countries. Hence when we get to this stage, we must realize that our objective is to build democracy. What the Europeans have taught us is that democracy is an act and a process of civilizing one’s culture in which the ideas and pillars of freedom, equality, and justice become the foundations of society and governance. One needs to read European history to understand how these people went through uncountable bloody revolutions and fratricidal wars just to overthrow that oppressive feudalistic culture centred around leaders, elders and deep-seated socio-cultural beliefs which were shattered in order to bring about an equal and just society. This is the situation the Gambia is at today. We should have done this since the first day of independence but we failed. Since then, we continued to govern ourselves with notions of feudalism and religion even though our statecraft and governance system is supposed to be based on modern ideas. A president is an elder, but a president is not an elder as an elder in our village or in our kabilo. Thus to equate the president in terms of that traditional notion of elder can only make us stagnant hence give rise to dictatorship and entrench poverty and powerlessness. Thus while we need to discourage any abusive language against anyone, yet in matters of democracy and good governance, citizens can use language that could be uncouth to describe their perception about the State and State officials. And we must see such language only in that context, and not to invoke so-called cultural and religions notions because we are not on that plane. If we continue to invoke our socio-cultural and religious notions about national governance, then it means we are still keeping the Gambia stagnant between the PPP and APRC eras and this is no progress. Citizens must have the freedom to say that the president or the minister lied. We do not have to generate special feelings in our hearts because of that and then attempt to cut off the head of that person for saying that. If we do, we will get to a stage when it will be criminal for even saying the president made a mistake. Our experience since the 1st Republic, but more so in the 2nd Republic should give us enough lessons and insights into how to build a modern democratic society based on justice, equality and participation. I do not know what abusive words Fatou Badgie said but I would not say those words, and I would advise her and anyone to refrain from the use of abusive language in any setting and directed at anyone. But then to want to go for the head of the lady for her words potentially causes more damage to the entire society than to Fatou Badgie as a single person in the long run. Let us bear in mind that even in Europe and America on this day, the use of profanities is highly detested and discouraged. When Congressman Joe Wilson insulted Obama, his party and many friends rebuked him and there was pressure for him to apologize. But it would have been a threat to American democracy if they charged the man for insulting Obama. This is not to defend Joe Wilson, but such action would have far reaching implications on the ability of citizens to express their disagreement with their government hence undermine American democracy eventually. As Mandela noted, the foundation of democracy is free speech. It is only through free speech we can ensure transparency and accountability. It is only through free speech we can ensure fair trial and justice. It is only through free speech we can expose corruption and abuse of power. It is only through free speech we can ensure that public institutions are efficient, responsive and performing. Thus any attempt to suppress free speech, even if that speech is uncivilized poses a danger to the entire society sooner or later. In fact we voted out Yaya Jammeh through free speech on social media! We want democracy like any other society because democracy is the best path to ensure freedom and development. Even China has noticed that and is gradually moving towards democracy. It is because of the lack of democracy that the Soviet Union collapsed. The foundation of democracy and all human rights is free speech. It is democracy that can civilize and humanize our culture, which has so many oppressive and exploitative ideas, practices and institutions. Thus let us not use culture to limit democracy rather let us use democracy to renew, civilize and strengthen our culture. Certainly in that process, all will not be cozy and sweet. God Bless The Gambia. BY MADI JOBARTEH When we went to the polls on December 1, We the People voted not to merely remove Yaya Jammeh and APRC out of power, only. But we went to the polls to effect a system change. That is, the Gambia decided to ensure that the entire apparatus, culture, system, and mentality of Jammeh's and APRCism is uprooted entirely and forever from the face of the Gambia. This is because the APRC/Yaya Jammeh System is a total negation of Gambian news – our beliefs, faith, sovereignty, and dignity. Hence our verdict was not for regime change but for system change and this is why we embraced the Coalition. The parties that formed the Coalition have themselves acknowledged that indeed they were coming together to effect a system change as they have clearly stated it in their manifesto. Here is what their candidate Adama Barrow who we voted as our Chief Servant said in that manifesto: “I have offered myself as an Independent Candidate who will serve for only three years at the head of a broad-based and inclusive Coalition Government aimed at conducting constitutional, institutional and administrative reforms that would establish the foundation of a democratic system of administration that would put an end to the culture of impunity and self-perpetuating rule and usher in an era for Gambians to enjoy liberty and prosperity under a system of government that is sensitive and responsive to the needs and aspirations of its citizenry.” In that manifesto, the Coalition identified a number of program areas that require changes just to ensure that indeed we have a new system of governance that upholds the dignity and sovereignty of the Gambian citizen. For example under the program on Democracy and Rule of Law, the fourth action spoke of enfranchising Gambians abroad by amending Section 39 of the Constitution and Sections 11 and 141 of the Elections Act. Similarly, the Coalition also said that would make amendments to Section 63 subsection 1 of the Constitution in order to introduce a two-term limit of five years a term. In order to ensure that our laws are in line with best practices in upholding human rights, the Coalition manifesto said they would revoke all provisions in our laws that criminalize speech including libel, sedition, false news and false publication within six months of assuming political office. These and much more are what they have tasked themselves to do in order to bring about system change. To effect these changes requires that the government follow the rule of law in which the role of the National Assembly is paramount. Hence when we now face the National Assembly elections, one would expect the fundamental question facing the Coalition is how do they ensure control of the parliament in order to effect the necessary system change. In a democracy, the parliament is the most strategic and most powerful institution hence no government jokes with a parliament in such a dispensation. The stories that are circulating about the Coalition parties and their intentions about the parliamentary elections call for sober reflection on their part and indeed on the part of the citizenry. The Coalition must remember that the people did not support them only to disintegrate after we voted out Yaya Jammeh, rather Gambians supported the Coalition as a compact body that will lead the country together for the next three years as per their manifesto to bring about a true system change. In that regard, the idea of the Coalition members parting ways in any sense of the word is utterly unwelcome and a betrayal if it happens. What we expect the Coalition to do is on the one hand to field independent candidates as they did with the presidency. In that way, they reduce cost and more importantly maintain the momentum and power they have garnered since they created the Coalition. The other alternative is to have each of the parties fields their own candidates but in a tactical move such that no two Coalition members contest one seat against each other. In this way, each party also maintains their individual identity yet at the same time ensure that such tactical approach is within the wider framework of the Coalition. Hence what we will have at the end is a National Assembly under the full control of the Coalition. The members of the Coalition must remember that the Barrow Administration is their baby. They conceived it and gave birth to it, hence it is their primary responsibility to ensure that this administration succeeds. A coalition is also a social contract between these parties and the people of the Gambia hence they cannot, therefore, weaken this Coalition in any way as that would constitute a betrayal of the highest order. They must also bear in mind that this Coalition is a litmus test, which would either validate the choice of the people or vindicate APRC and Yaya Jammeh that this is a Coalition of selfish people and parties. Hence members of the Coalition face a historic and national duty to see to it that this Coalition survives and succeeds.
To the people of the Gambia, my appeal is that we must remain steadfast and principled so that no one party or leader will get our support if they deviate from the supreme interest of the nation. As I have stated multiple times, no politician is good or bad, rather it all depends on how the people relate with that politician. Hence it is the people who make a politician good or bad by either holding them to account or being complacent with them. We voted for the Coalition as a compact instrument to bring back our human dignity, restore our sovereignty and fulfill our developmental needs. This is a non-negotiable demand and we must not under any circumstances relax to allow these sacred objectives to be floated on the altar of partisan and selfish political interests. Let us remind the Coalition members that even when we have voted out Yaya Jammeh, yet the ground is not still completely cleared of the remnants of Yaya Jammeh. The APRC are lurking in the shadows like hungry wolves ready to spring on our dignity and sovereignty again to continue to plunder and rape. Thus the battle is not over yet until we go to the National Assembly elections and ensure that not a single APRC candidate wins even one vote in any constituency in the Gambia. It would be a grave mistake on the part of the Coalition if they allow therefore their various party and individual interests to cause an APRC candidate in that house. That would be a great insult to Solo Sandeng and Solo Koroma and indeed all of the people tortured, raped, jailed and killed under the APRC Tyranny. God Bless The Gambia. BY MADI JOBARTEH A citizen is not merely a person born in a particular society. A citizen is when that person is aware of his or her rights and duties as set out in law and prepared to defend those rights and fulfill those duties. Gambians let us be citizens accordingly.In fulfillment of my citizenship duty let me say that I am highly concerned that the Barrow Administration went to the National Assembly on Tuesday, February 28 to effect changes to the Constitution in total disregard of the rule of law. In our Constitution, Section 226 has started clearly in subsection 2 that any amendments to the Constitution require a set of procedures to follow. These include that the proposed amendment must have been gazetted twice before being placed before lawmakers. The time between the first and second gazetting should be not less than three months apart. And then after the second gazetting, it must take at least 10 days before putting the bill before the assembly. By this procedure, one wonders when the first and second gazetting of this bill were done since the new government is not yet three months in power. Hence it is scientifically and practically impossible for the administration to meet this time requirement. I challenge the Administration to show where and when they gazetted the amendment given that they took power on 19 January 2017, which is 41 days to 28 February 2017. It is amazing that even the APRC-dominated National Assembly allowed this constitutional mishap to escape them, hence failing Gambians once more.
Beyond and above this, we must remind the Coalition that they signed up to a manifesto where they laid out their terms of reference for the next three years. In this manifesto, they stated categorically that they would conduct constitutional, legal and institutional reforms in order to ensure a complete system change. Since assuming office the president has not come to us to lay out his plans and modalities for implementing his manifesto. One would assume that one of the first steps of the new regime would be for the president to go to the National Assembly to lay out his policy agenda to mark the beginning of his tenure. This is called effective leadership, which engenders transparency and accountability and enables citizens to reposition themselves as to how to engage the government. But none of this has been done. I therefore do not expect that Pres. Barrow will begin his tenure with a piecemeal approach to the issues of the country. Rather I expect that he will take a holistic approach knowing that we face a myriad and complex set of issues, which must be handled in an organized manner. For example, it is clear that our Constitution has been severely butchered by the APRC hence the approach is not to identify selected provisions to address those just because those ones serve one’s urgent needs. Rather I would expect that one of the first tasks of Barrow would be to set up a Constitutional Review Commission so that the supreme law is put under serious evaluation. Such a commission would conduct a nationwide consultation so that the draft constitution to emerge would indeed be democratic and reflecting the will of the people. The idea of amending a single provision to accommodate the issue of the vice president or to review the electoral laws in less than one month to the election is not best practice. Rather the Coalition should be expected to demonstrate sincerity and leadership by maintaining their union and engaging the people to once again fund their parliamentary election campaign to ensure that they hold the majority. After that election, then one can expect the new parliament to now receives proposed set of amendments to approve. Some of the amendments definitely require a referendum so that in the final analysis we end up having a truly democratic constitution hence the 3rd Republic. I am therefore concerned that we are seeing this sort of move by the government when they have a whole program on democracy, rule of law and human rights. For example, they have listed a number of provisions in the Criminal Code such as sedition, libel and false news publication among others, which they recognize to be bad laws that are inimical to human rights and need to change. Yet at the same time, we have seen one lady Fatou Badgie being charged for sedition without the government intervening. If indeed the Coalition believes that sedition is anti-human rights and bad practice used by Yaya Jammeh to harm Gambians, why not make a policy directive to law enforcement that no one should be arrested and charged on the basis of sedition. I must end by saying that ultimately the onus to ensure democracy and good governance in the Gambia rests with us the citizens more than anyone. If we have democracy in the Gambia it is because we have played our part well. If we lack democracy it is because we did not play our part well. The history of the world has shown that nowhere does politicians and government do the right just by themselves. What history has shown is that politicians and government only do the right thing because there are citizens who are vigilant and play their watchdog role effectively. Twenty years is a clear lesson for us. One may claim to support any leader or party or the government, but always let us be true to the supremacy and primacy of the Gambia. We must not be blinded by our support for politicians and parties to the point of ignoring or be unaware of the deviations of the government from the rule of law. That would be a great disservice to ourselves. God Bless The Gambia. BY MADI JOBARTEH In the first place one has to applaud the Minister of Finance Amadou Sanneh for holding a press conference to tell Gambians the state of our public funds. I just hope that this practice would continue. The Barrow Administration must realize that effective communication is an indispensable tool that all modern democratic states utilize in order to control the narrative and dominate the space for good. Communicating with citizens on a consistent, truthful and timely manner serves to generate public confidence in the leadership, ensure stability and promote transparency and accountability. In the first place, one has to applaud the Minister of Finance Amadou Sanneh for holding a press conference to tell Gambians the state of our public funds. I just hope that this practice would continue. The Barrow Administration must realize that effective communication is an indispensable tool that all modern democratic states utilize in order to control the narrative and dominate the space for good. Communicating with citizens on a consistent, truthful and timely manner serves to generate public confidence in the leadership, ensure stability and promote transparency and accountability.
That the debt of the country is standing at 48.3 billion dalasis should not be a surprise to any Gambian. Rather this is a mere validation of the misrule of Yaya Jammeh and the APRC Regime, which had consistently and constantly sought to loot and kill the Gambian Nation since 1994. Through the abuse of our laws, institutions and naked violence, APRC as a party and its National Assembly members ensured the disempowerment of Gambians in favor of one man whose only objective was to defraud and harm our people. By now all Gambians must confirm that Yaya Jammeh has never had any good intentions for the Gambia. The practice of misuse of public funds has been a longstanding culture of his regime. One would recall that every year after the National Assembly approved the national budget, yet his Vice President Isatou Njie Saidy would still go to the parliament in the last quarter of the year to seek a supplementary budget of hundreds of millions of dalasi on baseless arguments. In fact, in November 2014, Isatou Njie Saidy went to the Assembly only 40 days to the end of the year to request for additional one billion, one hundred and thirty-four million, six hundred and ninety-five thousand, nine hundred and forty-eight dalasi (D1, 134, 695, 948). Out of this sum, D459, 473, 513 was allocated to the Office of the President alone. In that amount, Yaya Jammeh spent 86 million dalasis on national celebrations, 112 million dalasis went to the purchase of vehicles and 95 million dalasis went to hotel accommodation and 135 million dalasis on the president's travels, while 30 million dalasis was spent on fuel. But the bitter truth also is that Yaya Jammeh used Gambians to spend this money illegally. For example, we can recall in 2009 when Yaya Jammeh distributed one million dalasis to each of the 30 members of the Under 17 football team and their coaches. This is not to mention the three million dalasi he gave to Kafuta community for their mosque or the hundreds of Gambians he shipped to Mecca and Rome every year. He had also distributed huge sums of monies to various communities, groups, and individuals in and outside of the Gambia, while distributed thousands of bags of rice and sugar and meat. What about the scores of entertainers and prostitutes he constantly imported from around the world at the expense of the Gambian citizen. Hence what this press conference has shown is to validate the illegal economic crimes of Yaya Jammeh, aided and abetted by the APRC and as well as many other Gambians who thought the man was just kind. The issue, therefore, is what next? In light of that, I think Minister Sanneh must not only tell us about the misuse of public resources by Yaya Jammeh. But at the end of his ongoing investigations, he must go further to tell us what his government now intends to do about this. He has given us an idea about how some of the money was obtained such as the withdrawals made by one Sanna Jarju and Nuha Williams. But what preliminary actions is he going to take now to address urgent issues emerging from this crime? For example, who are Sanna Jarju and Nuha Williams? Without pre-empting the investigations, I am of the strong view that these two men need to be invited urgently by the police to give information on the circumstances of these withdrawals. But also, the Governor of Central Bank and his relevant officials must be suspended and asked to assist in the investigations. Similarly, what do the top officials of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs know about these economic crimes? They need to also assist in the investigations. In the same vein, the MD of Gamtel and SSHFC and those in charge of Carnegie Minerals Project need to be investigated in terms of their knowledge and participation in this looting of national resources. We expect prompt and thorough decisions and actions from the government because the very life of the country is at stake here. Since taking office one month ago, we expect the new administration to move with strategy and speed to protect vital national interests. For that reason, Isatou Njie Saidy and the former Minister of Finance must be called in by the police to shed light on those supplementary budget requests she was making. Here is a list of some of her requests: 1. Supplementary Budget 2010 – 100 million dalasi 2. Supplementary Budget 2011 – 220 million dalasi 3. Supplementary Budget 2012 – 471 million dalasi 4. Supplementary Budget 2013 – 300 million dalasi 5. Supplementary Budget 2014 – 1.134 billion dalasi Finally, my advice remains that the Barrow Administration constantly communicates with citizens so as to provide the necessary assurance, direction and promote popular participation in national affairs. Such sharing of information will serve to legitimize the decisions and actions of the government as it opens them to public scrutiny, which is good for them. Without communication, space would be left for rumors and speculation, some of which would be unfair and unnecessary, but this would be because the government is not just communicating at the right time and in full. Thus to avoid this, it is necessary that we hear from the State, always. God Bless The Gambia. BY Madi Jobarteh The Coalition alliance is so far a divided house as far as the upcoming April polls are concerned, following the UDP and NRPs failure to commit themselves to the outcome of negotiations that took between political parties that made up the new government. Mr. Sallah told journalists that all the remaining parties have agreed to throw its back in supporting independent candidates set to contest for the April parliamentary seats in its name, except for those two parties, who are yet to fully commit to the treaty, citing some reservations. And Mr. Sallah told journalists at a press conference at the Kairaba Hotel: “My duty is to report to you that after lengthy deliberations, I am told to tell you that the position of the Coalition is to participate in this elections on the basis of independent coalition candidates,” He added: “Of course two parties [UDP and NRP] have reservations. They still have reservations.”But he insists the “coalition cannot withhold its position because the nomination is going to take place on the 9th. “If we are to maintain the same principle, all of you are fully aware that parties during the Presidential elections had to decide whether they will put up candidates or not until we were left with six presidential candidates while the other parties decided not to. And based on that, these candidates were brought together in order to select one among their number to be an Independent Coalition Presidential candidate. “So it means that the same principle must be applied if we are going to have coalition independent National Assembly Members, we must look at the candidates that the parties wish to put as candidates and bring them together to narrow the gap so that we end up with one candidate,” Mr. Sallah said. He said the coalition executive, as far as the National Assembly concern, will be giving two criteria as their fundamental base of selection, which is the electability and competence of the candidate. Sallah argued that without competence, the Gambia is not going to have “a very strong and viable National; Assembly, and consequently our objective would have failed. “So it is in this regard that the coalition has decided that we cannot keep our negotiations secret, but to declare so that those who wish to continue with that policy of collation independent candidates will begin work in harness.” The UDP and the NRP party are yet to come up with an explanation as far as their “reservation” is concerned. BY ALGAIE MANNEH - GAMBIAN JOURNALIST 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 |