By: Dawda Baldeh

The governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) Buah Saidy and Babucarr Ismaila Joof, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Regional Integration & Employment earlier today addressed a gathering at the opening of the 2023 Afreximbank Gambia Trade Roadshow held at the International Conference Center in Bijilo.

Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993 under the auspices of the African Development Bank and it is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

The event brought together central bank governors and senior banking officials across Africa and is geared towards brainstorming ideas to adopt inter-Africa trade with the theme, “Sustaining the intra-Africa Drive: Navigating through last miles.”

The event was organized by Oakeood Green Africa Limited in partnership with Gambia Investment and Export Agency (GIEPA).

Speaking on cross-border infrastructure, Buah Saidy said the Central Bank of The Gambia has conducted a light test on commercial banks’ operations of the Pan African Payment System (PAPS) for the facilitation of inter-regional trading across Africa.

“When fully launched, it will become possible to conduct inter-trading in Africa in African national currencies. With this, a Gambian can buy goods in Sierra Leone and pay in dalasis and the Sierra Leonean seller will receive payments in Leones,” he explained.

Mr Saidy added that conducting trading through PAPS platforms will not only facilitate inter-regional trading but will save the continent from payment of millions of dollars in transfer and settlement charges as well as valuation losses.

“I wish to imply Afreximbank to accelerate and intensify support in this area so that small and medium entrepreneurs can contribute to the economic growth. As such, the extension of technical and financial support to them will lead to efficient rate and improve productivity,” he emphasized.

Babucarr Ismaila Joof, the Minister of Trade, Industry, and Regional Integration & Employment, said the forum signifies the desire of the Pan Africanism of driving the African agenda in key sectors of financing.

He said Afreximbank has been the cardinal point for African governments in their collective actions to support the expansion, diversification, and promotional development of African development and trade development.

“The roadshow geared towards promoting Afreximbank mandate in The Gambia by fostering a deeper understanding of bank products in the banking and business communities will serve to reinforce and activate various initiatives aimed at driving Gambia’s participation in inter-Africa trade,” he noted.

Minister Joof described the event as a follow-up to last year’s roadshow to further open discussions with key government and business entities.

“The event will further provide the opportunity to entities that could not be engaged last year to explore possible funding or structuring support from both Afreximbank and Oakwood Green Africa Limited.

Inter-African trade has long been a topic of discussion at many levels including the African Union, ECOWAS, and other regional blocks,” he explained.

He added that for the inter-African trade to have sound effects, they must promote competitiveness, diversification, and innovation and improve productivity based on fragmentation to common currencies.

“We must also set protocols that facilitate regional trade without any pediments. The Gambia government through my ministry will continue to promote African trade through the African continental free trading,” he outlined.

By: Lolly Sowe

Bakary Y Badjie, National People’s Party (NPP) mayoral candidate for Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), has challenged the incumbent mayor of KMC Talib Ahmed Bensouda to show the people his development achievements within the Municipality since he came into office.

Mr. Badjie outlined that mayors, ministers, MPs, and presidents are chosen by the people depending on the development of the country.

“If you want to continue ruling the people, you need to show and tell them what you have done that will convince them to re-elect you,” he said.

He asserted that the council, under the leadership of Talib Ahmed Bensouda, has increased taxes without bringing projects for the people.

“Yet he is saying if I am elected, he will construct 23km roads, touring the region that he has projects in progress yet for 2 to 3 months nothing has been done,” he added.

“We all know that Talib is with UDP and what he does then was going to markets and giving pampers to people and helping football clubs, when he became Mayor for five years, he is neither seen nor part of any program.

Now that election is fast approaching, he is giving sugar, rice, and bags of cement to people thinking he will get what he gets in 2018,” Bakary claimed.

The NPP-chosen contestant added that if the football fields are under the council, why is Bensouda distributing bags of cement to the football committee a few weeks from the elections?

“The Iftar he is giving to people isn’t real because he is doing it for the coming election because there were 4 passed months of Ramadan that he doesn’t give Iftar to people,” Bakary said.

“They are telling people that the revenue of the council increased three-hundred million when they came in, but they are not telling people that the money is coming from people,” he noted.

He said that if taxes, trade licenses, and duties before were D5, they are now D10, adding that rental boutiques of D500 to D1000 have jumped to D2000 and that they will be receiving D3000 soon.

Badjie added that the service the council is doing with the money should be the question because he remembers Lie Conteh’s time when he built Latrikunda Germany market, ‘Marseh Ngelew, Serrekunda market, Talinding, Bakau, and Ebo town markets, adding that Lie built Serrekunda East mini stadium, Serrekunda West mini stadium, and Manjai park.

He further went on to say that when Yankuba Colley came, he built the Abuko market, Old Jeshwang market, Talinding Sika market, the new market at Latrikunda Sabiji, and Charles Jaw senior school.

The National People’s Party (NPP) has elected Mr Kebba Dem to contest for the Chairmanship of the Mansakonko Area Council slated for 20th May. He will be hoping to unseat Landing Sanneh of the United Democratic Party, who is seeking re-election.
Dem, a native of Dongor Ba Village, Jarra East, Lower River Region, was elected at a primary held by the Party. After voting, Mr Dem got 32 votes against Kebba Darboe who got 17 votes.

Kebba Dem has promised an all-inclusive development for the people of the Lower River Region if elected. He thanked the party for the trust and voted to deliver to expectations. He calls on the people of LRR to vote for him to bring about live-changing developments.

Mr Kebba Dem attended Dongoro- Ba Primary school and Sifoe Primary School, where he was the Head Boy and Assistant Head Boy, respectively.

He enrolled in The Gambia High School in 1987 for the GCE O LEVELS and completed in 1972. He later enrolled at The Gambia Hotel School for a Front Office Technology course, Diploma level from 1992 to 1994.

He picked up a job as a receptionist at Physical Therapy Center at Kairaba Beach Hotel in 1994, where he rose through the ranks to become General Manager until 2008 when he acquired the Centre and became the Chief Executive Officer.

In 2007, the NPP Candidate enrolled at the Management Development Institute (MDI) for a Diploma in management, before pursuing a Higher Diploma in Management at the same Institute.
Kebba Dem holds a BSc in Management in 2016. He is a trained business advisor, coach and mentor. He is also the founder and CEO of Golden Hands Foundation, which has trained and coached many youths in skills development from 2014 to date.

By: Dawda Baldeh

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has levied a two hundred dalasis (D200) charge on voter replacement starting from Friday, March 31 to 7th April 2023.

The voter replacement process will take place at the IEC regional offices in Banjul, Kanifing, Brikama, Kerewan, Mansakonko, Janjangbureh, Basse, and the election house in Kanifing, the agency said.

“Replacement of voting cards will attract a fine of two hundred dalasis (D200). Cards to be replaced are those issues during the General Registration of voter cards held from 29th May 2021 to 11th July 2021.

“Replacement can only be done in person i.e., voters who wish to apply for replacement are to do so by themselves,” the press statement from the IEC emphasized.

In a few weeks, Gambians will go to the polls for the election of councillors, mayors, and chairpersons for their respective wards across the seven administrative regions in the country.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

The United Democratic Party’s (UDP) candidate for the Brikama Area Council (BAC) Chairmanship election, Yankuba Darboe, has promised to combat corruption in the council and make known his salary to the public if elected as the chairman of the council, citing that fighting against corruption should begin with him.

Quizzed whether he will be willing to fight against corruption, Darboe answered in the affirmative, noting that his salary will be known to the public.

“Number one: My salary will have to be known to the people. People should know how much I earn. Number two, I don’t want to build anything beyond my salary scale. I don’t want to have any car that is beyond my salary scale. And I don’t want to take anything that is not mine. If I take anything, I will make sure that I tell people what I want to take and how I intend to repay it. That is the way I intend to fight corruption,” he said in an interview with LSTV 1.

The UK-trained Lawyer asserted that if elected, his council will not joke with corruption and that they will prosecute whoever is accused of any financial malpractice or mismanagement. According to him, if the government or the police fail to take care of any corruption or theft allegations, his council will hire a private lawyer and prosecute whoever is being accused.

“If that happens [stealing money] on the West Coast, we will institute a private prosecution. So, the council will pay private lawyers, and then we bring our evidence and prosecute the person before a magistrate court,” he explained.

Yankuba Darboe is the candidate for the opposition United Democratic Party for the top local government seat in the West Coast Region. He should be battling for the seat with National People’s Party Seedy Ceesay and two independent candidates in Ahmad Gitteh and Ibrahim JS Sanneh.

By: Ousman Saidykhan

Residents in the Kanifing neighbourhood close to the QCell building along Kairaba Avenue have been deprived of proper sleep at night owing to the ongoing construction of underground parking just behind the Qcell headquarters by the QGroup CEO Muhammed Jah, distraught Kanifing South residents told The Fatu Network.

The residents say the “nuisance” has been going on for two weeks now and they can’t bear it anymore.

The CEO of Qgroup, Muhammed Jah said he is building underground parking, a project he said would make the street a commercial one after completion.

The residents say the continuous noise that comes from the excavators and “huge” crisscrossing trucks at night always deprive them of sleep.

“No one can stop them from working during the day but let them allow us to sleep at night. No one sleeps here these days at night, at all,” an old woman, Fatou Lowe said.

The fact that this is happening in the month of Ramadan when one “needs to rest, sleep and wake up and do your prayers” makes it awkward for residents like Mamasa Tunkara.

“I was startled when I heard the noise the first day. I thought something was happening. The be honest, if something has to be done, it has to be done quickly because we can’t sleep,” Tunkara told this medium.

The residents argue that work should not go beyond sunset because the area is residential, not a commercial area.

They told this medium they have approached workers at the site who told them they work at night because traffic is mostly congested during the day.

The owner of the project, Muhammed Jah, however, said his contractors will continue the night works because they want to finish the digging before the rainy season.

“Before starting the works, we have informed all the neighbours about it,” said the Qgroup CEO. Muhammed Jah said Gambians should start working both day and night, “like other countries,” to finish work quickly.

The residents who spoke to this medium all denied Muhammed Jah’s claim that he visited them to inform them with regard to the construction.

“This is just the beginning. Before the completion of the building, we will die if the foundations are what they are digging currently. Let them stop the night works and work only daytime,” said another resident Ngoneh Secke.

Meanwhile, the other concern of some residents is that the route Jah’s contractors use to get to the Highway is tight and causes the truck to come into contact with NAWEC’s electricity cables hanging over the “tight” road.

According to the residents, they witnessed an electricity spark one night, which they said is as a result of the trucks’ crisscrossing on the narrow road. They said they are afraid if those “big trucks” continue going through that “narrow road,” it may cause damage to them.

By: Dawda Baldeh

Embattled Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), Sainabou Martin Sonko has denied owing the council any debt, saying the staff welfare association, which accused her of applying for and securing a 12 million dalasis loan from Agib Bank Gambia Limited without the knowledge and consent of the association and therefore instituted a civil suit against her at the High Court, is acting under the directives of the mayor.

Responding to a letter from the Staff Welfare Association, the KMC CEO said, “I wish to make it clear herein that I Sainabou Martin Sonko do not owe the Kanifing Municipal Council Staff Welfare any debt as stated in your letter.”

She further said that she does not know any person named Baba Bass whose name was mentioned in the letter from the association claiming he was among the CEO and others in the alleged financial dealing.

“I further wish to state that this matter was taken to court by the Kanifing Municipal Council and that case is still ongoing at the High Court Annex. I believe that we should allow the High Court to decide on the case before bringing up another case in the same vein,” she added.

She questioned why the staff association executives waited until they are reinstated back to the council to demand debt payment.

“I believe that this so-called Executive of the Welfare Association decided to initiate such because they are being used politically against myself and co-accused. The reason being, the mayor and his council failed in their quest to wrongfully dismiss us from the services of the council based on their personal hatred and political vendetta,” she asserted.

When asked about the recent court case, she responded, “I don’t receive a summon from any court.

Reacting to the matter, Ms. Sonko noted that she is prepared for any legal battle, saying she has evidence of meetings with some executives of the staff association.

“I have my audios of the meetings and the attendance list that was signed. Even Modou Njie who is spearheading everything signed in that list,” she told The Fatu Network.

According to the CEO, some members of the staff association are not happy with the executives’ actions by consulting a lawyer’s services without their consent.

“The issue surrounding the matter is politically motivated. The general staff of the council is not happy with the fact that they went ahead to consult the service of a lawyer against us without informing them.

The staff was informed, and everybody was informed, and we have our evidence. We are only waiting for the right authorities to present the evidence to them,” she emphasized.

Ms. Sonko who strongly believes she has evidence of their meetings in the council told TFN that she is not afraid of meeting anyone in court.

“If this matter is to be followed, I can sue the bank and the mayor. The bank breached the contract that was legal and backed by legal documents which were signed by the rightful authorities. They act based on the misleading information the mayor gave them. I am only waiting for them to take the lead then I will follow. I believe the matter is far from over,” she noted.

By: Fatou Kebbeh

Residents of Bakau are requesting that the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), which has recently announced the increment of water and electricity bills, step up in their provision of water and electricity in the town instead of increasing bills for that which they say is deficiently supplied. 

This call comes just a couple of days after NAWEC announces they are increasing electricity and water bills by April 10th.

The increment is informed by the price hikes in the global market due to Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war, according to NAWEC’s MD Nani Juwara.

The residents are not in total opposition to the increment but say they can’t see the logic in increasing something that is barely available to them.

“I pay my bills every month and I don’t have enough water and electricity supply. Whether there is water or not, I have to pay and that is not done, because it is not okay to pay for what you did not use,” a Bakau resident, Famara Jatta told this medium.

According to Famara, there is only one borehole in his area and that is where everyone gets water, rendering the pressure always high.

Another resident Fatima Darboe said: “Right now, as I am speaking to you, there is no water and electricity, and this is a daily routine for the people of Bakau. When we have water in the morning, we don’t have it at night which is not okay.”

“Now that NAWEC wants to add on water and electricity bills, they should know that we are not against the increment, but they should help with the current situation faced by the people of Bakau first,” she added.

A student and resident of Bakau, Momodou Janneh, said the new tariff came at a bad time looking at the current situation of the people of Bakau.

“We don’t have water for a day or two. Women and children walk long distances to get water and it is sometimes not safe for them, especially at night,” Janneh said.

He believes NAWEC should have looked into the problems causing inadequate water and electricity supply to settle that first before coming up with a new tariff.

A restaurant at Bakau New Town, Awa’s Restaurant, which sells lunch to a good number of people daily, is one of those frustrated by the inadequate availability of water in the area.

A cook at the restaurant told The Fatu Network that they encounter delays sometimes when they must walk from their restaurant to the Independence Stadium to fetch water.

Mariama Jawara said: “A lot of offices in this area buy their lunch from this restaurant and when we have some delay due to water, that doesn’t always look good.”

“Sometimes even the toilets don’t have water and one can’t sit without going to the restroom. So NAWEC should really look into this issue,” she added.

By: Dawda Baldeh

Bakary Y Badjie, the Minister of Youths and Sports and National People’s Party’s (NPP) candidate to contest against incumbent Talib Ahmed Bensouda of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) in the forthcoming Local Government Elections has refuted claims that he is not accessible by the people, describing himself as the “most accessible minister in the country.”

Speaking at a press conference held at the former KMC mayor’s residence in Talinding, Mr. Badjie described the claims of his inaccessibility as “serious and misleading”, saying he is almost everywhere.

“I am the only minister in the country who is attending [invitations] and seen everywhere. I attend every invitation that reaches my office. I attend local ceremonies organized by young people, nawettan competitions, and musical events…,” he explained.

He added that if socializing and accessibility are the basics that defined a good leader then he is undoubtedly a great leader.

“My phone number is everywhere, and people can call me anytime. People don’t need appointments to see me at work if they can bear patience.

I may miss people’s calls which is in nature due to the engagement. But to say I ignore people is not true,” he emphasized.

The youths and sports minister further told journalists that the position doesn’t matter to him but the service he can deliver to the people.

“I heard even Musa Yali Bachilly saying I have abandoned my friends since I became a minister which is misleading. Sometimes I walk from my home to meet and interact with people in the community because not everyone will have the opportunity to meet me at their convenience time,” he noted.

By: Dawda Baldeh

A group of former councillors, chairperson, and finance director led by Yankuba Colley, the former mayor of Kanifing Municipality have announced their endorsement of Bakary Y Badjie’s candidature for the forthcoming local government elections.

The endorsement, which was held at the former mayor’s residence in Talinding, was described as an “endorsement for development.”

“We endorse Bakary Y Badjie because of his commitment to the development of the country. He has manifested beyond reasonable doubt that he is an agency of change,” Yankuba Colley told journalists.

He added that voting for Bakary Y Badjie means voting for the development of the Kanifing Municipality.

“The council under the leadership of Talib Ahmed Bensouda has failed in the development of the council. The council is far from the people of KMC,” he claimed.

He further claimed that if Bakary is voted in, the people of KMC will witness a massive development.

“The mayor should be accessible by all, and I know Bakary is very down to earth. He can eat with a mad person because he is very humble,” he added.

They also attributed the country’s recent outstanding performance in sports to the commitment of the youths and sports minister.

“Bakary is very concerned about the development of the country, and this is why he is leaving a ministerial position to come to the level of a mayor,” Yankuba Colley added.

They further expressed optimism that the National People’s Party’s (NPP) chosen candidate will overcome incumbent Talib Ahmed Bensouda of the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) in the forthcoming local government elections.

According to the group, the youths and sports minister if elected, will lead the council to the development aspirations of its people.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

The West Coast Region Chairman of the National People’s Party (NPP), Lamin Jatta, hopes that party member Ahmad Gitteh will rescind his decision to run as an independent candidate for the Brikama Area Council chairmanship election when the party discusses with him, noting that he doesn’t believe Gitteh will want to see the death of the party that he worked so hard to getting it established.

Speaking to The Fatu Network, Mr. Jatta explained that Gitteh only said he would go solo, but that is not yet done. He said Gitteh, who said he carried the pregnancy of the party and gave birth to it, will not want to see the end of the party.

“Ahmed is just saying that he will go as an independent candidate for now. Whether it will happen or not, I cannot tell. But what I believe in is what Ahmad said – that he is the person who impregnated the party and carried the pregnancy of the party until birth. I am not sure whether he will be willing to kill the child [NPP]. So, him saying he will go as an independent candidate; he is yet to go independent. I am hopeful that when we have a discussion, he will not run as an independent candidate. This is a family matter, there can be discussion and resolve the differences,” he uttered.

However, Gitteh, during his announcement of going solo without his party’s backing, said no amount of offer or position will make him rescind his bid to contest as an independent candidate. He emphasized that he wants to be the chairman of the Brikama Area Council and nothing else.

Jatta, whose executive comes under criticisms from Gitteh since the last parliamentary election, said that the National People party in the West Coast Region is more united now than in April 2022. He told The Fatu Network that they have learned their lessons and put aside their differences.

Jatta further claims that if Ahmad Gitteh decides to go as an independent candidate, members of the party will turn their backs on him and vote for Seedy. He equally said that Ahmad Gitteh cannot be a member of the party if he contested as an independent candidate.