By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

The Council of Elders of Brikama, locally referred to as Bulunda, has written a letter to the Gambia Football Federation informing them of their decision to take over the management of the Brikama Box mini-stadium from the Brikama Sports Committee.

According to the letter received this morning, the decision to take over the management of the town’s mini-stadium from the sports committee is a unified decision following their discontent and disapproval of the day-to-day management of the field by the Brikama Sports Committee.

The Council of Elders of Brikama alleged that there is a lack of transparency in the management of the field from financial to operational matters. The letter says that such practices have put the community in darkness.

“The resulted to us being completely disconnected from it for several decades”,  the letter captures.

The letter went further to state that the Brikama Community is not benefiting any financial gains from the proceeds which are acquired from the usage of the field.

The construction and allocation of commercial canteens around the premises of the field are said to have been done without the approval of the council of elders according to their letter sent to the Gambia Football Federation and seen by The Fatu Network. This also added fuel to the need for Bulunda to take over the management of the field.

The Council of Elders otherwise called Bulunda stated in the letter that, they have set up an independent management team to fully take over the operation and management of the Brikama Sports Committee.

The letter, which The Fatu Network lays its hand on also captures that the new management will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Gambia Football Federation including the sharing of revenue that the field will generate. They will also sign an MOU with the former managers of the field, Brikama Sports Committee, on the specific usage and the subvention that the Council will allocate to Sports Committee.

The Brikama Mini-stadium locally called Box-ba has always been under the care of the sports committee.

Over the weekend, this medium published a massive development taking place at the Brikama mini-stadium following the rolling, laying and installation of exotic artificial turf by the Gambia Football Federation.

The Brikama Sports Committee is yet to respond to the development.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

A Movement within the National People’s Party dubbed ‘Operations Cleanse NPP’ has launched a movement calling for the resignation of party regional executives after the party’s dismal performance in the Kombos in the recent National Assembly elections.

Led by Fanding Baldeh as the chairman, the group conveyed their dismay over the outcome of the recent parliamentary election. Fanding, who read the statement on behalf of the movement, said the dismal performance was a result of the incompetence of the regional executives of the party, thus calling for the resignation of all regional executives in Banjul, Kanifing Municipal Council and West Coast Region.

“We can’t sit with our hands crossed. The difference between the presidential election and NA elections is huge. Members of NPP and not happy.  We are here to express our disappointment and called for the President to dismantle the regional executive. The selection of the leadership was not proper and this brought disunity to the leadership.  The selection of incompetent people led to the dismal performance of NPP in the National Assembly elections.”

He called for the restructuring of the party.

According to Fanding Baldeh, the movement is created after consultation with party members across the length and breadth of the country. He explained that the movement is not formed to witch-hunt anybody but to strive for the interest of the party.

He ordered the party Secretary-General and the president of the Republic of The Gambia, Adama Barrow to organise a huge rally immediately after Ramadan to speak to the militants and reassure them of a better future.

Ousman Di Mansa Kujabi, who is serving as a media assistant to the movement branded the regional executive as a bunch of incompetent individuals who are there to enrich themselves. Mister Kujabi said that selection of candidates in many areas was done unfairly.

He accused the regional and ward executives of the party of their dismal performance in the Banjul, KMC and West Coast Region in the April 9th parliamentary election.

“Lots of things didn’t go right. This has never happened in the country for an incumbent party to win only one seat from Banjul to Kalagi. Some of the candidates lost their seats because most of the party’s regional executives are not living up to expectations.

Di Mansa Kujabi asserted that the President should close the party Bureaus until after the party’s congress because they are not working in the interest of the NPP. He noted they will lose the chairmanship position in the local government elections if things didn’t change.

The movement repeatedly said that they are still pro NPP but launched the movement to prevent the party from extinction.

It could be recalled that the National People’s Party won only one seat in Region one and two combined. This happened for the first time in the history of the country for a ruling party to win only a seat in the Kombos.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

In their quest to reshape and revive their season, the champions of the Gambia Football Federation Division One League, Fortune FC have signed two mega former players to bolster their team.

The petroleum boys announced the coming back of the current league’s player of the season, Lamin ‘Lefoe’ Saidykhan and the club’s top scorer last season, Ebrima ‘Bura’ Camara.

Both players played a huge role and soldered the team to its first domestic league title last season with stunning performances and scoring important goals for the side.

Lamin Saidykhan was voted as the league’s player of the season last season after his phenomenal display in the hearts of the Fortune Midfield. The former Gambia National U20 midfielder caught the attention of Scouts outside.  He had a brief stint in Europe on trial before the petroleum boys will demand his services to salvage them in the league.

Another crucial addition to the league champion is Ebrima Camara alias Bura.  The dazzling, agile and workaholic attacker led the team’s attack last season. He won the team’s leading scorer and was shortlisted for the League’s player of the season end of last season. Like Lefoe,  Bura went to Oman to play professional football after the campaign last season.

He is back with the team for the second round and he’s expected to lead the team tonight against Gamtel FC.

Speaking to The Fatu Network on his coming, Lamin Saidykhan expresses delight in coming to reunite with the team.

He pointed out that despite the not-encouraging first-round performance the team has in the league, he is positive that the team will revive its fortune in the league and fight for the league title again.

“Last year we break a lot of records in the league, so a team like Fortune with the coach and the players I saw in the squad, we can run for the title challenge”, the midfielder told TFN.

Fortune Football Club currently dangles at 11th position in the league.

They will face Gamtel FC tonight to begin the second round of the league.

The office of the Clerk of Parliament of Gambia’s lawmaking body has confirmed the completion of the majority and minority leadership selection process of the newly inaugurated National Assembly of the Republic of The Gambia.

The National Peoples Party (NPP) has the majority with 18 seats, while the United Democratic Party (UDP) has the minority with 15 seats. The remaining seats are occupied by other parties and independent members of parliament. Gambia Parliament has 53 elected seats and 5 nominated seats. Five members are nominated by the President.

Majority Leadership

The Clerk’s office has confirmed that the ruling National Peoples Party (NPP) has constituted Majority leadership in the following National Assembly Members:
1. Hon. Billay G. Tunkara, Member for Kantora as the Majority Leader,
2. Hon. Abdoulie Ceesay, Member for Old Yundum as the Deputy Majority Leader, and
3. Hon. Omar Darboe, Member for Upper Niumi as the Chief Whip.
The Majority Leader is the leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the National Assembly.

Minority Leadership:

United Democratic Party (UDP) has selected the following National Assembly members to constitute its minority leadership:
1. Hon. Alhagie S. Darboe, Member for Brikama North as the Minority Leader,
2. Hon. Madi M.K. Ceesay, Member for Serekunda West as the Deputy Minority Leader, and
3. Hon. Sulayman Saho, Member for Central Badibou as the Chief Whip.

According to the Office of the Clerk, the official results received from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) indicates that NPP has the highest number of seats.

The inauguration of the Sixth Legislature on Thursday featured the swearing-in of Members of Parliament who were elected on the 9th of April 2022.

Hon. Fabakary Tombong Jatta was elected as Speaker and Honourable Seedy SK Njie as Deputy Speaker. The two are among the five members nominated by the President of the Republic.

Sitting of the Second Ordinary Session of the 2022 Legislative Year has been adjourned until Monday, the 25th of April 2022.

Personnel of Gambia’s Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DLEAG) stationed at Mandinaba have arrested a 19-year-old girl with three big bundles of suspected cannabis wrapped with cement papers.

According to the agency, the 19-year-old female student was traveling to Brikama from Foni alongside her younger sister.

The suspect is said to be a resident of Sibanor and was onboard a commercial vehicle with the number (Gele-Gele WCR 7976 A) which was heading to Brikama, but was arrested at Mandinaba checkpoint with three (3) big bundles of suspected cannabis sativa.

The said suspected cannabis sativa were each wrapped with cement papers, sellotaped and concealed in a pink colour bag.

The teenager was taken into custody and charged with possession of suspected prohibited drug for the purpose of drug trafficking contrary to section 43(4) (e) of the DCA 2003; while the younger sister accompanying her was handed over to the agency’s Gender, Children and Human Rights Unit for further processing and location of their parents or guardians.

Preliminary findings have revealed that the said suspected prohibited drug was given to her by someone said to be residing in Majejam, the southern Senegalese region of Cassamance. The said person is reported to have ever since switched off his cellphone contacts and is currently at large.

“We take this opportunity to call on parents to ensure that they properly monitor and advise their siblings while they travel. They must ensure that they search and properly scrutinise any luggage or baggage given to them for conveyance. In the same vein, everyone should all partake in educating and sensitising children and youth. children should be made to understand that they can be held criminally liable if they are twelve years of age and above pursuant to section 209 of the Children’s Act 2005,” the agency advised.

DLEAG disclosed that criminals engaging in such activities deceive children and youth folks by telling them that they are children and can therefore not be arrested or prosecuted.

“As a country and people, we must work together and annihilate these criminals and their illicit activities. They are a selfish bunch devoid of moral conscience about the outcome of their illegal activities, conduct and behaviour on people and society”

“What kind of a human being gives a contraband to a young student knowing fully well that there is greater likelihood of her being arrested. Now that she has been busted, he’s gone underground. This should serve as a lesson and learning point for us all.”

The agency called on youths and children to value their future and stay away from drugs, drug related activities and all forms of criminality and criminal related behaviour and conduct.

“They should not be carried away or allow themselves to be tempted by traffickers and dealers. They stand to lose more than the short-term financial gains promise to them. With patience, resilience, dedication and commitment to their studies coupled with a high sense of discipline, they will Allah willing succeed in life,” DLEAG reiterated.

Minister of Lands Musa Drammeh must either be thinking that the Gambia is a 17th century tiny fiefdom, or he is such a myopic person or both that he thinks corruption, patronage and abuse of office are normal. It is high time that Musa Drammeh is contained and removed from public office and prosecuted lest he plunges this country into deep red fire!

Musa Drammeh must be told that public office is not Drammeh Kunda or Barrow Kunda or Jobarteh Kunda for the purpose of self-aggrandizement. Rather he must know and accept that each and every public office is established by the Constitution for the sole purpose of serving nothing other than the public good. Those who hold public office do not hold it for themselves. Rather elected and appointed public officials are considered by the Constitution as public trustees or servants of the people. Public officials are neither kings nor queens nor are they special beyond and above the people. Period.

Hence the recent allocation of public lands to the Vice President and a bunch of ministers and private individuals is utterly out of place in any civilized, modern democratic republic. The ridiculous rationalization given by Musa Drammeh is utterly unjustified and illegal. It is even more nonsensical to claim that such practice was happening since the time of Jawara and therefore justified to continue with this practice today. There is no legal basis for such malpractice!

In the first place, there is no provision in the Constitution or any land law that empowers the President or the National Assembly, much less a Minister to donate public lands to any public official or private citizen. Unfortunately, in this country, public officials at the highest level have always arrogated to themselves certain services, goods, and benefits just because they claim to hold public office. Such practice is based on no law, rather it is a practice they have created for and by themselves which is based on nothing other than to illegally enrich themselves by turning public office into a self-serving tool.

The claim that the Minster made that the allocated lands were mere replacements for lands taken from these individuals is an insult and willful attempt to hoodwink citizens in justifying theft. It was this Government that set up the Janneh Commission which had documented all the landed properties that Jammeh had illegally taken. If there is any citizen whose land was taken by Jammeh, the normal thing is for the Government to return that land to its rightful owner. Land does not disappear like a burning candle or a matchstick in a haystack. Therefore, if any minister had lost his or her lands to Yaya Jammeh, what Musa Drammeh got to do is to go back to the Janneh Commission Report to identify that land and give it back to the rightful owner.

In fact, if the Minister’s claim is true, which I doubt that these Ministers lands were taken by Jammeh, then what about the lands of many more Gambians whose lands were also taken away. The fact is Dr. Isatou Touray, Ebrima Sillah, Bakary Badgie, Dawda Jallow, Amadou Lamin Samateh, Fatou Kinteh, Amie Fabureh, Claudiana Cole, Saffiatou Samba Tangara, Alkali Conteh and Sheriff Tambadou were not ministers during the tenure of Yaya Jammeh. That means they were ordinary citizens like all of us. Therefore, why give them public lands as replacement or simply because they requested for it when there are thousands of Gambians without even a single land and while others’ lands were also taken by Jammeh?

I call on all these individuals to return these lands right now otherwise they are nothing but stinking and shameless thieves who are exploiting public office for personal gain. All of these individuals already have their own well-built homes. But even if they don’t have a home, they are well paid from where they should go to buy their own lands elsewhere. As public officials, they are paid a salary and they should live within their salary or any legally and legitimately earned income. Land is not a salary and certainly it cannot be an incentive.

For that matter, I hereby call on Gambians to protest this blatant act of corruption and abuse of office. Stand up and speak up now and do not let unscrupulous individuals without conscience abuse our lives and future for their selfish interest. I call on political parties and CSOs to stage a massive and unending protest until these lands are taken back from these people. I call on citizens and CSOs to go to the courts to challenge this shameless daylight armed robbery led by Musa Drammeh in the middle of Ramadan! Shame!

Above all, I call on the National Assembly to pass a motion of censure as per section 75 of the Constitution to dismiss Musa Drammeh and order the IGP to arrest and prosecute him for abuse of office, fraud, corruption, and economic crimes. Since 2017, Musa Drammeh has become the single most corrupt, abusive, and uncontrollable minister in the Gambia. His blatant disregard of the law and the national interest and direct interference with local councils and mismanagement of public lands is scandalous, unacceptable, and criminal.

The culture of corruption and patronage that Musa Drammeh is perpetrating in this country is a threat to national security. He has shown total disregard for public interest and the future of this country. This man thinks the Government is a personal and family farm to enrich himself and his political allies. Politicians like Musa Drammeh are able to damage the public good only because citizens allow him to do so. Until Gambians are willing and ready to make politicians face severe risks and consequences for their decisions, we shall continue to be bastardised and plundered by these corruption and incompetent minsters like Musa Drammeh and his ilk until eternity.

Musa Drammeh should be sacked and prosecuted. Now!

For The Gambia Our Homeland

……………………………………………..
Madi Jobarteh
Skype: madi.jobarteh
Twitter: @jobartehmadi
LinkedIn: Madi Jobarteh
Phone: +220 9995093

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

The University of The Gambia (UTG) Students’ Union has in a statement issued on Tuesday 19th April confirmed some progress being made by the college administration, following persistent complaints of students over inadequate classrooms for lectures at the Brikama campus.

The Fatu Network had prior reported the expressed dissatisfaction of students over poor accommodation on campus.

The persistent complaints of students caused students’ leaders to engage management in resolving the problem.

According to the dispatch from the office of the students’ Union Secretary-General, the insufficiency of classrooms was a result of an ongoing examination at the Gambia College which had offered some of its classrooms to UTG for lecturing purpose.

“Last week, the Gambia College that had offered the University lecture rooms began their examinations. As a result, given the obvious heavy logistics involved in exams, a lot of the UTG assigned classes are used for the college examinations. While we were caught off guard that College had begun examinations, we swiftly engaged Management for a solution.”

The Union responsible for steering the affairs of the students argued that the management has been very helpful.

The students body confirmed that a breakthrough has been met and effective lectures will start soon.

Students leaders of Brikama campus, Director of Students Affairs, and Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic have been on the ground trying to decipher the issues.  At end of the day, the Union reported that further classrooms have now been identified in the Gambia College to be used by University students but lacked chairs.

“Six assigned classes— two blocks at the right-hand side upon entry into Bajonkoto— are without chairs. Fortunately, UTG had already procured a total of 360 chairs and today with the help of the students and student leaders in Brikama, chairs are being transported to these classrooms. This is expected to be completed tomorrow,” the release confirms.

The release however points out that the plight of the student on the availability of classrooms were not pleasing, while acknowledging the claim of students emphasizing that the situation is unfair to the students.

“We have received a lot of concerns from students over what they described as unfair treatment. We equally share this view and thus would remain steadfast and resolute to closely working with Management and sub-associations to change the dynamics”.

The union has called for calm, noting that the issue can only be solved through collective efforts.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

As Gambia’s senior male football team [the scorpions] set to make a back-to-back appearance in the Total Energies African Cup of Nations, some Gambians have reacted to the AFCON qualifiers draw which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday evening.  The Total Energy AFCON 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast will begin in June.

The Gambia is being grouped alongside Mali, Congo and South Sudan.

The Scorpions of The Gambia announced their appearance in the continental football showpiece in Cameroon this year and went on to play the quarter-final, a performance that stunned the football world.

Reacting to the draw,  Sainey Kanyi, a Gambian based in Senegal said the draw is a fair one to Gambians. He remarked that the recent exploit of the Scorpions makes the team above others in the group. The Dakar-based budding Gambian Football administrator, however, explained that the Gambia should not be complacent.

“These are familiar opponents although we must not be complacent if we want to book a spot for the next edition in Ivory Coast, 2023. The work to Ivory Coast should start now, he told TFN.

The scorpions played against these opponents in the last 18 months and managed to be above average. The last time the country played against Mali was in the group stage of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon earlier this year with a nail-biting one-all draw.

Momodou Bah, a BBC sports correspondent in The Gambia sounded hopeful after the draw.  The Real De Banjul Secretary-General said he doesn’t expect the Scorpions to finish the qualifies below two top.

“It’s a decent draw for the Scorpions and one that I expect them to finish in the top two.”. He said that Gambia’s past games with these countries will help them.

Unfortunately for the Scorpions, they will not be playing the qualifies in front of rhe home fans at the independence stadium. The country’s biggest football field is deemed unfit to host CAF games. This means that The Gambia will play its home game in Morocco.

Responding to the draw, Yaya Manneh, a senior football coach in the country and the current head coach of Elite United said the group is the most challenging group for the Gambia. He argued that the Scorpions are good at playing bigger nations and struggled against the less fancy sides.

“The Gambia as a nation is mostly good at playing against big nations whilst we continue to struggle in getting the desired results against countries which are at our level or below.”

According to Coach Manneh, the only good thing he sees in this draw is that the players escape from the pressure from the fans when playing at home.

“The only good thing, in my opinion, is that we are playing our home matches away in Morocco. Many Gambian national teams don’t feel comfortable playing at home at the stadium which I believe is due to constant pressure from the fans,” he to TFN.

Alhagie Malick Jobe, a Gambian football zealot expressed a similar thing. He equally noted that this will be more difficult than the qualifies for Cameron. He said Mali will be a tougher opponent but feared that Congo will come for revenge after our previous encounter.

“Congo on the other hand would want to revenge cause we’ve eliminated them in the last qualifier. I believe they’re going to prepare themselves more”. For South Sudan, the young man said that will be a walk-over.

For Amadou Jaiteh, it might be difficult for the boys without the home fans but believe that they will make a back-to-back appearance in the competition.

Coach Tom Sainfait boys delivered a striking performance in Cameroon becoming the first-ever coach to manage the Gambia Senior National Team in the African Cup of Nations.

Citizens’ Alliance (CA) party has in a press release refuted claim that the party was gifted two pick-up vehicles by President Adama Barrow, following a visit of its party leader, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, at State House.

“The allegation is that President Barrow has given three pick-up trucks to the CA leader for the party’s activity. This is totally false. The party wishes to make it categorical clear that CA did not receive any vehicle from the President for any reason or purpose prior to or after the December 2021 elections,” the release explains.

According to the party’s statement, it was the President who requested to see Dr. Ceesay, adding that its leader honoured the invitation to know why the President had invited him.

“It is true that the decision to meet Barrow was never discussed at any prior executive meeting. However, when the President requested to see Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, the later consulted the partty’s national President, Mr. Dominic Mendy, for his advice. Mr. Mendy advised him that the President can request to see any citizen if he so wises and that Dr. Ceesay would have no option but to go and listen to what the President has to say. Premised on this, Dr, Ceesay met with the President,” narrates the press release.

The party reassures its members and the general public that the it is guided by principles and that its leadership is resolved to safeguarding those principles at all cost.

“While celebrating the internal democracy we are known for, we continue to tolerate dissenting voices. Notwithstanding, we wish to remind all our members that CA, like any other organization, has codes of conduct for its members and our actions and inactions are to be confined within those dictates,” it emphasizes.

By Dawda Baldeh

Sana Dahaba, Executive Director of Gambia’s National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has confirmed with The Fatu Network that over Thirteen Thousand One Hundred and Eighty-Four (13,184) peoples have been internally displaced since Senegalese Forces launched attacks on the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) who are fighting for independence of the southern Senegalese region.

The Senegalese Forces launched their first attack on the 24^th January where seven Senegalese soldiers were arrested, but were later released after diplomatic engagement.

On 13 March 2022, the Senegalese forces again launched an attack on the MFDC resulting to the displacement of thousands as explosive shells were reportedly landing in boarder villages.

Mr. Dahaba said the conflict in the region has resulted to serious public fear and displacement.  According to the NDMA data, one thousand six hundred and forty-eight (1,648) households have been affected.

“As of now, Thirteen Thousand One Hundred and Eighty-Four (13,184) peoples have been affected,” Sana Dahaba told The Fatu Network. He also noted that the NDMA did not have any separate camp for the internally displaced persons which he said remains a key challenge to them.

He thanked the government together with their partners for the timely intervention in supporting the affected families.

He however said not all the affected families have been supported, noting that a large number have been provided with food items, clothes among others. He also stated that data collection is a process, revealing that some people increase their household numbers since they know the NDMA and partners are going to provide supports.

“Detailed assessment has been conducted and the data collected will be presented to the Office of the Vice President. The data will indicate the type of supports families needed,” he said.

Mr. Dahaba confirmed that they will support both the internally displaced persons and their host families.

He emphasized that supporting the affected families is crucial as they are also taxpayers. “I thank the Brikama Area Council for providing the affected families with six hundred and fifty (650) twenty-five kilograms (25kg) bags of rice.”

The NDMA boss further disclosed that the data was collected in a state of fear amid the explosion of shells landing in border villages,” he concluded.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

Students in the University of the Gambia, Brikama Campus have expressed their dissatisfaction with the University of the Gambia Management over the lack of classes for lectures.

Scores of students paraded the campus expressing their dismay on Tuesday as a result of the unavailability of classrooms to hold their lectures. Some classes have been cancelled and others held outside.

“We are not happy with the current situation and we are the least pleased with the management. We don’t have any classroom for lectures and as a result of that, the class is being called off. This is sad and unbearable,” Dodou Janneh, a Political Science Student and a student leader in the School of Arts and Sciences told The Fatu Network.

According to Dodou, he reached out to the office of the Head of the School of Arts and Sciences to share the plight of the students with him but the Head of Department (HOD) blamed the Gambia College for acting contrary to the agreement.

The Fatu Network understands that the Management of the University of The Gambia (UTG) had an agreement with the Management of the Gambia College for UTG students to have their lectures in their classrooms.

We can confirm that for the past two weeks classes are either moved or called off due to the unavailability of classrooms.

Fatima Jarju, the Deputy Gender and Health Minister of the Social Sciences and Humanities Students’ Association said that the situation is unfair to the students.

“We are not having classes right now because there are no available classrooms since last week. It is very unfair for us to pay our fees, pay our fares, come to school and don’t attend any class for the whole day. We deserve better and this suffering cannot continue after 23 years since UTG was established. We are ready to take the matter into our hands,” Jarju said looking rather disappointed.

Nyaninka Manjang and Abdoulie Saidykhan, are both affected students whose classes have been held outdoors. The duo pointed out that diplomacy has failed and that students in the University should go radical.

“Diplomacy has failed. For them to put an end to this persistent problem, we will stop lectures and go radical,” Saidykhan said.

The president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Students’ Association (SoSHSA), Ismaila Jobarteh also expressed his disappointment with the current situation. He called for calm and assured the students of his Association’s willingness to sort the issue out, promising that his Council will further engage the management to see how best to solve the problems.

“If diplomacy doesn’t work, we will do what the rest of the students want us to do,” President Jobarteh said.

Ismaila Jobarteh is leading a sub student association at the University of The Gambia based on the Brikama Campus.

By: Christian Conteh

Star Media Group has in a press statement strongly condemned the United Democratic Party (UDP) leadership’s verbal attack on journalist Pa Nderry Touray in a public place. The institution says this attack is especially disturbing in the newfound democracy of The Gambia.

“Every attack discourages journalists from pursuing serious topics, which is a destructive result for the democratic development of the country and the establishment of the rule of law.

Everyone in this country must pay attention to the protection of journalists and ensure that any kind of violence against them is condemned because it is obvious that journalists have already become an easy target for all types of bullies, from party followers and politicians to individual ones,” the statement reads.

It further notes that politicians who verbally attack journalists must be held accountable, and media organisations should do more to show solidarity with colleagues at rival outlets.

This incident the institution states shows that there is generally an urgent need for greater awareness and a stronger public defence of journalism’s value for society. 

“Any politician who attacks journalists verbally or physically is a threat to press freedom. The UDP leadership has the right to approach The Gambia Press Union or The Media Council of The Gambia to lodge a complaint about the conduct of a journalist that they think wronged them but not attack them publicly,” the statement from Star Media Group emphasises.

The institutions ‘Wake UP Gambia’ program it says has been one of the most unbiased morning programs this country has ever witnessed and a platform where all political parties and politicians have equal representation and coverage and UDP politicians have participated in that program more than any other party due to the unlimited access they have in that program as a result of the host. 

It went on to note that this is not the first time their journalists have come under such attacks from the UDP as a party. Even when they have written to the party leadership they say they have not received a response.

“To call a journalist tribalist is the least we expect to come from an elderly statesman and a politician who is a symbol of our country’s struggle. While we recognize the right of any individual to demand to uphold ethical standards in journalism, we expect that the same shall be demanded of the politicians,” the statement concluded.

Dozens of young Ethiopian men continue to gather at the Russian embassy in the capital, Addis Ababa, on Tuesday following rumours of soldiers being recruited to fight in the war in Ukraine.

But the embassy’s spokeswoman, Maria Chernukhina, said no recruitment was being carried out in Ethiopia.

She said the crowd was showing solidarity with Russia.

“We have a lot of visitors to the embassy in order to express support for Russia,” she told the BBC.

“Some of them are telling us they are willing to help in any way they can. But we are not a recruitment agency,” Ms Chernukhina added.

Many of the Ethiopians at the embassy were seen carrying their personal documents.

A young man waiting at the entrance told the BBC that he’s looking for a good salary as a soldier or to be hired in any other job available.

“I also like Russia,” he said.

Others said they had heard rumours of high wages in Russia.

Ethiopia was among countries that missed a UN session to vote on a resolution on the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Some 17 African countries including South Africa abstained from the vote.

BBC

Washington, D.C. 19 April, 2022: In furtherance of the Government of The Gambia’s continued commitment to establishing excellent working relations with its bilateral and multilateral partners, the Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the United Nations in New York is happy to report that it recently got The Gambia elected in two very relevant and important bodies of the United Nations – the UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD) for the term 2023 – 2027 and the Executive Board of UN Women for the term 2022 – 2024 to represent the Africa Group as well as advance The Gambia’s interests.

The Gambia got successfully elected as a member of the Commission on Population and Development on Wednesday 13 April 2022. This Commission is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations, initially established as a “Population Commission” on 3rd October 1946 and later changed to the “Commission on Population and Development” by the decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations on 19th December 1994. This body of ECOSOC is responsible for conducting demographic research, supporting intergovernmental processes in population and development, and assisting countries in developing their capacity to produce and analyse population data and information. The Commission consists of 47 Members elected by the members of ECOSOC for a period of four years. For this year, the Commission’s statutory annual meeting is scheduled to hold in New York from 25-29 April 2022.

In addition, The Gambia, as one of the 10 elected African member states of the UN-Women Executive Board, began its three-year term (2022 -2024) in January 2022, through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations. The United Nations General Assembly established the UN-Women for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, a composite entity of the UN system known as UN-Women, since 1st January 2011. The General Assembly subsequently established the UN-Women Executive Board as the oversight Governing Body of the entity to provide intergovernmental support and supervision of its operational activities. The composition of this Executive Board is made up of representatives from 41 Member States elected to serve for a period of three years.

The Gambia is grateful for the support and trust bestowed upon it by the larger UN membership and would continue to serve and work with others in promoting, defending and championing development issues, governance, peace and security, rule of law, human rights, empowerment and protection of the rights of women and youth, especially, as it relates to the mandates of the two bodies.

Permanent Mission of The Gambia to the United Nations, New York

Thursday 14th April 2022

Saikou Ceesay

Information and Cultural Affairs Officer
Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia

Washington, D.C. the United States of America

The sad and annoying fact is that while the country now has a new President and new National Assembly Members, the Gambia is in bad shape! With the failed promise for system change in 2017, five years down the line the Gambia instead turned into a cesspool of public sector corruption, wastage, and inefficiency. Evidently, citizens have come under the mercy of a bunch of notorious public servants and poor performing public institutions that are consuming more public wealth than producing and providing public services.

Consequently, the past five years was a combination of failures and missed opportunities coupled with blatant abuse of office and negligence of duties perpetrated by none other than both the Legislature and the Executive. The Executive led by President Adama Barrow woefully failed to seize the incredible opportunities presented to his administration to lead the country into effective and comprehensive system change. At the same time, the Legislature also failed woefully to not only to hold the Executive accountable, but also refused to take leadership in bringing about the necessary reforms. At the end of their first term, both have left the country in terrible dire straits. Sadly, and annoyingly.

Therefore, as we welcome the new NAMs, it is important to remind them of their solemn duty to uphold the Constitution and defend the Republic by serving the citizenry with utmost honesty and commitment. Section 112(b) of the Constitution provides that NAMs should regard themselves only as servants of the people, to desist from corruption or alienating themselves from the people, but to be guided by their conscience and the national interest in performing their duties. Thus, I asked the new NAMs to learn from the mistakes of their predecessors in order to enable them to salvage and not betray the Gambia.

The failure of the previous NAMs lies in the fact that none of the parties and independent candidates came with a clear national agenda to the parliament. They merely went to occupy their seats and react to the bills and issues as brought to them from the Executive. But they failed to take the leadership and responsibility at the right time to initiate their own agenda of system change. They talked the good talk but failed to walk the talk together.

Furthermore, the Fifth Legislature failed to bring about good governance because of their failure to play their oversight function effectively. While they were faced with uncountable incidences of abuse of office and corruption by the President and members of his Executive, the outgoing parliament failed to hold them accountable with the tools and powers vested in them by the Constitution and the Standing Orders. Even when it was obvious that public institutions were failing to deliver quality, efficient public services, the previous NAMs could not take the necessary steps to address such poor performance and waste of public resources.

Part of this failure is caused by the fact that the outgoing NAMs failed to work as a collective with a common vision and agenda for the Gambia. Rather they were hugely preoccupied with and divided by partisan and personality fights and interests at the detriment of the country. As they left office, they have therefore failed to lay the foundation of good governance and sustainable development for the country, today and tomorrow.

Thus, it is pertinent that the incoming NAMs are reminded of the weaknesses and failures of their outgoing colleagues so that they do not also register yet another fantastic failure. To the incoming NAMs, it is therefore necessary to remind them that the National Assembly is indeed the primary policy, governance, and development institution within this Republic upon which all other institutions take cue. Hence the strength and health of the good governance and development of this Republic rests squarely at the extent to which NAMs perform their duties.

Above all, it is utterly important to put it to the new NAMs that it is damn immoral, dishonest, and criminal to occupy a seat in the National Assembly to use it only to promote the agenda of a president or party or self against the national interest. We have seen so much of such dishonesty and immortality in many of the outgoing NAMs and I, for one, will never forgive them for such gross disservice to the Republic.

NAMs must realize that the life and future of each and every Gambian lies squarely in their hands. Hence the decisions they make are what determines which Gambian lives or dies from preventable diseases or which Gambian child will enjoy quality education or not, or which Gambian youth or woman will enjoy opportunities or not or which Gambia living with a disability will have dignity or not.

I wish to put it to the incoming NAMs that a lot of damage was committed over the past five years by the Executive to which the outgoing NAMs turned a blind eye and deaf ear, sadly. This is why not only is corruption rife while poor social services and high cost of living are harming Gambians but also their indifference has caused huge economic mismanagement and indebtedness of the country. The recent cost control measures announced by the Government is a manifestation of the economic malaise confronting the country thanks to poor management. It has nothing to do with Ukraine or COVID! Furthermore, the lack of leadership by the outgoing NAMs is at the centre of the failed transitional justice process which is now seeking to threaten national security and peace.

I have written to Pres. Barrow on the day he assumed his second term to provide unsolicited advice to him to take urgent steps to reverse and repair the damages he caused in his first term. He has failed to even acknowledge my letter much more respond to the issues and concerns raised. I wish to now provide this unsolicited advice to the new NAMs as well that they have a duty to hold the President and Government accountable. After 22 years of tyranny that saw the blatant abuse of human rights and dignity of Gambians, the new NAMs must dedicate huge amount of their time and energy to ensure that the transitional justice process is rescued and put on the right path.

This requires that the new NAMs ensure that the Draft Constitution 2020 is brough back so that the country would have a new constitution before the end of 2022. Also, it is to ensure that the reports of the Janneh Commission, the Faraba Commission, the Audit of Seven SOEs as well as the TRRC are fully implemented. This also means to ensure that legal and institutional reforms in the public service and security agencies are conducted with utmost seriousness.

At the end of the day, history shall record as always. Today and posterity shall pass judgement on each and every NAM for the role one played in either the salvation or destruction of the Gambia. Where one stands in that history and judgment will be one’s own making. One thing is for sure, and that is, Gambians of today and tomorrow will come to celebrate only those NAMs who genuinely served the country and spit on those who turned out to be villains and traitors. History is recording.

For The Gambia, Our Homeland

……………………………………………..
Madi Jobarteh
Skype: madi.jobarteh
Twitter: @jobartehmadi
LinkedIn: Madi Jobarteh
Phone: +220 9995093

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh 

Independent assembly member for Janjanbureh Constituency, Hon. Omar Jammeh has said he has never been a member of the National Peoples Party (NPP), claiming that the party rejected him the chance to contest under their ticket.

Hon. Jammer told The Fatu Network that he attempted to contest under the NPP ticket but was never a member of the party.

“I am not a member of the party neither did I participate in their political activities,” he told TFN.

Jatto, as he fondly called said the National People’s Party turned him down, claiming that it was because he was said to have never participated in their activities.

“I attempted to contest but I was referred to as someone who doesn’t participate in political activities”

The 39-year-old said he celebrated his rejection because he realised he had the chance to contest as an independent candidate.

The former regional youth chairman of the National Youth Council asserted that among the reasons he decided to contest is that young people are not represented well.  He pointed out that for the problems of the young people to be solved, their agendas must be heard and that will be his utmost priority for his constituency.

” The issue of under employment is on the rise and many a times empowering the youth has turned out to be mere lip service and little investment considering the annual national budget allocation for the youth sector. This and many others are what I will fight for the young people,”  he said.

When asked if he will be tempted to join any political party since he contested as an independent candidate, Jatto replied:

” I am open to all political parties, but I can’t shift my allegiance”.

He said he will remain an independent candidate for the next five years.

National People’s Party’s Deputy Spokesperson, now the Deputy Speaker at National Assembly, was reported to have said that his party will try to lure independent candidates that contested and won because they couldn’t be given the chance to contest under the party’s ticket.

By: Dawda Baldeh

The National Assembly Member for Foni Kansala Honorable Almame Gibba has told The Fatu Network that they (APRC Breakaway team) want Ex-president Yahya Jammeh who is currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea to come back home, share his own story and face justice if the government want him to.

According to Honorable Gibba, they will follow the due process by seeking support from their colleagues in the Assembly to ensure that Jammeh is back.

“Getting Jammeh back is part of the consultation,” he said.

“We want Jammeh to come back and if the government wants him to face justice let him face it. As a citizen, he has the right to share his side of the story on all the allegations that are labelled against him.”

He said Jammeh is a leader who made the country what it is today. Adding that he cannot be deprived of his right to return.

He further noted that since former President Jammeh left the country in 2017, the country’s education sector has been privatised citing the Gambia College and the School of Nursing as examples.

“Now scholarship is a problem for those going to the University. During Jammeh’s time people were enjoying free education,” he recalled.

When asked about him joining the NPP like the other APRC members, Hon. Gibba said,
“I am a giant guy and I have been fighting for the people of Foni when I was not vying for the position of National Assembly,” he said, adding that the APRC alliance team that joined the NPP are there for personal gains. He noted that the agreement to form the alliance was to ensure Jammeh’s return but pointed out that the team led by Fabakary didn’t honour the agreement.

He when on to say the ‘no to alliance team’ is getting stronger as they secured five seats in Foni while the alliance team only secured two seats in the April 9 Parliamentary Election.
Hon. Gibba said he has no problem with the appointment of Fabakary Tombong Jatta as the Speaker of the 6th Legislature but noted that it was a bonus given to him.

He said people should know that the Assembly is for the Gambian people and not for any party. He urged the NAMs not to allow division in the parliament. He concluded by saying that people are not secure in the country and children are dropping out of school every day.

By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh

Brikama United Football Club has announced the signing of two young attackers, Ebrima Badjie from North Macedonia and Babucarr Kebbeh from the Ghanaian premier league side, Accra Lions.

The ‘satayba’ giants look set to enrich their side in the second round of the league as they begin their quest to win the team’s third league title.

Ebrima Badjie, who had an unsuccessful professional stint with the North Macedonian side  Robotnicki, was part of Modou Lamin Nyassi’s array of stars in the previous seasons before his ephemeral career in North Macedonia.  The attacking midfielder was widely regarded as one of the finest young stars in the country.  Sometime last year, Badjie left the country for Macedonia to begin a professional career but failed to stay long in the team. He has since returned to the country to join his former team.

Another mega addition to the team is Bubacarr Kebbeh who is disclosed to have arrived as a free agent from Accra Lions in Ghana.  The 21-year-old young star left the shores of The Gambia from Real De Banjul to join The Ghanaian premier league side in 2019.

Anderson, as he is fondly called, has a deadly foot and incredible free-kick techniques. He was described as one of the country’s hottest prospects for the future in 2019 when he signed for Accra Lions.

The accumulation of these two attacking players is a confirmation of Brikama United’s zeal to earn its third league trophy.

Modou Lamin Nyassi, after his side’s stunning victory over neighbours Fortune FC, told reporters that his team is ready to fight for the trophy. He said that his side gave up on the title challenge last season because they knew they would not be able to catch up with Fortune.

The gaffer said the signing of Badjie and Kebbeh will be good for the team as the race for the title begins.

“These two players will help the team a lot. We all know what they can do,”  the gaffer said.

Brikama United inhabits the second place in the GFF Division One League standings with 28 points, one point below leaders Real De Banjul.