Following a successful campaign across the North Bank, Central River, Upper River and Lower River Regions of The Gambia, His Excellency, President Adama Barrow, Secretary General and Party Leader of the National People’s Party, will return to Sate House on Sunday, 21st November 2021, the party’s deputy spokesman has said in a statement on Saturday.

The President spent twelve days interacting with the electorate in rural Gambia who in twenty-nine mega meetings feted him to a rousing welcome in their respective communities and assured him of a resounding victory on the 4th of December 2021.

Seedy Njie said: “President Adama Barrow is accompanied by 18 other political party leaders and independent candidates who endorsed him for the December 2021 presidential election.

“As he returns to urban Gambia, the most humble and democratic President  will be greeted by tens of thousands of supporters at Kalagi bridge who will escort his motorcade through the West Coast Region to the Abuko bridge in the Kanifing Municipality and further to Sate House in Banjul.

“President Adama Barrow will leave Mansakonko with a colorful motorcade draped in his NPP party regalia by 12:00 noon. All are urged to be at Kalagi on time.”

By Lamin Njie, Editor-in-Chief

Essa Faal and Halifa Sallah used their closing statements to lash out at each other in extraordinary fashion in a presidential debate that is unprecedented but will also be remembered for most of the candidates not showing up.

The nation’s six presidential candidates were billed for a big showdown on policy ahead of next month’s presidential election organized by the Commission on Political Debates.

The debate held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara Conference Centre lasted two-and-a-half hours featuring only two of the six candidates – PDOIS’ Halifa Sallah and newcomer Essa Faal. President Adama Barrow of the National People’s Party, United Democratic Party leader Ousainou Darboe, Gambia Democratic Congress leader Mamma Kandeh and Nattional Unity Party leader Abdoulie Jammeh all missed the debate and their debate podiums made for only a decoration.

Mr Sallah and Mr Faal battled it out on five key issues – the economy, infrastructure, health, agriculture and education. Mr Faal however spent the entire time dismissing his opponent’s ideas as socialistic and said they could not work in The Gambia.

“His is socialist and mine is capitalist. It’s just like Nokia 3310 and Iphone 13pro,” Mr Faal talking about Mr Sallah’s ideas said at one instance to laughter in the debate room.

During their closing statements, a completely unhappy Halifa Sallah remarked: “This is not the type of debate I wanted to engage in, it is very combative. I expected something different. But then when personal assault comes, I will hit the person right in the face and people must be careful. There is nothing in a republic that can turn the country into an ideological state.

“So all those people who are saying those things are misleading you. I am a member of ICP-OACP assembly, I sit with European parliaments, they listen to me. People who are hoodwinking you that what they are saying reflect the ideas of Europe are deceiving you. Europe will speak for itself, Africa will speak for itself but not these people who are misleading you to believe that when a particular person is in power…

“Even Jammeh could not be isolated because of international politics. He was getting grants, pretending not to, he was getting loans, pretending not to. How many roads have been built by the European Union? So you must bear in mind when you’re running a government, now we should not talk about ideology because we have a constitution and the Honourable Gentleman knows that. I was appointed as a minister when the coup took place and I rejected it. And when that happened eventually they closed all chapters of political parties. I struggled against it. Whether briefcase lawyer or whatever, he was there, among those people who were prosecuting me.

“He should know how I value democracy, how I value the republic. I fought for it, I have lived for it and I will die for it. We will build the most democratic country in this continent. That’s what we intend to do. People should love the republic and they should love the people.”

Responding, Essa Faal said: “I am really surprised that Mr Sallah appears very angry. I must apologize if I have said anything that riled you up. That was never my purpose. It was a simple where we exchanged ideas and I challenged some of your ideas.

“But let me tell you Mr Sallah, I would not apologise for having views that are different from yours. Gone are those days when we are indoctrinated and caught in awe of some of these statements you have made. We have come of age and we must free ourselves from that shackle of domination. We are now able to think for ourselves and look at things and not awed by the language that we use but rather we scrutinize the content of what is said and I do not apologise for having capitalistic views for I believe it is the system that will make the world run and not archaic and dogmatic and old systems that did not even work where they are created let alone in this country.

“So I am not talking about ideology. I am talking about practical ideas that would work in this country. And Mr Sallah let me tell you: like you, many of us have also made sacrifices for this country. I have left a great deal to come and do this truth commission that is being talked about everywhere in the world and it was a personal sacrifice. So we are all in this together. And I respect you for who you are, I respect you for what you have done for this country. But equally, you must respect other people for what they have done for their country. You do not have a greater love for this country…”

Opposition Gambia Democratic Congress secretary for propaganda Abdoulie Cham has left GDC for the National People’s Party.

Cham rejoined GDC in September last year after withdrawing his support for President Barrow. He has now returned to support President Barrow after meeting him on Saturday.

By Dawda Baldeh

Maimuna Ceesay Darboe of the National People’s Party who flew back to support President Barrow in his campaign has described President Adama Barrow as a great leader.

“We must support Barrow if we really want to maintain peace in this country,” MCD said during President Barrow’s rally in Jarra.

She dismissed claims that President Barrow betrayed his father (Ousainou Darboe) saying President Barrow has done everything for Darboe.

Mrs Ceesay-Darboe stated that President Barrow is a peaceful leader and called on Gambians not to take him for granted.

By: Dawda Baldeh

President Adama Barrow has called on the nation’s opposition leaders to join him if they have the same message as him.

President Adama Barrow was speaking at a meeting in Jara Sutukung, Sasita Village and Soma on Friday where he made these remarks.

“Our message to Gambians is very clear and we always preach peace in all our gatherings,” he said. “If what the opposition leaders are saying is really in them, then why not they join my party. Peace is our concern and we must embrace the peace we have in the country.”

The president assured Gambians more democracy and development if re-elected in December.

“I am a different politician. My mission is to develop this country and make it like Dubai in few years. I will work tirelessly to re-unite the people of this land because we have been divided in many years. Let’s work hard and minimize the talk,” he said.

President Adama Barrow made a brief stop at Sutukung before reaching the venue where he observed Friday prayers and later met religious leaders at the village.

Former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo will lead a Commonwealth team tasked with observing The Gambia’s Presidential Election scheduled for 4 December 2021.

According to a press statement by Temitope Kalejaiye of the Communication Division of the Commonwealth Secretariate, the appointment is a sequel to an invitation from the Independent Electoral Commission of The Gambia, and the visit of a pre-election assessment team in October, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland announced the deployment of the nine-person Commonwealth Observer Group.

The Secretary-General said: “I must thank President Obasanjo for accepting my invitation to lead this team, and each of the Commonwealth observers for agreeing to undertake this important assignment at this difficult time as the Commonwealth continues to promote the values of democracy despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“The deployment of this observer group is a demonstration of the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting electoral democracy in member countries and a recognition of the right of individuals to participate in democratic processes, through credible, inclusive and transparent elections in shaping their societies.”

The Observer Group will consider all aspects of the election process and determine whether the elections are conducted in line with democratic standards to which The Gambia has committed itself.

The Group will submit its final report for consideration by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, and she will in turn share it with the Government of The Gambia and stakeholders.

The Commonwealth Observer Group members are: H E Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of Nigeria, (Chairperson); Prosper Bani, Former Minister of Interior, Ghana; The Hon Martha Karua, Former Minister of Justice, Kenya; Robert Phiri, Executive Director, Public Affairs Commission, Malawi; Hendrick Gappy, Former Chairperson, Electoral Commission, Seychelles; Shyamala Gomez, Executive Director, Centre for Equality and Justice, Sri Lanka; Candia Dames, Executive Editor of the Nassau Guardian,The Bahamas; Crispin Kaheru, Commissioner, Uganda Human Rights Commission, Uganda;  Musa Mwenye, SC Former Attorney General, Zambia.

The Group will be supported by Commonwealth Secretariat staff led by Linford Andrews, Head of the Electoral Support Section of the Governance and Peace Directorate. (IONigeria)

The Drug Law Enforcement Agency has announced arresting a Malian bus driver with suspected controlled drugs.

DLEAG in a statement said its Banjul command arrested Moussa Issa Traore with 101 sachets of clonazepam, 20 sachets of tafrodol and six sachets of cimendinci (all controlled drugs).

The said suspected controlled drugs were wrapped in a black nylon bag and the means of conveyance is a white bus with registration number BD 6569 MD, DLEAG said.

The statement by the agency added: “He was clutched in Banjul on the 18 November 2021 around 18:40 PM onwards.

“In a similar but separate development, six people are subject of an investigation relating to the seizure of one hundred and ninety eight (198) big bundles and twenty (20) parcels of suspected cannabis sativa.

“Sanna Jarju alias Bairo, Ansumana Badjie and Basiru Kandeh  are currently in custody while Lamin Colley, Amadou Jarju and Jerreh Colley are at large. They were  arrested on the 19 November 2021 around 04:30 hours GMT onwards at Brikama Kaira Kunda.

“A manhunt had been launched for the suspects at large while investigations into the matter continues.”

Political lioness Ramou Sabally has convinced Mariama Jawneh to join United Democratic Party and the Mandinaba woman has agreed to join the party.

Her brother Momodou Sabally confirmed the NPP mobiliser has joined UDP with 18 others.

Mr Sabally is UDP leader Darboe’s right-hand man and has been entrusted with the job of delivering State House to Darboe next month.

Police arrested Neneh Gomez on Friday after she attempted to enter a property that has been a subject of much row.

Ms Gomez sought to enter a Bijilo property to deliver construction materials when she got arrested. It’s the second time she is being arrested for trying to enter the property.

Ms Gomez confirmed her arrested to The Fatu Network and said she was being detained at Senegambia police station.

The Gambian Government has signed a grant for an electricity supply project to the tune of $25 Million. According to The Gambia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, His Excellency Dawda Docka Fadera who led the negotiation efforts that culminated into the signing of the grant, the amount is expected to increase the access rate of electricity supply throughout the country.

The project was signed between the Government of The Gambia and the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Board of Directors of the Government of the United States on Tuesday 16^th November 2021 in Washington D.C.

The programme is made up of two components. First, a governance reform project which aims to develop a more effective, accountable and transparent power sector governance in The Gambia. A second, an operational project which seeks to improve the country’s capability to operate The Gambia’s Power System in a manner that reduces the frequency and duration of outages.

Speaking at the ceremony in Washington D.C, The Gambia’s Ambassador to the United States of America, His Excellency Dawda Docka Fadera, commended the Government and people of the United States of America for supporting the implementation of what he described as policy reforms crucial to tackling constraints that impede economic growth in The Gambia.

Ambassador Fadera observed that the assistance comes at a time when the Government of The Gambia is working strenuously to meet Universal Access to electricity by 2025.

Addressing the occasion from Banjul through video conferencing, the US Ambassador to The Gambia, His Excellency Richard C. Paschall, thanked Ambassador Fadera and described him as a great ally who has been working with the US to deepen and broaden ties between the two countries. Ambassador Paschall used the opportunity to assure the Gambian delegation that the US would remain a firm and steadfast friend of The Gambia.

The occasion was graced by the Honourable Ministers of Petroleum and Energy and Finance and Economic Affairs, Honourable Fafa Sanyang and Honourable Mambury Njie respectively.

Former International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Beatrice Allen who currently serves as the first vice president of the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) has officially expressed her interest to run for the office of president of the committee in the27th November elective congress.

As an aspiring president, Madam Allen has already made it clear that the new GNOC Executive Board under her leadership will contribute immensely to the transformation of sports in the Gambia. This she says will be done in accordance with the Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance.

On Monday Beatrice Allen unveiled her ‘Reform Agenda’ covering 2021- 2024. The agenda contains a 10-point action plan based on her vision to keep The Gambia on track for national and international sporting success.

The ten key action points are:

1. The Promotion of Good Governance in the NOC and the National Federations (NFs) at all times.
2. Promotion of sports through financial support to NFs and revenue generation
3. Promotion of diversity and the participation of Women in Sports
4. Ensuring Community service for sustainability
5. Encouraging the development of high performance
6. Improving collaboration with government and other key stakeholders
7. Focusing on strategies leading to international sporting success
8. Promoting the fundamental principles and values of Olympism
9. Ensuring Athletes Career Development support
10. And training and Development of Coaches and Sport Administrators

Madam Allen believes that her team of professionals will implement this vision for the development of Gambian sports, and everything they do will be done using the highest standards of professionalism, excellence and integrity.

Beatrice Allen has served in various capacities including at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Consultant/ Coordinator- National Trade Fair in the Gambia, Executive Director- Trade & Investment Promotion in The Gambia. She is a Member of the Lions Club of Cape Point; Member of the Special Olympics (Gambia); First Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Gambia; Member of the Women and Sports Commission of Committee of Gambia; Honorary Member of the Gambia Softball Association; Honorary Member of the Gambia Golf Association; Honorary Member, ANOCA Zone II; First Vice-President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation among several others.

She holds a BA in International Development; a Diploma in Gender and Development; a Diploma in Gender Responsive Project Implementation and a Certificate in Training of Gender Trainers.

Source BBC Website

US Vice-President Kamala Harris will become the first woman to briefly be given presidential powers as Joe Biden undergoes his regular health check. President Biden will transfer power to Ms Harris for the period in which he is placed under anaesthesia for a routine colonoscopy on Friday.

The medical examination will be Mr Biden’s first as president and comes on the eve of his 79th birthday. Ms Harris will temporarily take control of the US military and nuclear weapons.

“The vice-president will work from her office in the West Wing during this time,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

Ms Harris, 57, is the first woman – and the first black and South Asian American – to be elected US vice-president.

Ms Psaki said the temporary transfer of powers in such circumstances was not unprecedented, and that it was part of the process set out in the US constitution.

“As was the case when President George W Bush had the same procedure in 2002 and 2007,” her statement said.

Mr Biden, the oldest US president to take office, had his last full medical examination in December 2019.

At the time, his doctor released a medical report describing him as “healthy, vigorous” and “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency”.

The president’s latest health check comes on the day that the US House of Representatives approved his landmark $1.9tn (£1.4tn) Build Back Better Act.

The sweeping social spending and climate package is considered a key pillar of Mr Biden’s agenda.

By Khadijah Aja Tambajang

November 19th, 2021.

Gambians are preparing for what is bound to be a historic Presidential election. Historic in the fact that from 1995 to 2016, Gambians knew nothing but tense and volatile elections. Most Gambians under the age of 30 would tell you that green is the colour they associate most with Gambian politics.

It’s the party colour of the then autocratic APRC and has dominated our public media space under the leadership of Yayah Jammeh from 1994 to 2016. Not that there weren’t other political parties, it’s just that Jammeh’s grip on the local traditional media meant that up until 15 years ago with the advent of social networks, most Gambians consumed heavily moderated state-controlled media content.

The upcoming December 2021 Presidential election has given us a rainbow – a true blessing as the rainbow is. In 2016, the tides changed with the creation of Coalition 2016, choosing the colour gray as their organization colour. The coalition comprised of seven political parties: United Democratic Party (UDP); People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS); National Reconciliation Party (NRP); Peoples Progressive Party (PPP); the National Congress Party (NCP); the Gambia Moral Congress (GMC); the Inter-Party Coordination and Unification Committee (IPCOU). Two Independent National Assembly Members, Committee for Democratization, Sustainable Peace and Development (CDSPD), and other civil society organizations.

After many failed attempts to beat Jammeh at the polls, the parties realized their strength was in a collective strive, not individualist aspirations. This was truly a national and diaspora effort to free The Gambia from one of its most brutal sons and has become a bookcase example of how to peacefully uproot a dictatorship.

The diaspora component, in particular, was crucial in the struggle by exposing and amplifying the voices of dissent due to the repressive nature of the then toxic political environment. Activist and media organizations such as DUGA, GDF, GYU, Coalition for Change, Freedom Radio, Gainako, Diasporium, The Gambian Echo, The Fatou Network and many others contributed immensely towards our freedom.

In December 2016, a new inconspicuous and achromatic shade of gray beamed through, riding on the coattails of a very inexperienced but lucky leader, Adama Barrow, a former UDP member, who won 45% of the votes under the Coalition 2016 ticket. It was the Italian polymath and painter, Leonardo Da Vinci who stated, “A gray day provides the best light” and Coalition 2016 did just that for all Gambians.

Collectively as a nation, we happily applauded for anyone but Jammeh. Anyone but a king wannabe, we said. There was a national high and international benevolence. The Gambia became the world’s darling overnight. The seemingly dull gray folks pushed out the vibrant and boisterous green party out of office.

In retrospect, the gray of Coalition 2016, synonymous with our second liberation (first was from colonialism) mirrored our grim national mood. According to psychology, we think of gray as solemn. It’s not a colour of extremes, but rather of middle ground, of reasonable agreement. The dull nature of the Coalition 2016 colour itself and its unassuming methods kept the nation guessing its possibility to succeed and had us all on the edge of our seats. Coalition 2016 became a mockery magnet for Jammeh. He underestimated the gray folks – to his detriment.

Three years into office, the mysterious and shady nature of the colour gray rubbed off Coalition 2016’s flagbearer, President Adama Barrow. The man whose now party colour, gray is nowhere on the rainbow spectrum, slid his way through the rainbow positioning himself as a player- a stranger imposing himself on historic dominant party colours, red (PDOIS), yellow (UDP), blue (NRP), former blue now pink (PPP), and purple (GDC).

President Barrow subliminally hijacked Coalition 2016 by taking most of its members from other parties and then took their colours as his now party, National People’s Party’s (NPP) official party colour. Gray too became a big boy overnight in Gambian politics, showcasing that President Barrow must not be underestimated.

Just as power emboldened President Barrow, freedom too emboldened Gambians. It took only a few months of President Barrow being in office for new political parties to pop up. The political party colour struggle began with the mushrooming of dozens of new parties due to our newfound freedom. During the Presidential nomination process in October 2021, 26 presidential aspirates submitted their applications but only six parties NPP, NUP, PDOIS, UDP, GDC, and one independent candidate qualified on November 4th, 2021.

Colours colliding

Gambians under the age of 30 most likely do not remember presidential elections this boisterous, emotional and exciting. Gambians are free once more to express themselves sans reserve. The cacophony on social media is at fever pitch. The debates, insults, arguments and absurd tribal divide have taken over the Gambia media space. Each party is aggressively selling their agenda with most parties being unreserved in their opposing tactics. Gambians are blinded by team gray, team yellow, team red, team blue & white, team orange, and team purple. Sentiments are raw as we only have two weeks left to elections. The media blitz is both entertaining and captivating for an audience who had only been accustomed to seeing APRC’s green dominate the media space during elections. These elections are very different due to their kaleidoscopic nature. Each party is busy churning out their spiel justifying why we should favour them:

◊ Team Essa Faal, the independent candidate with his accomplished local and diaspora strategy team is acting superstar and promises to be the saviour that will uplift us from deep stagnation. The newie high-flying-high-strong (as proven by his nomination transport fiasco speech) politician is paddling his way into the belly of the country to share his message. He too wants us to give him a chance to turn around our country as their campaign slogan states. His supporters are young, energetic and ready for system change.

◊ GDC’s flamboyant Mama Kandeh is busy attacking the incumbent on his ‘ineffectiveness’ and his ‘naxanteh’ (deceiving) politics. Both Barrow and Kandeh have been calling for a so-called unification of Gambians via a very dangerous and sly strategy — by going to bed with the APRC camp. Both men have bitterly split up the APRC cake to their benefit, under the disguise of a ‘unified’ Gambia. If any party understands showmanship, it is GDC.

Their leader, Kandeh understands the power of the media better than PDOIS and UDP, as he was heavily visible and available to the press pre-2016. This might also be because Kandeh had more liberty than PDOIS and UDP hence the mainstream suspicion that he was always Yayah Jammeh’s proxy.

◊ PDOIS’ Halifa Sallah is talking directly to Gambians for a chance to deliver a credible and socially-inclusive government with his cogent arguments. They too have not been left behind in media framing. They have young influential faces trying very hard to showcase a less rigid party that will be for all Gambians whilst trying to debunk the notion that they will not turn us into a socialist state, as the socialism stigma is generally associated with PDOIS. Their poverty eradication focus is one we have heard plenty of times from politicians yet to be in the system – once in, they soon realize that it’s a herculean task that many end up quitting.

Does PDOIS have what it takes to uplift Gambian’s socio-economic status in five years, since Sallah claims to only want to serve one term? The ‘conscience’ of Gambian politics has been busy adding new PDOIS members to his steadfast supporter base due to his party’s new mainstream communication strategy. One must confess that he is one of our politicians whose rhetoric has been most consistent – even if he scares plenty with his sometimes rigid manner.

◊ NPP’s emboldened incumbent President is flexing his muscle by constantly attacking his ‘Famaa’ (Darboe, his former Godfather), endlessly calling on him to retire on the campaign trail. His party has been continuously bombarding us with manifested infrastructure development videos forgetting about the Coalition 2016 promises that got him into office. His media handlers are trying to portray a man on a mission to turn The Gambia into a first-world country overnight, missing out on the human impact he has had on the lives of the average Gambian since he came into office. We want to know how he will curb the disastrous infant/mother mortality rate in our country. We want to know when we can enjoy constant electricity like our Senegalese neighbours.

We want to know how he is dealing with corruption issues in government. Mr. President, we want to know how you will impact our lives beyond concrete and asphalt. We do not need a constant reminder of how you ‘saved’ us all from Jammeh in 2016. That is behind us. We need you to look forward. Mr. President, hubris is a deadly trap. Please bring down the temperature for our national unity and cohesion.

◊ UDP’s Ousainou Darboe is calling out President Barrow on his ‘corrupt’ and inept ways and trying to convince Gambians that UDP is truly not a Sosseh (Mandinka) party due to its ethnically diverse executive and membership. As he crisscrosses the country discussing his 5-Point Agenda, some of his staunchest militants are busy destroying his strides by foolishly boycotting media houses and personalities. Their media strategists and social media troopers are passionate and force-feeding us a new image of him – a softer, friendlier and agile Darboe. A man who we must give a chance to prove to us just how much he loves the Gambia. A man whose handlers say, paid the highest price in the fight for our freedom due to the forfeiting of his properties, the damaging of his lucrative law practice, and his eventual imprisonment by Jammeh’s jungle court.

A price many Gambians have paid as well during Jammeh’s repressive rule. Many believe that individuals such as Koro Ceesay, Solo Sandeng, Chief Ebrima Manneh, Alhagie Mamut Ceesay, Ebou Jobe, the 50 plus migrants massacred, and many more Gambians and non-Gambians Jammeh murdered, maimed, castrated, raped and psychologically tortured have all paid the ultimate price.

◊ NUP’s Abdoulie Jammeh, the dark horse as he is being called is a newie politician. This man who kept his cards close to his heart surprised all by breezing through the nomination process and beating out better known or heavily branded parties. The boy from Satay Ba (slang for Brikama) really shook Kairaba Avenue. NUP is silently making strides in their western region base, which can be a spoiler for both UDP and NPP. As the local saying goes, he has truly thrown sand in the big boy’s chereh / thiéré (mil couscous).

Looking back at the last five years, The Gambian has transformed into a better place for most of us, or at least for the people who are still not yearning for Yayah Jammeh’s return. There is an undeniable fact we are more at ease in our country. We feel that we can finally participate politically without retribution.

Whether the government is dealing appropriately with internal insecurity, the flourishing of blatant corruption, harnessing a thriving economy, putting in place a solid healthcare and education system, amongst other pertinent issues, that is another argument. What is for sure is, we finally have our individual liberties back. Now we can share and post photos of our candidates of choice on our social networks giving the Gambian social media space a rainbow effect without repression.

As we go to the voting booths with our beloved marbles in hand, it will be a proud moment to delight our eyes on the array of colourful metal boxes to be made up of orange, red, blue & white, yellow, purple, and gray. We have prayed for decades for a day like this; a day we can have options to drop our marbles into any box of our choice and then freely discuss our choices when we get home, without worrying about the Jammeh informal informants made up of our maids, gardeners, drivers and even neighbours.

Come December 5th, our new President is expected to peel himself off his party colour and embrace us all as Gambians, even if we did not vote for him. We envisage a leader that will allow us to weave our colourful expectations on our national fabric he is to safeguard.

Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute

This article is dedicated to all the victims of the Jammeh era. For more information, visit: https://victimscentergm.org/

The author is founder of MakalliMatta Consulting, a global communications firm based in SeneGambia.

Muhammed Kandoro Yaffa has called on citizens to vote for Mamma Kandeh and has expressed disgust at the decision of their leader Ayatollah Musa Yali Batchilly to back President Adama Barrow.

Mr Yaffa is the senior administrative secretary of the Gambia Action Party and they party has been at loggerheads with leader Batchilly over his decision to endorse President Barrow. The party took disciplinary action against him and appointing a new leader.

Speaking at Mamma Kandeh’s rally in Sare Bojo in the Upper River Region on Thursday, Mr Yaffa said: “Our founding father said he has joined President Barrow and we know President Barrow did not do any good work in the four years he has been in power. So he can’t do any good work from now to election which is around the corner.

“There are many parties and leaders in the country but they are different. If we want peace and development, it’s a choice we must make. If we give our votes to Honourable Mamma Kandeh, we will get the development and peace we want.

“But if we give our votes to someone, we will remain where we are. I want to ask Sarahules to be careful and not allow President Barrow to drag us into his tribal politics.”

Gambia Moral Congress leader Mai Ahmad Fatty set being leader of a political party to one side briefly as he slipped back into the wig and gown to represent himself and his party in court regarding a lawsuit they brought against the Independent Electoral Commission.

GMC sued IEC after Election House rejected Mr Fatty’s nomination for president for allegedly failing to collect 200 signatures from Banjul.

Unhappy with the decision, the party sued the electoral body at the high court in Banjul and the case was mentioned on Friday.

Mr Fatty himself wrote: “This morning at Banjul High Court with GMC National Executive members and supporters, the case of GMC against IEC. The matter continues on Monday the 22nd November 2021.”

The GMC leader is a lawyer by training.

Every year on November 19, World Toilet Day is celebrated to create awareness among the people regarding the importance of sanitation and to initiate action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. On this day, the United Nations, along with the collaboration of the international community, calls for collective action to end the sanitisation crisis prevalent across the world.

According to a report published by the United Nations (UN), 3.6 billion people across the globe don’t have access to a proper toilet, meaning less than half of the world’s population is facing issues of proper sanitisation, which can turn into a serious threat for the upcoming generation.

Established in the year 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly, World Toilet Day was an initiative taken by a philanthropist, Jack Sim from Singapore, who founded the World Toilet Organization NGO back in the year 2001 to raise awareness about the importance of sanitation and hygiene.

After Singapore tabled the resolution, the United Nations General Assembly declared November 19 as World Toilet Day. At the 67th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the members pointed out the need to build a proper sanitisation system highlighting the unsatisfactory progress being made in providing basic sanitary services across the country

Since the day came into existence, it has been celebrated under various themes based on the situation across the world. This year’s World Toilet Day theme is “valuing toilets”.

“The theme aims to stress the absolute necessity of toilets in our lives,” the official statement issued by the United Nations said.

“The campaign draws attention to the fact that toilets and the sanitation systems that support them are underfunded, poorly managed, or neglected in many parts of the world, with devastating consequences for health, the economy, and the environment, particularly in the poorest and most marginalized communities.”

Today when the 3.6 billion people across the globe are facing a sanitisation crisis the World Toilet Day gives an opportunity to create awareness and take necessary action towards building toilets to make this world a hygienic place for everyone to live.

António Guterres is Secretary-General of the United Nations he says, the advantages of investing in an adequate sanitation system are immense. For instance, every $1 invested in basic sanitation returns up to $5 in saved medical costs and increased productivity, and jobs are created along the entire service chain.

He further noted that for women and girls, toilets at home, school and at work help them fulfil their potential and play their full role in society, especially during menstruation and pregnancy.

“Life without a toilet is dirty, dangerous, and undignified,” António Guterres says.

Adding that “everyone should have access to hygienic, safe, and sustainable sanitation. Yet 3.6 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, threatening health, harming the environment, and hindering economic development.

Every day, 700 children under five years old die from diseases linked to unsafe water and sanitation. Toilets save lives and drive improvements in gender equality and society as a whole,” Guterres Says.

He calls for urgent and massive investment and innovation along the entire ‘sanitation chain’, from toilets to the transport, collection and treatment of human waste.

“History teaches us that rapid progress is possible. Many countries have transformed their health systems by acting on sanitation facilities and ensuring everyone has access to toilets. On World Toilet Day, let us keep our promise to leave no one behind and take action to deliver health and sanitation for all,” António Guterres says.

Former President Yahya Jammeh repeated his lie the 2016 presidential election which saw his 22-year rule end was stolen – and accused President Adama Barrow of trying to credit to himself development projects that he (Jammeh) started.

Jammeh has been helping opposition Gambia Democratic Congress leader Mamma Kandeh with his campaign and he called again on Thursday from his Equatorial Guinea hideout to speak to citizens.

The former dictator told citizens in Sare Bojo via telephone: “They rigged the election and brought in this group that has destroyed the country in just four years. But that is behind us.

“I have heard many times Adama Barrow trying to hoodwink you Gambians telling you that the projects I have implemented, he is the one who brought those projects. That is not true. Laminkoto-Passamas, you people know I started the project and up to 40 kilometers and there was a delay and the reason for the delay was that they wanted to stop that project, end it at 40 kilometers and then they will complete it in phase 2. I told them that I don’t want an incomplete project it has to be completed.

“Now somebody is coming to claim that he is the one who built this project, Adama Barrow. I have only one question for Adama Barrow and I want him to answer my question: how many stages are in a project? How many stages must one go through before the project is started? And I also want to ask him this question: with regards to Laminkoto-Passamas, who was the first consultant for the project? Let him answer these two questions.

“Secondly he claims to build the Farafenni bridge. The Farafenni bridge, there was a delay. It started and there was a delay. Why? Let him answer that too.”

By Amara Thoronka

Gambia Bar Association, Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa, International Commission of Jurists, International Center for Transitional Justice and other bodies operating on human rights and justice have on Wednesday 17th November 2021 held a conference at Gambia’s International Conference Centre to discuss the importance of accountability for the crimes reportedly committed under the 22-year rule of former president Yahya Jammeh.

This comes at a time when The Gambia and the wider global community await the release of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) report, its recommendations and subsequent prosecution of alleged crime perpetrators.

The TRRC was established by the TRRC Act of 2017. Section 13 of the said Act, the main objectives of the TRRC are as follow: to create an impartial historical record of violations and abuses of human rights from July 1994 to January 2017 in order to promote healing and reconciliation, respond to the needs of the victims, address impunity, and prevent a repetition of the violations and abuses suffered by making recommendations for the establishment of appropriate preventive mechanisms including institutional and legal reforms; to establish and make known the fate or whereabouts of disappeared victims; to provide victims an opportunity to relate their own accounts of the violations and abuses suffered; and to grant reparations to victims in appropriate cases.

Speaking on the importance of accountability on the said crimes and Gambia in general, human rights lawyer Neneh M.C. Cham spoke on the need for bringing alleged perpetrators to justice:

“We witness about 300 people confessing the perpetration of crimes ranging from murder, rape, torture, disappearance and many more. There is a responsibility on the state to prosecute alleged perpetrators because if they go unprosecuted, it is a recipe for more crimes and we should not allow that to happen. I still speak to many victims who are still traumatized and do not understand why their alleged perpetrators are not being prosecuted.”

On the same need for accountability, Executive Director of Article 19 in West Africa, Fatou Jagne Senghore said prosecuting the said perpetrators is going to be uneasy because there are people who don’t want Gambians to discuss the alleged atrocities:

“There are people who want us to sweep everything under the carpet because they benefitted or because they have guilt feelings due to their actions or inactions. So, it is going to be a struggle to ensure that accountability happens. We saw a lot of impunity in the past regime. We need to do more investigations to get the full picture of what really happened and to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice in a fair manner.”

Speaking on lessons from other African nations, President of Liberia Bar Association, Tiawan Gongloe said most perpetrators of crimes never admit their wrongdoings even when there are overwhelming evidence justifying their guilt.

“If the perpetrators are not held accountable there will be a repetition of the same crimes or even worse. Also, victims or children of victims would possibly revenge because they would take the entire Gambian society as co-conspirators to crimes committed against them or their parents.”

He called on Gambians to compel the current leadership and all political actors in the country to make strong commitment of implementing the pending TRRC recommendations.

Former US Ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, Stephen Rapp suggested a hybrid [internationalized] court system to try the alleged perpetrators. He noted that the said judicial accountability mechanism would have a blend of the Gambia’s judicial officials and that of other countries.

Justifying the efficiency of such a hybrid mechanism, Ambassador Rapp cited the case of Sierra Leone where the same system was successfully used to try former Liberia President Charles Taylor and others.

Representing the International Commission of Jurists, Mr. Reed Broody cited what he described as one of the worst atrocities committed in the Yayah Jammeh era:

“The worse massacre of the Yahya Jammeh era was the case of the migrants. We believe that 59 West African migrants were killed here: 40 from Ghana, 9 from Nigeria, 3 from Senegal, 2 from Togo, 2 from Cote D’Ivoire, 1 from Liberia, 1 from Sierra Leone and 1 from Congo.”

President of Gambia Bar Association, Salieu Taal said the current Gambian legal system is not victim friendly:

“Torture, enforce disappearance are not part of the Gambian laws. The Gambian Constitution grants immunity to the Head of State which can only be lifted by two third of members of parliament. Our legal system was not designed for democracy, it was rather designed for dictatorship. Therefore, any proposed accountability mechanism to try the alleged perpetrators should have the support of the west Africa regional body [ECOWAS].”

Other speakers [in person and via Skype] made similar statements on the relevance of such accountability process in The Gambia; and video documentaries depicting some reported atrocities during the said period climaxed the conference.