Lawyer Assan Martin and his political charges have endorsed GDC leader Mamma Kandeh for president.

Mr Martin threw his weight behind Mr Kandeh a few ago ago as the December election gets ever closer.

GDC national youth president MC Cham Jnr said: “We welcome the move with his people and pray that we all continue to put together the efforts and move Gambian forward. Honourable Kandeh’s capability and qualities ticking all boxes for a Gambian President besides winnable and sellable.

“We thank Lawyer Martin and his team and wishing them to witness the benefits and never regret such a decision.”

GMC chief Mai Ahmad Fatty has declared party official Tida Kijera winner of last night’s debate.

Mrs Kijera squarred off with UDP’s Yakumba Jaiteh, GDC’s Yamoundow Gaye and APRC’s Fatou Jallow to debate party policy and programme ahead of the December election.

And Mai Fatty in passing the verdict said: “On behalf of the entire membership, I want to proudly congratulate Ms. Tida Kijera of GMC, the winner of today’s political Parties debate of female Representatives. In this contest of ideas, GMC took the lead – a victory for the supremacy of our ideas..

“She demonstrated understanding of important issues dear to our Party, and presented viable practical GMC ideas as contained in our Platform. Although GMC was informed at the last minute, unlike the rest of the female Representatives who were informed way in advance, our performance was superlative. Thank you Team GMC.

“The other participants from UDP, GDC and APRC all did phenomenally well. Congrats to you all. Gratitude to the organisers!”

President Adama Barrow signed the right to information law on Wednesday and then declared he delivered on a campaign pledge.

Gambians particularly members of the media have been pushing for a law that would make it compulsory for public officials to make information accessible to citizens when they want it.

Parliament last month passed the law after years of campaign by civil society advocates.

The president said on Wednesday: “Today, I delivered on a campaign pledge. The Right to Information Bill was signed into law. My Government is devoted to transparency and accountability, and I believe that every citizen has the right to information.”

The Civil Society Coalition on Access to Information in a statement on Wednesday commended President Barrow for signing into law the Access to Information (ATI) Bill.

“The CSO Coalition applauds Barrow for signing the bill, a fulfillment of his campaign promise and a demonstration of his political will and commitment to transparency and accountability.

“The signing of the Bill is a climax of a five-year long process in which various stakeholders led by the Gambia Press Union through the CSO Coalition on ATI campaigned for legislation on access to information.

“The signing of ATI Bill 2021 into law makes it the first time in the history of The Gambia for right of access to information to be legally recognized as a human right.

“The law is aimed at proactive and organised dissemination of public records and information to the people,” a statement said.

Ten people have died of Covid-19, the health ministry announced in its latest report release on Wednesday.

The report covering, August 21-23 10 new COVID-19-related deaths were registered, bringing the total to 311.

The decedents’ age range from 54 – 90 year (6 males and 4 females), the ministry said.

KMC technical adviser Kanjura Kanyi has laughed at reports he fled the country amid KMC’s corruption saga.

Reports emerged online on Wednesday Mr Kanyi who is also in charge of the Bakoteh dumpsite has bolted.

But speaking to The Fatu Network, Mr Kanyi made it clear he travelled to the UK based on genuine reasons.

He said: “I’m diabetic and I take my medication from England. Since 2016 I visit England two to three times a year to for examination and to collect my medication. So I was due to be here since June but there was a lot of work.

“Another reason I’m here is my wife is celebrating her 50th birthday. Unfortunately this crisis at KMC came. While it doesn’t affect me, I decided to stay as it would not be nice for me to go when there is a problem at where you work. I decided to change my ticket.

“My daughter is also graduating from Birmingham University with a first class degree and this is very important to me.”

Baba Fatajo has clarified that he was not sacked by government, contradicting reports he was terminated as Gambia’s high commissioner to South Africa.

Mr Fatajo was removed as managing director of Nawec in June 2019. He was quickly redeployed to the foreign service. He then became Gambia high commissioner to South Africa and presented his letters of credence to the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2020.

“I didn’t request for an extension because there was no need, I got another job,” the former NAWEC boss told The Fatu Network adding he asked the governement facilitate his recall to the country.

He added: “There is no animosity between me and government. I thank the government for the opportunity to serve my country out of two million people.”

Mr Fataja has landed a job with the African Development Bank in the power systems division.

UTG faculty and staff association boss Dr Alieu Gibba has vowed that there will be no lectures come the next semester if the government fails to respect their demand of scrapping the interim governing council of the varsity.

Dr Gibba and his staff are at war with the management of the UTG over a new leadership as well as conditions of service. A summit last month saw them abandon a planned sit-down strike after the government negotiation team promised them of the dissolution of the interim governing council by July 26. That date has since passed and nothing has been done.

Speaking to The Fatu Network in an exclusive interview, Dr Gibba said: “I feel disapppointed, not cheated. We feel disappointment. Because at least we were expecting a communication two days before that deadline but still now we did not hear anything from the Office of the President. And the staff said if nothing is done before the 15th of September, before the beginning of next semester, there will be no lectures.”

When asked, if they will refuse to work if nothing is done, he replied: “Of course. These are legally binding documents. We don’t want chaos, it’s election time…”

Pa Manneh has joined United Democratic Party after leaving the National People’s Party.

Mr Manneh met UDP leader Ousainou Darboe on Tuesday where he spent a long time telling stories.

The former APRC man said the president is his brother who confided in him a lot of things as president.

But on his reasons for leaving NPP, he said: “The people I see around him… One they are not for the national interest and secondly they are incompetent and do not even have a clue. So for those people to run this country… You say these are the people you trust will not work. This is why even the country’s civil service is destroyed.

“In my opinion, he is incompetent and the people he has trust in are incompetent and do not have the heart. So if they cannot do the job, this country must not sink.”

UDP leader Ousainou Darboe said he wanted the best for his ‘son’ President Adama Barrow, casting his mind back to a showdown meeting he had with the president in 2018 where he advised him to be mindful of certain people around him.

Speaking while welcoming Pa Manneh into UDP on Tuesday, Mr Darboe said: “Everyone wants Adama to have a good legacy in this country. The reason why we want it… People tell us that ‘it’s you the UDP people who gave us Adama’. So if Adama’s legacy is good, it’s UDP that will brag of it, as they will say he is our son.

“On November 5, 2018, we had a meeting, it was him and I and a mutual friend of ours. There were speculation by then but anything he says during the meeting I would tell him to be mindful of a particular person. I told he was his poison who would destroy him. I told him what those people are telling him is not taking him [anywhere good].

“I wanted to make him a great leader who could win the MO Ibrahim award but he did not give me a chance. Today, UDP members say he is my son and I don’t want anything bad to be said about him. Well, he is my son since he has not said I am no longer his father.”

Guinea Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embaló has vowed that former army chief General Antonio Indjai will not be extradited to the United States.

The US has offered five million dollars reward in capturing the Bissau ancien combattant after accusing him of leading a criminal organization which took an active part in drug trafficking in Guinea-Bissau and the region for many years, even while serving as head of the Guinea Bissau Armed Forces.

But Guinea Bissau President Embalo assured that Indjai who supported him during the last presidential election will not be extradited to the United States, according Senegalese outlet Leral.net.

“The charges of crimes against Antonio Indjai are valid only in the United States of America, not in Guinea-Bissau. No Guinean citizen will be arrested in the country to be tried elsewhere in the world. If a Guinean citizen commits a crime, government ethics would have required the accusing state to notify the authorities of Guinea-Bissau, “Umaru Embaló said moments before heading to Brazil on a five-day official visit, according to Leral.net.

The United States does not have the right to put a price on the head of Antonio Indjai for five million dollars, because General Indjai is not a terrorist, Mr Embalo said, according to Leral.net.

National People’s Party will hold what officials call a ‘mass political rally’ in Bakadaji, Upper River Region.

In a schedule seen by The Fatu Network, NPP will hold their own political rally in the town, a little over a month since UDP sent shivers down the spine of its political rivals with a hugely successful rally in the town.

The National People’s Party will hold their rally in the town on September 5.

UDP and NPP will be the two political parties who will fiercely contest the December election and both have been locked in a superiority battle.

Last year, UDP launched its office in Kwinella only for President Barrow and his NPP to respond by holding his electricity launch in the same village where he told the people of Kiang to refuse to support opposition parties.

By XINHUA

The Moroccan navy rescued 438 Spain-bound immigrants in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic over the past four days, official RIM radio reported on Tuesday.

Most of the rescued immigrants were sub-Saharan people, in addition to three Bangladeshi nationals and a Turkish one, the report added quoting a military source.

They were experiencing difficulties aboard several makeshift boats sailing in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, it added.

The immigrants received the necessary first aid from the navy units, before being brought back to the nearest Moroccan ports and handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie.

Morocco has become a transit country for African and Asian migrants seeking to reach Europe for better living conditions, as the shortest distance from Morocco’s Mediterranean coasts to Spain is only 14 km via the Strait of Gibraltar.

Chad’s ex-ruler Hissène Habré has died at the age of 79 while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity in Senegal.

He was being treated for a coronavirus infection, reports say.

Habré was found guilty in 2016 of crimes committed while he was president from 1982 to 1990.

The conviction was the result of a landmark trial in Senegal. It was the first time an African Union-backed court had tried a former ruler for human rights abuses.

Habré was accused of being behind rape, sexual slavery and ordering killings while in power. He denied any knowledge of the crimes.

A commission of inquiry formed in Chad after he was deposed in 1990 said his government carried out some 40,000 politically motivated murders and 200,000 cases of torture in the eight years he was in power. (BBC)

Mustapha Njie, TAF, has arrived in Sierra Leone again to finalise investment arrangements in line with President Bio’s vision to provide affordable housing units and develop micro cities across the country.

TAF who is the CEO of TAF Africa Global is one of Africa leading real estate minds. He was received at the Lungi International Airport in the early hours of Monday August 23 2021 by senior management staff of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Country Planning of Sierra Leone, that ministry announced in a statement.

The ministry said elsewhere: “He was taken on an initial tour of vast land sites in the Port Loko District on his way to Freetown.

“On arrival in the capital city, Mr. Njei met and had fruitful discussions with the Minsiter of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, Dr. Turad Senesie, ahead of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Sierra Leone and TAF Africa Global slated for Tuesday August 24 2021.
“He is expected to meet the Vice President, visit other land sites in the Western Rural Areas and South/Eastern Sierra Leone before departing the country.

“Mr. Njei had earlier visited Sierra Leone in June this year, followed by a return visit of the Minister to The Gambia.

“In The Gambia, Minister Turad Senesie met with President Adama Barrow and visited TAF Africa Global investment sites.”

Three Years Jotna chied Abdou Njie has issued a warning to those who do not support Unoited Democratic Party.

Mr Njie is a passionate UDP supporter who led a now failed campaign to end President Adama Barrow’s rule after a three-year period.

He told Gambian Talents Promotion: “Stay away from UDP. That’s best for you. Ousainou said it in my presence that he never betrayed a person since when he was born. So karma catches up with anyone who betrays someone who doesn’t betray people.

“Have you not seen Adama [Barrow]? Adama should be grateful to UDP. It’s the grave [that will separate me and UDP].”

Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh has said he is only learning about women putting tobacco in their private part.

Some Gambian women reportedly put the tobacco substance in their private part for reasons that have remained a little bit of a mystery.

But health minister Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh speaking in a video that has emerged online said: “I did not know about tobacco until recently. Someone came to my house and said she has some people who used tobacco and worms were coming from their bodies. I want you to warn people against tobacco. Tobacco is dangerous.

“The reason why some use it is that… Some say they enjoy it. But it stains the place [vagina] and makes it tight. So the place gets stained, it tears when the person is giving birth and blood will start to come out which is different from the original birth blood. This is what tobacco causes.”

President Adama Barrow has told citizens their vote is their voice, asking them to vote in the December election.

While meeting with people from Yoroberi Kunda, CRR, the President said, “your vote is your voice, and you should use it,” according to State House. The president seized the opportunity to remind Gambians to vote in the upcoming elections, State House said.

During a meeting with Representatives from Yoroberi Kunda (YBK) in the Central River Region over the weekend, President Barrow announced that the Government will distribute 80 ambulances amongst all constituencies in the coming weeks, State House said.

BASSE PIU D1.7M STAFF QUARTERS INAUGURATED – YouTube

A 37-year-old Senegalese man has been arrested by police in North Bank Region.

Police in a statement said personnel of the North Bank Region patrol team “under the gallant command of female Inspector Amie Sam, arrested a suspect in possession of a bag containing suspected drugs”.

“The suspect Abdou Joof, age 37 and Senegalese national was intercepted with 16 big bundles of suspected cannabis.

“He is helping with investigations while the matter is transferred to the Drug Law Enforcement Agency for necessary actions.

“Residents of NBR are encouraged to volunteer information about unusual activities within their communities,” police said.