From well established and enduring democracies to a nascent one like ours, we are confronted with an almost inescapable realization that democracy anywhere is messy but it is the best form of government there is and the most preferable to dictatorship and autocracy. Individual freedom, liberty and choice as well as freedom of the press guaranteed and protected by democracy are some of its most vital benefits. These choices include freedom of association but also involves freedom to dis-associate as and when deemed necessary.

Media houses play a very important role in supporting and strengthening democratic ideals and reinforcing its culture. They do so through fair, balanced and accurate reporting of events and people of vital public interests. They help in ensuring accountability, integrity and transparency in government and in service delivery through credible, investigative and fearless journalism. But by deviating from responsible norms, media can also be used for all the wrong reasons in fomenting division, anger and animosity in a society  – all of which are antithetical to democratic values.

So, the decision by the Fatu Network’s “Tonyaa Kesso” show host to invite a foul- mouthed individual known for hauling insults and for his serial vituperative attacks directed at Hon Ousainou Darboe may be acceptable under protected freedom of speech but could also be a  worrying sign of editorial weakness on the part of the Network and lack of total control and training on the part of the host. Such uncontrolled, unregulated and unrestrained programs could bring chaos and troubles beyond the four corners of the studios and into the general population. It is my expectation that any show that is hosted on a respected and widely reached platform like TFN should have a ground rules of basic decency, responsibility and substance. Anything that soils the Network’s reputation or threatens its credibility or have the potential to ishould be looked into with great urgency.

Gambians should not be interested in The Fatu Network or any  media platform only for election purposes. Our cultural fabrics and national identity should outlast any election or sentimental politics. We should not sell our souls neither debase our humanity just to win an election. The unity, peace,  security  and development of our country, recognition of our cultural values and the prosperity of our our people should be our collective central focus in this election cycle and beyond.

For those of you calling for a boycott, it is your inherent rights to disassociate yourselves from any media platform including The Fatu Network if you feel they do not add value to you but it is my firm believe that the current campaign smacks of impulse and therefore counter productive .Tonyaa Kesso is not the only show hosted on the Network and certainly the last episode is not the only episode you have ever watched on the platform. There are still so many others you may work together to achieve  in the interest of democracy and good governance in our country. I know  Hon Ousainou Darboe will not boycott the Fatu Network just because  someone used the platform to rain insults on him. Express your disappointment and disagreement and even lodge a formal complaint with the proprietor and the management of The Fatu Network but going as far as boycotting the entire platform is ill-advised, unnecessary and, quite frankly, ineffective!

All human beings are born equal with certain inalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Flying from Dubai to Accra, the ever-present EXPO 2020 displayed everywhere, with a good internet connection onboard Emirates flight EK787, one cannot but reflect on the ever used or misused word in The Gambia – SOVEREIGNTY!  Are we sovereign when we do not have a house we call our own? When our landlord is foreign, when we pay our rent in foreign currency, or when our more illustrious sons and daughters drive the economy across the aisle. Access to housing is a cardinal human right – not a privilege!

The real loss of sovereignty is being a tenant in your own country!

The Gambia land ownership (refer to local government and ministry of lands) has made it easier for anyone from anywhere to purchase a piece of land, own it, develop it, and earn money off of it. It is, therefore, both legal and within compliance and ethics to see non Gambians’ own land. It is quite logical if one is tempted to ask why home-based Gambians can’t buy land or develop their inherited lands.  Obviously, due to the better purchasing power of those abroad or non-Gambians, it’s not unusual to see them own lands in the commercial areas of The Gambia.

This beckons the question -are the foreign owners to be blamed? No! – indeed, some Gambians with strong purchasing powers are owning properties across the globe but with stringent measures applied by those countries for the benefit of the state and its people. In the Gambia, when were our land reforms and ownership last reviewed and legislated upon?

I would say – congratulations to our hardworking non Gambians in this country who are not only owning property but developing and employing our people.

Hence the question – Is our sovereignty being compromised by the poor legislation on land ownership and tenure system?  Yes – And this leads me conveniently to my subject of discussion- Gambian Real Estates – a compromise on our sovereignty!

When one takes a drive either on the coastal road to Brusubi to Fajara to Westfield to Brikama, there are perhaps over one hundred real estate companies or must I say, land agents as they are involved in buying a plot of land for A, they then demarcate and sell for profit. Some of those agents are nothing but scammers, and sadly – nothing comes out of it  – it’s a subject of another article……! But this conveniently leads to another inconvenient question – do we have proper legislation in place for someone to operate a real estate agency? What are the terms and conditions- I dare say – a process like Banks needs to be applied and urgently – the number of land cases in courts would not end for the next century! I would argue that Perhaps 4 to 5 of the real estates in The Gambia are compliant and serious business-minded. The rest, I do not know what to call them! Still on the Real estates, when one looks at the prices quoted for places around the airport, Jabang, Sanyang – forget waterfront as those bring a different mix to the table- the Local Gambians are simply priced out of the equation!

Imagine a 3-4 bedroom house going for USD120,000 to USD200,000 payable in 2-3yrs! Who are they targeting? This is D6m to D10m! How many Gambians can afford that? Besides the lack of legislation on land ownership, are the real estate agencies not part of those making us foreigners in our country? Imagine being a tenant to a Senegalese as she or he has been able to purchase and build and you couldn’t! The rent is also in USD or even CFA or EURO – mortgages are in hard currencies- Hygiene is needed in the real estate industry if we do not want to forfeit our sovereignty as Gambians.

SSHFC was, in my view, and I don’t claim the monopoly of knowledge is supposed to be the main driver to step in and help out on those contributions to the fund (provident fund). This will ease access to affordable housing but this is not the case – the last time I checked – SSHFC was selling a 15m x 20m in Brusubi for D650-800,000! Who can afford that unless the targets are Gambians abroad or foreigners? The very people who contribute to the fund are forgotten – what a shame! It’s not unusual to see a retired official engaged in civilised begging – no house to call their own! Sad! I can go on and on, but what is the point, the more I think of The Gambia and her people, the more I am inclined to give my view and hope someone somewhere in the corridors of power picks and apply them.

So, what’s my prescription,  knowing that we are in a global village, global citizenship, and need to encourage diversity and inclusion, investors, and advancement? I submit to us the following: –

1- Land reforms including but not limited to per sqm charge per zone to reduce the over pricing of land.

2- Real estates or agents need to have a deposit of at least D100m or have a bank guarantee of that equivalent. This will remove all the scammers from the system. The buyers will be at ease

3- The GMD is the legal tender -it must be respected, all rents, mortgages, and sales need to be in GMD- this will reduce the mass inflation.

4- SSHFC to build low-cost housing for contributors to the fund with D500K and above in their provident fund accounts. This reduces the stress on rent and land ownership.

5- Physical planning to have roads well-demarcated before the land is allocated to avoid our narrow roads and selling some parts of the road. No doubt, the OIC road project has its work cut out for them.

6- Alkalo and chiefs cannot sell lands prior to approval from the lands ministry, and the land should be leased to avoid the double or triple sale of the same property.

7- GoTG to push for the establishment of a building/housing bank- Bank d’ habitat as is in Senegal to help middle/low income earners build their dream homes.

8- Government reserve lands to be sold only by an act of parliament – we need to reserve space for recreational activities for our children and generations yet unborn, not to mention greenery.

9- Invite investors to invest along our coastline – limit the powers of the GTB! It’s certainly not working! Any Gambian who wants to build or develop for business should be given the opportunity- even a 10x15m! Same applies for foreign investors – this creates jobs!

10- Advocacy and awareness talks on land – it’s a limited commodity, and if we don’t guard it jealously- we can expect another South Africa and Zimbabwean land issues.

To conclude- our flawed and defunct land legislation is degrading this country’s sovereignty, sacrificed at the altar of greedy Gambian real estate agencies and its agents. Without shelter for our people – a fundamental human right- we are invariably violating a sacrosanct and inviolable human right! Hygiene is needed in the Real estates, land reforms and sovereignty!

Thanks,

Ismaila BADJIE

MBA – University of Liverpool – Shipping & Logistics expert

By Pa Malang Ndure Fatty

One could characterise Barrow as having idiosyncratic beliefs or impressions that are contradicted by reality or rational argument, typically as a symptom of mental disorder or even delusional paranoia.

Based of his faulty judgement; mistaken. ‘’His delusional belief in the project’s merits never wavers.’’

Barrow was politically implanted at the statehouse to make the political ground fertile for political cultivation and he has no photosynthesis to help the political plants grow. All the aims and the intentions around Barrow were good of the people but Barrow has already possessed his unknown intentions that would shock the nation and beyond. When a nation with broken hopes, no inspiration no future for the population anyone who projected themselves to give them hope even as low as my little puppy at home in 2016, Gambians would vote for them. It was difficult to identify, scrutinise or establish what type of person Barrow was in 2016 because all we want was change of regime and hope the new Emperor Barrow would be much better.

When the formation of the Coalition 2016 was announced majority of Gambians have hopes and confidence for unity and oneness they have never had before in their all lives but that hopes would last for only 3 months. Barrow in Office immediately realised the powers and resources under his command too much he can do a lot more for himself and his families than he previously thought.

Barrow feels insecure and feel threatened by the people he should be making their dreams of better Gambia a reality. He would now have to distinguished between people under different categories depending which variant they are. Body cells and nerves in his head are not too galvanised and sophisticated enough to carry the load assigned to him by the people of The Gambia but he finds it extremely easy to focus on his own personal projects and his microscopic eyes identified types of people who would stand by his side to establish his desired Barrow Empire, but they will not last long with him. Our hopes for better Gambia have now become a despair and fact for new Gambia.

He is often irritated when citizens exercise their citizenry rights as prescribed in laws of The Gambia simply because he did not understand why we did regime change in 2016. In his own world he believed he is elected as a president to sit in that chair and citizens will watch him as an attracting object. He did not understand we elected him to office so he could apply the laws of the country where we can do lawful things that we could not do during the 22 years of dictatorship era. He did not understand that those laws are not owned by him, but he is only there to guard and supervise the full implementation for the public interest. He did not understand holding regular press conference to address any concern issues is a fundamental responsibility of any successful leadership thereby citizens are UpToDate in state affairs. Barrow is scared and paranoid whenever citizens speak about the challenges facing the state and the people. Instead of engaging the people, he embarks of attacks and defensive game, and he ended up ‘neither scoring a goal nor defending a goal.’

Barrow is very primitive and raw in politics and in lifestyle, and he is not inspired by good leaders for the good things they did for their people, but he is inspired by bad leaders and the quantity of wealth and power they possessed. Barrow is greedy, selfish and untruthful in all engagements that he has to do with The Gambian people. From the look and evidence, he possessed and owned more valuable resources than the country he hypothetical to serve. He earns more than the country. The only thing he did not earn more than us is our breath.

Barrow has politically grown in untruthfulness, deception, manipulation and above all divide and rule policy. His delusional behaviour is evident anytime he speaks to the public. He narrates extraterrestrial stories that never fits in the reality. He acts confused, he speaks confused and he does not understand the feelings and desires of The Gambian people. He is lonely and isolated. The only people surrounding him are only safeguarding their economic survival lines.

Barrow is politically bankrupt and falling apart. He misjudged the people and he believed in the old primitive politics that automatically put the incumbent at the advantage not realising we are in the 21st century politics where incumbency often suffers defeats in the hands of the oppositions. He calculated in his own way that he can move on easily and established his political party and win elections. But as soon as he realised this is not The Gambia he used to know, he changed his tactics to influence people, ‘money, regions and tribalism.’ The people around him could not help him win over peoples’ mind. The continuity of Barrow’s administration could mean a potential tribal and communal chaos is certain as that the only backbone for his political survival. Since Barrow became president, the only time he speaks the truth is ‘when he is not speaking.’ All his remarks are contradictory, abusive and often absurd. He often gives remarks in tribal appreciation to endorse a specific tribe. Barrow does not represent the core interest of the population and he does not care who feels it hard if his person enterprises are intact.

Barrow was elected to serve three years in which he was to create a new white blank page for The Gambia, but he has now entangled himself in a ‘filthy shallow hell’ awaiting harsh judgements.

I hope Gambians would comprehend by now that Barrow is incompetent, inconsistent, ignorant and he does not understand his job and he will not quit. He has loss hopes and he is psychologically accepting defeats on December 4th presidential elections.

By Zakaria Kemo Konteh

In his meeting with local authorities, President Adama Barrow used the pulpit to paint a misleadingly dangerous and incendiary picture of   the efforts of a group of citizens who tasked themselves of monitoring the ongoing voter registration exercise. Describing them as thugs, the diatribe reminded me of how former President Trump labeled Black Lives Matter protesters when he was setting the stage for a violent crack down in Washington DC just so he could walk down for a photo-op in front of a Church. Difference, though, is that those Barrow referred to as thugs are actually law abiding citizens observing and recording an important process that will decide the fate of our country. Barrow’s ill-advised comments come on the heel of violent and cowardly attacks on UDP registration observers by some wayward Youths of Kanilai who are still bitter about the outcome of the last Presidential election nearly 5 years ago.

From every indication, President Barrow is paranoid, uncomfortable and angry. The president is facing the increasingly apparent prospect of defeat and humiliation at the polls on account of his irreconcilable failures in governance. The nervousness and bitterness may become more pronounced as we get closer to the election and as the electoral shock becomes inevitable. However, none of these psychological manifestations excuses or sanitizes the behavior of a sitting President especially when his remarks or conducts incite violence on his political opponents.

For several months, our country has been gripped by wave of banditry, petty crimes and other violent acts of robberies. This is compounded by a government so immersed in dysfunction and a President who has lost total control and focus. We have read extensive investigative reports of corruption, embezzlement and other nefarious activities involving public servants and institutions under his stewardship. Yet, President Barrow was never animated and forceful in addressing these vices as we have witnessed him do in condemning his political rivals – a clear distinction of where his priorities lie.

Accordingly, I would like to remind  President Barrow of his sworn responsibilities as the President of the Republic of the Gambia until the very last minute of his term. He should be presidential in his conducts and his actions and words should be guided by the Constitution and laws of the Gambia with emphasis on peace, security and protection of every Gambian and non Gambians resident in the Gambia. Being the highest office of the land, the Presidency should be above and beyond petty politics and division.