The ministry of health on Monday received 10 ambulances after they arrived in the country from Turkey.

The ambulances are part of support World Bank is giving to The Gambia amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister of health Dr Ahmad Lamin Samateh said at the airport on Monday: We have never seen this before. I had never seen ambulances like these in this country before in my life.

“Today we received these kinds of ambulances that are state-of-the-art, that are ready for use for the provision of quality healthcare delivery services in The Gambia. The people of this country deserve the best.

“We do not deserve any sub-standard care. Our bars are very high and we want to reach those bars because the human body is the same whether it is in The Gambia or it is in Europe or it is America. What is good for people in those communities is exactly what is good for our people here.”

The health ministry said on its official Facebook page the ambulances were conveyed by the world’s second largest cargo plane, Antonov AN-124 Ruslan plane.

The ministry of health on Monday confirmed three people who have tested positive for coronavirus are still on the run.

“Three confirmed cases are is still on the run despite being active cases,” the health ministry said in its report as it also confirmed that 19 new cases have been registered.

The ministry then recommended that the search for confirmed cases who continue to be at large needs to be intensified in order to halt the potential spread of the virus by them.

Minister of Defence Sheikh Omar Faye has restated that his ministry will continue to afford the army needed support in line with the nation’s defence and security reform agenda.

“The Honourable Minister of Defence Ambassador Sheikh Omar Faye assured the Gambia Armed Forces of his Ministry’s Support at all times,” the defence ministry said in a statement as the defence minister last week Thursday met the army chief.

The chief of defence staff was at the ministry of defence to brief the minister on issues affecting the army.

The ministry said further: “He (defence minister) asserted that with continuous support from the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Gambia Armed Forces His Excellency Adama Barrow his Ministry will further create the enabling environment necessary for the improvement of people’s lives and for the development and progress of the nation.

“Accordingly, an overarching goal of his Ministry would be the consolidation of civil control over the military, which is one of the characteristics of a truly democratic society. He further advised them, to remain focused and avoid any distractions as we have a nation to build.”

NAWEC’s acting managing director Nani Juwara has warned that it will take time before his company could find an answer to the country’s power woes.

Electricity supply in the country in recent weeks has mostly been epileptic, and Nani Juwara has been acting as head of NAWEC since the sacking of Alpha Robinson earlier this month.

And Mr Juwara exclusively told GRTS regarding the country’s power mishaps: “We will do everything possible in the short term to ensure that we bring normalcy in the operations of the company. It will require time because the spare parts that we would need, need to be imported.

“Unfortunately, up to last week, some of the orders for the spare parts have not even been placed with the suppliers, much more to talk about the payments. So we are just banking on the goodwill of our suppliers, to have a common understanding knowing that we have a very precarious situation and we would bank on their understanding to speed up the processing of our orders to get these spare parts in the country as soon as possible.

“It might interest for some of you to know that last year this time, July-August, at the Kotu Power Station, we had four generators that were operating but today as we speak, we only have two generators operating at the Kotu Power Station. Two of the engines that were due for maintenance have been shut down and there are no spare parts available, even the ones that are running one of them is due for maintenance.

“At one of our power plants in Brikama which is Brikama Power Station 1, last year this time we had five generators running. As we speak, we only have two. And again of them is also due now for maintenance and probably will be shut down any time soon.”

Karpowership which provides electricity to the National Water and Electricity Company on Sunday gave out 60 rams to persons and institutions in the country, the first company in the country to do so.

During the presentation ceremony at the Turkish energy company’s offices off Kairaba Avenue, country manager Yankuba Mamburay said the donation of the rams is a further testament to Karpowership’s commitment to living up to its corporate social responsibility.

The Karpowership top official said Sunday’s event was the second time in as many years that his company has donated rams to needy people and institutions on the occasion of eid-ul-adha (the Muslim festival of sacrifice).

He said in response to the government’s call for help in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and amelioration of the economic and health hardships it brought about, Karpowership purchased five ventilators worth millions of dalasis for the Ministry of Health made donations including food and sanitary materials to the Gambia Police Force, the Banjul City Council, Kerewan Area Council and Mansa Konko Area Council.

Manager Mamburay underlined that although electricity generation is the core business of Karpowership, its corporate philosophy is hinged on giving back to the community.

He explained: “That is why our interventions are holistic. Since Karpowership signed a power purchase agreement with Nawec and started operations in 2018, we have managed to stabilise the electricity supply in the country by providing at least 30MW in the national grid. In our corporate social responsibility interventions, we have periodically given out hundreds of bags of rice and sugar and drums of cooking oil to boarding schools housing indigent children, orphanages and needy individuals.

“We have spent over a million dalasis to fix the water problem at the children’s wing at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital; we have refurbished, expanded, reequipped and restocked the Gambia National Library branch at Brikama; we have spent hundreds of thousands of dalasis to buy fishing gear and other materials for fishermen and fisherwomen in Banjul; and we have helped the National Environment Agency in marking key events in its annual calendar like the National Environment Day and International Coastal Clean-up Day among other things.”

Mr Mamburay thanked the management of Karpowership in Istanbul, Turkey, notably the regional director for Africa, Emre Durmuşoğlu, for expediting requests for corporate social responsibility activities.

Natoma Jammeh, one of the recipients of the rams, thanked Karpowership for coming to the aid of needy people like herself in these straitened times compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

The presentation ceremony was chaired by Sheriff Bojang, a public relations consultant for Karpowership.

Rohey Malick Lowe on Saturday toured Banjul after heavy downpour left the city submerged.

The mayoress at a news conference held on Sunday expressed regret over what her people had to go through because of the flood as she said ‘several’ issues need urgent intervention to alleviate the plight of the residents of Banjul.

“…they are as follows: unclogging of all the drains by the contractor (of Banjul project) since debris from the work-site has clogged the waterways making evacuation of the water difficult; surveillances of Tobacco Road by the Department of Wildlife for the presence of alligators and crocodiles within the residential areas of Boxbar and Tobacco Road; evacuation of excess water from some homes to avoid the incidents of cholera and malaria in the city; [and] fast-tracking of the procurement of sanitary equipment for the city based on the earmarked funds within the Banjul rehabilitation project,” Mayoress Lowe said.

According to Mayoress Lowe, the procurement of sanitary equipment is advancing and Banjulians would ‘very’ soon see a massive boost in waste management in the city.

Saturday’s heavy downpour also saw a Senegalese resident in Banjul die after he reportedly fell in an open drain. Mayoress Lowe seized the opportunity to send her condolences to the family of the deceased.

“Our sincere condolences also goes to the family of a Senegalese national who lost his life in an accident that happened yesterday at the junction of Primet and Mosque Road and it was due to an uncovered drain, according to eye witnesses,” Mayoress Lowe said.

The mayoress also called on the donor community for assistance as she works tirelessly to position Banjul’s development.

She said: “I will end by appealing to the donor community for assistance to ameliorate the plight of the residents of Banjul considering the coronavirus pandemic and the recent floods encountered by the city.”

The initial deployment to Kerr Pateh of a platoon comprising 30 troops of Gambia National Army was completed a short while ago, army spokesman Lamin Sanyang has confirmed to The Fatu Network.

Border village Kerr Pateh in the North Bank Region has in the past weeks become notorious for armed robbery, with the criminals believed to be Senegalese.

The army said on Monday “in response to a request by civil authority to deploy our personnel in Kerr Pateh, the Gambia Armed Forces launched Operation FOX HUNT to defend and protect lives and properties of Gambians in this area of the border”.

“The Gambia National Army has been tasked to deploy troops to the area and to conduct vigorous patrols within the general area of Kerr Pateh in order to completely deter the armed robbers from harassing members of the community; and to allow economic and social activities to thrive without hindrance,” the army said in a statement.

A platoon comprising 30 personnel led by Lt Mamat Jobe from 2 Infantry Battalion in Farafenni have now been deployed to Kerr Pateh.

The nation’s top military official Yakuba Drammeh last week Wednesday met US Ambassador Richard Carl Paschall at the diplomat’ residence in Fajara.

“The visit is a continuation of the chief of defence staff’s engagements with strategic partners of the armed forces following his appointment as the eight chief of defence staff of the Gambia Armed Forces on 5 March this year,” the army said on its website on Monday.

Drammeh became the head of the army in March this year following the removal of Masanneh Kinteh.

Kinteh had been in the role for three years as Drammeh served as his deputy.

Army colonel Lamin Jammeh, Major Lamin Sanyang and Major Abdoulie Mboob were with the Drammeh as he met Ambassador Paschall.

The army announced today it is sending troops to Kerr Pateh to tackle the rising rate of armed robbery in the North Bank Region border village.

The past weeks have seen disturbing reports of armed robbery mostly from Senegal, crossing into the country to carry out their criminal deeds.

“The Gambia Armed Forces, at the request of civil authority, is deploying troops to Kerr Pateh following a spate of armed robberies in the community in the North Bank region,” the army said on its official Facebook page today.

Mamma Kandeh on Sunday was left unimpressed by celebration by MPs following the repealing of a piece of local government legislation asking, ‘is it worth celebrating?’

Majority NAMs backed Lower Baddibu MP Alhagie Jawara in his bid for a local government law that ties elected officials to their political parties to the scrapped.

Last Friday, Mr Jawara triumphed after the bill successfully passed, as photos of NAMs that are proponents of the bill emerged online showing them celebrating.

Mamma Kandeh on Sunday reacted to the development saying: ” Is it worth celebrating? So Gambians should know it’s not the national interest that made them pass that bill. It’s in the interest of those celebrating. But that law has never been a bad law.

“Because you cannot come and I put you forward in my party… You tussle with people just to be the candidate of my party, then go to the primaries and win and then become a candidate under a party ticket…

“If you had confidence in yourself that you are popular, then what are you doing in a party? The party then sponsors you and then campaigns for you until you win. And then you say those people are bad and then go elsewhere. Which party would sponsor its candidate until it wins and the sacks that person?

“But there are people that are not loyal, wherever they are. They are betrayers in everything they are part of. So if you happen to have such people in your party, whenever they get what they want, they would leave.”

Police have promoted Kaddy Jarju to the rank of sergeant following her traffic direction heroics.

Photos of Corporal Jarju emerged at the weekend showing the female traffic officer directing traffic under heavy rains, prompting her huge admiration.

Police said today on their official Facebook page, as she got promoted to the rank of sergeant: “There was a heavy downpour of rain and the road was flooded and traffic high. Corporal Jarju instead of abandoning her post, took off her shoes, pulled up her trousers to knee level and got into the flowing water and continued to give signals to vehicles with unwavering passion, diligence and dedication amidst heavy rains.

“The image of the selfless officer sparked admiration and requests by many Gambians of diverse backgrounds for the IGP to consider motivating the lady.

“This morning the Inspector General of Police Alhagi Mamour Jobe had the singular honour and pleasure of decorating Corporal Kaddy Jarju to the rank of Sergeant at his office.

“While congratulating her for the hardwork and selfless service, he used the opportunity to call on other officers to emulate such diligence and dedication to serving the public.”

The 24-year-old man who’s on the run after being confirmed of having coronavirus is still not seen, according to the ministry of health.

Police have been looking for the man after he allegedly fled as health officials attempted to take him in for treatment.

The ministry of health in its 100th situation report on Friday suggested the search for Case 065 needs to be ‘intensified’ in order to halt the potential spread of the virus by him.

Two coronavirus patients have escaped from Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, The Fatu Network has gathered.

The patients absconded from EFSTH 6&7 ward after their results were announced to them, a source said.

One of the cases – a Gunjur man – left with his escort while the other case believed to be residing in London Corner slipped out of the hands of his escort, the source added.

The Fatu Network understands an operation to apprehend the two men is underway.

Health promotion chief Modou Njai said he has no information about the issue while Dr Buba Manjang, quarantine chief and Dr Abdoulie Bittaye of health services both did not pick calls for comment.

Two seven-month old babies have tested positive for coronavirus, the ministry of health has said.

The two babies (male and female) form part of 15 new cases confirmed by the ministry of health on Friday.

According to the ministry’s 100th situation report, the female baby was in a recent flight that came into the country.

The male baby is a Senegalese that also came into the country with the virus. The baby who was with his mom have been returned to Senegal as the mom’s lab results pend.

A fourth man has died from coronavirus as the nation’s fatalities from the deadly disease rose to four.

The ministry of health in a report said a 56-year-old man who contracted the virus at a health facility died on Friday from the disease a day after testing positive.

“The said case was admitted at the 6 & 7 Ward of EFSTH but had his sample collected on the 15th July after a patient admitted in the same ward tested positive for COVID-19. His test result came out on July 16th and he was pronounced dead on the 17th of July,” the health ministry said in its 100th sitrep.