By Zackline Colley

A two-day workshop in Banjul has brought together key stakeholders to bolster national and regional advocacy efforts against female genital mutilation (FGM) and strategize on protecting women and girls from harmful practices.

The workshop, jointly organized by GAMCOTRAP, NGBV, and Tango, was dedicated to the defence of the Women’s Amendment Act 2015 that criminalizes FGM, countering attempts to overturn the legislation.

Judy Gitau, Regional Coordinator for Equality Now, emphasized the haste of safeguarding the law and raising public cognition on the harmful effects of FGM.

“Moving forward, we must map out strategies to protect and defend the Women’s Amendment Act of 2015 so that it can continue to protect women and girls,” she stated.

Gitau also highlighted four major challenges facing the anti-FGM efforts: litigation, strong cultural norms, patriarchal systems, and an organized anti-rights wave.

“We never anticipated a need to defend the law, but we must strategize to ensure its implementation becomes the new culture, the new norm,” she added.

The workshop comes at a crucial time, as The Gambia has seen efforts to repeal the Women’s Amendment Act. In July 2024, the National Assembly rejected a private member’s bill aiming to repeal the law. However, according to Gitau, the fight is far from over, with ongoing legal challenges and societal resistance.

“The threat to the anti-FGM legislation here is a manifestation of a broader anti-rights wave that, if we are not careful, can push back on the rights of women and girls across the globe,” she warned.

Mr. Fallu Sowe, National Coordinator for the Network Against Gender-Based Violence, also echoed these sentiments, describing the fight against FGM as both a national and international issue.

He recalled the 2023 prosecution of three women for engaging in FGM, which sparked significant backlash. “Religious leaders and some communities began speaking out, calling for the repeal of the law. It’s a big lesson we must learn from – when we have laws, we must stand to protect them,” Sowe asserted.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) have played a vital role in advocating against FGM and supporting survivors. Yadicon Njie Eribo, Chairperson of Tango, spoke on behalf of CSOs, highlighting their efforts to raise understanding and engage communities through dialogues and workshops.

“CSOs have consistently lobbied for stronger legal frameworks and policy reforms to protect women. The Women’s Amendment Act 2015 stands as a powerful testament to our collective resolve to eliminate this harmful practice,” she noted.

Eribo praised the ongoing advocacy efforts, pointing up that education and socialization workshops have been pivotal in furnishing community members with vital information about the threats of FGM and the legal protection provided by the 2015 Act.

Honourable Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, Madam Fatou Kinte, restated The Gambia’s commitment to international human rights conventions, including CEDAW and the CRC, which protect women’s and girls’ rights.

“The Gambia will continue social mobilization at the community level on the health and reproductive consequences of FGM while defending and implementing the law,” Kinte assured participants. She emphasized the importance of collective grassroots efforts and multi-stakeholder collaboration in ensuring the rights and well-being of women and girls are prioritized.

The workshop serves as a significant step in reinforcing The Gambia’s commitment to ending FGM, with stakeholders agreeing on the need for continued advocacy, enhanced implementation of the law, and greater public engagement to safeguard the future of women and girls in the country.

By Mama A. Touray

The Internal Audit Director at the Kanifing Municipal Council, Landing Colley, has told the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry that there was a capacity gap in the council’s internal audit unit.

“There was a capacity gap in terms of knowledge about how audit works, and the staff therein has a capacity gap regarding auditing and how it is done,” he told the commission.

He added that at the time of assuming office, there were 5 staff in the Internal Audit Unit and that the Audit Unit was without a director for at least 2 years.

Colley informed the commission that KMC was “medium” in terms of control processes.

“There is a will from both the policy makers and the management of KMC to improve themselves, but the problem is that they have limited exposure to the legislative framework governing the councils. The understanding of the [Local Government] Finance and Audit Act was a bit low,” he said.

He also testified that he did a procurement audit looking at the procurement activities, contracts awarded, and the evaluation criteria used.

He told the commission that “there was no independent evaluation committee” at the council, though he advised the council to establish an independent evaluation committee as some of the policy makers in KMC do management work.

“When I came newly, I did what we call a procurement audit. I looked at the procurement processes, how contracts were awarded [and] the evaluation processes. When I looked at that, I found out that, when it comes to the assessment of contracts, there was no independent evaluation committee,” he explained.

Colley testified that at KMC, policy makers perform administration functions which he said makes them not best suited to do evaluation of contracts.

“For example, let’s say the job is not completed and as an auditor, if you have a query, you will go back to the same people who did the evaluation. So, there is that conflict there,” he said.

At this juncture, Colley agreed with Lead Counsel Gomez’s statement that without an independent evaluation committee, the contracts may be susceptible to fraud, nepotism, and favouritism, among other wrongs.

By: Mama A. Touray

The Chairman of the Brikama Area Council, Yankuba Darboe, said in an interview that the BAC has started a property assessment to determine the number of properties within the West Coast Region, as the council does not have a database of properties within its jurisdiction.

“We started a property assessment at the council. BAC does not have a database, so when you say, for example, at Bijilo, we don’t know how many properties are there. The collector that goes to Bijilo may say we have collected from ten compounds, but he can even collect from a hundred compounds and report only ten because we don’t know the number of properties there,” Darboe explained.

He alleged that, at times during the year, collectors would again tell the council that they had exhausted all the properties in a given area.

According to Chairman Darboe, this behavior by collectors is one of the reasons BAC often refers to a “limping period” and resorts to taking loans from banks to pay staff salaries.

“This is what collectors do. It’s why most of our collectors have multi-story buildings built in their names, and this is the reality,” he said.

He added, “So what we have done is to assess all areas and determine how many households are in Bijilo and how much they should pay in a year. This will help us in budgeting and knowing how many shops and businesses are there.”

Chairman Darboe, however, lamented that although they hired an assessment team, the collectors are not allowing them to do their work. “The collectors don’t want us to have the information because information is power, so they don’t want us to know, and they are not collecting from everywhere.”

He continued, noting that when the assessment team visits some places, residents report they have never seen BAC officials collecting from them since they began occupying the property. He added that even the NAMs in Jabang have never paid anything to BAC since they acquired their properties. “All the NAMs in Jabang have never paid anything to BAC because none of our collectors reached them, but this year, our assessment team did.”

Darboe stated that BAC has many development goals for the West Coast Region, but without tax payments, they cannot achieve them.

“All those who were at BAC before us did nothing for us. They left it for us, so we have our work cut out for us. This year, we are dedicating efforts to acquiring trucks because we know that will help us address the issue of trash, which is a very big problem in the West Coast Region, and this is the reality,” he concluded.

In Banjul, a disputed building under construction has tragically led to the death of a child after it collapsed.

According to sources, the builders were placing iron rods on a ten-layer brick structure when it collapsed on three children.

“They were on top of the ten-layer bricks placing the iron rods when the bricks collapsed and hit the children. The first child suffered serious injuries, leading to his immediate death, while the other two were rushed to the hospital,” said Sheikh Ahmad Jaw, the Ward Councilor.

“The new store being built at that junction collapsed into another structure, causing the death of 7-year-old Ali Njie from Thompson Street, now Alasan Ndure Street, and seriously injuring other young people,” an eyewitness said.

The Fatu Network has been informed that residents are planning to stage a protest this evening, demanding the evacuation of the store, which they claim shouldn’t be in the residential area.

More details to follow…

The Mayor of Banjul City Council (BCC), Rohey Malick Lowe, has been appointed as Special Ambassador of the Global Women in Finance Leading Summit 2025 (GWFLS2025) and beyond.

A letter obtained by this medium from the Africa Global Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), in collaboration with The Career Mompreneur (TCM), confirmed her appointment.

The statement, signed by Dr. Olivier Kamanzi, Chairman & CEO, read: “On behalf of the Africa Global Chamber of Commerce (AGCC), in collaboration with The Career Mompreneur (TCM), I am delighted to appoint you (Mayor Lowe) as a Special Ambassador for the second edition of the Global Women in Finance Leading Summit 2025 (GWFLS2025) and beyond 2025.”

They believe that Mayor Lowe’s continued involvement would greatly enhance their mission and further inspire the next generation of women leaders in finance, business, and leadership.

“Your insights on your personal journey, financial empowerment, and professional experiences resonated deeply with our women audience, both young and adult leaders,” the statement added.

They thanked Mayor Lowe for her unwavering commitment to impacting the lives of many women and girls globally.

Reacting to the appointment, The Gambia’s first and only female mayor said: “I am excited to be given the opportunity, and I will work hard to meet expectations.”

Mayor Lowe expressed her profound gratitude for the recognition and reassured the organization of her commitment to the role.

By Dawda Baldeh

Ghanaian soldiers, part of the ECOWAS mission in The Gambia and stationed in Barra, held a sports day event with their Gambian security counterparts on Wednesday.

The objective was to foster camaraderie between the ECOMIG troops and the various Gambian security agencies in the North Bank Region.

The event saw the attendance of high-ranking individuals from ECOMIG, GAF, the Police, GID, the Fire Service, and other senior security officials, including the Deputy Governor of NBR.

The day, which was described as the first of its kind, began with a football competition between six teams namely, ECOMIG, GAF, Immigration, Police, Fire Service, and Ports at the Essau sandy football field.

GAF and Ports opened the football competition and defeated Ports 2-0, while Fire Service also humiliated ECOMIG 3-0, and Immigration also beat Police 1-0.

GAF and Fire Service locked horns in the semifinals while Immigration secured direct entry into the final.

After GAF defeated the Fire Service, they faced Immigration in a highly competitive final.

The game ended in a one-all draw for GAF and Immigration and they proceeded to a penalty shootout where GAF got the better side of Immigration and crowned winners of the football competition.

From football in the scorching sun in Barra, attention was shifted to other sporting activities such as Marathons, Push, Volleyball, and Table Tennis.

ECOMIG won the Marathon, Push Up, and Table Tennis competitions while Ports secured victory in the Volleyball.

The Sports Day provided an opportunity for the security agencies to engage in a fun sporting activity making the day a remarkable success.

It also serves as an avenue for interaction, sharing experiences, and ideas, building connections, and exchange of pleasantries.

It also presents an opportunity for fostering brotherhood among the participants.

By Mama A. Touray

The Chairman of Brikama Area Council, Yankuba Darboe, in a recent interview discussing the council’s priorities in tackling challenges, said trash collection is a top priority. The council plans to procure eleven trucks, each worth D7 million to D8 million, to address the issue of trash collection.

During the interview, Yankuba said, “We start with trucks this year, and we are expecting that those trucks will be delivered in December or January. When we have our own trucks collecting trash, we won’t be disrupted by rain or mud because it will be during the dry season, and each of the trucks costs around D7 million to D8 million.”

He added that out of the eleven trucks, five are trash collectors, two are open trucks, one is a septic tank, and another is a skip truck with ten skips where people can dispose of trash, which the truck will then collect. Additionally, the council will procure a caterpillar.

He explained that the open truck and caterpillar will help in collecting garbage at dumpsites, while a bulldozer will assist in leveling roads that the council plans to construct with gravel.

“It will rain, and places will flood, but that lasts for four months. So this year, we will sacrifice and accept the delays until next year. This year, we are following the big trucks, and we started the GBA process in February and issued a tender for eleven trucks. Thank God it took time, but a couple of weeks ago, GPPA approved the successful bidder,” he said.

Upon selecting the qualified bidder, Darboe said they notified all the applicants, giving them an opportunity to appeal, but they had not received any appeals at the time of the interview.

The Chairman mentioned that once the contract is signed, the successful bidder has ten weeks to deliver the trucks.

He continued, “So when we have those trucks, it will be a start. This year, we will have achieved something. Our entire year’s budget is spent on these trucks because trash collection isn’t limited to just four months; rain lasts four months, while trash collection is from January to December.”

Women in Old Yundum, around Nema Kunku, who voted for him, have trash collection as their main challenge, which is why it became a priority for the council.

According to Yankuba, they attempted to address the issue with a private company through the Seneya project, but it was not successful.

“That is why we say, this year, people can say and write as much as they want in newspapers, but we will bear it. However, we will ensure that we have big trucks to ease these problems, and next year we will start working on drainage.”