Police in The Gambia on Thursday blocked a group calling themselves #OccupyNA from entering the National Assembly to demand for the rejection of the government’s controversial supplementary appropriation estimates.

#OccupyNa stormed the National Assembly Thursday morning to put pressure on Gambian lawmakers to reject over one billion dalasis in estimates the government said is to cater for shortcomings made in the already approved 2018 budget.

The National Assembly Member for Serrekunda, Halifa Sallah, attempted to grant the protestors who were mainly youth access to the National Assembly but the PIU in full riot gears insisted and denied the youth entry.

Speaking to journalists, Raffiel RD Diab a member of #GambiaHasdecided said: “I feel very angry and disappointed because I feel this people parliament. It belongs to all of us.”

He added: “We didn’t come here with guns, we are well dress and we the right to come here and watch. So why should they bar us from entry? This parliament is paid by taxpayers’ money.”

But Tony F Mendy, a protestor and student of University of the Gambia, said neither the government nor an individual can stop him from exercising his citizenry rights.

The National Assembly has since rejected the supplementary appropriation estimates.

By Lamin Njie

Members of the National Assembly on Thursday overwhelming rejected the government’s controversial supplementary appropriation estimates.

The Gambia government through Finance Minister on Tuesday asked the country’s lawmakers to approve over one billion dalasis in estimates to cater for the shortcomings of the already approved 2018 budget.

Members of the national assembly on Thursday threw out the estimates because they did not come to the house four months prior to the end of the fiscal year and that they have exceeded 1% of the budget.

Halifa Sallah-National Assembly Member for Serrekunda speaking at the plenary said that the law says the SA should come to the parliament next year.

“We cannot continue to encourage financial indiscipline…we serve the National interest…,” he said.

“If you look at the reasons advanced by the minister that is contained in the submission of FPAC (Finance and Public Accounts Committee), if one has to relate that to the parent submission by the minister, the aspect that has been added has no point to be justified even whereas it has been observed by the FPAC. But the minister’s reasons are not holding water on the basis of submitting these supplementary estimates,” national assembly member for Brikama North Alhagie Darboe said.

The national assembly member for Upper Fulladu West Sanna Jawara urging his colleagues to join him in rejecting the bill said the law was not followed.

He said: “Estimates are made and approved and once approved that is the ceiling as to hw far you can go. But in the same estimates as alluded to by my friend from Upper Saloum. We have put in centralized service with 1,060, 000, 000 just in case of emergencies. So therefore there are funds for emergencies but what is emergency in this case? Twenty-nine million dalasis on a private jet to New York is not an emergency to me. So that money spent there shouldn’t be spent.

“I have looked at all the breakdowns, there is no CRC here and we are told when we were approving the CRC and TRRC [bills] that these are going to be funded by our development partners. That we would approve these commissions but the government would go out to seek for funding. Contingency funds is allow if we have given the president the approval but only up to one percent of the budget but this 1.2 billion dalasis do represents six percent which is way beyond what is acceptable.

“We are a broke nation, we cannot go on spending the way we are spending. So if we are in line with those reform programs we should keep in that reform programs because this is a transitional government, not to a government that is here to pursue infrastructural developments that we cannot afford. That’s political.”

Meanwhile the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs calling on the lawmakers to reconsider their decision said “either we solve the problem today or we solve it tomorrow.”

“If anybody is to be blamed it’s me because I have taken the decision to come to the national assembly for transparency, to reveal to you exactly this is the reality on the ground. Whether we solve it today or whether we solve it tomorrow or whether we solve it day after tomorrow it will always come back to hunt us,” Mamburay Njie told the lawmakers.

He added: “Yes the law allows us to roll over and when I took over I found that some of these things have been rolling over and over and over. And in our mindset I decided that why don’t we arrest the situation, why don’t we just come up with the reality. You go to a doctor and the doctor tells, ‘you have malaria or you have cancer’, gives you paracetamol just to reduce the pain but the disease is there. We have a problem, unless and until we solve it, in reality whether we do it today or next year, we haven’t strayed economically. But what we are trying to put in place is fiscal discipline.”

By Lamin Njie

President Adama Barrow on Wednesday said he doesn’t belong to any political party, as he dismissed claims of mistrust between him and his vice president Ousainou Darboe.

“My relationship [with Darboe] is very very normal. I think the question is about politics. As far as I’m concerned I’m an independent candidate. I didn’t belong to any political party and so I will not talk about politics,” Mr Barrow told journalists at the Banjul International Airport moments after arriving in the country from Egypt.

President Adama Barrow was away in Egypt attending the 2018 Africa Business Forum when his vice president Ousainou Darboe issued a threat to fight anyone who wants to divide his party. Political analysts say the comments are directed at President Barrow who has been making moves on the United Democratic Party using his youth movement as a cover.

But President Barrow speaking to journalists on Wednesday made light of the comments saying, “the most important thing is I’m elected by the Gambian people to move this country forward.”

“That’s why my focus is to go to Basse and launch the road and bridges in Basse, on the first I open the bridge in Farafenni and we are also working on launching Banjul. I think these are the things I’m employed for. But the most important thing is to be united. We have to be united together. To me I think the Gambia is bigger than anybody,” he said.

On the Africa Business Forum, Mr Barrow said “I think this meeting was very very important and the meeting was well-attended.”

“This is about doing business among Africans but there are a lot of challenges. If you want do business we have to industrialise. Finish products should be done in Africa. I think this is very important part of it and we have to open up to connect Africa to ourselves. The infrastructure has to be there. These are the challenges,” he said.

Press Release

On Wednesday, December 5th, Peace Corps – The Gambia swore in 39 new Agriculture and Health Volunteers.  The ceremony, which was attended by Minister of Environment Lamin B. Dibba and Minister of Health and Social Welfare Dr. IsatouTouray, was dedicated to the memory of President George H.W. Bush, who was a strong supporter of The Peace Corps.   NuruSey, Peace Corps Program Manager for Health opened the ceremony by saying “President Bush led a great American life, one that combined and personified one of our Nation’s greatest virtues, a commitment to public service.  The United States will greatly miss his inspiring example.  It is fitting that we honor President Bush’s legacy of service today by swearing-in 39 New Peace Corps Volunteers.”

In her key note address Dr. Touray commented “Over the five decades that the Peace Corps has been in this country, our partnership has steadily grown stronger and has been flexible enough to accommodate The Gambia’s ever-changing developmental needs and challenges.”

The new volunteers come from all corners of the United States. Prior to their swear-in, the Volunteers attended a two-month long, intensive pre-service training program.  The volunteers lived with host families to gain insight into Gambian culture.  They also learned to speak the language of their future work site.  The Volunteers demonstrated their mastery of the language during the swearing-in ceremony by addressing the audience in Wolof, Mandinka, Pulaar, Jolla, and English.

The volunteers will spend two years working in rural communities throughout the Gambia where they will work with extension staff and community members.  They will act as educators, catalysts, and change agents.  Volunteers working in the Health section will address multiple public health needs including awareness of communicable diseases and water sanitation and hygiene.  Agriculture sector Volunteers will address food security and production as well asenvironmental protection.  Peace Corps’ operational model is unique.  Volunteers live and work in communities, and help build capacity while promoting better mutual understanding. More than 1,800 Peace Corps Volunteers have served in The Gambia since the program was established in 1967.

By Lamin Njie

A foremost Mandinka historian-musician Jali Alagie Mbye has died, family sources have told The Fatu Network. He was 53.

The Tallinding based legendary Jali (Griot) died on Wednesday after a brief illness.

Who is Jali Alagi Mbye?

According a Swedish website Proline Sweden, Alagi Mbye (also spelled M’Bye) was probably born in Jan 1965, but you can never be sure. (He says his mother didn’t have a calendar.) He comes from a griot (jali) family and his father, grandfather and uncles were well known praise singers, history reciters and kora players, many generations back.

Alagi was sent to study kora with great Gambian masters at very early age, including the legendary Jali Nyama Suso.

In the late 1980s some Norwegian musicians came to Gambia and asked Jali Nyama which kora player he would recommend to come and play in Norway, and he named Alagi Mbye as one of the most talented young players. Alagi made his first of many trips to Scandinavia.

On his return, he started working as a kora teacher in The Eo’len Centre of West African Arts in The Gambia, which had many Scandinavian music students. (Unfortunately this centre is not active any more.)

At Eo’len, Alagi met many Scandinavian enthusiasts who invited him to return to Norway and Sweden, where he has performed once or twice a year since 1990.

He played with Knut Reiersrud and was a guest on Reiersrud’s CD’s Tramp. In Sweden Mats Edén and Groupa were his first contacts and he played and performed concerts with the group in the early 90’s. Swedish musician Ale Möller was fascinated by Alagi’s abilities and his ‘totalness’ in music and invited him to be a member of the Stockholm Folk Big Band project 1998-99.

The Big Band was composed of 14 musicians representing 11 countries all over the world. Alagi was the only one not resident in Sweden.

Alagi’s greatest concern is the future of Gambian traditional music. Many places now have no griot heritage to care for the continuity of the tradition. The radio and TV don’t expose the traditional music in Gambia, and the newspapers only report on pop, rap, reggae and hip hop stars.

1999-2000 he got the opportunity to make a solo album in Sweden, a recording of pure kora and songs in the tradition. Yiribameans The Big Tree, and symbolizes the roots, stem, branches and leaves of the West African griot heritage. All songs are in the Mandinka language.

His Swedish friends have helped him to realize his longtime dream of a music school for Gambian children, part of Alagi’s efforts to preserve the tradition of his homeland. Even non-griot children are welcomed to study there. Alagi is a member of the International Society of Music Education (ISME) and has taken part in their conferences in Pretoria and Amsterdam.

The Gambia government on Tuesday said it learnt with appreciation the news from the State Department of the United states that the former President Yahya Jammeh and his family have been banned from entering the United States as a result of his involvement in ‘significant corruption and gross violation of human rights.’

“This decision is in line with the commitment of the Gambia Government to combat corruption and ensure accountability for gross human rights abuses,” a statement by the Ministry of Justice Tuesday said.

“Accordingly, we are grateful for the solidarity of the Government of the United States in our transition towards good governance and respect for human rights.The Ministry of Justice will continue to collaborate with the United States Government on all matters of mutual interest.”

By Lamin Njie

The co-chair of Coalition 2016 Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang has vowed to ‘clear her integrity’ over millions of dalasis remitted by the Gambian diaspora during the coalition’s 2016 campaign activities.

In 2016, Gambians in the diaspora made contributions totaling 4.2 million dalasis to support the coalition in its campaign activities under the Gambia Democracy Fund. The greatest chunk of the sum was dispatched through Mrs Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang.

And speaking to The Fatu Network on Tuesday, Mrs Jallow Tambajang said that the chairman of the finance committee of the coalition Alhagie S Darboe has still not turned over the accounts for auditing despite her efforts.

She said: “Every dime that came from the diaspora, I have them in my personal records here came through my name. I received the money and I signed for the monies and I delivered the monies to the finance committee which was chaired by Alhagie S Darboe who is the administrative secretary of the United Democratic Party.

“The other member is Idrissa Jallow of PDOIS. And we also had another member Kebba Singhateh who is now working with the embassy in Russia. Everything that was given to me, I gave it to them. And I monitored, supervised the management of those resources. But the direct responsibility was Alhagie S Darboe.

“Since 2016, I have reminded Alhagie S Darboe, I have been behind him to produce the accounts so that they can be audited but I’m yet to be able to obtain them from him. I have reported the matter to His Excellency the President Adama Barrow. I have reported the matter to His Excellency the Vice President Ousainou Darboe. I have reported the matter to Honourable James Gomez who is the Minister of Water Resources.

“I have explored all avenues to do that and now what I am left with to clear my conscience and to clear my integrity is to write to him formally, and through the formal channel through his party and through the executive to ask him to submit the accounts so that they can be audited and they can be disseminated.”

By Lamin Njie

Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang has said that President Adama Barrow insisted that she become vice president of The Gambia even when her age did not allow her.

“I have many times gone to consult the president His Excellency Adama Barrow to tell him that because of the pressure and because of my ambition to support him in any other situation, in any position other than vice president… I even suggested some names to His Excellency the President,” the former vice president told The Fatu Network’s Omar Wally in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

Mrs Jallow Tambajang served as The Gambia vice President between February 2017 and June 2018. Her appointment to the post initially drew public scrutiny after a section of the constitution barred her because of her age. She oversaw the post for almost ten months before she could be legitimately hold the post.

The ex-vice president was then removed from the post in June 2018 said it was never her intention to be in the position in such controversial circumstances.

She said: “He (President Barrow) is there and he is a living witness. This is what people don’t know, people don’t know me. He told me that as far as he’s concerned and the country is concerned, I have worked hard for this country. [That] I deserve to be vice president not because of as a person but because of my background, my experience.

“And this is the statement he made when he was swearing me in. That he did not take me because I helped, I was the chair of the coalition. He said he selected me because; number one, of the trust, number two, of my expertise, and number three, because of my contribution to the coalition. He insisted… [It] was his conviction that I was the right candidate to support him at the time.”

By Lamin Njie

Former vice president Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang has said that she refused to accept a job with the United Nations because it was a ‘demotion’.

The country’s former Number Two stated this in an exclusive interview with The Fatu Network.

Mrs Jallow Tambajang was appointed The Gambia’s vice president in February 2017 under controversial circumstances. She later could only oversee the office after a law barred her due to her age. That law was later scrapped to allow her to be properly installed.

But she was sacked from the post in June as part of a major cabinet reshuffle only to be offered another job, the job of ambassador to the United Nations.

And commenting on her decision to decline the offer for the first time, Mrs Jallow Tambajang said: “I turned it down because I feel I needed time to think about it. And I feel that I had worked with the United Nations but the most important reason is the fact that I had worked with the United Nations and my level was beyond ambassador.

“And we know we have to be realistic… Not because I don’t feel… I am not a person that has a sense of entitlement, ‘this is for me and nobody else’. No. I was beyond an ambassador. I cannot go back to the UN being an ambassador at the UN mission at the ambassador level. So for me, that was a demotion.”

The former vice president in the wide ranging interview also dismissed claims she was desperate to obtain a job with the Barrow government

“I have never had the intention to be foreign minister. His Excellency never offered me the position. I never asked him for the position. And I never had any ambition to be anywhere,” she said

According to her, her focus the time President Barrow came to power was for him to have a good cabinet.

“I supported him in the process. He consulted all the political leaders. He offered positions to all the political leaders. The political leaders are more important than me. For me it is not the position that matters, if it is the position that matters I would have gone back to the UN or gone back to another system to work because I have what it requires. I’m not complete as a human being because we all learn from the cradle to the grave but I would have gone for better jobs,” she said.

By Lamin Njie

Celebrations have erupted in The Gambia after the United States said on Monday that it has publicly designated former President Yahya Jammeh and his family over his involvement in ‘significant’ corruption.

The move means the former dictator, his wife and two children have now been barred from entering the country.

It comes nearly two years since the former dictator was forced to leave power following his shock electoral loss. He now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea.

And Gambians took to social media on Monday to react to the United States’ latest action against the former president.

A former minister in the former president’s government Sidi Sanneh, commenting on Facebook, said: “The public declaration that bars Jammeh + family members from the US, though long time in the making, is a reminder that corruption and human rights abuses are intolerable crimes that will be prosecuted in the international court of public opinion no matter how long it takes.”

Modou Sanneh said: “Yahya and his family will never set foot in America again . The Gambia government should expedite the process to repossess the $3.5 million mansion he bought with central bank funds, The slow arm of Justice is global, and has far reaching implications!

“Now Jammeh can’t even enjoy his loot in the US, and soon in the EU. What’s worth it? But the fight for justice was all worth it, and the heroes and victims should derive vindication from this news.

“This is also a lesson for the current crop of government officials and President Barrow. It’s a lesson for all. Corruption does NOT pay and your families will suffer in the end.”

Ndeye Fatou Sohna said: “The slow arm of Justice is global, and has far reaching implications! Now Jammeh can’t even enjoy his loot in the US, and soon in the EU. What’s worth it? But the fight for justice was all worth it, and the heroes and victims should derive vindication from this news. This is also a lesson for the current crop of government officials and President Barrow. It’s a lesson for all. Corruption does NOT pay and your families will suffer in the end.”

Ebrima Jabbi commented: “God is not sleeping if you do good, good follow u and if you do bad, bad follow u.  What you reap is that what you sow.”

By Lamin Njie

The United States on Monday slapped travel restrictions on former president Yahya Jammeh, his wife and two children.

The US State Department in a statement on its website on Monday said it “is publicly designating former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, under the terms of Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2018, due to his involvement in significant corruption.”

“Section 7031(c) provides that, in cases where the Secretary of State has credible information that foreign government officials have been involved in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights, those individuals and their immediate family members are ineligible for entry into the United States,” the statement said.

“The law requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate such officials and their immediate family members. In addition to the designation of Yahya Jammeh, the Department is also publicly designating Jammeh’s spouse, Zineb Yahya Jammeh, his daughter, Mariam Jammeh, and his son, Muhammad Yahya Jammeh.”

The world’s most powerful nation said the move is consistent with its commitment “to combating corruption, increasing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promoting good governance globally.”

“The United States stands with the government of The Gambia, its people, and civil society in support of The Gambia’s transition towards greater transparency, accountability, and democratic governance, for the benefit of all Gambians,” the US State Department statement added.

By Mammy Saidykhan

The European Union ambassador to The Gambia on Monday 10th December organized a breakfast press briefing with the media at the EU headquarters in Faraja.

The roundtable discussion was centered on the European Union’s partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources with regard to a 6-year sustainable fishing partnership agreement signed on October 19th 2018.

The deal is aimed at strengthening the management of fisheries resources and the development of the Gambian fishing sector.

The agreement covers a period of 6 years and will offer the EU vessels the possibility to fish 3300 tons of tuna and tuna-like species as well as 750 tons of hake per year in the Gambian waters.

The EU, however, will in return pay The Gambia a financial contribution of 550, 000 euros per year.

Speaking at the briefing was the Minister of Fisheries and Water Resources James Furmos Peter Gomez who said that the agreement is a win-win situation as long as his ministry is concerned.

“We consider this agreement as the Ministry of Fisheries department, that this is the best agreement we ever had since we started having partnerships with EU,” he asserted.

Gomez said that for a period of 6 years, the ministry will get 5.4 million euros (approximately 302 million dalasis) to help with its institutional operations and to develop the sector.

The agreement covers the cooperation in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and promotion of the blue economy.

The European Union Ambassador to The Gambia Attila Lajos, dwelt on the importance of the agreement to The Gambia.

“It is important that people are informed of the fact that all the Pro’s coming from this agreement which will help the sector to develop. I believe there is a long list of Pro’s coming from this agreement,” he said.

This will certainly pave the road for an even more closer partnership between The Gambia, the European Union and its member states, he added.

The new agreement will be mutually beneficial for the EU and The Gambia, with 50% of the EU contribution through this agreement earmarked for sectoral support.

This means that EU will pay annually to Gambia 275, 000 euros to develop the fishing sector and the programme will be managed, planned and decided by the Gambian government and approved by the joint committee to be held once a year between EU and Gambian authorities.

The Gambia will benefit in the following ways; support a d management measures for fisheries, aquaculture and artisanal fisheries; sanitary and quality management with the view to develop export capacities; fisheries monitoring control and surveillance and fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; the development and strengthening of scientific capacity in the field of fisheries; and measures to protect fragile ecosystem that has made a significant contribution to the health of stocks, such as the establishment and management of marine protected areas.