Mr. President,

I am writing you this letter as a concerned citizen and do hope you will read and take the expressed content into consideration as an advice from a fellow citizen, younger brother, and friend in the cause of peace and national development.

Sir, you did promise us of a better, developed and the prosperous Gambia during the campaign trail in 2016. Our nation saw the historic inaugural ceremony of your presidency both in Senegal and at home, following a minimally damaged political impasse which gathered another important milestone in our nation’s political history. It etched another stone in our lives as your election to office was a bravely fought battle of democracy where the citizens through their constitutional liberties and rights decided to cast their votes for you in the 2016 Presidential elections. You were a debutant in politics and elections. However, you became the darling of the electorates with a sweet victory over an incumbent, not because of your look, status, gender, religious belief, political philosophy or anything else against your co-presidential aspirants and contestants, but because Gambians wanted a regime change. The youths saw the niche and a glimmer of hope in you on the basis of the presented 2016 Coalition agenda and with the thinking imperative, and high expectations that your government will deliver the public good, following the minimally-damaged political impasse. You assured us with a protective emphasis to restore, build and promote democracy, the rule of law, good governance, accountability, transparency, and press freedom. You promised to implement the legal, institutional, political, civil service and security reforms all geared to strengthen our institutions. Your promises are still unfulfilled as you’ve allowed yourselves to be more concern on the craft of politics than on the implementation of the real policiesfacing us as a country.

Mr. President, it is over 2 years since you assume the presidency and nothing seems to have changed at all. We have seen your government recycling some of Ex-president Jammeh’s enablers and people with criminal records serving as State Ministers in your government. You were heard of recent in one of your interviews that Gambians should stop the talking and do the walk. However, we have seen the reverse in you as you are the only one who engages in the talking business, entertaining all sort of politicians at the state house to consolidate a political power, despite our faced challenges. You should note that we are not demanding for much, than what you promised to deliver to the citizens during the campaign trail.

Mr. President, what are your plans for the country? Thousands of Gambians both at homeand abroad are asking this vital question. We need concrete answers on your government’s plans to address our falling health care service delivery, rising food poverty, energy and water crisis, infrastructure deficits, poor standard of education, insecurity, unemployment and many more. Sad that your government has adopted the blame game policy direction of apportioning ceaseless blames on the former regime. It’s not about how much the past administration had plundered the country’s economy, but rather on how your government had turned around the colossal losses and the done damages to an umbrella of enormous goldmine opportunities for Gambians of all walks of life to positively exploit.This is our expectations in your leadership. Our country is still battling with seemingly intractable economic challenges and of which our current public debt to GDP ratio had risen to 120%, weakened dalasi against foreign currencies like the $, £, € and the CFA franc, just to name but a few which isn’t good for an impoverished country like The Gambia with limited resources.

Mr. President, your leadership is a test in our political governance to prove to your critics, political opponents and sympathizers that you have the courage, mental ability, composure, competence, zeal, valor, acumen, passion, and fidelity to not only serve and lead, but to bring and execute the much-needed development programmes for all regardless of political divides, gender, age, tribe/ethnicity, religion and place of origin. Sir, you might not be the brightest, but you have a great character to achieve greatness if you avoid the avid wailing urge of politics of procrastination and defy the odds of limitations never to allow your circumstances define by failures, disappointment and set-backs. Live with courage to execute the duties of your high office to make a difference and a lasting legacy in The Gambia’s political governance.

Mr. President our nation is in dire socio-economic and political crisis. In fact, you know the problem far more depth than I do as the leader of the nation.  And, let no one budge you with the deafening posture that there isn’t a crisis in the nation. Your circle of advisers and friends with interest won’t tell you the stories and plights of the average Gambian, not will they be honest and sincere to bring it to your kind attention. By and large, there’s socio-economic and political crisis and the visible signs are there for all to see and feel the echoing voices of frustration, politics of insults and hate flaming the corridors of our unity in diversity. Your political leadership has been questioned time upon time due to the fact that you have allowed yourself to be drawn in the aisle of responding to your critics. That’s not presidential and the least of what is expected of you as the leader of our country. The state of our economy is in bad shape and calls for actions and work in progress, not petty and partisan politics. Your policy initiatives should be focused on ‘Building the Gambia We Want.’ We are aware that our challenges and problems are far too many to overcome at once. But, we must strive and work hard to innovate and harness our potentials to build economic bridges of love, prosperity, economic growth and development, and not the straits of division, grievances, partisan politics and the silencing of dissent. This is the moment to stand your guard with the willingness and the prepared mind to unite a divided country, nurture and build a lasting legacy of responsibility and unmatched duties to serve with the fidelity to justice as a President par excellence in attending to the needs and aspirations of our nation’s citizens. Remember, you’ve taken the most salient oaths of office to serve and paint a picture of hope by virtue of the powers entrusted on you by the constitution of the Republic of The Gambia to end the pains and sufferings of the citizens. Please, do not abuse the powers bestowed upon you by the people to govern. Do not build a network of cabals or crony chain of looters to prey on our scare state resources for self-aggrandizement or create a privileged class in our political governance. Say no to corruption and be at the forefront to denounce all forms of bribery, corruption and corrupt practices. Avoid occasions of using your office as a dungeon or meeting place for friends or entertaining transformed political griots. Be mindful of universities plying en route to confer you with Honorary Doctorate awards. Do not be that desperate or be in obsession of titles that won’t add any value to your life or make any difference in your presidency besides carrying the mere titles before your name. These awards are a nesting cash cow and what you should do in this material time of our damaged governance is to focus and engage your valuable time, energy and efforts on how to improve and bring monumental changes and development to the people and by extension the country at large. Limit your international travels, close all your political closets in the locker room and focus your work on the domestic front to address the issues of health service, fixing our broken education system to advance quality, affordable and skilled-based education where citizens can learn the required technical skills and become job creators and not job seekers to recognize and exploit entrepreneurial cognition, address the energy, water and food crisis, the infrastructure deficits, unemployment dilemma and other social problems negatively impacting on our nation’s growth and sustainability in the realm of human ingenuity and development.

Sir, I remind you to “campaign in poetry and govern in prose.” The importance of maintaining the art of poetry in governing cannot be overemphasized, most particularly for a nation in transition and experiencing a post-dictatorship governance environment. While, I admire your humility and desire to surpass the achievements of your predecessors, let me hasten to add that there is so much to achieve and you must count on every God-fearing, committed and resourceful Gambian with the intellectual capacity, drive, knowledge and ingenuity to help you drive your vision.

I remain to be.

Yours in the Services of nation-building,

Assan Jallow, PhD

Alex, my good friend, it has been a while since I last penned you a missive. But that is partly due to the fact that the last time I sent a letter your way, you never published it. Therefore I gave you the cold shoulder in my literary mission and diverted my epistles toward the more widely read platforms of Fatu Network and the guy a pals calls “Nderry Leaks”.

So why did you refuse to publish that article on the “value of all voices in governance”. Is it because I quoted the lyrics of the Gambian old school artist Boubacarr Jammeh knowing your hometown’s past misgivings with a particular music video that turned out awry; giving an edge to your (Cultural) rivals in Sukuta to run rings around you with jibes?

Alex, It’s okay if you are pissed off with the foregoing because I know I have two solid uncles as your partners on your platform and the Jammeh’s have never played second filled to the Darboe’s-Lol! As my mother the late Kaddy Jammeh would sing “mbaring-na loo; moe teh m-bai la!” (Nobody can drive me away from my uncle’s zone/platform).

Sorry for the digression but I needed to get this off my chest before I proceed on the very exciting topic of today’s letter.

I have known ST Brikama Boyo for a little over 4 years now with my first encounter with his inspiring lyrics being the track “Ali Ndomo”. I first heard this song while I was a detainee at Mile Two Central Prisons (after I was relieved of my cabinet portfolio) and it resonated with the core of my realities at the time so it felt as if he was singing for me. I was to later meet the young man when I took over the management the Observer Company in tandem with running the state broadcaster GRTS. This happened at a time when I initiated creative platforms for young Gambian talents through the mini magazine “Observer Light” and other myriad programmes like “Perspectives on Gambian Music” that later metamorphosed into “Top Notch Convo” with Ibrahim Cham.

I took a liking to ST and my association with his media director at the time, Sultan Jammeh, actually helped me appreciate ST’s work better. We have since then maintained close cordial relations through thick and thin. The high point of my appreciation of his music came with his publication of his previous album “Watotijay” with hit tracks like “Mandinka Warrior” and “Task Dekabi” being staples for spicing up my motivational aromas at work and at home.

ST’s music has been a source of inspiration for me since then. His lyrics teach lessons in leadership and his style and work ethics are all full of lessons for young people desirous of leadership.

ST’s music is different and it takes COURAGE to step out of the crowd and beat a new path because that is risky; but as late US President Abraham Lincoln would put it “towering genius disdains a beaten path; it seeks regions hitherto unexplored.” So he had a choice to remain in the safe lane or divert the path and create a new flavour and he chose the latter. This is certainly an example of one leadership trait propounded by no less an authority than our mutual motivational hero, the legendary Napoleon Hill who emphatically stated that  “Unwavering Courage” is one of the key planks of enduring leadership.

The very act of choosing the Independence Stadium for his recent album launch #Saluto is yet another demonstration of this young man’s courage. To hit the biggest arena in town without bringing in a major foreign artist as crowd puller was nothing short of what ya’ll would call daredevil in Yankee Land. But like fate would have it for those with FAITH, the young man pulled it off with class, and so I salute him for this great victory!

Alex, one fine leadership quality I gleaned from research conducted by the Harvard  Business Review that I see in ST is to “Pretend You Have What You Want”. Long before he filled the stadium,  ST Claimed leadership of the domestic music scene. From his hit track “Tas Dekabi” to “Mandinka Warrior” and his latest “Baddest Localo” ST had laid claim to the leadership title well before it became a reality and this is a motivational tactic that has worked for the world’s greatest champions. Unfortunately, due to the petty nature of our small towns people cannot put up with even a little dose of braggadocio in a rap punch line. But what is rap without attacking and upsetting the current set ups?

I have not come across anyone who trash-talked his opponents  and claimed big titles way before he conquered his field more than the boxing legend Muhammëd Ali. He claimed to be the world’s greatest way before he earned it; with persistence and hard work he conquered the world. Yet he is remembered as one of the most humble human beings to have walked the earth.

Alex, our people cannot stand basic self-belief, talk less of top notch self-confidence but this world will surely not be ruled by the meek in this twitter generation. Our people have to understand that claiming a title in advance as “the best in town” is only aspirational and it’s not a crime to insert that in some rap lyrics or free style on stage while you work to earn it.

Indeed when he claimed the title of Kunta Kinteh in his song Mandinka Warrior, I took it from ST and he succumbed. To date he settles for the other phrase in the same line “Lyrical Musa Molloh” and Calls me Kunta Kinteh. But when he came up with “Baddest Localo” and I wanted to claim that too he dug in saying “kaybamaa nteh sonna wo la deh!” Lol! So a tug of war ensued between us on that title but when he hit the stadium and shook the nation to its very musical core, I succumbed and crowned ST the “Baddest Localo”!

So go ahead Alex and stake a claim to some title; just remember that the title is something you are aspiring for and you are using it as an affirmation while working your way to manifest it. ST taught this philosophy in the song “Baddest Localo” when he rapped “mbulo beh santo; n-singo lu beh dooma” (my hand is up; feet on the ground) so remain unapologetic about your self-confidence while constantly being grounded on the reality of your humanness; the realisation of you own flaws and follies. This is true humility as opposed to the hypocrisy of pretending to be humble while disdaining your peers in the recess of your heart.

Treat people with respect and honour; yet do not shy away from throwing the occasional punch (both literal and metaphorical) when the need arises. If prophets had to wage wars to establish the truth and to defend themselves, then don’t be fooled by any misguided ‘new age’ fab of remaining peaceful and docile while the so called universe does it for you!

Alex, this letter is getting long and I know the business man in you cannot spend too much time reading a long winding epistle in the middle of the week, so let me pause here till another time.

But let me close with a tag line from ST, that just raised my respect for his leadership qualities even further. You are a mainstream business guy but I believe on the few occasions you attended live musical events you would hear a rapper ask the DJ, to cut off the track or lower the sound by saying “hold it!”. On December 1st when the nation gathered to celebrate the leader of our music scene here, his calls for the DJ to slow or stop came in classic Mandinka “Nyappi nying kang”

‘Wotto’, Alex,  “nyappi nying kang”  till I send you part two inshaa Allah.

Yours,

Momodou Sabally

The Gambias Pen

By Baba Galleh Jallow

Finally we have a date: The TRRC will hold its first public hearing on Monday January 7, 2019. The decision was finalized at a meeting of the commissioners and senior staff of the Secretariat at Dunes Resort on Wednesday, December 5. We are confident that all necessary logistics will be in place and tested before January 7. Like we mentioned in a previous update, our Research and Investigations Unit and our Legal Team have prepared the witnesses who will first appear before the commission. The first hearings will focus on the July 22^nd, 1994 coup and circumstances surrounding it. Our teams have also started working with witnesses for the events of November 11, 1994. After that, the process will move into 1995 and look, among other events, at the case of former Finance minister Ousman Koro Ceesay.

At this point, we ask all Victims of Human Rights Violations of the 1994 coup to please come to the TRRC Headquarters at Dunes Resort, Kololi and share their statement. If they are unable to come to the TRRC HQ, they may call 9348929 or 2949170 and arrangements will be made to take their statement. Anyone that has any information on Human Rights Violations that will be helpful to the TRRC is also encouraged to come to our offices or call the above two numbers. We will be sharing more phone numbers with the public and conducting outreach exercises to reach out to those who cannot call or come to the TRRC headquarters. Some of this outreach could be done by reaching out to the various Victim representative in all the regions and asking them to help amplify the message. The objective is to give all victims of 1994 and every year within our mandate period a chance to share their statement if they so desire.

Meanwhile, we are happy to report that the medical board we requested from the Ministry of Health has been set up and has started seeing victims. Indeed, it was set up just a few days after our request letter of November 5th, 2018. Board members include Dr. Charles Roberts – Chairman, Dr. Tijan Senghore, Dr. Kebba Marenah, Dr. Pedro – Psychiatrist, and Mr. Samba Bah – Physiotherapist. For the past three Wednesdays (November 21, November 28 and December 5) the board has seen and examined some of the victims needing urgent medical attention. These include four April 10/11 2000 victims and victims from the April/May 2016 incidents. All victims were accompanied to their appointments by members of the TRRC’s Victim Support, Women’s Affairs, and Youth and Children’s Network units. Our staff also accompanied some of them to have prescribed CT and x-ray scans taken at Bafrow and other clinics. The TRRC facilitated transportation and paid the modest costs of the scans and other small related expenses. We hope to receive the report and recommendations of the medical board as soon as they finish their work with the victims. We will continue doing our best to assist victims needing urgent medical attention to get it at the earliest possible time.

We have also responded to a letter sent to the TRRC Secretariat by six United States senators last month. In their letter of November 19, 2018 the senators urged the TRRC to include in our agenda a review of the case of disappeared Gambian journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh. We have assured the senators that Manneh’s case is indeed on our list of cases to be reviewed and that no stone will be left unturned to make sure that the truth surrounding his arrest and disappearance is brought to light. The senators were also advised that since we are working on a year to year basis starting from 1994, and since Manneh’s case started in 2006, it will take a little while before it receives a full research and investigative focus.

In the near future, a separate update on our Never Again campaign and other activities of our research and investigations, victim support, women’s affairs, reconciliation, and youth and children’s network units will be shared with the general public. The TRRC seeks the nation’s support and prayers as we prepare for our first hearing on January 7, 2019.

#NeverAgain

State House, Banjul, 6^thDecember 2018

His Excellency Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia will attend the 3^rdAfrica Business Forum in Sharm El Sheikh in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The forum will bring together business and government leaders, including policymakers, investors, financiers, women and young emerging entrepreneurs from Africa and beyond.

The theme of the Forum is: “Bold Leadership and Collective Commitment: Advancing Intra-African Investments”.

The President and delegation will depart Banjul International Airport on Friday, 7^thDecember 2018 at 1:00 AM. Thepublic is herebyexcused from the usual airport ceremony given the unusual hours of departure.

By Dr. Ousman Gajigo

So Adama Barrow is proudly touting the pledges donours made as if those resources already been disbursed by the donours. I hope Barrow’s group advisors would for once give him some sound advice: those are just merely pledges. Whether the money gets disbursed or now would depend on some conditions being met. While those conditions would often be unstated, it does not mean that they do not exist.

According to Barrow: “My government has been able to receive a pledge of $1.7 billion and there are 42 different projects in that money, and all that will happen between 2018 and 2021. That’s why I said I will do better than any other past president and I am not just talking for you to clap.” Why isn’t Barrow focusing on anticipated accomplishments that can be financed by the significant amount of resources already raised domestically or those that have already been released by donours? After all, these are not small amounts of money. They actual constitute a significant proportion of the resources that are supposed to finance the NDP. The projects under the NDP are not supposed to be financed exclusively from resources pledged by donours.

The development challenges of the country cannot depend on the pledges materializing. To think that, as Barrow and his advisors seem to do, is to misunderstand both the development challenges faced by the country and to have simplistic notions about how the international donour community operates. The current government must demonstrate that it is worthy of that assistance. So far, it has failed woefully as it has not demonstrated effectiveness with the resources at hand. The roots of that failure lie in Barrow own monumental failure in assembling a competent team to advise him.

The topmost level decision-making body is the cabinet. Let’s take a look at the key ministries. Barrow choice of Minister of Finance is the most egregious example of his litany of bad decisions. This is arguably the most important ministry. While there is nothing wrong with recycling ministers from a failed regime, you would think that the President would be careful to pick a minister with an actual accomplishment to his name. Instead, Barrow picks a minister who is complicit in most of Jammeh’s actions given his high position in that regime, and continues to be entangled in questionable activities, with frequent appearances in front of the Janneh Commission to remind us. How will a ministry headed by Mambury Njie be able to make correct prioritization in budget expenditures, fiscal management and effectively implementation of the NDP?

Agriculture remains one of our most important ministries. While a change has recently being made in naming Dibba to replace OJ, the results remain the same at the ministry. This is because Dibba is just as unsuitable for the position as his predecessor. Both of these individuals seem to believe that the primary and the sole role of the Ministry of Agriculture is to buy fertilizers for farmers at the beginning of the rainy season and purchase groundnuts from them at harvest. With such diligent continuation of the bankrupt agricultural policy and practice from the previous two regimes, how will the country ever make any progress in this sector?

The third leg of our three-legged economy is the Ministry of Tourism. This important ministry continues to be led by none other than a veritable clown. Barrow seems to be operating under the confused assumption that just because someone owns a hotel, they are automatically qualified to oversee the Ministry of Tourism. Little wonder there has been no material improvement in this sector. If Hamat Bah is to be believed, the biggest challenge facing his ministry is the composition played by local radio stations.

So, with the status of the three most important ministries (Finance, Agriculture and Tourism), how is Barrow able to operate under the delusion that change is happening or is around the corner – big enough to propel him to a second term? What accomplishments can he actually point at to give confidence to donours that their resources would be well spent?

Given the incompetence of Barrow’s advisers, let me do some public service and offer some free advice. We should note that, for instance, at the 2000 Millennium Summit, pledges were made to fund the MDGs but when the 2015 dateline arrived, many developed countries fell short of the pledges they made. And in 2005 at Gleneagles, donours pledged about $30 billion dollars to be disbursed by 2010 but fell short by $19 billion by that date. Interestingly, most of the countries that failed to make good on their pledges form the bulk of those who pledged to The Gambia. If major industrialized countries failed to honour their pledges to The Gambia, it will be neither be the first, nor the last time this has happened. This is after all the basis of endless rounds of donour conferences.

Going back to my earlier point, is there any evidence that Barrow has been able to implement some signature development projects that could signal his effectiveness and encourage donours to start disbursement soon? As of writing this article, President Barrow has absolutely no achievement to his name. Virtually all the infrastructural development projects being done or completed right now were initiated under President Jammeh. These include the Transgambia Bridge, the International Conference Center, the planned Coastal road expansion, the Sukuta-Jambanjelly Road, among others. In the meantime, the electricity and water situation have not gotten any better in the urban areas. The economy only grew this year mainly because rainfall level this past rainy season didn’t fall below average as many feared.

Even the recent release of previously blocked budget support cannot be attributed to Barrow. That release, particularly from the EU, is the result of country’s democratic transition, of which Barrow’s presidency is a product, nor a cause. In other words, our new-found democracy begot Barrow and the freedom we now enjoy, not vice-versa.

I heartily agree with Barrow that his chances of winning re-election hinges on concrete achievements. Unfortunately for him, concrete achievements have been non-existent. If achievements are what should determine election outcomes, the election outcome should not bring any surprises. So, he better start working on convincing the UDP to nominate him as an alternate route to the presidency.

“Yesterday, everyone was scared, saying Jammeh had power.

Well, I wanna tell you that I have more today than Jammeh ever had.

People were scared of Jammeh because he had soldiers, police and SIS… but me, I have police, soldiers, SIS and ECOMIG… all at my disposal…”

The above remarks were recently made by new Gambian President, Adama Barrow. Barrow came in on a promise to lead the nation on a new path of progress, democracy and good governance. He was chosen in December, 2016, on a coalition ticket, to replace the notoriously repressive regime of Yaya Jammeh. So, for “Moses,” as he was named by his political godfather and now Vice President, Ousainou Darboe, who had come to save Gambians, to now compare himself to the dictator and brag that he has control of the country’s security forces, as a show of strength, is deeply disturbing. Gambians were quick to express their outrage at the President’s outrageous and irresponsible remarks. Barrow’s remarks are unacceptable and deserve condemnation from all quarters. With the overwhelming goodwill and show of support he came in on, to say that President Barrow has been a huge disappointment is an understatement. However, I would argue that there’s another group of people who are an even bigger disappointmentthanAdama Barrow – Ousainou, Halifa, OJ, Fatoumatta, Isatou, Hamat and Mai.

Prior to the December 2016 elections, I had never heard the name Adama Barrow.  Nobody knew him. We are told that he was a “nice and quiet” middle-aged errand boy for some Real Estate businessmen. He was an unknown, inconsequential assistant treasurer for the UDP party. When the coalition was formed, they needed a candidate at the top of the ticket. Because the dictator had jailed almost the entire leadership of the biggest political party, the UDP, eyes landed on the unassuming assistant treasurer, Barrow. The coalition held a convention and all the parties decided to throw their weight behind him. The rest of the nation invested labor and/or resources to elect him.

Why would Gambians elect an unknown man to lead nation? Well, for two reasons. First is that Gambians had had enough of the dictator and were only focused on getting rid of him. At that point, if the best way to get rid of Jammeh was to elect a monkey with lipstick, many Gambians, myself included, would have voted for the monkey. The second reason Gambians voted for Barrow is because of TRUST. No, we did not know Barrow to trust him, we knew the leaders who presented him to us and asked us to support him. Gambians knew Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, Halifa Sallah, OJ Jallow, Aja Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang, Dr. Isatou Touray, Hamat Bah and Mai Ahmad Fatty. Most were trusted political leaders who had spent years making a difference, in their own way, and had earned some level of respect in Gambian society. Therefore, even those of us who had questions about Barrow, cast aside our doubts with the belief that these trusted leaders would guide Barrow through the transition period if he was elected as they had asked us to do. We believed that if Barrow dared veer off course, they would be on hand to hold him accountable, just like they tried to do with the brutal dictator. Surely, these “patriots,” who had spent years telling us they would do anything to make sure Gambia enjoys good governance, would never allow their own candidate to stray, we thought. And this is what makes these leaders a much bigger disappointment than Barrow. Because we did not know Barrow, we had very little expectations. To these leaders, the fate of an entire nation was placed. It has been both disappointing, and sad, to see how quickly and how easily they were emasculated by their own chosen “man-cub.”

I hope these “leaders” are reminded that it was them that Gambians entrusted with the huge responsibility of leading the nation through the transition. So far, they are failing us and history will judge them for it. Everything that was wrong under Jammeh is still wrong today, and as the people who brought us Barrow, they have a duty to try and put a stop to it, or at least speak out against it. Those still in government need to do more within the administration. Those outside of it should not be deterred by their egos, personal material interest, or their fear of being labeled haters. They need to speak up against Barrow’s wrongdoings just like they did against Jammeh. So far, all the heavy lifting has been left to GDC, PDOIS and other activists, while the leaders who brought us Barrow turn a blind eye. Following are some of the many other issues Gambians wish these leaders would weigh in on.

• President donating cars to National Assembly members
• Signing a questionable deal with a dubious company, SEMLEX
• Pardoning a pedophile
• First Lady’s Foundation receiving a mysterious $35 Million from anonymous sources
• President receiving personal gifts from businessmen
• Murder of unarmed protesting youths at Faraba Banta
• President handing out cash envelopes to legislators
• Inexplicable amounts spent on travel and per diems
• Government’s lack of transparency in signing oil exploration deals
• Questionable deals allowing the Chinese to deplete our fish resources
• President’s donation of D11 Million to pilgrims from an anonymous donor
• Arbitrary hiring and firing of Ministers with no rhyme or reason

To Ousainou Darboe, Halifa Sallah, OJ Jallow, Dr. Isatou Touray, Aja Fatoumatta Jallow-Tambajang, Mai Ahmad Fatty and Hamat Bah, Gambians braved the odds, risked everything and elected the candidate you presented to us. We did not know Barrow, it was you we trusted. We are counting on you to hold this president and this government accountable, and guide it towards fulfilling the promises you made to us back in 2016.

“Gorr cha kadorm!”

State House, Freetown, Wednesday 5 December 2018

His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has officially launched the WASH Annual Review Conference organised by the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation at the Bintumani Hotel, Aberdeen in Freetown.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is an inter-ministry initiative between the Ministry of Water Resources and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation supports the provision of safe drinking water by helping to maintain sanitation and hygiene practices in the country.

President Bio said it was a pleasure to participate in the conference and to collaboratively think about ways to improve the lives of Sierra Leoneans through various interventions in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors.

He said figures had shown that in the past five years, thousands of Sierra Leoneans had died as a result of diarrhoeal diseases, typhoid, dysentery, cholera and other water-borne diseases.

He said his government had prioritised human capital development but emphasised that the nation might not be able to develop its human capital when it is unable to improve public health outcomes for citizens by increasing their access to safe water and sanitation and promoting health behaviours that would minimise the incidence of disease and death.

“The mere premature and preventable deaths of some of our nation’s youngest and brightest makes this unacceptable rate of morbidity an urgent priority. My New Direction has prioritised human capital development. We cannot develop human capital if we do not improve public health outcomes for Sierra Leoneans by increasing their access to safe water and sanitation and promoting health behaviours that will minimise the incidence of disease and death,” he said.

President Bio also acknowledged, with gratitude, the various interventions of development partners in supporting capacity building, water and sanitation sector reform and using innovative approaches to provide water in rural and peri-urban areas. He noted that he was particularly grateful for the impact of WASH interventions and for the retention of young children in schools.

“On behalf of the people of Sierra Leone, I register our profound gratitude for your sundry contributions. I am particularly grateful for the impact of WASH interventions for the retention of our young children in schools. We cannot do this alone. The bilateral and multilateral support we have received from strategic partnerships with organisations and institutions have been transformational,” he stated.

He further disclosed that his government was working on reforming the legal and policy framework of the Water Act that would streamline the governance of the WASH sector and provide an enabling environment for inter-ministry collaboration and the facilitation of engagements with multilateral agencies.

Minister of Health and Sanitation, Dr Alpha Tejan Wurie, said the conference was a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to critically assess the status of water and sanitation in the country. He said in order to maintain a proper health delivery service, hospitals and health centres across the country must be provided with functional and running water facilities to address the hygienic needs of patients.

Minister of Water Resources, Dr Jonathan Tengbeh, said the government was determined to provide safe drinking water and improve on the level of sanitation in the country. He said he inherited a sector that lacked sufficient funds and manpower to carry out its mandates. He, however, maintained that they were working very hard to implement sustainable water projects across the country.

Representative from the World Health Organisation (WHO) said: “We are happy for the exercise of political will to provide safe drinking water for the people of this country. To achieve the Sustainable Goal 3, we need to provide accessible and safe drinking water to all citizens. WHO is committed to working with government in achieving this goal.”