In the village of Nenemaaje, in the hinterland of Moofingduu, there was a problem of Alkalooship. For decades, they struggled with the difficulty of finding one among them honest and scrupulous enough to head the village in a manner that will change the lives of its people. First, they had an Alkaaloo, Keejang Meeta, who ruled over the village for a long time. In fact, it is said that he was there for almost thirty years; yet, the villagers were not satisfied. Admittedly, during his reign, the village was peaceful, and people went about their business, hard as it was.

It was because of the longevity and the difficulties the people were facing that one disgruntled palace guard forcefully removed him from the village throne. This disgruntled palace guard was called Keejaw Warata. He came with a lot of promises to change the way and manner in which the village was being run. He promised that form henceforth, everything will be done in the open. There won’t be any secrets and the villager will know exactly what was going on. To add to all those promises, he displayed the longevity with which Keejang ruled as a sign of greed. Thus, he proposed that there should be a rule that no Alkaaloo will overstay on the throne. This was welcomed by the villagers and so they all supported him in every possible way.

However, it didn’t take long for Keejaw to also begin to show signs of greed and thus used his Council of Elders to change the law that purported to shorten his reign. He made it that he could rule for as long as he pleased. He had some people who were so betaken by his charms that they started proposing that he change the village into a kingdom and become the founding and abiding king. For them, he would rule over the village until his son came of age and take over.

Keejaw thus felt the praises and his head became swollen with pride. He began silencing anyone who wished to oppose him and started jailing and even killing opponents, real or perceived. A time came when no one in the village dared say anything about or against Keejaw. Many of the villagers ran away to other villagers to either escape persecution or avoid the economic strangulation that had overtaken them. The village became isolated as other villages saw it as a backward village which was under the control of a madman.

The villagers mustered the courage to oppose Keejaw with the intention of choosing another Alkaaloo who will take them to the Promised Land. They came together, threw away their differences and saw the village as being more important than all of them. In fact, many saw it as the last attempt to salvage a village which was on the verge of destruction. Some villagers even lost their lives while trying to ensure that Keejaw was ousted.

Finally, the villagers cast stones (that was how leaders were chosen in the village), each villager would cast a stone in the name of the person he wished to be the Alkaaloo. They cast more stones for Suntukung Koyoo than they did for Keejaw. Thus, it was the turn of Suntukung to rule as Alkaaloo of the village. There was great joy on the day of the casting of stones. Poems were written, songs sang and there was all night dancing.

Initially, Keejaw refused to leave the throne and hand over to Suntukung. But then the neighboring villages sent delegations to come and talk to him to leave. When those delegations failed, they had to send all their guards together to force Keejaw to leave the village palace. The struggle was bitter but, in the end, Keejaw was compelled to leave and go and live in another village as a fugitive.

The reign of Suntunkung began in high note. He was liked by all and even the other villages in the region were ready and willing to support him. He traveled from village to village meeting other Alkaaloos and seeking help from them in order to develop his village. They helped and promised more help. Meanwhile; the villagers were now free to air their ideas and even express opposing views to the rule of Suntukung.

Then, there was trouble in paradise as the villagers watched Suntukung make blunder after blunder as he was a novice in leadership. But that was not the problem, the problem was that he was becoming arrogant and didn’t seem to care what the villagers were saying. He ignored most of the calls to do better and improve the lives of his people. His Council of Elders were initially doing a good job. They checked many of the quarters in the village to ensure that they were doing what they were supposed to do. Many observers praised them for that.

It was therefore unfortunate when it was heard that Suntukung was calling the members of the Council of Elders and giving them ten bags of cowries each. This, it was surmised, was to seek their support for certain things he was doing or going to do. When that scandal broke, it was actually revealed by one of the members of the council, the courtiers in Suntukung’s palace denied it flat even though some of the members of the council of elders had already admitted in public that they had received the bags of cowries.

Th town criers were following up on that scandal and they wished to see that all those who were found to have done something wrong would be brought before the people. The problem was that, according to the tradition of the village, it was the Council of Elders who should call Suntukung and put him right. But now that he had been giving them bags of cowries, would they invite him to their Council?

To be continued…

The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubacarr Tambadou has said that the much talked about Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) will be launched on Monday, 15th October.

Justice Minister Tambadou on Tuesday afternoon told journalists that 11 selected TRRC Commissioners will be sworn in during the launching of the Commission.

“We have not received any public complaints against the selected Commissioners,” Justice Minister Tambadou said.

The Minister added that commissioners were selected from the different regions, ethnicities, religions, gender and the diaspora to be represented in the Truth Commission.

He announced the appointment of Mr Essa Faal as the Commission’s Lead Counsel deputised by Ms Horja Bala Gaye who will be assisted by a group of lawyers.

“We have few witnesses who are lining up to testify,” he added.

The Justice Minister also spoke about the selection of individuals from non governmental organisation to setup a Human Rights Commission before the year ends. So far, nine names were gazetted for public scrutiny before the final five will be submitted to the President for appointment.

The Attorney General further spoke about the drafted Anti Corruption Bill that is presently under review. He added that the bill would be taken to Cabinet and later to be enacted by the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, the Ministry has plans to undertake three key projects such as Prisons, Electoral and Legislative Reforms in 2019.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia, Honourable Mamadou Tangara on Sunday 7^thOctober 2018 met with H.E Mr Taro Kono, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a regular convergence meant to promote high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and development partners.

The two Ministers of Foreign Affairs discussed matters bordering on the strengthening of bilateral relations between The Gambia and Japan. Minister Taro Kono expressed the intention of the Government of Japan to provide technical assistance and support relevant to the improvement of the Government of The Gambia’s food security initiatives and other national development programmes.

For his part, Minister Tangara thanked Minister Taro Kono for the warm welcome while emphasising the significance of Japan’s support to The Gambia over the years.

Minister Tangara also met with Gambians studying in various universities in Tokyo on Monday 8^thOctober 2018 and assured them of The Gambia Government’s full support at all times.

By Omar Wally

Veteran PDOIS politician Sidia Jatta, the National Assembly member for Wuli West, has said the government of President Adama Barrow has so far failed to meet the needs and aspirations of Gambians.
“The fundamental expectation of Gambians are yet to be met, i.e employment of youths and the country also continues to be indebted as before, while the plight of farmers and youths remain the same,” he told The Standard.
Hon Jatta, who is the chairman of PDOIS said Barrow’s government supposed to have been a coalition government run by the coalition comprising ministers selected by Barrow in collaboration with a particular committee selected by the coalition but that has never taken place. “Barrow chooses ministers and he has been firing some, hiring others like what we used to see before,” he said.

Jatta, a University of Grenobel alumnus stressed that the fundamental expectation of the coalition is not just for Yahya Jammeh to go, or to put an old wine in a new bottle.
“Government will tell Gambians Europe has sent us 40 million euros to take care of the returnees, what about those who are not returnees, are they not going to be taken care of because returnees found some Gambian youths here; some graduates and some highly trained,” Hon Jatta said.
Asked why Halifa Sallah declined a ministerial position, Sidia said: “Barrow has never, ever or dreamt of giving Halifa Sallah a ministerial position, all what people are saying is all rubbish. Barrow has never offered a position other than adviser. He never wanted Halifa in any position than an adviser position.”

When quizzed if he was offered a ministerial job himself, Jatta rather comically responded: “If you, Omar Wally, say to me, Sidia I want to make you my foreign minister and the next day you come and say to me someone came and said I must make him foreign minister, have you offered me anything?
“I choose what I want to do in a frame work because I know what I’m good at best. I know every sector in government and I can handle every sector in this government. So if you put me in one sector and this is a transitional government with the objective of laying solid foundations and I am honest as I’m, I will do what I think is best to help that foundation. That is why I chose to go to parliament.”

On the suggestion that he and Halifa give chance to competent young ones in the party after 30 years, Jatta said he never chooses himself to be a presidential candidate or even an MP. “I was chosen by the people of Wuli, and as a presidential candidate, I have never chosen myself; it is always the people and the party who choose. It is not Halifa or Sidia who determines who becomes what in PDOIS, and if it is not the two of us who determine, those who determine are the people you should ask the question,” he said.

Story by Standard Newspaper

When Yaya Jammeh was in power we were all comrades. We agreed and shared the same definition of national interest. We all understood what constituted poor leadership and bad governance and dictatorship. We all stood up shoulder to shoulder to fight that toxic regime. We transcended party and tribe and region. We were compatriots in spirit, words and actions. There was no antagonism between diaspora and home-based citizens because we all had only one common objective. By then we had values and standards and we stood by them.

But since 19 January 2017 when Pres. Barrow and his Coalition took over, we broke apart. Everyone became a supporter of one group against another group. Parties emerged. Tribes emerged. Regions emerged. Diaspora versus home-based. The idea of national interest became a contested concept. Party and individual and tribal interests became the centre of our discourse and engagement. Values and standards became different and conflicting. Consequently, the nation began to crash as our focus on the Government got muddied and weak.

Instead of subjecting Pres. Barrow to the same values and standards of good governance and democracy as we did with Yaya Jammeh, we let the bar drop extremely low for Barrow. As it suits us we defended, rationalised, distorted, exaggerated everything and anything about this Government just because it suits our party, our leader, our tribe or our selfish interest. We went further to even castigate, demonise and vilify any voices that sought to hold the Government or our political parties and political leaders to account.

Instead of immediately scrutinizing every decision and action of the Government, we called for patience and time. We bought and spread the false narrative that the coffers where empty because Yaya Jammeh emptied them. Nothing but Lies! We gave every excuse we can find between the moon and the sun. Some even said Barrow was given to us by Allah and that he was a kind and good man. Only in the Gambia would citizens describe an elected politician in such terms!

Just as with Yaya Jammeh in 1994, we began to also mould Adama Barrow into another kind of a different person from himself. First Barrow was seen handing over dalasi notes to a Kankurang group as he entered the Gambia from Dakar and when some cried out loud we said it is was his personal money. Then we saw how Barrow selfishly changed our supreme law to suit his personal interest in the appointment of VP. Then he delayed that appoint for 6 months and again there was no short supply of defenders. On his first official visit to Senegal a businessman donated 2 brand new houses to him and when some demanded that he returned the so-called gifts because it was unconstitutional, his defenders said the critics were outlandish and attention seekers. It turned out that the Senegalese businessman was seeking contracts with the Gambia Government.

After that we saw another ‘donor’ gave 57 vehicles and once again the defenders said the ‘anonymous’ donor was a good citizen helping his or her country. Since then we saw an army of anonymous donors giving this or that to our president. When we raised concerns about the travels they said those travels were funded by host governments and in any case, traveling is part of government functions. When some citizens raised hell over poor electricity services and planned to protest we said protest is uncalled for and unnecessary in the Gambia because our security is fragile. Then we dishonestly described the protesters as wayward, marijuana-smoking, attention seeking and irresponsible kids.

With every imaginable move that citizens attempted to hold the Barrow Government to account we would have a counter defence by another citizen. We do not only defend the Government, but we go further to describe those vigilant citizens as attention seekers, foreigners, tribalists, condescending, intolerant, dictatorial and anarchists. These defenders would even go to the ludicrous height of questioning the faith and lineage of some vigilant citizens!

Because of our tasteless and unprincipled defence of bad governance and poor leadership we also succeeded in empowering Barrow to the point that the man now has the audacity to question the whereabouts and contributions of fellow citizens in the fight against the APRC Dictatorship. Not only that but Barrow has become so full of himself that he now claims to be the sole Conqueror of Yaya Jammeh and his Dictatorship. Barrow does not only stop there but he has the temerity to even threaten citizens with Yaya Jammeh’s laws and even drawing his own line and daring any citizen to cross! Unbelievable.

By our unprincipled defence of this Government we have succeeded in condoning bad leadership and poor governance and perpetuating undemocratic bahaviour. Patronage. Corruption. Indiscipline. Inefficiency. Lies! By doing so we have succeeded in normalizing the abnormal. By abandoning the very ideals and standards that we upheld against Yaya Jammeh, we have therefore produced another government that looks exactly like APRC and acts like APRC except for the blatant human rights atrocities. But by this trend sooner or later we will soon see arbitrary arrests, detentions, tortures and disappearances begin to happen as well!

Bad governance, poor leadership and dictatorship do not grow up just on one day all of a sudden. Bad governance is organic. It grows up gradually so long as it receives manure and water in a fertile soil. Sooner than later one would see the plant germinate. Just like a plant, this is the same way bad leadership also grows as citizens defend the indefensible, condone poor leadership and aid and abet bad governance.

This Government has no reason to fail. It has no reason to make mistakes. It has a Cabinet that is the most qualified, educated and experienced in the socio-political history of the Gambia. They cannot claim ignorance in not knowing from where the Gambia came and where the Gambia needs to go. They have absolutely no excuse not to know the pains and ills of this country and how to address them. Hence this Government can only fail by their own dishonesty and by the sycophancy of citizens.

Therefore, the solution to bad governance are the citizens themselves if they stand up to defend the values and standards of democracy to ensure that there is transparent, accountability and efficiency in public institutions. But so long as citizens fail to be architects of democracy and good governance but transform themselves into architects of dictatorship, sooner or later the society will witness the germination of dictatorial tendencies and corrupt leadership.

Stand up to hold the Government to account every day. It’s about your life and future! Let us not harm ourselves again by our sycophancy, indifference, ignorance and dishonesty!

For the Gambia Our Homeland!

Press Release

RE: National Assembly Member, Sanna Jawara’s Allegations against President Barrow

State House, Banjul, 8^thOctober 2018 –It is with great dismay that to learn of the series of serious unfounded allegations made by Sanna Jawara, a sitting National Assembly member, most notably, that the President ‘’has started paying some parliamentarians D10, 000 each month in envelopes’’. Hon. Jawara went as far as  suggestingthat some National Assembly Members ‘’physically queue up for monthly handouts’’ from the president – grave claims that he could not substantiate.

The claims were maliciously designed to bring disrepute to the person of the president and the office he occupies. Contrary towhat Mr. Jawara stated, without any evidence whatsoever, no National Assembly Member was invited to State House to receive money in return for any favors, including political support.  President Adama Barrow has been supporting and continues to support individuals and groups whenever he can.   It was in the same spirit that His Excellency, the President donated vehicles to members of the same body to ease mobility and communication constraints with their constituents.

The President was elected as an independent coalition candidate.  Thus, rather than politicking, he is occupied with finding solutions and addressing the development needs of the people that overwhelmingly elected him into office. Which is why he succeeded in securing several capital investments that would directly impact the lives of ordinary Gambians and drive them out of poverty, as stated in the National Development Plan 2018-2021.

Moreover, the President’s focus is on the bigger picture of delivering a new Gambia that we could all be proud of; one that would provide a conducive place where all Gambians can realize their full potentials. His vision is to see a country that is anchored on empowered institutions that would guarantee and protect the rights and dignity of all citizens irrespective of their political, ethno-linguistic and religious differences. It is in the same spirit that he constituted a Constitutional Review Commission, among other transformational and institutional reforms, to recreate a Gambia fit for all.

While many people in the country are currently embroiled in the debate of ‘the brown envelopes’ from the Presidency, or the issue of succession in the United Democratic Party (UDP) – which are both important of course – I wish to write on another matter of gigantic importance. This is an issue about which every Gambian should be concerned because it has to do with the type of government we will have in the country in the future.

Sometime last week, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) sent out a letter to all registered political parties in The Gambia reminding them of their constitutional obligation to hold biennial congresses. The said letter informed that since the Act was passed and made it binding on political parties, it has observed that some parties in the country had not complied with that law.

Thus, the IEC gave an ultimatum that if any party does not hold said congress until the 31^stof December 2018, it will run the risk of being deregistered as a political party in the country. This is a matter of grave importance as it is the political parties that give us the President, the Members of Parliament and the Councilors who will run the affairs of the nation. The truth is that, any party that is not democratic while in the opposition cannot be expected to be democratic when they come to power.

The political parties must conduct congresses to discuss issue of importance in the country. It is in these congresses that they should hold democratic elections to choose the leadership to have democratic structures which will transform itself into a government if, and when they are elected into office.

These parties should have democratic structures and principles. For instance, there should be term limits in the parties to ensure that they don’t have the same person serving as Secretary General for eternity. This, if it happens, will enable other members of the party to run for office so that it does not have to be the same person running for the presidency all the time. It will make sure that the party conducts primaries to choose the best, most suitable or qualified person as a candidate.

Besides, our opposition parties, if they conduct primaries and put in place all the democratic institutions, should set up shadow governments in preparation for the day they will be given the mandate to govern by the electorate. In this manner, they will have plans and policies on all areas of importance in the country. For instance, they should have a shadow minister of Education, Health, Agriculture and all other positions which have to do with the progress of the country. They do not have to wait until they are elected to start rushing to prepare for these eventualities. That is what makes a government reactionary because they did not have any plans before taking office.

In the same vein, I wish to suggest that laws regulating party funding be put in place to ensure that all parties are transparent and democratic in all their activities even before they come to office. If a party is not transparent and democratic while in the opposition, we cannot expect it to become a model of democracy when elected to run the country. Thus, all these have to be learnt at party level so that we will always have experienced and well-trained people to take over from whichever party is ruling.

These structures in a party give the members an opportunity to learn leadership and be prepared in the principles of governance in readiness for office. With that in place, any member of a party who is serious and takes part in all party activities will understand the running of party and country.

When parties put accountability measures in place and use them in their own party, it will give all its members the required knowledge to hold elected officials in check and make sure that they do not go beyond their mandate This is how we will have a transparent and responsible government in our country.

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

According to reliable sources, intensed efforts mounted by some members of the national assembly are currently underway as we speak to investigate the SEMLEX contract, the Fatoumata Bah Barrow Foundation (FABB) and the 57 pick ups donated by an anonymous philantropist amongs others.

Below we produced the document bearing names of all the parlimentarians who are all given the opportunity to sign to take on this issue..Meanwhile, only fiften parliamentarians are needed to sign to start the parliamentary process.

…………………………………………………………

The members of the National Assembly who have signed below bring forth a motion pursuant to the provisions of the Section 109 (2)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, 1997 for the following:

1. That a Committee of the National Assembly be established to investigate the following issues of public importance:

1. The circumstances leading to the award and the implementation of a contract for the production of ID cards, Driving Licence, Visa stickers and residential permit to Semlex Europe SA;

544. The purported donation of the sum of US$752,544.42 to the Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow Foundation by a company placing a bid for a contract in The Gambia. The Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow Foundation having been set up by the First Lady of The Gambia is subject to the purview of the National Assembly.

• The donation of 57 vehicles by an anonymous donor to the members of the National Assembly.

1. The granting by the Government of The Gambia through the Commissioner General of Customs to Fouta Enterprises of a bonded warehouse for the importation of basic commodities and the occupation by the said Fouta Enterprise of a bonded warehouse situate at Kanifing Industrial Estate, which warehouse has been sold by the Assets Management and Recovery Corporation (AMRC) to a third party and further which warehouse is the subject of an investigation by the Janneh Commission.

2. The investigations into the above issues are necessary for the following reasons:

1. There is clear evidence that Semlex SA is the subject matter of an investigation by the Belgian authorities for money laundering. Further there are several allegations against Semlex Europe SA by other countries with whom it entered into contracts for the production of biometric national documents. Notable amongst the allegations against Semlex Europe SA, the allegation from the Comoros that foreign citizens deemed security threats were being issued with Comoros passports.  There are also other allegation of corruption particularly with respect to its dealings in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mozambique.  By the award of the contract, Semlex Europe SA will have access to the biometric data of Gambian citizens.  It is therefore of utmost public importance that this Assembly carry out investigations into the award of the contract and to ensure that the data if its citizens will not be used for illicit purposes.

544. Sometime in 2017, there was an inflow of the sum of US$752,544.42 from TBEA (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Industrial Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Limited to the Fatoumatta Bah Barrow Foundation’s account held with the Guaranty Trust Bank Gambia Limited. The source and purpose of these funds remain unexplained.  This is particularly having regard to the allegation that the funds were immediately transferred to another account.  The Fatoumatta Bah Barrow Foundation being a foundation set up by the First Lady of The Gambia should be transparent particularly in the light of the revelations made at the Jammeh Commission that the former President and First Lady used Foundations established in their names to raise funds which were used for their personal expenses.   It is important to investigate the source of these funds and further their purpose.  It is also important to establish that these funds were used for the purposes for which the foundation was established.  It should be noted that the Fatoumatta Bah Barrow Foundation is a non profit foundation whose funds should be applied solely for the objects set out in its Constitution.

• Sometime in August or September, 2017, the members of the National Assembly received a donation of 57 pick up vehicles.According to the Director of Press Amie Bojang Sissoho, the vehicles were donated by a Philanthropist supporter of His Excellency Adama Barrow, the President of the Republic of The Gambia. The source of the donation is to date unknown.  It is an offence under the provisions of section 22 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2012 for any public officer to obtain a gift or consideration as an inducement or reward.  Section 223 (4) of the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia also provides that and personal gifts should be permitted under the code of conduct of public officials.  Clause 12 of the Code of conduct provides that a public official shall only accept any gift or donation from relatives and friends.  It is important that the members of the National Assembly to investigate the source of the gift to determine whether it falls within the exceptions provided for under the Code of Conduct.  To do otherwise would be to bring the Assembly and its members to reproach and would make it liable to allegations of corruption.

1. It has come to the attention of the members of this body that a business operated under the name Fouta Enterprises has become one of the largest importers of basic commodities in The Gambia. This business has been granted the right to use a bonded warehouse situate at the Kanifing Industrial Area.  This warehouse is the subject of an investigation by the Janneh Commission.  Further the warehouse had been sold by Assets Management and Recovery Corporation to a third party.  It is important to establish the basis upon which Fouta Enterprises was granted the right to occupy and use the bonded warehouse.  In the light of the pending food crisis in The Gambia, this Assembly must investigate all issues which could threaten the food security of our citizens.

3. Taking into consideration the urgency of the matters raised above, we call on Her Excellency the Speaker to call an Extra-Ordinary Session of the National Assembly for the above motion to be debated.

Dated the       day of October, 2018

The alleged corruption scandal allegedly revealed by the UDP MP Hon. Sanna Jawara of Upper Fulladu West is a serious cause for concern if it is true. The Gambia Alliance for National Unity (GANU) has learnt with shock, the alleged corrupt act of the current Administration and some National Assembly Members and we are genuinely concerned.

If the people we entrust with the responsibility of managing the affairs of our nation can be engaged in such corrupt practices, then we must not expect any significant progress in our nascent development and democratization process. This startling revelation is dangerously alarming and will put this government’s transparency, which is a cardinal hallmark of democracy into question. We wonder if the government is concerned about the welfare of Gambians. If this is true, it will therefore look like they are only interested in consolidating and devising strategies to remain in power.

If you have ever been in doubt as to whether this government is sincere about the welfare of Gambians, this alleged revelation should clear your doubts if found to be true, it would therefore mean that these people are clearly there for their own interests.

The GANU leadership is of the firm belief that entrusting a corrupt leadership with the task of remedying situation of a country on the verge of economic, social and institutional collapse, is a recipe for state failure.

There are a lot of allegations that this government is presiding over a falling living standard, high youth unemployment, broken health service, poor infrastructure, failed agricultural sector and a stunted economic growth. And now to cap it up, corruption at such high scale with ‘people’s representatives’ is a serious cause for concern.

It would then be obvious that the current government is losing grip and are short of ideas.

Recently, the country’s vice president Ousainou Darboe made a declaration that this year’s cropping season has failed and there will be no bumper harvest. He appealed to the international community to help the 1.7 million Gambians with food aid.

The teachers had organized several strikes since the beginning of this year, likewise the doctors and many other public institutions such as the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation. Their calls and demands are real and need urgent solutions.

Despite all these sufferings and concerns raised, coupled with the lack of steady electricity and water supply, lack of good road networks and infrastructure, and the myriads of other challenges, if the UDP-majority parliamentarians are allegedly conspiring with the current Administration in a form of bribe taking, to ensure that they help to entrench him in power, then that will be very unfortunate.

Recently, it has been rumored that the President hired a private jet which allegedly costs US$15,000 per hour, to attend the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York; his wife, the First Lady’s implication in an alleged corruption scandal of D35M, allegedly transferred into her foundation’s account by a Chinese company called TBEA, are serious matters that need to be accounted for. Gambians need a clear explanation for transparency purpose.

What must be understood is that the current Administration should know that they are still in a transitional period and a lot is expected of them. So they must do their best to ensure that people’s hopes are not faded away. Therefore, we expect them to deliver to the expectation of Gambians and to honour the 3-year gentleman agreement with the Coalition members.

In the interest of the nation, we urge the government to clarify all these allegations. GANU will continue to hold government accountable on all issues of national interests.

The Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations (Victims Centre) and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) have announced a cooperation agreement to establish the terms and conditions under which the Victims’ Center will engage with, support and be assisted by the TRRC as well as other coordination, communication and collaboration frameworks and mechanisms between the two institutions.

The agreement, in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), will be signed between the Victims’ Centre and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission on Tuesday, the 9th of October 2018, at 12:00 noon, at the premises of the Victims’ Centre located in Senegambia, Kololi.

The Memorandum of Understanding formalizes the mutual interaction and strengthens the existing relationship between the TRRC and the Victims’ Center at the strategic and working level, focusing on the development of a victim centric approach to ensure that the dignity and honor of victims is always at the forefront of our work.

The TRRC was set up by an Act of The Gambia’s National Assembly in December 2017, to investigate and establish an impartial historical record of the nature, causes and extent of violations and abuses of human rights committed during the period July 1994 to January 2017, to consider the granting of reparations to victims and for connected matters, and to help prevent a recurrence of human rights violations and dictatorship in this country.

The mission of the Victims’ Centre is to be an advocacy platform for truth, justice, accountability, reconciliation and reparations and to promote human rights for all.

The TRRC and the Victims Centre have the shared objective of serving the public interest towards the slogan, ‘Never Again’. This MOU provides for continued strengthening of future cooperation between the two institutions in achieving common goals that will promote justice, peace and national unity.

Additionally, all victims of the 1994 coup d’état, both civilians and soldiers, are kindly invited to register their complaints at the Victims Centre.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

The great wit Oscar Wilde once said: “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.” Stephen Colbert addressed the notion with a fuller definition in a commencement address at Knox College: ” Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge.” I know which Gambia I would rather live in and I hope a less cynical Gambia can await us!

Mamudu: In our private moments what does President Adama Barrow think of Gambians? Are Gambians his lovers because we agree with Geoffrey Chaucer, known as the Father of English literature, who said love is blind? Or are we Adama Barrow’s fools because fools don’t see what their eyes see? Or are we both because, with enthusiasm, lovers do foolish things? President Barrow sleeps and snores, we hail him; he sits up, we applaud him. We salute him even as he croaks and wheezes. He chose his government’s key men from his ancestral homestead and his political roots, we made excuses for him. Those are the ones he could trust, we bellowed at wailers. We said the appointees were the very best at that point in the geography of our politics. Every democracy has its aristocrats; it is their time to eat, we said. Do we give up our dignity or uphold our dignity for a bowl of soup? If corruption and payola is encouraged between the executive and legislative accepting largesse like cash and vehicles for security of votes bring misery and threaten the very pillar of our nationhood and sustenance of our people not well-connected to government officials and politicians.

President Adama Barrow, Gambians supports the presidency as the symbol of national unity. However, we will not sit back and cheer when the very pillar of nationhood threatens its very sustenance.

Mamudu: According to the Facebook page of Hon. Sanna Jawara, UDP Member of the National Assembly for Upper Fulladu West received a call from Lamin Cham, one of President Barrow’s political operative and close confidante asked him to collect the first of a series of monthly stipends to NAMs of D10,000 from the president. In the words of Hon. Sanna Jawara, “I politely turn the offer down,” during our telephone conversation. He felt “dishonored and humiliated” realizing that “President Barrow has started paying some parliamentarians D10,000 each month…for what I don’t really want to know.”

Kudos to Hon. Sanna Jawara, for saying rejecting to bribery and corruption and by coming out in public to report to his constituents and the Gambian people, he has earned the respect of Gambians. Money cannot buy you everything and one thing it cannot buy you is HONOR which you must earn through hard work at tremendous sacrifice.

Mamudu: The president’s gift of vehicles to National Assembly members is the saddest thing on everyone’s lips and perplexed how the executive gives gift to legislative members without due process. This is not a mere banter; where is the morality and ethics Gambians expect from our political leaders. The independence of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary is well enshrined in our Charter to promote checks and balances. It’s just that we only see checks being encased and we are left with the balance as always.

Mamudu: I have known and admired a well-respected brother who have integrity, man of dignity not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine, over the years, now a National Assembly member, a beneficiary of the President Adama Barrow’s largesse of cash and vehicles. This young man came from humble means, worked hard and won a seat. But even before Gambians get a chance to witness his character in the National Assembly, even before fellow National Assembly corrupt him, his great achievement has been all but wiped out by the president’s munificence.

The president has taken this man’s achievements and given him a bread and butter in exchange. Now this man who was known for his uncompromising stance against corruption, bribery and injustice will no longer stand on his own legacy. He is no longer his own man. All that, for cash and a car.

And the Gambian community has lost an opportunity to teach boys on becoming a man by standing on one’s own.
Mamudu: Working with one’s own intelligence and respect for the community. And I bet the boy child advocates haven’t noticed. My father warned me repeatedly about gifts. He told me they have soul power and they are given in exchange for something you have. At the time, I used to think he was talking about lust for money and sex. But now I understand it was about much more. It was about dignity, integrity and soul. And those are priceless.

This presidential cash and car gift story reminds me of what I told my students few year ago: “The people willing to give you smartphones, to give up your vote, know that however much they give you, your dignity, integrity and human birthright are much, much more valuable. That’s why they’re willing to part with so much. So, you too, should know how valuable your dignity is. Do not give up your dignity for (Tom Yum Kum) a bowl of soup.” Both girls and boys, in very specific ways. We cannot teach kids values if we do not evaluate and judge our politics by the same values. There’re no point teaching values as an individual parent if politics is going to contradict them.