State House, Banjul, 7th August 2018–

The First Lady of the Republic, Her Excellency Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow has said the Gambia is making a steady progress in the fight against breast and cervical cancers, despite the high infection rates being registered across the sub region.

Speaking at the Seminar of First Ladies from member countries of the Africa Group of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Cancer held in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso on the 1^st – 2^ndAugust 2018, First Lady Barrow said that despite these high figures – 80% of which is due to late diagnosis and treatment– breast cancer is a disease that can be prevented and treated when detected early.

Outlining that the Gambia is steadily winning the fight against breast cancer, the First Lady announced that most of the medical facilities necessary to diagnose breast and other cancers are now available at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul. Lady Barrow explained that health care professionals throughout the Gambia are always on hand to provide support and counseling on this deadly disease to people that are in need.

Despite the giant strides being registered in the push against breast cancer, the First Lady observed that there are challenges to be overcome.  “Unfortunately, The Gambia, like many poor countries, is neither able to provide affordable cancer services, nor meet the increasing demand for such services. In fact, more than half of the OIC countries lack the capacity to tackle chronic diseases or address their major causes,” the First Lady observed.

Giving the high financial cost involved in accessing cancer services or treatment, particularly in developing countries, she explained that her foundation – Fatou Bah-Barrow Foundation – decided to take a stance and complement government’s efforts by supporting cancer treatment services and awareness raising activities in The Gambia.

The first lady added that ‘’there is an urgent need to support poor countries in Africa to overcome the

major challenges linked to both detection and treatment services”.

Health systems in poor countries are too weak to support the basic care and services linked with

cancer. A significant increase in investments involving a broad range of partners is necessary to

improve the quality of life of cancer patients and strengthen national health care systems.

State House, Banjul, 7th August 2018

World leading America-based research company, Gallup, has found that 72 percent Gambians, nearly three in four residents, approve of President Adama Barrow’s leadership. An even higher percentage (75%) is also confident in the honesty of the election process under the leadership of President Adama Barrow.

Along with the confidence they have in Barrow, Gambians show signs of hope that their living standards are getting better. Nearly two in three Gambians (65%) said their standard of living is getting better, the highest result among ECOWAS Countries that participated in the 2017 polls. The pioneer public opinion polls in the US, and the world by extension, released their findings on The Gambia on Tuesday, 7th August, 2018 in Washington, DC, US.

“The Gambia sits at a crossroads. In the first year of their president’s leadership, residents exhibit confidence in their new government and the democratic process that put it there,” the poll concluded.

The research organization observed that the government’s ‘’sound fiscal policy such as reducing debt and investing in irrigation and other commercial farming infrastructure in an effort to return farming to a viable backbone of The Gambian economy’’ is indeed paying dividend.

The outcome of the polls, however, suggest that the government must not rests in its laurels, and needs to augment economic improvement to continue to meet the expectations of the public.

The results of this poll are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, and conducted in The Gambia between December 14 and 26, 2017.

The group, Gallup World Poll, is a global performance-management consulting that tracks the most important issues worldwide, such as food access, employment, leadership performance, and well-being. Since creating the World Poll in 2005, Gallup has conducted studies in more than 160 countries that include 99% of the world’s adult population.

Meanwhile, Freedom House, another US-based research institute, has said that freedom in the Gambia has seen remarkable improvement compared to what used to obtain a few years ago.

“[Gambia’s] political rights rating improved from 6 to 4, and its civil liberties rating improved from 6 to 5 due to the installation of newly elected President Adama Barrow into office in January 2017 and the holding of competitive legislative elections in April. Among other openings associated with the departure of former president Yahya Jammeh, exiled journalists and activists returned, political prisoners were released, ministers declared their assets to an ombudsman, and the press union began work on media-sector reform.”

According to them, the ‘’freedom’’ level in The Gambia has progressed from “Not Free to Partly Free’’

Information reaching The Fatu Network has it that Police have arrested six prison guards on the recent prison break at the Jeshwang Prisons on Thursday night.

According to reports, dozens of prisoners have escaped from the state prisons who are still at large. It is said that the recent prison break is one of the biggest since after the 1981 coup.

Superintendent David Kujabi, Police Spokesperson has reliably informed The Fatu Network that six prison guards are arrested by the police in connection to the Jeshwang Prisons break.

“Five Prison Guards are arrested today plus the one who was arrested last week, making a total of six. They are arrested by the Police Anti Crime Unit,” Spokesperson Kujabi said.

The Police Spokesperson told The Fatu Network that the arrested prison guards are currently held under police custody. They are helping investigators who are digging into the matter.

“I’m not in the position to give the names of the arrested officers,” he added.

The arrested prison guards are not yet arraigned before the courts.

1. Meanwhile, the Prisons Spokesperson could not be reached for comments.

By Adama

The people of Sukuta have called on the government to help upgrade their health centre from minor to major.

They made the request recently during a handing over ceremony of health materials donated by a UK based Gambian held at the health centre.

Speaking on behalf of the villagers, Ousaman Mamakeh Bojang, said the heath centre is among the “biggest health facilities” in the country.

“Sukuta health centre is among the biggest health centres in the country. It is as big as that of Soma, Gunjur and Essau and those have been changed to major health centres. Why no Sukuta now?” he asked.

According to him, the health centre has all the facilities to operate as any other major health centre in the country.

He added: “I think this is the right time for us to stand up and tell the government…especially the ministry of health and social welfare to upgrade our health centre from minor to major health centre, because we have the equipment and the facilities.”

Buba Cham, a member of the village development committee, described health as the solid rock of any living being especially human race thanking the staff of the health centre.

Rose Mendy, a nurse at the health centre assured the commitment of both the management and staff of Sukuta health centre in terms of achieving the goals of the nation in health.

However, on Saturday standard newspaper published that, Alhagie Sankareh, health director for west coast region has announced that Sukuta health centre will be upgraded from minor to a major healthcare.

While, Baba Galleh Jallow, National Assembly member for Sanementereng called on government to provide a referral hospital for his constituency or increase the number of ambulance as the population in the area is increasing.

By Adama

Bulli Sowe, a Gambian based in Turkey and a supporter of Gambia Democratic Congress has said that the  departure of the seven executives members of GDC party was a ‘relief  for the party’.

‘’First of all, if look at all the people that left, some of them are the people that have caused all the headaches in the party, they have been the ones attacking their own party. They are very quarrelsome, they cannot live under the same roof with anybody,’’ he said.

He added: ‘Many people are wondering what must have been the reason for their resignation. But to me I will not miss my sleep just because some permanent political mercenaries left our party and were in the business for personal reason.’’

According to him, these people wanted to hijack the party from Mamma Kandeh and further described them as ‘undemocratic’.

He also said many of them came into the party just to contest for election, adding that once they lose; they leave making reference to Pa Njie Grigara, who contested for  GDC in the 2018 mayoral election.

‘‘Now after we grow older, we will begin to see that after these people left, the party will gain stability and momentum. Last year they were the ones who turned the party into an object of ridicule,’’ Mr Sowe said.

Meanwhile, it could be recalled that seven of the party’s executives tendered their resignations over the weekend in which the deputy leader of the party, Yusupha Jaiteh is a part of.

PRESS RELEASE

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and
Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia wishes to inform the general public that the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, on Tuesday July 24th met the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, at the Presidential Palace in Nouakchott.

Dr. Tangara was in Nouakchott as a Special Envoy of His Excellency President Adama Barrow. The visit was geared toward further building the bridge of friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation between The Gambia and Mauritania.

Issue by: Communication Unit
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Cooperation and
Gambians Abroad

Alagi Yorro Jallow

A favorite dictum of African politics is that a week is a long time in politics. It follows, then, that three decades is virtually an eternity. This is how long these notable political philosophers, Sidia Jatta, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr including some who may be better known for their work in other areas of politics has been at the forefront of the Gambian political scene, mucking in the scrimmages, throwing and taking punches, getting smeared in political mud, and doing some smearing of their own and generally making the whole political scene worth watching and listening to them.

 These political scientists have managed to establish themselves as one of the most promising leaders in this country, a mantle they carry to be political champions of their generation. They have risen to become very vibrant, competent and famous political figures in this country, outweighing the known political heavyweights in their own game, something that propelled them to become the architects of People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) and the founding editors of the powerful FOROYAA newspaper. They are a force to reckon with. Those who have tried battling them politically have been met with full force of wits, intellect and political correctness from men who understands politics well.

 We cheered them on when they agreed with them, even going so far as to brand them cross-tribal and socialist. This was so, considering in the Gambia, a politician has not arrived until he is baptized with a name from a tribe not his own. In this sense, Sidia, Halifa and Sam as they were known in the Gambia, arrived a long time ago. The People’s Progressive Party government also lambasted them when they thought they were going astray, though typically this was whenever they defied ethnic stereotypes, corruption and human rights violation to reach across this or that tribal divide. But that means nothing in the Gambia, where a person can be a darling one minute — because he backs your tribesman for high office — and an enemy the next, because he has the temerity to run against another of your tribesmen. That’s just who Gambians are. These political thinkers — People universally refer to them using their first names — has lasted a lifetime at the business end of their political spectrum. But it is now time for them to go.

In recent times, young politicians and some Gambians crawling on social media barely out of their napkins have taken these eminent politicians recently as an opportunity to hurl insults at them. They conveniently forget that the very structures over which they lord, the very country that they now bestride with noisy tweets and Facebook posts and many of the freedoms they enjoy, would never have been possible without the sacrifice of these gentlemen and their contemporaries.

  These men endured years of persecution from the PPP government and under the dictatorship of the Alliance for Patriotism, Re-orientation and Construction (APRC), banged up in detention without trial, to birth the openness and the democracy that we now take for granted, and in whose free air the new political class now hold forth with their salt-in-the-wound rubbing.

In so doing, they come to resemble Chinua Achebe’s unwise little bird eneke-nti-oba, who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his personal god to a fight. Sidia, Halifa and Sam are a yardstick against which to measure the performances of our old and new crop of politicians. They made mistakes — like everyone else — but their virtues far outweighed these. It is this very standard against which we will now judge the fortitude, the fitness-for-purpose, of our new leaders.  They have not begun on a good footing, letting their followers humiliate these men in ways that are decidedly un-African. Like Achebe said, those who mock Sidia, Halifa and Sam should remember that he whose palm nuts have been cracked for them by benevolent spirits, should not forget to be humble. Thank the men and their colleagues for their selflessness and service and let them be.

 And to the doubting Thomases, they have prepared the way for sons and daughters born, sons and daughters who will change the political thinking this country.

It has come to the notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia that The Standard newspaper had published in its issue of Monday, 30th July 2018, an opinion piece in its Viewpoint column titled: “Our Gambian embassy in Dakar should be…” Categorically stating in the first paragraph of the piece that the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Senegal should be shut down. A similar story
was carried by Fatu Network in its publication of 29th July 2018, under the headline “Our Gambian embassy in Dakar should be…”

The Ministry is also informed that the same news is making circles in various social media platforms. In light of the above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public that on 8th June 2018, the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Dakar received an email from one Ebrima L. Dampha, who claims to be the President of the School of Business and Public Administration of the University of The
Gambia, requesting the Embassy to provide accommodation for 60 Gambian students in Dakar.

On 9th June 2018, the Ambassador of The Gambia to the Republic of Senegambia, His Excellency Ousmane Ndure, convened a meeting with staff of the Embassy to discuss the email and agreed that the Embassy should look for some hotels in Dakar as requested by Mr. Dampha. On 10th June 2018, the Embassy replied to Mr Dampha’s email conveying that the Piscine Olympique de Dakar was identified for possible accommodation of the 60 students but unfortunately they wanted free accommodation which the Embassy cannot afford due to the limited resources.

It is public knowledge that all exams in Senegal, including Entree en Sixieme(Common Entrance), BFEM (Secondary School Leaving Certificate),BAC (A’ Level)  and even Universities are scheduled to hold at the end of July every year. Therefore, requesting for free accommodation on
campus or at any school during this period is not possible.

The Embassy received both the President and the Secretary General of the said Student Association and were informed that the Embassy does not have the means to provide free accommodation for 60 students. The Embassy advised them to engage institutions for sponsor before venturing into such trip and that hosting 60 students  should be properly planned as it entails so many logistics.

The Embassy further urges the students to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a twinning with their  Senegalese colleagues in order to formalise the annual study trip and possible exchange visits between the University  of The Gambia and Senegalese Universities. They promised to heed to the advice but unfortunately they went on to circulate unfounded article.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public that Embassies do not have enough resources and are not mandated to provide direct accommodation for individuals on private businesses. Gambians travelling abroad are urged to make their own arrangements prior to leaving the country.

Issued by: Communication Unit
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad

I said I was not gonna say anything…. but who cares…

I joined UTG in 2008 to study a BSC degree in Political Science. The only course in my entire program that focused on Gambian politics (Contemporary Gambian Politics) was never taught in UTG until Dr. Ismaila Ceesay arrived in 2010. This was after many years of trying to convince some of the lecturers to teach that course. No one did. Why? Just like any sector in this country under the past regime, the university was never exempted from the dictator’s grip. Academic freedom was under attack daily. The late Dr. Susso lost his job, not for his teachings or anything else, but because he was a member of a political party.

BANJUL—Justice Aminata Saho Ceesay of the Banjul High Court has dismissed the application of the State to unfreeze some properties belonging to the former President Jammeh at the Tourism Development Areas (TDA) to construct hotels for the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit in 2019.

The dismissal of the application was a blow to the State after the AG Chambers failed to win a court decision to unfreeze the former President’s properties at the Tourism Development Area (TDA) for investors to construct hotels for the upcoming OIC Summit in The Gambia.

According to the application of the state, there is an urgent need to construct 10, 000 hotel rooms to host the summit. The application further stated that the alleged properties were illegally obtained by the former President.

The OIC Summit is one of the highly publicised events of the Barrow Administration and is expected to attract infrastructural development and foreign investments amongst others.

The judge said that the court has initially granted the State to freeze Jammeh’s assets for a period of 180 days since in May, 2018 pending on the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry probing into the financial dealings of the former President.

“If the application is granted it will deny the former president the right to his properties which is like shooting one’s own foot,” the judge said.

The judge further stated that the court at this stage is not empowered to discharge or extend its restraint order on Jammeh’s assets because the Commission of Inquiry has not completed its task. She said there is nothing before this court that shows that the former president acquired the properties illegally.

The Gambia’s political party architecture? Top-heavy bureaucracies navigated by strongmen – its “owners”. Weak by design and deliberately set up to dysfunction. The party officials – its apparatchiks, will be expected to play subservient roles to secure party “crumbs” and state appointments. Overlapping mandates: a cacophony. Fundamental structural flaws that cannot simply be cured by “change of guard”. Let’s empathize (not sympathize!) with our political parties. Our political outfits are a mess.

We have not developed serious political parties; what we have are vehicles for contesting political seats and which are trashed immediately the objective is achieved. They do not have branches and offices other than ad hoc groups. None of the parties have validly elected officials. When parties fail the democratic test, as they have done so far, they lose the legitimacy to govern a nation.

A party with “democracy” in its name should ensure that democracy is in its DNA. It must always, project fidelity to its constitution, the Political Parties’ Act and, good manners. After all, the least we expect are ego massaging, fisticuff internal party elections, hand-picking of officials, ejections, dissonance, disarray and, the total absence of concise, coherent and distinguishing party platforms:

The leader of a political party is fashioned in the image of a dreaded demigod, directing the tribe howsoever he wills. The political class lives under pathological fear of the tribal leader. The members follow and support the leaders not because they love him or believe in him, but because they are afraid of him. Where the leader moves become a party, so to speak. The space he vacates ceases being a party. The country is a graveyard of erstwhile popular political parties.

The problem at hand is not party hopping, but the practice of party politics. Political parties in the Gambia are purely vehicles for ascending to power. None subscribes to any ideology or ism. Secondly, party nominations are always a terrible mess. It is worrying when the leaders of major political parties. Push for such an amendment and whip their party MPs to vote for it. Not only are they being insincere, but they are trying to perpetuate dictatorship of party leaders, which is an affront to democracy.

Our political parties are a haven of personality cults, a temporary arrangement of convenience. Hope we learn something from the US election contest. Our politics has regressed to depend more and more on identity rather than policy or ideology.

A heated debate is raging in the country these days on whether we should introduce a certain level of education as a requirement for the presidency. There is a faction of our people who believe that for someone to be eligible to contest for president, s/he must hold at least a degree as opposed to the current minimum of a senior secondary school leaving certificate. In the camp of those who wish to see a minimum of a university degree are prominent Gambians like Almamy Fanding Taal, Lecturer at the University of the Gambia, Mr Madi Jobarteh, Human Rights Defender and leading activist, and Dr. Ismailia Ceesay of the University of the Gambia.

To some, the debate has become acrimonious as some people have resorted to personal attacks and character assassinations instead of talking to the issue at hand. To begin with, let it be clear that opinions are not the same as facts and everyone has a right to his/her opinion. All the folks who have given their views on this issue have presented their views as opinions and not facts. They are entitled to their opinion. We have a right to ours as well. We may agree or disagree, but we must maintain decorum when we do it.

I happen to believe that we should stick to the current requirement of at least a senior secondary school leaving certificate. This is important on many fronts. The first is that it will give the majority of Gambians a chance and the ability – if they so desire – to run for president. Every Gambian should have the right to vote or be voted for in the presidential election as guaranteed by the Constitution. Having a minimum of a degree will disenfranchise those who do not.

However, this minimum of senior secondary school leaving certificate will then place another burden on our shoulders, that is strengthening the democratic institutions in the country. If we agree that the president needs not be highly educated, we must ensure that the institutions are there to help him, guide him, keep him in check so that we will realize the development aspirations we aspire for.

In a democracy, we value the concept of the separation of powers for there to be proper and effective checks and balances. The judiciary should be there to check the executive and the national assembly do the same. With these institutions in place and functioning effectively, it will not matter much if the president is highly educated or not.

In my opinion, it would have been more beneficial if the debate was on how to strengthen the democratic institutions instead of how educated our president should be. We have seen highly educated presidents perform woefully in office and we have seen some who are not so educated perform very well. Just take the United States of America as an example. It is very clear that had they not had strong democratic institutions, Donald Trump would have destroyed that country even in his first one hundred days in office.

Having now aired my view on this debate about the degree or senior school leaving certificate for president, I want to say a word or two in defense of Dr Ismaila Ceesay. The attacks on Dr Ceesay are totally unwarranted and unacceptable. The man has a right like any other Gambian to air his views on any, and all things in the country and no one should seek to stop him from doing that. It is wrong to try to silence someone in a democracy. Even if you find his ideas absurd, you should never resort to personal attacks.  We can disagree without being disagreeable.

The other point I want to address on this issue is the repugnant question of ‘Where were you during the past twenty-two years’ that many people keep raising especially towards Dr Ceesay and others who hold dissenting views. This is absurd because that is what we all fought for; to be able to air our views and opinions without let or hinderance. So, if I was not talking during the past regime because I did not have the opportunity to do that, should it mean that I should remain quiet now even if I see an injustice or something going wrong? If I remain quiet, then our purpose would have been defeated. So, give Dr Ceesay a break, he has every right to his opinion. And I daresay that when Almamy Taal profeferred the same opinion, no one attacked him like Dr Ceesay is currently being attacked. I am in no way saying that Mr Taal should be attacked; but it shows that there are double standards being displayed here.

To Dr Ceesay, Madi Jobarteh and Almamy Fanding Taal I say, I disapprove of what you say (on the university degree being a requirement to run for president) but I will defend to the death your right to say it. (Voltaire)

Alagi Yorro Jallow

 Sheikh Tijan Bah 58, a practicing Muslim, he was excited to attend the Hajj this year after learning about the initiatives taken by the Saudi government to make the it accessible to Persons with Disabilities. These arrangements include allocating special blocks for tawaf establishments and domestic pilgrim companies to serve the disabled. The Saudi government has also decided to allocate special restrooms and signs to guide the disabled to the special utilities.

 However, Sheikh Tijan’s excitement would not last long because to perform Hajj from the Gambia “persons whose legs are amputated, who are crippled, handicapped, lunatic or otherwise physically / mentally incapacitated and those afflicted with polio, tuberculosis, congestive cardiac and respiratory ailment, acute coronary insufficiency, coronary thrombosis, mental disorder, infectious leprosy, AIDS or any other communicable disease / disability may not allow to travel to perform the Hajj”. These guidelines are grossly violating the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, which seeks to promote equality and non–discrimination for Gambia’s disabled community.

 In addition, it is extremely offensive to refer to a Person with Disability as ‘crippled’ or ‘lunatic’. Incidentally, other Muslim countries allows Persons with Disabilities to attend and perform the Hajj. Sheikh Tijan was shocked and saddened on reading these guidelines. “Since childhood it’s my dream to kiss the Kaaba and to feel its natural energy that empower so many.

I hope one day I will able to do so without these policy barriers as a Muslim with disability, with dignity and equality.” Sheikh is not the first disabled Gambian who has struggled to practice his faith. There has been at least half a dozen reported cases on mosques denying entry to wheelchair users recently.

Holy places do not judge whether a person is criminal or innocent, an infidel or loyal, a fraudster or a nation builder. It is sad to see such barriers being built only based on a person’s disability – which is outside their control. Especially in a country like Gambia where Islamic faith are based on tolerance without discrimination of any person. Religion for many is the only hope.

 More so for Persons with Disabilities and their families who feel they are equals at least in front of faith. “I remember the role faith played in my mother’s life. When I was a child, doctors had written me off, schools weren’t ready to accept me and many in my own family felt I didn’t deserve a normal life.

 It was from her visits to Tivavone and Media Bai Niasse that my mother drew the strength to give me a normal life”, Sheikh opined. I remember a quote from the blockbuster movie Shawshank Redemption where Andy Dufresne (Tony Robbins) tells Ellis Redding (Morgan Freeman) “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies”. I do ‘hope’ policy makers take remedial actions to ensure the doors of faith do not close for Gambia’s disabled.

Sunday August 05: Fajara

The Gambia Press Union (GPU) hereby condemns, in the strongest terms, the attack on Saturday on GRTS News Crew during funeral proceedings of late Asombi Bojang, the mother of exiled ex-president, Yaya Jammeh.

Asombi Bojang passed on last week in Equatorial Guinea where she followed her son into exile in January 2017. Her body was brought back on Saturday evening for burial.

Journalists Louis Mendy and Modou Ceesay, who were assigned to provide news coverage for the public broadcaster, came under a string of intense verbal assault, allegedly, by former ruling APRC security and supporters. Ceesay was violently attacked, forcing the crew to run for their lives.

Mr Louis Mendy explained: “The hostility began at the airport. Upon our arrival, some personnel, clad in black-and-white uniform with ‘APRC Security’ badge, prevented us from getting near the arriving aircraft to take footages. They told us they were acting on directives from their boss that no one should film the coffin of the ex-president’s late mother.”

Mendy explained that he had at that point informed the leadership of the party, including Musa Amul Nyassi the spokesman and Yankuba Colley, the national mobiliser. Both failed to intervene.

He added: “When we wanted to place ourselves in the convoy, the same security personnel stopped us.”

Mendy at this point informed his superiors, including the editor-in-chief Abdoulie Sey and Director General, Abdou Touray. Following a telephone conversation between his superiors and APRC Spokesman, the crew was allowed to tag along.

He explained further: “We followed the convoy and upon arrival at the Bujinga village, I asked my cameraman to take ariel shots of the crowd while I was busy arranging interviews. Moments later, I saw my cameraman running towards him, empty-handed. An angry mob was chasing him. The driver, fortunately, was near-by and we drove off before they could reach us.”

Modou Ceesay, the cameraman, also explained: “I climbed on top of a van to take ariel shots. When I came down, a group of men were waiting. One of them was holding a scarf labeled ‘APRC Security’. He asked why I took the footages and I explained to him that I am from GRTS and his party’s leadership was aware of our presence.

“He ordered me to lead him to those leaders. More people joined as we moved. One of them slapped me in the face. Then all of them began hitting and kicking me like a thief in the street. They seized my camera and I ran away.”

Ceesay has already undergone a medical check-up. He sustained no external injury, though he is feeling internal pain.

Journalists Mendy and Ceesay have lodged a complaint, first at the Kanifing Police Station and later, Abuko Police Station.

Mr Abdoulie Sey, editor-in-chief of GRTS, said: “This was an unfortunate incident that should never have happened. The GRTS team was on national duty and should have been welcomed rather than assaulted. We call on the APRC leadership and police to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice.”

Saikou Jammeh, the Secretary General of the GPU, said: “The leadership of the Union has engaged the Public Relations Office of the Gambia Police Force to verify the details and know the status of investigations, if any.

“We have been informed by the Police Spokesman, David Kujabi, that so far, no arrest has been. This is a grave concern to the GPU and the leadership has expressed the need to meet with the Inspector General of Police this week. We have also told the police that the GPU expects nothing short of full investigation into the matter and to bring perpetrators to book.

Mr Jammeh added: “We have had engagements with the APRC leadership and they, besides expressing regret over the incident, denied that their security officials or supporters were behind the attack. Our position, which we have made known to them, is that the APRC cannot be absolved and should take responsibility until they prove otherwise. We have also asked, and have been guaranteed that the party will cooperate with the police in investigating the matter.”

The GPU notes that the police and party supporters have posed the greatest threat to press freedom in the post-Jammeh Gambia. Party supporters of APRC, UDP, NRP and GMC have attacked journalists in recent past. The police on their part have failed to provide protection to journalists in hostile situations nor have they investigated attacks on journalists, including by police.

Mr Bai Emil Touray, the president of the GPU, said: “Impunity is rearing its ugly head and it is becoming a culture even when past violations are not yet adequately addressed. I am once again, calling on the President Adama Barrow and his government to provide safe environment for journalists to operate. I also call on party leaders to educate and sensitise their supporters to understand that journalists are not their enemy.”

It is true that each and every Gambian has a right to vote and stand for election into any public office provided one meets certain requirements. Among these requirements are age, sound body and mind and academic qualification among others. This means that in practice not each and every Gambian can automatically stand for election as a councillor, National Assembly member or President without those requirements.

The academic qualification currently required for a presidential candidate is a WASSCE certificate. I agree with Almami Taal that Garde 12 is too low a qualification and I fully concur with Dr. Ismaila Ceesay that for the position of president a candidate must have at least a bachelor’s degree.

The argument that this is discriminatory is unfounded because already the current requirement for president in themselves are discriminatory. The fact is in life nothing is achieved without the process of elimination otherwise we cannot separate success from failure, right from wrong or day from night. Grade 12 is basic education that only equips a person to know how to read and write. It is too low and inadequate to equip a person to understand the complexities of policy, development and the general issues of society.

With a Grade 12 requirement there is possibility to produce more unprepared candidates than with a BA degree. Hence it is better to use BA as a yardstick for president so that in the final analysis we will be able to produce a few more prepared candidates hence create the opportunity to better serve the best interest of society.

It must be understood that the Gambia’s republican and democratic dispensation is less than 50 years. Our political parties are still largely weak, closed, undemocratic and not driven by knowledge and good governance practices. Hence unlike in advanced and mature democracies where leaders naturally are already well educated, in our case the tendency to produce untested, unprepared and lowly educated leaders has always been prevalent.

The Republican Party in the US or the Labour Party in the UK cannot ever produce a leader who has no such high academic qualification because the nature of those parties is such that no such individual could emerge and assume top leadership. In the Gambia such a possibility is always high as one can see in the qualifications of most of our political party leaders. On the other hand, advanced democratic societies and their political parties have had a longstanding tradition of democratic governance to the point that some things are second nature to them.

To be a president is not just having leadership qualities such as ability to influence or inspire and to demonstrate humility and having integrity. But in addition to those moral qualities, the deciding factor in a president is having the technical competence to conceive and understand issues and be able to articulate and implement those issues. Such technical competence is acquired through a formal dedicated training for which a university degree in any field will suffice. Grade 12 is not a level that subjects an individual to any rigors of discipline and high-level training of the mind.

Not that when someone is educated to the level of a bachelor’s degree he or she is therefore an all-rounder, impeccable, perfect and efficient and free from being corrupt and all other vices. No. Rather the demand for such level of academic qualification is only in terms of acquiring technical capacity. A president with a university degree provides minimum safeguards or assurances that such a person is capable of processing technical information and apply such understanding to better function.

Going through a university is expected to make an individual acquire the skills and tools for observation and analysis in order to independently arrive at an objective understanding of phenomenon. University is structured in such a way that it should elevate a person above superstition, mysticism and intuition in seeking to understand phenomenon and oneself. Part of that education also gives person moral qualities hence the importance of university education.

The office of a president is a position that places before a person a wide array of information from diverse sources about diverse set of issues. It helps such a person to have therefore experienced and be trained in the searching, acquisition, management and analysis of information in order to enable that president meander through a wide set of ideas, policy options, advisors and other competing and conflicting stakeholders and interests and yet be able to identify the nation’s best interest.

A person who was not involved in the business of receiving, producing and management technical ideas based on research, facts and evidence may be too naïve in understanding policy and development issues in their proper context. Thus, it is better to have a president with a university degree than one without. As I said it does not necessarily follow that the person with a university education could not be corrupt or will perform better. At least a university degree certifies that such a person indeed knows as opposed to Grade 12 qualification.

I therefore join Dr. Ceesay and Mr. Taal that in our new constitution there is need to set as a requirement the acquisition of a bachelor’s degree to serve as president. The benefits of such requirement are immense for our society as a whole as well as for political parties. It means that political parties will have to seek candidates that met such requirement. This will only serve to therefore bring in our intellectuals into the political space directly.

Furthermore, such a requirement will seek to transform our political discourse and culture from being based on non-issues and personalities or based on tribal, religious, family and other sectarian considerations to become knowledge-based and issue-oriented politics. This will serve to therefore reduce or eliminate political patronage and outright chicanery in our politics. For that matter it will serve to bring about an enlightened leadership that is more likely to serve our society better.

We must bear in mind that the values of honesty, justice, commitment and readiness to serve one’s people can be found in any individual, educated or not educate; literate or illiterate. These values can be considered as moral capacity that a leader needs to have. But these values must not be confused or substituted with leadership in terms of technical capacity. While one does not necessarily go to school to acquire moral capacity, but certainly technical capacity is acquired through formal training and it is technical capacity that makes a president effective and deliver.

Leadership is not by chance. God does not identify or choose leaders for any people. People are not born leaders. Rather leadership is about capacity to be acquired and delivered. Individuals who became great leaders in the world either trained themselves or were trained to be so. Such leaders did not live by superstitions and patronage and mysticism. Rather they lived by the principle and practice of knowledge and objectivity and analysis.

For the Gambia Our Homeland