Mustapha Njie (TAF) talks Brussels Donor Conference and National Development (NDP). Below is the full interview
News Review with European Union Ambassador to The Gambia, Attila Lajos on Brussels Donor Conference.
News Review with European Union Ambassador to The Gambia, Attila Lajos on Brussels Donor Conference.
Gambia: The Great China Debate – Golden Lead or Bust
Dear Editor,
Disturbing revelations has emerged on Chinese trawlers engaged in illegal fishing activity right deep in Gambian territorial waters. The vast majority of boats identified are found to be using ‘bottom trawling’ – an extremely destructive form of fishing which catches anything & everything on its path, illegal under Gambian law, and UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
It came as no surprise that the reason(s) for depletion of fish stock right across the South-China Sea came to a much-maligned habit violating the territorial integrity of Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and every other country it’s found – is the sort of abuse replicated in Gambia and West Africa’s territorial waters by agents of the Chinese state The deployment of tight fishing net-types whilst ramming through the seabed destroying undersea marine life is the primary cause of concern – as dead fish wash up the coastline, littering pristine scenery.
By all accounts, 2018 has turned out to be the great China debate on Gambia’s coastal communities mobilised against Golden Lead. Mr president, local people are crying foul, yet the administration answered with a cold shoulder, indifferent to the overwhelming crime scene. Mounting evidence has piled up backed by toxicology results from reputable sources; how outrageous then government is tight-lipped on a critical environmental catastrophe – exposing Gambia’s economic security to risk.
Pro-environmental campaign group #Greenpeace, has highlighted China’s distant water fishing industry is now the largest in West Africa, operating more than 400 fleet. China’s own Agriculture ministry puts that they produce £340 million each year, thou I suspect the true figure to be double that several times over. In 2015, #Greenpeace further exposed 74 Chinese vessels in prohibited waters falsifying their vessel tonnage, but for a regional naval force with no such technology to police & command the high Sea. As a matter of urgency, the Gambia navy has to advance for expert divers to peek right deep through the sea bed size up the damage & destruction these trawlers are doing in territorial waters.
Home or abroad, Gambians all the time are known for restraint, extend a helping hand to complete strangers – yes, the Gambian way. The government better start waking up smell the coffee – for I refuse to be colonised twice. Near and far, the public stood united sending a declaration to the people of Gunjur town, fraternise on the issue. If #NewGambia is to mean anything, how then a member of parliament is to turn against his constituency for a little less profit of an arrogant ‘Golden lead’ causing much injury to an entire coastal region – the sad case of Kebba K Barrow!
According to maritime estimates, over 70% of China’s boats in Africa are harvesting the Seas off the Senegalese coast, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, and the Gambia. A UN report also documents decades of intense exploitation of West Africa’s Seas by all states operating in the area, have resulted in over 50% of fishing resources overfished. Local communities are crying foul, but for a government muted on injustice – How outrageous the Gambia government dare punish the people of Gunjur, and Kartong or Faraba for standing up for ‘rights’ – all charges ought to be dropped if the justice system is to measure up credible!
The Minister for Fisheries, James FP Gomez, visiting Golden lead factory ought to be mindful, learn from history. Cruising through the seaside town calling protesters criminals has overstepped portfolio & an insult to those of us advocating national interest. Imagine then, hypothetically, the fate of a Gambian company operating in china engaged in criminal act – not only will it be closed-down never to see the light of day again, but a court case topped up by stringent financial penalties. How foolish then, ‘Golden Lead’ is let off the hook scot-free, raising a flag on prime beach location – adding salt to injury.
Writing on #UKGambia social media, Tony Ceesay opined that, ‘the question to consider is production for exchange vs that for need. The former, he said, is based on the possibility of extracting maximum profit or value from production. The way profit is generated is to pay the minimum possible for the resources (fish) and the labour to obtain and transform it into fishmeal – as seen with the owners of Golden Lead making a fortune out of a helpless local community. The alternative, Ceesay points, is ‘Production for need, for a robust domestic industry; that Gambia reduce its food imports and a need for livestock and poultry food supplements. That could be financed through social formats where the widest possible number of local people have a stake in the company, i.e, Cooperatives, partnerships or Village Development Committees (VDCs)) rather than distant private shareholders without a clue what Gambia is all about. Production for need creates local employment that cannot be outsourced, open-up supply chains & unleash entrepreneurial drive – Plus, the money retained in the economy, stimulating economic growth.
The ‘Coalition government’ should embark on an industrial policy strategically designed in practical terms that enables local Gambians to be the main creators & owners of jobs and wealth for the economy. You’ve to wonder why China need to export such vast quantities of fish in exploitative manner, the true (economic) picture of which cannot be captured in dalasi terms. It is estimated that staff aboard a China Fujian Distant Water Fishing ship earn up to RMB300,000 (£35,000). Similarly, Western fishing trawlers are also at it, posing a significant challenge in Gambian waters – instark violation of sovereignty rules.
The Gambian people will soon come to the realisation that China’s new roads & donor cheques cannot develop the country. To compete and excel, and to ensure sustainability – requires critical thinking & vision from the political class & intellectuals alike. Let’s change the way we do politics, and to inject a little humility into the mix – facing up to demands and challenges expected of great 21st century leadership.
”Why degga degga, maan dayy waaruna chii ngurrbii” – showing contempt against its own for merely questioning callous behaviour. Where are Gambia’s ‘Health & Safety’ standards, or the guardians of it, in Environment Agency (NEA). If the government is incapable of action against ‘Golden Lead’, stuck in the pocket of their paymaster generals in Beijing, at least try fake it. That, they have gotten quite good at – accustomed to luxurious surroundings, counting all the way to the bank.
Gibril Saine
PERCEPTION IN POLITICS – WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY
By Musa Bah
We have had three successive governments since independence. In all three, corruption has been the bane that kept us from achieving our developmental goals. Corruption has been like an octopus, spreading its tentacles everywhere and poisoning our fabric. It has – and continues to – destroy our resources all for selfish and individualistic benefits. No one seems to be able to escape its evil.
During the first republic, it became so rampant that it was almost accepted as a norm. This foretold of future upheavals which actually became. In January of 1994, while I was still a school going boy, I told one of my aunts (who is still alive by the way) that I foresaw a military takeover in this country. It was like some crazy idea to her. Seeing that the former president was universally loved, seemingly, she could not bring herself to believe that some Gambians will muster the courage to mount a coup d’état against the then government.
You see, it was not a prophecy, but an observation arrived at by a most gullible schoolboy at the time. That is how corrupt and decadent the government was then. The modus operandi of the then president was to punish any official known to have been corrupt or committed an act of malfeasance by reshuffling the government and transferring said individual to a new post. This in effect was simply saying: you’ve stolen enough from this department, go to the next one.
Thus, when in July 1994 Yahya Jammeh and a few other military personnel overthrew the government, my aunt called me to her house and asked if I had somehow received some hint from these soldiers that they were planning a coup d’état. “No,” I said, “I have just been observant of the goings-on.” The other reaction – this time of the general public – was of joy and hope. We all jubilated that now we will have a government that actually cared about the wellbeing of its people. Boy, were we in for a surprise!
A military with a difference! That was their motto and we naively bought into it. When they marched under the rain, holding hands and headed to the then McCarthy Squire, we all hailed them as the political and economic messiahs of the nation. We thought that they would come and wave a magic wand and lo and behold! All problems solved. They were the panacea that never was! The Algali Commission was set up and it exposed a despicable level of corruption and malfeasance that had hitherto fore never been seen. We tuned into GRTS every evening to listen to the tales of horror, as it were. Where did it lead and where are the monies recovered by the Assets Management and Recovery Commission (AMRC)? Ask me again!
On the corruption, loot and gross malfeasance of the Jammeh government, one has only to tune into to GRTS or QTV as they broadcast the proceedings of the Janneh Commission to be informed. The amount of money being mentioned and said to have been looted and destroyed is just too painful to delve into here.
Just yesterday, while I was watching these proceedings, I heard that the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) lost over sixty million dalasis in revenue because the former president had ordered that some villages in Foni be supplied with electricity but no metres. This meant that those villages enjoyed twenty-four hours electricity supply without paying a dime while the rest of the nation was plunged into darkness. What effrontery!
On 1stDecember 2016, we said we had had enough. We said that we wanted to take back our country and usher in a government that will be for the people. We hoped for a government that will be forthright with the people, a government that will work for the good of one and all and not just for the pockets of the leaders. That was how we came to the presidency of Adama Barrow through a Coalition government.
One and half year on, we are back to square one, so to speak. It is strange that the Gambia Revenue Authority – the body that generates our income – is as corrupt as ever before, or so it seems. It is said that when one goes to the major shopping centres and big magazines, one is issued with an invoice instead of a receipt. I was told that this is so that when the officials of the GRA come, they would not know how much sales have taken place and thus the nation loses the tax that was supposed to be paid from those sales. Those amounts thus go to the foreign businessmen/women, mostly Lebanese.
But another person told me that the money doesn’t only go into the accounts of those foreigners; but, is usually split between them and the GRA officials who knew aforetime that the magazines issue invoices instead of receipts. This is unfortunate indeed. Well, these are all allegations as at now but I think the government of President Adama Barrow owes it to the citizens to investigate these allegations, so we know for a fact who is robbing us, if indeed it is going on.
A month or so ago, it was reported that some immigration officials took close to a million dalasis from tourists who had entered the country via a yacht. It was reported that they shared this money amongst themselves and it was reported to the Ministry of the Interior. Some people were said to have been called in for questioning, but up until now, we have not heard anything about it. These things should be made public – very public indeed – to serve as a deterrent to others.
There is also a rumor that the president has constructed a mansion in his home village of Mankamankunda; that there are now streetlights everywhere in that village. The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs is also said to be constructing two giant storey buildings in his hometown of Bansang. What marvelous news!
Well, supporters will say that these two people were already rich before coming into office. That might as well be true, but the question is this: why is it that with all their wealth, it is only now that they are in office that they decided to build these magnificent buildings? It sure looks suspicious, doesn’t it?
In the Wolof Language it is said, “Ku ndobin rey sa maam soo gisee lu nyuul daw”. The corruption and malfeasance of the previous two regimes has taught us to be wary of anything that looks like looting. The government must understand that perception is important in politics. Well, this is the perception of many in the general public. Now, the onus is on you to clarify or prove otherwise.
We must build a more transparent Gambia for our future generations. Remember, we did not inherit this country for ourselves; rather, it is a trust we must bequeath to our children!
Tha Scribbler Bah
A Concerned Citizen
Legal Action Filed Against Gambian Ex-Dictator
Survivors of Bogus HIV and AIDS “Cure” Seek Compensation, Recognition of Human Rights Abuses in Gambian Courts
May 31, 2018 – Three survivors of Yahya Jammeh’s fraudulent and destructive HIV and AIDS “treatment programme” have today filed a legal action in the High Court of The Gambia.
Fatou Jatta, Ousman Sowe, and Lamin “Moko” Ceesay are suing the former Gambian president. They are seeking financial damages for harm suffered and a declaration from the High Court that their human rights were violated.
The civil action, which marks the first time Yahya Jammeh is being sued in the Gambian courts for abuses he committed while he led the country, is supported by the international advocacy organization AIDS-Free World in partnership with the Gambian-based Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA). Combeh Gaye of the Gambian law firm Antouman A.B. Gaye & Co. is representing the three claimants.
In 2007, after announcing that he could cure AIDS with a secret herbal concoction, Jammeh conscripted Gambians living with HIV to reside in a state facility under the surveillance of armed guards and to submit to a “treatment” regimen. Many Gambians who entered Jammeh’s programme were members of HIV and AIDS support groups.
Jammeh ordered his “patients” to cease taking antiretroviral drugs, an action that posed grave threats to their health. Instead, he had them drink herbal concoctions that often made them violently ill. He also slathered his concoctions on the patients’ partially nude bodies while chanting prayers. Select sessions were broadcast on Gambian television without the consent of the victims, some of whom hadn’t yet informed friends or family of their HIV status.
Jammeh has no medical training. International health experts roundly condemned his “cure” as quackery.
The program ran from 2007 until 2016, when Jammeh lost a national election. After initially contesting the results of the election, Jammeh fled the country in January 2017. He is now living in exile in Equatorial Guinea.
According to a Gambian newspaper report from January 2016, the director of Jammeh’s treatment programme claimed that “over nine thousand patients” had been treated by the Gambian president, “the majority of whom … were HIV patients.” In April 2018, the same official, Dr. Tamsir Mbowe, vastly revised the figure during his testimony before a commission of inquiry examining his role in the “cure,” claiming just 311 HIV and AIDS patients were treated from 2007 through 2012. The precise number of deaths as a consequence of Jammeh’s criminal mistreatment remains difficult to determine.
“I believe it is my responsibility to hold Jammeh to account,” said Ousman Sowe, who is a former university lecturer. “I knew that one day the real story would be told.”
“My experience in the presidential treatment programme was a horror,” said Fatou Jatta, who was a member of the Santa Yalla Support Society when she was brought into Jammeh’s program. “I could have lost my life.”
Lamin Ceesay was the first person in The Gambia to publicly reveal his HIV status. As such, he feels it is his duty to set the record straight on Jammeh’s negligence. “Jammeh must pay for what he has done to us,” he said.
The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa noted the historic nature of the filing. “This case will advance human rights protection in the Gambia, particularly with respect to people living with HIV, who are highly stigmatized and marginalized,” said Oludayo Fagbemi, Legal Officer with IHRDA. “We are happy to be supporting the claimants in this case.”
Combeh Gaye, the Banjul-based attorney who is representing the three claimants in the proceedings, said, “The claimants have suffered enough. We are confident that the court will find that Jammeh has caused them undue harm and will reward them appropriately.”
AIDS-Free World’s Legal Research and Policy Associate, Sarah Bosha, called Jammeh’s brutal hoax the most egregious premeditated assault on people living with HIV and AIDS in the history of the global AIDS crisis. “There is no cure for AIDS. When an individual of great power claimed otherwise, human health was jeopardized, lives were cut short, and a deadly epidemic was prolonged—all in the service of the insatiable ego of Yahya Jammeh, one of the great villains of modern times.”
Saramba Kandeh, AIDS-Free World’s Legal and Gender Associate, hopes that Jammeh’s life story will end with a powerful warning. “We believe this legal action will be a signal to the world that regardless of how rich or powerful they may be, malicious leaders who violate human rights can and will be held accountable,” she said.
Since March 2017, AIDS-Free World, IHRDA, and attorney Combeh Gaye have been working together to help survivors of Jammeh’s fraudulent “cure” pursue justice.
From Gunjur to Faraba: Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under Threat! Pres. Barrow’s Intervention is Urgently Necessary!
First, some three youths were arrested in Gunjur a fortnight ago and then charged with bogus offences for standing up to the obnoxious Golden Lead factory in their community. For many days now, scores of youths in Faraba have also been arrested and detained and then bailed for their determined stance against industrial sand mining in their community. Now there is news that Amadou Scattered Janneh and many more youths have also been charged with the same bogus charges for uprooting Golden Lead pipes clandestinely buried under the beach to dump waste in the ocean. These actions by the Police are utterly unacceptable and unhelpful.
It must be noted that until the change that Gambians registered in December 2016, several individuals, families and communities had their lands taken away from them by the Despot Yaya Jammeh with impunity. That regime had also given licenses to many extractive industries to mine and farm in the Gambia against the interest of the host communities. We can all recall Carnegie Minerals in Sanyang as well as clandestine mining in URR, not to mention Golden Lead itself which came to Gunjur during the period of the dictatorship. The continued festering of Bakoteh Dumpsite and the threats against Monkey Park must also not be forgotten.
Since taking over, the new Government is expected to review all of these companies and their activities to ensure that community interests are protected first and foremost by ensuring that these companies do not engage in unethical practices and that the environment is protected to guarantee the survival of present and future generations. Until Golden Lead came to the Gambia, this country has never witnessed large amounts of fish being dumped on the beach including dolphins being swept ashore. Therefore any reasonable person should be concerned that such occurrences are taking place now.
The environment and the resources and means it provides for human beings to live and earn a source of living are an integral part of economic, social and cultural rights. These rights are guaranteed by the Gambia Constitution in Chapter 20 under Sections 215, 216 and 218 as Directive Principles of State Policy. Furthermore international law has guaranteed these rights in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that the Gambia had ratified since 1978. Therefore the Gambia Government has obligation under national and international law to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of citizens.
The situation in Gunjur and Faraba as well as the Bakoteh Dumpsite or the case of Kololi including the proliferation of housing estates where lands and natural resources of communities are taken away for private benefit is a major cause of concern. Most of these cases find their roots in the APRC Dictatorship. Hence Pres. Barrow must not remain silent and ignore these happenings. We must not take these cases as a mere law enforcement issue and therefore the police can handle them.
Pres. Barrow must be told that these economic, social and environmental issues are in fact in the heart of the peace and stability of this country and our failure to address them urgently and constructively could potentially destabilize the country.
Human rights experts and development thinkers have noted that economic, social and cultural rights including the environment concern the basic social and economic conditions needed to live a life of dignity and freedom. It is these rights that provide and ensure durable livelihoods, social security, health, education, food, water, healthy environment and practice and survival of culture. Social, economic and cultural rights are based on the fact that human dignity would be compromised if these rights are not fulfilled. Therefore international law requires that governments take full steps in ensuring that their citizens have adequate conditions to live a meaningful life.
What we are therefore seeing in these communities is a direct threat to the present and future abilities of these communities to live decent and healthy lives as well as obtain a decent and unfettered source of livelihood because of the activities of these private businesses. It has been recognised that the disregard and contempt of human rights have been one of the major, if not the leading factor that compels human beings, to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion.
The happenings in Gunjur and Faraba are not a police matter. Subjecting community members to arrest, detention and trumped up charges will only delay but will not and cannot prevent an eventual uprising by the rest of these communities so long as private businesses continue to unduly benefit from the natural resources of those communities. These actions by the police will only threaten the peace and stability of the community and the Gambia as a whole eventually.
The solution to this matter is therefore a political one where the president must take the lead. Pres. Barrow must summon all the necessary public agencies as well as all of the affected communities to engage in a dialogue to find a lasting solution. These communities have a genuine concern that needs the full attention of the Head of State. The youths and other members of the community engaged in this matter are not foolish men and women without any purpose in life. Hence the Government must not take the matter as a criminal affair by some irate folks.
The incidence of private companies, local or foreign, exploiting natural resources in communities to the detriment of the people is an factual reality all over Africa. The reason there is war in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is the same reason why folks in Gunjur and Faraba are standing up. It is the same reason that communities in several African countries are also engaged in all forms of violence in response to the operations of companies while their governments remain indifferent. In most cases the government is indifferent because these companies bribe public officials.
Pres. Barrow must be told that he was elected for a purpose which is to correct the wrongs of the past and usher in a new democratic dispensation in the country. His government had passed a transitional justice law and has started the process of setting up a truth commission. The fact that these steps were taken is a recognition that many wrongs were committed against individuals and communities in this country by the former government particularly in the area of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. Hence when some of those wrongs now manifest as social, economic and environmental issues, what is expected is for the Government to take urgent steps to deal with them politically and not through law enforcement.
If the police have to involve it must only be to restrain community members where violence is likely to erupt and maintain law and order. But the police must not go further to arrest, detain and charge citizens for a matter that is a political issue primarily and not a criminal matter. The folks involved in these cases are not clandestine but open and visible. They are not armed and they have not been releasing violent statements. Hence this matter is not a criminal matter. It is a political issue that requires a political solution for which the intervention of the president and all of the political resources of the State and society are necessary, i.e. including the National Assembly, Area Councils, governors, religious and traditional authorities, community elders as well as youth leaders.
Drop all Charges. Free the Youths of Gunjur and Faraba. For the Gambia, Our Homeland.
MY TAKE ON OUSAINOU MBENGA’S INSINCERE TANTRUM
Comrade Ousainou Mbenga, I’d read your piece ‘From Jammeh to Barrow: Opposite Poles of The Same Deception’ and my deduction is that it isn’t anywhere near a sober reflection nor is it an accurate representation of the Gambian reality. If I had read this two years ago, I’d have given it a 5-star. I’m giving it 3-stars for one, the good English, two, president Barrow even allowing to erect a henhouse much more a mansion. The optics are horrible.
In the absence of the two, this reads as an old publication that Ous drafted years ago and couldn’t wait to republish for a couple of reasons: that the definition of blood money has changed What’s the ill-gotten wealth? If that indeed got triggered by the per diem scale, per diems aren’t illegal or criminal. The Administration only needs to ensure austerity by both rescaling the existing one and cut down the trips for all Govt workers to be absolutely necessary before approval.
To know that the piece is bias, extremist and deliberate is your charge of the absence of ‘way forward’. That is disingenuous because we have seen the launching of a National Development Plan which is a development blueprint for a 3-year Roadmap. That same blueprint was what got sold to lead to pledges. No sincere Gambian would read that and call it EU designed or Neo-Colonialist. The document addresses or at least targets 8 priority areas with practical implementation and monitoring mechanisms. What would have been fair is Mr Mbenga stating his dissatisfaction with ruth the Document, offer an alternative that’s not only theoretical but practical enough to get the Gambia on a better progressive footing than the NDP.
But to confirm the disaffection and anger that triggered this is the incessant obsession in drawing in the UDP into this tantrum to caress your imaginary fantasies of revolutionary blind date. That though, is understood considering Mr Mbenga is a founding member of a Waa Juwara NDAM party, a disgruntled offshoot of the UDP. So that can be treated as strictly malicious politics devoid of legitimate substance. A UDP govt would NOT be tied to some manufactured bondage of convenience with only 3 of her members sitting in Cabinet.
Pardon that distraction. Let’s detour to more substantial issues. I’d reminded that complaints and complainers melt and get stuck in trenches if all they do is seek faults, complain without proffering alternatives. A lot of us are frustrated at the slow pace of progress. But any honest critic would not say there has been silence on the Constitutional and Legal Reforms when the people’s representatives passed a bill that Okays drafting a New Constitution instead of piecemeal approach, that lead to the appointment of Justice Cherno Jallow as chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission. The Executive through the Attorney General [who is not UDP] gave a timeline of approximate target date/ year. Any who is interested and not disingenuous would have acknowledged that even where they disagree. That’s better than revisiting folders to pull out a two-decade old template used to assault Jammeh only to change times and characters. The vocabulary, the metaphors, rhetorics remain unchanged, causing me to check the publication date. These apocalyptic cinematographic can only pass in Wakanda.
My conclusion is that Mr Mbenga is ticked off by the UDP bulldozing and wrecking whatever his personal anticipation and expectations, thus his disappointment. But that’s the inconvenient perk of democracy and democratic exercises. I suggest we regroup and plan the assault better, cos obviously our politics is apparently about to witness an attempt to infuse unworkable revolutionary activism in it for people who are eternal strugglers. And this is not bad at all. It’s going to offer an interesting dimension to our road to better, democratic and fair Gambia. Let’s all pull the hammers out and play. What’s certain tho, the UDP will not work to satisfy individual urges of politically and personally dissaffectioned people. The task is Gambia, and Gambia it shall be. ?
Jammeh- Barrow, Opposite Poles of The same Deception! Oussainou Mbenga-DUGA
From Kanilai to Potomac, Maryland ran blood money when Jammeh was high on the saddles of power. Barely fifteen months on the saddles of power, Adama Barrow and his gang of “ it’s our turn to chop and quench” continue to travel on the same trail of blood money to “feather their own nests” with ill-gotten wealth much earlier than Jammeh started. Where will Barrow’s trail lead to? The mansions and street lights of Mangkamang Kunda and the alleged unfinished mansions in Bansang is only the starting point for the Barrow regime. Are we going to sit and wait and see where this trail will lead our beloved Gambia into, when all the evidence points to the same disastrous end as was under the APRC and its enablers? Just as Jammeh did, the Barrow regime is equally setting the Gambia up for the kill with the same old deadly and unscrupulous investments with predictable outcomes of “mal – development. All of our viens are being exposed to the “Merchants of misery”; anyone can come to Gambia (Africa) and draw blood in the name of “investment”. This trail is littered with betrayal!
The regime is yet to present a plan of action for the way forward, instead relinquished that national responsibility to the EU to design a “Road Map” for us. Any road map without our national interest input will lead us into the swamps of dependency and mediocrity just like previous road maps. Barrow remains to be a “tail light” instead of the “head light” he is required to be to build the “New Gambia” with a bright future. The whole country is still in darkness from NAWEC’S ineptitude to provide electricity and water, with no relief in sight.
THE “NEW GAMBIA”; REALLY?
There is nothing new in the Gambia besides Barrow’s face. All the structures of the “neocolonial state” remains intact. The old bottle of palm wine Jammeh used to intoxicate the people into blind patriotism is the same palm wine in the same old bottle that the “UDP – Barrow” regime uses to keep its blinded supporters under the stupor of “everything is UDP” – winner takes all. These same sycophant — supporters tell us to thank Barrow for our “new found freedom of expression”. This statement is contrary to reasoning, for if it wasn’t the Gambian voters Barrow would have remained a political nonentity. One thing certain is that, the bullying, killings, illegal arrests, detentions and disappearances is a zero tolerance vowed from the Gambian people. Any repressive acts of the past 22 years will be met with maximum retaliation!
Not a single bolt or screw of significance have been removed from the machinery that the Jammeh regime operated under. In fact the UDP – Barrow regime eagerly lubricates the machinery to function as usual. The “New Gambia” is an illusion with tragic consequences.
Consider the deafening silence towards the atrocious “toilet paper constitution” (the Law acccording to Jammeh) which still contains the repressive colonial “public order act,” “sedition act,” “indemnity act” and the deliberately ignored issue of “term limits”. The obvious delaying tactics on their worthless promises of “constitutional reforms” allows them to entrench the “hegemony” they deny is their ulterior motive. The “toilet paper constitution” deserves no less than a flush as Jammeh was flush down the drain. The making of a genuine New Gambia is not on the UDP – Barrow regime agenda. This new hungry elite will of course champion meaningless reforms as oppose to making a rupture with the old and suffocating ideas of depending on charity and loans, the two killers of African economic development. Charity and loans are the demoralizing factors to African workers, what’s left of farmers and the youth. The Barrow regime sticks our necks out under the guillotine loans from the EU, China and the secret loans known only to the “secret society” within the regime. Drolling at the mouth in expectation of the EU loans, the Barrow regime, its opportunist technocratic sycophants and sadly enough, the downtrodden masses are celebrating this DEBT as victory for the Barrow regime. These debts are paid back not by the Barrow regime but off the already broken backs of the downtrodden masses from senseless high taxes and value added taxes (VAT).
THE SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS OF GAMBIA IS STILL AT GUTTER LEVEL
As a result, the current political backwardness of tribes and tribalism, superstition and blind faith religion are suffocating our abilities to be the masters of our destiny. This regime like the previous regimes were never about liberating our people from the backward social and political tendencies of always begging for AID, which systematically destroyed agriculture and the desire to feed ourselves. And engaging in tribal politics by supporting policies that don’t serve the national interest but their narrow selfish party and ethnic interest.
Those who wish to remain willfully ignorant and outright reactionary, can continue to shamelessly defend the administrative blunders of the “UDP – Barrow” regime that betrayed all the principles of the “coalition 2016”. The most blunderous neglect by this regime and its blinded sycophant — supporters is the senseless defense of NAWEC’S (National Water and Electricity Company) ineptitude.
Barrow’s regime is bent on making all the atrocities perpetrated by Jammeh vanish from our memory through the recycling of APRC bandits and gangters; civilian and military. Despite all the sham commission of inquiry into the horrors of the last 22 years and the setting up of the Truth Reconciliation & Reparations Commission (TRRC), the UDP – Barrow regime’s intent is to keep the class peace of “let bygone be bygone, let’s forget and forgive”, yet everything else remains the same just as it happened in Azania (South Africa).
The UDP – Barrow regime has been bought and sold to the interest of “foreign investments” betraying the aspirations of the Gambian masses that lifted them onto the “saddles of power”. We the people can no longer meddle into affairs of state, we should leave everything to Barrow and his “its our turn to eat” partners in development.
So the reckless environmental degredation by the Chinese owned Golden Leaf fish meal factory in Gunjur and JXYG Aquatic Company LTD in Kartong can pollute the length of our pristine coastal shores and land without any repercusions but when the youth and the towns people protest against these criminal acts, the PIU (Police Intervention Unit) and paramilitary forces are send to defend the factories and arrest the protesters. The Gambia is in a state of serious environmental crisis. For decades Kartong was the site of reckless sand mining and after the visible distruction, the government irresponsibly moved to Gunjur briefly and now Sanyang will follow the same fate as Kartong. The waste from the fish meal factory is now being dumped in Kotu following the protest by the people of Gunjur, Kiti, Kartong and Sanyang. Recently, the Golden Leaf Factory were given authority by the government to replace the pipes taken out by the organized efforts of the towns people to resume dumping the waste into the ocean. This time the Chinese workers arrogantly hoisted the Chinese flag on Gambian soil while fixing the piipes. Until this day, not one regime representative uttered a word against the hoisting of the Chinese flag, an insult to our “sovereignty”. Disgustingly enough, the local authorities and general population is being bought with rice and sugar.
CULTIVATING REVOLUTIONARY POLITICS IS THE SOLUTION
First, our definition of revolution is what matters not what others miscontrue it to be. We refuse to be relegated to a “beggardom”. Revolutiomary politics means breaking with old ideas and backward traditions of tribes and tribalism. It means cultivating a revolutionary nation with foresight and insight as to what we want and what we believe to achieve economic liberation through political education of our history. It means building from the bottom up by the sweat of our brow to provide food, clothing and shelter for the vast majority of our people. Revolutionary politics means promoting “local initiative”, trusting the genuis of the masses as the makers of history.
Jammeh once said he doesn’t have an “opposition” in the Gambia. To his credit, he was right. There has never been a formidable political formation in the Gambia that effectively challenged his reactionary policies and the atrocities inflicted upon the nation. Other political parties that called themselves “opposition parties” were and continue to be elections driven. The only time the masses see them is when elections are drawing near. There is yet to be a formidable organization of women outside of the “tokenized women” organization of “Yayi kompin” used and exploited by unscrupulous politicians for electoral votes. These women organizations entrap the vast potential of our women by relegating them to reactionary activities instead of unleashing their full potential as a mighty force for revolutionary change.
Equally, there are no formidable youth and student organizations to entrench the bond of continuity for subsequent generations to live a life of revolutionary service to the nation to produce and reproduce. GAMSU (Gambia student Union) was our shining light and Jammeh snuffed it in April 2000.
The Gambia once had a vibrant well organized workers union but like other institutions suffered from neglect and ultimately demoralized. Gambian workers and what is left of farmers remain disorganized and no political party has taken on the task to organized them into a formidable force to be reckon with. Yes, Jammeh was right and there still exist no “opposition party” worthy of showing the masses an alternative from this neocolonial continuity.
The time is here, all the conditions are ripe to create and build an ALTERNATIVE PARTY that will champion the interest of the vast majority of the Gambian people based on our national advancement, not ethnic or tribal loyalties.
BUILD THE GAMBIAN FRONT OF THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION!
Major Reshuffle At KMC
The Fatu Network has been informed of an alleged reshuffle that took place at The Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC).
It has been reported that the Council’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Pa Kalifa Sanyang, who has been serving in the position for 3 years was replaced by one Ms Salama Njie, while the Directors of Environment and Community Services among others have been demoted.
According to sources, the following officials were demoted; Mr Dodou Jallow, Cleansing Manager, Mr Bakary Darboe, Director of Community Services and Mr Buba Sillah and a few others. Its said that Mr Bakary Darboe was moved to Charles Jaw Upper Basic, a school built by the Council, while Mr Dodou Jallow was transferred to The Serrekunda Market.
When contacted on his phone, Mr Pa Kalifa Sanyang answered that he’s currently on annual leave. He wouldn’t confirm whether he was demoted. His office is currently occupied by an Acting (CEO).
The KMC Public Affairs Officer, Ms Fatou Sillah confirmed the news but said she does not know the reason for the reshuffle. According to her, the decision had been taken during the term of the interim committee headed by Mr Bakary Jammeh, and not the newly elected Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda.
“These are high officials. I cannot comment,” Ms Sillah said.
Army PRO Clarifies Issues Of Salary Deduction Complained By Soldiers
The Fatu Network earlier today, has been informed by reliable sources, on what looked like a deduction in salaries, for soldiers posted in the province. Apparently, the sum of a hundred and fifty Dalasi has not reflected on their pay slip.
We contacted the Army PRO, who acknowledged that the incident did happen, but it has since been rectified.
“The anomaly has been rectified by the Treasury. A cheque has been raised to pay back all those affected, especially Farafenni and Basse.” Major Lamin Sanyang added.
Mr Dawda Lamin Ceesay debunks Corruption allegation against his his ministry
Mr Dawda Lamin Ceesay, Ministry of Youths and Sports ,debunks Corruption allegation against his his ministry
Breaking: Faraba Banta Youths Clash With PIU
Reports reaching The Fatu Network have confirmed tht serious clashes have taken place at Faraba Banta today, between the PIU and the village youths. The fight ensued following the sale of the quarry to a businessman. Several youths have been arrested.
When trucks came there to load sand this morning, the village youths and women came out in their numbers, to prevent what they call “their sand” mined.
The grievance of the youths, is not only the environmental impact of sand mining in the area, but the disputed place, according to them, should not be sold to anyone, as it belongs to the village. We’ll keep you updated on events.
Bodies Of Two Gambian Migrants Recovered In Italy
The bodies of two Gambian migrants from Niumi Kanuma, have been recovered from the sea of Catanzaro Lido in Italy.
According to Alladin Fatty, a Gambian migrant in the area, the two young men went missing in the waters of Catanzaro Lido.
“It all started when a ball went into the water and, in an attempt to recover it, they drowned,” Fatty told The Migrant Project. The deceased were both 25 years old.
According to a firsthand account, one of the two men dove into the water but didn’t resurface, probably because of the currents. Subsequently, the other young man dove into the water in an attempt to help him, Fatty explained.
It was reported that divers and ground crew from the Reggio Calabria fire brigade and naval vessels from the Port Authority, the Carabinieri, the police and staff of the 118 emergency services all intervened. A helicopter from the Civil Protection department was also involved in the search, which lasted for almost 24 hours before the bodies were recovered.
In other news, a 25-year-old Gambian migrant named Lamin Manneh from Badibu has been reported missing in Libya.
Jammeh Alledgedly Sent NIA Operatives To Spy On UN Investigators At Ocean Bay Hotel
Gambia’s former President Yahya Jammeh is said to have assigned the then operatives of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to spy on the UN experts investigating the murder of 50–56 West African migrants. The information was disclosed to The Fatu Network by a former Ocean Bay Security Chief, Ibrima Faati.
Faati explained how a group of Plain Clothes agents hired rooms at the hotel where the investigators were lodged to monitor their activities.
“The (NIA) officers would sit at the reception to monitor the movements of the UN investigators at the hotel,” Former Security Chief said.
“They would follow them in white pickup truck with tinted glass to the suspected scenes,” he added.
The former hotel security chief said he believed that the country’s former president has something to do with the murder of 50–56 West African migrants in The Gambia in 2005.
Faati, a retired military went further to blame the former Interior Minister, Ousman Sonko and the ‘incompetent’ (NIA) officials for trying to impress the former president by telling him lies about the 50–56 West African migrants. He said he cannot remember their names but could identify faces.
He added that the $500, 000 Dollars sent to families of the victims to help with funeral arrangements was nothing but sheer hypocrisy.
He concluded by calling for the prosecution of the former president for justice to be served.
UDP leader Ousainu Darboe, has said that his relationship with President Barrow at both the official and the personal level, is cordial.
UDP leader Ousainu Darboe, has said that his
relationship with President Barrow at both the official and the personal level, is cordial. He refuted claims that he had strained relationship with President Barrow.
Take a listen to him.
Guinea’s president reshuffles govt with looming strikes, civil unrest
Facing civil unrest and strikes in the crucial mining sector, Guinea’s President Alpha Conde reshuffled his government overnight, appointing new finance and security ministers among others.
No official reason was given for the sweeping changes, announced by state TV on Sunday, which followed the appointment of a new prime minister, Ibrahima Kassory Fofana.
The changes came amid heightened political tensions and speculation that Conde may be seeking to modify the constitution ahead of a 2020 election.
Guinea is Africa’s top producer of bauxite, the ore of aluminium, and Conde’s government has faced repeated strikes by mineworkers, as well as teachers and has seen civil unrest over local elections.
It has also suffered embarrassment over allegations by French authorities that billionaire tycoon Vincent Bollore’s conglomerate backed Conde’s election campaign in exchange for a port concession. Both Bollore and Conde deny any wrongdoing.
In his reshuffle Conde replaced 13 out of 33 ministers in his government. Finance Minister Maladho Kaba was sacked and replaced by Mamady Camara, Guinea’s former ambassador to South Africa. Her deputy, Budget Minister Mohamed Lamine Doumbouya, was replaced by former central bank official Ismael Dioubate.
Security Minister Abdoul Kabele Camara, in place since Conde’s election victory in 2010, was replaced by Alpha Ibrahima Keira, a loyalist from the regime of dictator Lansana Conte, who died in 2008.
As well as bauxite, Guinea has some of the world’s largest deposits of iron ore, but decades of mining have failed to lift most Guineans out of poverty.
About 10 people were killed in February and March when riots erupted in the capital Conakry and other cities following local elections, which the opposition said were marred by fraud.
Conde’s opponents also fear he seeks to modify the constitution to stand for a third term in 2020. Conde has not yet commented on his intentions, but speculation over them has had a destabilising effect.
REUTERS