By Yunus S Saliu

To curb the erratic supply of electricity currently facing the country, the Minister of Information, Communication and Infrastructure has assured that plans are underway to replace NAWEC’s old generators causing frequent electricity outages across the country.

Minister DA Jawo disclosed this on Wednesday, September 27 before members of the press corps during his monthly press briefing held at the Ministry’s premises.

According to him the country acquired some of these (present) generators second-hand as decommissioned equipment from other parts of the world three decades ago.

He said NAWEC is implementing a number of projects to increase the generation capacity through the support of the World Bank. And this, he said, entails the supply of new generators, he added that one of them with a 6.5 megawatt capacity will be installed, commissioned and ready for commercial operations by the end of October at the Kotu Power Station.

Also, he said NAWEC will also install a second new generator at the Brikama Power Station which is expected to be commissioned and ready for commercial operation by end of November.

He quickly noted that, “due to delays in finalising the contract for the replacement of the 8.9 megawatt Wartsila engine, the generator will be installed and available for commercial operations by February 2018.”

He added that NAWEC is also implementing a new 11 megawatt generation expansion project at the Kotu Power Station which will be installed, commissioned and ready for commercial operations by the end of December.

Above all, with these additional generators, he said, government expects national electricity power supply situation to definitely stabilize in the short-term, while NAWEC implements other projects like the Islamic Development Bank-funded 20 megawatt project in Brikama, and other plans in keeping with the country’s energy sector roadmap.

By Omar Wally

The Community Policing Unit of The Gambia Police Force on Thursday, September 21, 2017, sensitized the community of Brufut on community policing.

The event which brought together the youth and elders of the village, was organized by the Community Policing Unit of The Gambia Police Force in collaboration with the Human Rights unit, Complaint and Discipline Unit as well as the Press and Public Relations Office.

Alh Ma-Lamin Manneh, Alkalo of Brufut village, said events like this one will raise awareness amongst members of the communities and the country as a whole. He appealed to the office of the Inspector General of Police through the visiting team to embark on more nationwide sensitization programs and events like the one held in Brufut.

Officer Commanding Community Policing Unit, Superintendent Lamin Jaiteh, stressed the need for community policing to be re-enforced and strengthened in communities. He tasked communities to establish community policing structures for its implementation at the grass root. He said community policing is one of the surest ways of making the Gambia a crime free country adding that there is need for the community to share timely and relevant information with the Police.

Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police Foday Conta, emphasized on the negative effects of criminal activities and the use of illicit drugs by mainly the youth.

PRO Conta, said criminal activities and the use of illicit drugs leads to the imprisonment of many of the youthful population or gradually drive them to insanity.

ASP Conta advised the community to be very vigilant and be aware of the happenings in their environment so as to quickly report crimes and criminal activities to the police as that is the only way to combat crime.

Conta reminded them and the satellite villages that they have an important role to play in the security and policing of their communities. “That peace building and security should be the business of all since the police cannot do it all alone.”

Knowledge is not what you cram but it have to do with the power of the mind in reminding of facts after the abiding element disappears. This is not a narrow issue but it is indeed a broad topic that one have to address with care and a broad mind with critical thinking and reasoning beyond the box in order to reach at the truth.

There are several important factors that can affect a human such as environment, education, propaganda, social culture and without doubt, the thoughts of a person. Sometimes, even one’s economic position can provide a motive for why a human being acts a certain way.

It is true that the holy Quran is a complete book and the religion of Islam is pure clean and peaceful. But the challenge faced by Islam in the 21st century is due to the so-called Islamic intellectual and scholars who uses God to address all issues being good, bad or evil which is a threat to peace and the Islamic religion.

I am quite sure of the fact that both true believers in the diving books and the holy religions of Islam and Christianity believe that there is only one God who is the master of the universe. Socrates was a classical Greek (Athenian) philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, he himself acknowledge the fact of the existence of one Deity (God).

In addressing the issue that Gambian people put Barrow in to office not God one have to comprehend the meaning of destiny and predestination. “Predestination” applies this to the salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin.

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the “paradox of free will”, whereby God’s omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.

The Arabic word qada (قُضِي) means literally “carrying out or fulfilling”. In Islamic jurisprudence it refers to fulfilling or completing those duties that one may have missed due to some reason or other. It can also mean qadee, a court judgment or the art of adjudication. One of the issues which is directly related to the issue of the justice of the Creator is the question of predestination or free will.

According to the fatalists (those who believe in predestination), a human being has no choice whatsoever in his or her actions, behavior or words and the movement of his organs are just like the predestined movements of the parts of a machine. Thus, the question arises, how does this opinion relate to Divine Justice? And perhaps because of this, the previously mentioned group of the Ash’arites, deny intellectual good and evil and have accepted predestination. Their belief in predestination is a denial of justice. Why? Because when one accepts predestination, justice makes no sense.

In order to further clarify this point, we are obliged to study several subjects with care:

Why Believe in Predestination?
The Main Error of the Fatalists
The Social and Political Factors for Belief in Fatalism
Reasons for Belief in Free Will
The Holy Qur’an and Free Will
God’s Knowledge

It is a clear testimony that there is a Paradise and Hell. Therefore through one’s effort on earth on doing and following the teaching of Islam as per the scriptures will lead him to paradise.  The question one might asked to those people like Ebrihima Mbowe, the Deputy Amir of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at in the Gambia. Who said and quote from the holy Quran that . “Say, O Allah Lord of Sovereignty, Thou gives Sovereignty to whomsoever Thou pleases, and Thou fakest away sovereignty from whomsoever Thou pleases. Thou exactest whomsoever Thou pleases and Thou a basest whomsoever Thou pleases. In Thy hand is all good. Thou surely has power to do all things.” (3:27 Thou givest to whomsoever Thou pleasant without measure.” (3:28)

If we are to go by this revelation it’s mean that there is no need to pray, fast neither to do good as per the teaching of Islam since God have written before we were born that what will happen to the person after death being in hell or in heaven.

The truth is though Good have written everything before birth  which known deny the fact, but still the same God give us the free will to decide either to do good and follow the teaching of the holy scriptures to earn us heaven or to do the opposite to lead us to hell.

It is high time we realize the truth and understand the concept and the meaning of religion and stop accusing God for no reason.  According to the Qur’an, certain people go to hell because they chose to do bad deeds, and others to heaven by doing good deeds and even if Allah had chosen to guide them to the truth they themselves would choose to reject the faith:

“And if Allah had known any good in them He would have made them hear, and if He makes them hear they would turn back while they withdraw. “Qur’an, Sura 8 (Al-Anfaal), ayat 23. A hadith reports that Muhammad SAW said about Qadr: Ali narrated that one day the Messenger of Allah was sitting with a wooden stick in his hand with which he was scratching the ground.

He raised his head and said, “There is none of you, but has his place assigned either in the Fire or in Paradise.” They (the Companions) inquired, “O Allah’s Messenger! Why should we carry on doing good deeds, shall we depend (upon Qadar) and give up work?” Muhammad said: “No, carry on doing good deeds, for everyone will find it easy (to do) such deeds that will lead him towards that for which he has been created.” Then he recited the verse: “As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him, and believes in al-Husna, We will make smooth for him the path of Ease (goodness) (Surah al-Lail 92:5-7). Sahih Muslim.

In spite of the fact that the issue of free will is a general human sense, why do some people follow the school of the fatalists?

Therefore through the freewill given to The Gambian by God lead those to decide to vote for Adama Barrow and not God put him to office. In other words, Allah uses the citizens asShabab to bring about the change. We had to do campaigns, form a coalition and then go to the polls on Election Day for Barrow to be elected.

Many of the despotic and selfish politicians in order to extinguish the fire of revolution among the deprived and in order to assure the continuation of their illegal rule (for every rule of regime which oppresses the people and denies people their rights is illegal from the point of view of Islam) convinced the people through all the means available to them that they have no free will, that predestination and predetermination of history holds our destiny in its hands. If one group rules and another is ruled, this is a rule of fate and the destiny of history!

It is clear how this kind of thinking can silence people and aid the policies of colonialism whereas according to our intellect and our Divine Law, destiny and fate lies in our own hands and fate and destiny in thesense of predestination and predetermination does not exist. Divine fate and destiny is determined through our action, desire, willpower, faith, effort and endeavor.

NB: If any Islamic scholar disagree I am ready for debate as per the above subject matter.

To be continued………….

By: Saidina Alieu Jarjou
Activist/Blogger/Watchdog.

There are six pillars of faith in Islam. These are the believe in the Oneness of Allah, the Revealed Books, the Prophets of Islam, the Day of Resurrection, Angels and Predestination.

Predestination or ‘Qadar’ in Arabic is a concept that holds that the Almighty Allah has written all that will come to pass in the Preserved Tablet (“Al-Lawhu Al-Mahfuud”). However Predestination holds that a person’s action is not caused by what is written in the Preserved Tablet but, rather, the action is written in the Preserved Tablet because God already knows all occurrences without the restrictions of time.

We know that Allah has eternal knowledge as He is All-Powerful, Omnipresent and the Creator of all things in and outside the universe. Hence whatever human beings do or do not do is already known to Allah and it has been written down already. But Predestination does not take away the freewill of human beings. Rather Predestination recognizes that human deeds and intent are the making of human beings themselves even though Allah knows beforehand those deeds and intent even before the human being was created or born.

In the Gambia as in many other Muslim societies, there is a gross misinterpretation of Predestination, which is perceived as fatalism. Many scholars and believers misunderstand Divine Justice, Destiny and Fate in Islam to the point that they take away human liberty and freedom, which have been given by Allah. By doing so, they therefore misinterpret, limit and insult Allah everyday by ascribing every human action and intent to the Will of Allah.

The argument that Ebrahima Mbowe made in defense of Predestination is the very kind of misunderstanding that has always been used to subject Muslims to oppression and exploitation in many countries. It holds the view that everything in society is willed by Allah hence human beings were mere recipients, conduits or agents of the Will of Allah. If we go by this perception then we could also claim that Allah killed Solo Sandeng, Deyda Hydara, April 10 and 11 Schoolchildren and many other victims of Yaya Jammeh. Certainly no one in his or her right mind would conclude that Allah killed those people.

Mr. Mbowe said many efforts were made to remove Yaya Jammeh but none could materialize until 2017 hence Barrow is president by the Will of Allah. Is Mr. Mbowe also saying therefore that it was Allah who willed that Yaya Jammeh should be president and stay in power until 2017? Can Mr. Mbowe tell us why and how Allah would make Yaya Jammeh be the president of the Gambia for 22 years and killing fellow citizens everyday? Did Allah will this or not?

If we follow Mr. Mbowe’s interpretation of Predestination, then it means he is seeking to disempower Gambians to accept our fate anyhow while on the other hand empowering those in power to remain there forever until Allah wills for them to step down. Allah did not give us Jawara or Jammeh and certainly Allah has not given us Barrow. Gambians put Jawara and Jammeh and Barrow in power based on our own decisions, rightly or wrongly. But certainly Allah knows that who will be president of the Gambia and what the future of the Gambia looks like. But He did not decide that. Such decision is with Gambians themselves.

Let us not confuse the fact that while Allah knows everything and nothing happens outside of the knowledge of Allah, yet Allah does not determine our human actions and intent. Allah has given us a brain to think and decide on our own. Allah has created Heaven and Hell for those who do right or wrong. While he knows already who will go to Heaven or Hell, yet Allah has not determined who goes to what place. That is left to our own freewill in doing the right or wrong.

As Muslims, we belief that Allah is the Sustainer, the Ultimate Causative Agent, the Provider and so on. This is why Muslims begin every action with ‘In the Name of Allah’ and pray for protection against Satan. When we achieve fortune or experience any misfortune, we proclaim ‘Alhamdulillah’ by showing gratitude to Allah or take solace in Allah. This is part of our faith to strengthen and humble us. It means we acknowledge that everything is within the realm of the will and knowledge of Allah. It means we submit to the Will of Allah for we believe Allah has only good intentions for humanity. But we must not confuse this aspect of our faith to mean that Allah therefore decides for us. No way. Human beings decide for themselves.

I would therefore urge Mr. Ebrahima Mbowe and all Gambians who claim to be Muslims to research and learn more about Islam. The poverty in the Gambia is not caused by Allah. The dictatorship we went through was not caused by Allah. The corruption and bad governance in the Gambia since Independence are not caused by Allah. We caused these bad situations ourselves based on our own freewill and choices. However Allah knew what would become of the Gambia in the past, present and future because Allah is All-Knowing. But Allah did not determine that Gambians would undergo such bad governance at the cost of the lives of hundreds of our citizens. Allah is not an evil being.

Stop insulting Allah. Stop accusing Allah. Stop misinterpreting Allah. Islam is incompatible with poverty, ignorance, discrimination, tribalism, oppression and exploitation. Therefore in any society where there is a high incidence of poverty, filth, exploitation and oppression then that society is un-Islamic and ungodly. I expect folks like Ebrahima Mbowe to enlighten Gambians to become better Muslims than to seek to disempower Gambians by misinterpreting Islam.

God Bless The Gambia

A Lebanese multimillionaire Businessman, Muhammed Bazzi has appeared before the commission of inquiry probing into financial activities of the former president and his close associates.

Bazzi who claimed to have both Lebanese and Belgian citizenship said he also held a Gambian diplomatic passport as he was the Gambia’s Honorary Councilor to his country of origin, Lebanon.

He said his first visit to the Gambia was facilitated by one Tarik Musa who requested for him to intervene in the country’s unstable energy sector in 2001.

“I first met former President Jammeh in the same year 2001,” Muhammed Bazzi said.

Commission Counsel Amie Bensouda asked him to take the commission through his businesses in the country which started with the importation of fuel, sand mining and flour milling among others. He then mentioned some of his companies including Global Trading, Euro Africa Group, GAMICO, Gampetroleum and Gambia Electrical Group GEG among others. He also mentioned Premiere Investment which he said he owns 75 percent shares.

Mr Bazzi could not tell the commission whether it was him or the former president who came up with the idea of taking the mining operations from Carnegie Minerals, an Australian Company whose license was terminated by the former president Yahya Jammeh. He admitted that he has never experienced mining operations. He told the commission that he handed over operations to Tony Ghattas who was working with Carnegie Menerals.

It was put to him that his company GAMICO does not have exploration license but acquired only a mining license. His license application was shown to him and was subsequently admitted and marked as exhibit.

“I am not involved in the termination of Carnegie Meneral’s license,” Muhammed Bazzi asserted.

“Why do you have to pay legal fees for the Gambia Government against the rulings awarded in favor of Carnegie Menerals,” Lawyer Bensouda asked him.

At that juncture, Bazzi explained that he was approached by a foreign lawyer who was interested in the case but the government could not afford the fees so he was asked to settled the payment.

He asked about the stuck pile of mineral sand left at the seaport by Carnegie which he said was exported. It was put to him that the stuck pile and mining equipment were part of the claims of Carnegie against the Gambia Government.

Bazzi denied the former president was a shareholder in his alleged mining company. He was asked the reason he handed over his company’s shares to the former president. He said he does not have a choice.

The Lebanese multimillionaire complained about threats of closure by the authorities together with the NIA during which files were seized from his office.

He was asked to present documents belonging to one of his businesses, Euro Africa Group at his next appearance.

Meanwhile, Dr Njogu Bah and Momodou Sabally both reappeared before the commission.

Dear Editor,

In case President Barrow is left in any doubt, there is a clatter of anger and discontentment among the public left frustrated amid signs of betrayal by government ministers and their handlers taking the country for a ride. For all its worth, this has turn out to be a summer of discontent and betrayal from the Barrow-government and its quagmire of incompetent civil servants taking the public for fools pursuing unnecessary travel arrangements in a sleazy attempt to enrich their wallets.

From inception on that mid-January afternoon in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, I had been loyal to the coalition-government on its drive to bring about change the people truly deserve; going as far as arguing for patience. But ENOUGH is ENOUGH! How selfish are African politicians, and what a forgetful bunch in charge of our country driving us into the known. Folks, I write with a heavy heart, hurt, for the tears of a desperate mother left in ruins after the flood in Niani, the oyster collector driven out of the industry due to the environmental catastrophe manifested on our coastal communities, for the poor farmer guessing his options as harvest season draws near. And I fret for the massive incompetence at the heart of the Gambia government growing worst by the day – driven by factional divisions, parochialism, and sectionalism resembling more like a ‘’Terri Kaafoo’’ and ‘UDP takeover’’ than the coalition-government designed to repair damages of the Jammeh-era; uplifting the lives of ordinary Gambians in the process. I agonise writing these difficult words for the simple fact that one was hopeful of transformational change. Like diplomacy and its reciprocal factor, respect and trust is a two-way street, a give and take; and why should I give mine when the nations finances & priorities lay in tatters at the hands of clueless interns.

Public confidence is fast eroding in Barrow’s leadership. He could be a model president, and had all the necessary tools at his disposal too. But the problem with Africa, Gambia in particular, is the fictional creation of presidential-monarchs surrounded by ‘Yes Men’ and ‘praise-singing’ staff too concerned for personal gains than the daily grind of governance. The compliance and ethical safeguards designed to flag-up & disrupt self-perpetuating rule are deliberately overlooked because of pride and arrogance of ministers and governors, and just about anyone with a sniff of power. Well I do not mean to generalise, but the point will have been taken.

To compound frustrations, local journalists appear cosy to the president instead of hard-press oversight role of the media – to investigate, scrutinise executive conduct, analyse the facts therein, thereby bring out facts to the public. But I lay blame squarely at the feet of parliament and pro-democracy groups, including DUGA, for failing the public. For a leadership promising to change sins of the past regime, fiscal responsibility and prudence with public finances should be its modus operandi.

Mr President – Sell all government cars and for ministers and governors to drive ordinary cars as the case imposed by Tanzania’s visionary president, John Magalufi. The hefty price-tag of maintaining those luxurious cars, fuel, and the disastrous per diems every minister seems to be taking advantage of has raised alarm among the public. The Gambian people are frustrated for the lack of visionary leadership demanding the use of public purse judiciously. Reflect, to see that selfish agenda, vested interest, screaming bloody murder being the fight in bringing down the Jammeh regime. The same betrayal signs of greed, decadence, and thievery through backhand deals has resurfaced within your government. Folks, Brikama Area Council just took out a D10,000,000 loan to buy rubbish trucks sic. From GCAA, GRA, Ports, MOFA, PURA, to the regional governors – what the hell is going on Gambia?

Reading history, a wise leader will cast a protruding eye across the nation see what works or the lack of it thereof. That’s your job Mr President. And recent appointments as in religious Affairs Advisor, advisor on good-governance, and the UDP takeover at the Foreign Ministry are unconstitutional, and distractions the executive could do without further. Competent ministers should be able to advice the president on various policy ideas and decisions across government instead of adding to bureaucracy and waste.

Mr President, The Gambia is a secular state, therefore, turn to the ‘Quran’ and ‘Sunnah’ for your personal salvation, or to consult the ‘Supreme Islamic Council’ as to decisions concerning Islam on certain issues. The Permanent Secretary for investment at the Office of the President is unconstitutional and should be abolished. Why is no serious political advisor or minister telling him so? Gambia, this is how problems begin, surrounded by ‘Yes-Men’ like Dawda Fadera, Richard EKU, obsessed with selfish thrills than what’s best for Gambia. Please, have the MORAL balls and tell the president the right thing. That is what an advisory role amounts to. And certainly the reason why tax payers are paying your damn salary.

Solutions

The Justice ministry must now take an effective role to advice the administration as to constitutionality of appointments and decisions across government. Mr President, man-up & stand counted – meaning, you could have lifted the nation after the recent torrential rains in the country resulting in major floods via a live telecast, yes, even whilst in New York. That was a missed opportunity, but then again, you could speak on the energy crisis facing the country, or the high cost of living, or the lack of jobs and what government is doing to fix it. I strongly urge you to review all future travel arrangements by ministers and senior civil servants – and to BAN per-diems, as Tanzania’s President did. Even where travel was necessary, why stay in luxurious Five Star (5*) hotels when three Star (3*) would suffice – again, Tanzania is doing just that. Truth is one, so forget those outdated traditional trappings & sack any minister or official going foul of the law.

I dare remind the President & his high-maintenance ministers that tax payer funds must not to be used for the jet-set lifestyle they seem to pursue. A major corruption scandal is about to engulf the administration unless he speak-up with authority and demand ENOUGH. It is a painful watch at the ‘Janneh Commission’ to see Central Bank officials, Jammeh cohorts & the Business Cartel all lying through the teeth. Folks, where in the world can you find millions of dollars withdrawn from Central Bank coffers past closing time. In essence, while the business day came to close, these vultures were busy siphoning away tax payers cash through the back door, yet you expect the public to trust the same perennial thieves still practising at the heart of government. And why are those soldiers and close confidants of Yahya Jammeh collecting bags of cash from banks still in the army, let alone state house. From a national security standpoint, that is a major flaw on the part of CDS Kinteh & his reform agenda for the army. Enough with the incompetence, and neither do we need a large army at a time of peace; nor to allow government spend millions of tax payer dalasi to buy wasteful weapons when poverty, hunger, Ferries, jobs, NAWEC all grind to a frustrating halt.

Every leader we seem to trust has failed us. And if I may call on honourable Mama Kandeh – professionalise GDC political Party to hold the administration accountable on donor funds, per diems, and countless failures showing up across government. Through the ‘Freedom of Information Bill’ under draft, your party can summon government papers on donor funds, economic spending, external agreements & any signed deal for scrutiny as to law of the land. That is the role of an opposition in a democracy, whilst adding to your numbers for elections to come.

Gibril Saine  Twitter: @gibbysaine #NationalInterest

In the past fifty-two years since we gained independence, we have undoubtedly failed to attain our developmental aspirations. This is due to many varying factors, but the most profound of them is the lack of good leadership. The woes of the African continent have been diagnosed by many intellectuals around the world as emanating from the lack of honest, competent and good leadership. This is true in most cases as we see even in countries that are blessed with a lot of natural resources still failing to develop.

In the Gambia, we have not been able to build a just and equitable economic system and as such we observe a large gap of economic disparity in our country. For instance, we have not been able to provide adequate, accessible and affordable healthcare, education system, access to roads infrastructure and so on and so forth even here in the urban areas.

But at least we can observe a semblance of these in the urban areas; albeit, at a very minimal level due to the poor performance of our economy. In the provinces though, a horrible picture of poverty, want and deprivation is observable almost everywhere. In many parts of the rural areas, people cannot even have good roads to access health centres, markets to sell their agricultural produce or other social needs.

The need to decentralize our developmental achievements, meagre as they are, is indeed a big challenge which should be given due priority. One’s heart aches when you see people in these parts of the country struggle on horse or donkey carts to reach health centres. Imagine a pregnant woman who needs to see a doctor and can only reach one on a donkey cart. How uncomfortable and difficult that must be! The bumps one has to go through are even likely to aggravate that person’s woes.

The people in the rural areas are our farmers, they grow our food and pay taxes, campaign and vote in elections and perform all their civic duties to the best of their abilities. So, they deserve the attention of the government as well. They deserve good schools; good, adequate and accessible health centres, a good road network and indeed all the things that we enjoy here in the urban areas. They are as Gambian as you, I or any other.

Mr President, we need to have plans which include the development of the rural areas, take the development to them as well and provide for them all what is enjoyed in urban Gambia. The current outcry about water and electricity is only here in the urban areas as the provinces were not even enjoying the erratic one we had here. As far as we all pay taxes, it is equally their right to have and enjoy whatever we have and enjoy here. Remember, yours is a government of inclusion.

Set out a plan to take these to the provinces as well.

Have a Good Day Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Former senior officials of the ousted Jammeh government Momodou Sabally, Secretary General, Fatou Lamin Faye, Minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Buba I Demba, Chief of Protocol and Muhammed Sarja Jawara, Deputy Chief of Protocol Office of the President appeared before the commission of inquiry probing into financial activities of the former President and his close associates.

Former Secretary General Sabally said once a person was appointed as Secretary General, you become signatory by default to all the accounts under the Office of the former President. He was questioned about D3 Million Dalasi withdrawn from the Mobilization Account for the state visit of Goodluck Jonathan, former Nigerian President. He confirmed being a co signatory.

Sabally said he does not know what the former president used all the monies withdrawn from this account for  but was privy to some of the spending to musicians, well wishers and state functions among others.

“I know the former president was a very complex person and would not want to make speculation that could be use against me later,” Former SG Sabally said.

When asked by Counsel Amie Bensouda about his authorization of $610, 000 US Dollars from the International Gateway Account at the Central Bank which he said was used to purchase ‘Tobaski Rams’. He said he does not know whether the money was refunded because he was fired before the subsequent Tobaski. It was put to him that the suggestion came from him in a letter to the former president to withdraw the said amount for the sale of rams.

“Was it right to spent an executive time on the sale of rams,” Commissioner Bai Mass Saine asked.

Sabally admitted it was wrong to spent executive time on the sale of rams.

“What agreement have you given that money to the former president,” Commissioner Saine further asked. “He borrowed it to himself,” Sabally responded.

Commissioner Saine questioned him about the rationale behind borrowing something to someone that does not belong to him to help people.

“To your information that money was never refunded,” Saine told him.

Lawyer Bensouda further questioned him about his authorization of $250, 000 US Dollars which was received by Sana Jarju, former Chief of Protocol Officer of the former President.

Sabally in respond said the money was handed to the former president but could not provide any documental evidence, saying he never took any document from the Office of the former President to his house for his own personal safety.

“I was arrested at the middle of the night with handcuff by NIA officials who were looking for documents in my house,” Former SG Sabally asserted.

“I was not waiting to be accounted after Jammeh but was thinking he was going to accused me of wrong doing,” he added.

Former SG Sabally was also questioned about the withdrawal of D36 Million Dalasi from the International Gateway Account at the Central Bank. It was put to him that five transactions were made without following the proper procedure. He said the memos were used for temporal measures which was never regularized.

Fatou Lamin Faye, former Minister of Basic and Secondary Education MoBSE was summoned in respect to her signatory to the Mobilization Account. She said the account was opened for the state visit of the Taiwanese President. The former president, she said directed her to be signatory to the account.

She was questioned about the D22 Million Dalasi spent on the July 22 Celebration which she submitted cheques, invoices and vouchers as evidence.

The documents were admitted and marked as exhibits.

Ms Faye said she does not keep track of the D3 Million Dalasi for the state visit of Goodluck Jonathan, former Nigerian president.

Buba I Demba, former Chief of Protocol Officer at the Office of the former President was the next witness.

Demba said he has never worked at the civil service until 2014 when he was appointed protocol officer at the office of the former president where he rose through the ranks to become chief of protocol. He said he went with the former president to Equatorial Guinea with the former First Family, securities, cooks, stewards and photographers among others. He mentioned the names of General Badjie, Umpah Mendy, Wandifa Barrow, Ansumana Tamba and former steward Modou Lamin Jarju among the people who went with the former president to Equatorial Guinea.

Demba included the names of Jimbe Jammeh and Awa Jammeh as part of those who went with the former president into exile. He said he went in his capacity as chief of protocol to facilitate the stay of the former president. He said they were staying in a hotel.

“I came back on a commercial flight funded by the host country,” Former Chief Protocol Demba said.

He was questioned about receiving $750,000 US Dollars from the Central Bank authorized by Momodou Sabally. He said he was directed by Sabally with a memo to go and received the money which was handed to Sabally.

Demba was further questioned about the cheque of D1.7 Million Dalasi which he said was a travel expense of the former president to attend an OIC conference in Turkey.

Meanwhile, Muhammed Sarja Jawara, Deputy Chief of Protocol at the Office of the former president was next to testify. He was questioned in respect to substantial amounts of money that he received in Euros and CFA currencies. He said he was directed by Momodou Sabally.

Dr Njogu L Bah, former Secretary General, Head of Civil Service and Minister for Presidential Affairs has said that the former president Yahya Jammeh thought that he owned everything in the country.

Dr Njogu Bah made these revelations during his second appearance before the commission of inquiry probing into the financial activities of the former president Yahya Jammeh and his close associates at the Djembe Beach Hotel, Kololi.

“It was difficult to work under the former president Yahya Jammeh,” Former SG Njogu Bah said.

“As for Jammeh, he thinks he owns everything,” he added.

Dr Bah admitted that the transfer of €1 Million Euros from public funds to offset deliveries made to Kanilai Family Farm was not proper. He added that he was approached by one Manhal who used to work with Muhammed Bazzi, a Lebanese businessman and partner of the former president to authorize a letter for the Global Trading Company to offset the deliveries of items made to Kanilai Family Farm. He said the former president gave approval for the letter which he issued. He said he does not have a copy of the letter.

Former Secretary General Bah said he has been moving in and out of the State House from 2005 to 2013.

The Chairman of the Commission, Lawyer Surahata Janneh picked up from where he left it the last time asking Dr. Bah about the close associates of former President, Yahya Jammeh.

“I do not know the close associates of the former president. I’m under oath and must tell the truth. I can’t comfortably say who were his close associates,” Njogu Bah responded.

Bah went further to say he does not want to make assumptions as the former president has never told him about his close associates or anyone either told him. He indicated that the president, ministers and commissioners are under protection while the witnesses before the commission are not protected. He said he took an oath of office which is still binding.

“I believe it can be recorded on camera. I find it difficult to answer on live recording when everyone is watching,” he added.

Chairman Janneh asked whether he was afraid of someone who might be watching which he answered in the negative. He said he would need protection. He was then asked whether he would tell the truth when given protection but he declined.

“Do you know what close associates are,” Chairman Janneh asked.

Dr Bah said in respond it means people who work and do business together.

“Do you want to tell me that you don’t know anyone who do business with the former president,” Janneh asked again.

He answered in the negative but then again was asked whether he knew people who spent lot of time with the former president which he responded in the affirmative, saying some people were coming to the Office of the former President for business. He mentioned Muhammed Bazzi, Amadou Samba and one Mr Ali of Tel Company among others.

Former Secretary General Bah said he could not recall exactly when the term executive directive started at the State House. He was questioned in respect to D10 Million Dalasi for prison rehabilitation. He said a request was made to the GNPC under the instruction of the former president to rehabilitate the prisons. The former president, he said instructed him to write to Tenengba Jaiteh for the request.

“A cheque was given to me and was handed over to the former president,” Dr Bah disclosed.

The proposed letter to rehabilitate the prisons and other relating documents were admitted and marked as exhibits.

Bah said even though he handed the cheque to the former president, he does not know what happened to the money as the prisons was never rehabilitated.

Former SG Bah was questioned about the Mobilization Account which he said the signatories were identified by the former president while the cheque book was with Ms Fatou Mass Jobe Njie, former Minister of Tourism and Culture.

Dr Bah said he travelled abroad with Mr Mambury Njie, former Minister of Finance to look for funds for the State Aircraft Account before a grant was given by the State of Qatar. He further confirmed being a signatory to the Tax Recovery Account which he said was opened after the recommendations of the tax commission. He added that he advised the former president to let the ministries of Justice, Finance and GRA to be signatories but Jammeh never listened.

He was questioned in respect to the withdrawals of $250, 000 US Dollars from the account which he explained was use for the travel expenses of the former First Lady.

When asked why he did not resign after admitting several misconducts of the former president, Dr Bah said he could not because of fear for his life and his family’s safety. He further testified that the former president would never allow his resignation unless he flees out of the country. He also said he decided to stay because he believed he was serving his country.

Meanwhile, he was released but was told that he would be recalled whenever needed.

Fadia George Mazagi, The Lebanese Business Partner of the former President Yahya Jammeh has said his company, the Global Trading Company was exempted from paying tax for all the contracts awarded to them under the former regime.

Mr Mazagi made these revelations after his third reappearance before the commission of inquiry probing into the financial activities of the former President Yahya Jammeh and his close associates at the Djembe Beach Hotel, Kololi.

“All the contracts awarded to us were tax exempted by the Ministry of Finance and GRA,” Fadia George Mazagi said.

“The contracts were not tendered but awarded to us base on the relationship between Muhammed Bazzi and former president,” he added.

Mr Mazagi told the commission that the Global Trading Company was registered in The Gambia in 2015 as a branch to the head office in Belgium.

Mazagi was summoned in respect to the payment of €1 Million Euro to the Global Trading Company to purchase a State Aircraft in 2011. He said the first arrangement does not materialized as the aircraft was sold to another buyer, saying an agreement was made to off set the deliveries of vehicles made to the Kanilai Family Farm. He added that the Office of the former President wrote a letter to business partners in Belgium to offset the previous deliveries.

The alleged letter, he said was written by Dr. Njogu Bah, former Secretary General.

“We have lost copies of the letter,” he asserted.

When asked by Counsel Amie Bensouda about using public funds to pay the debt of a private company he said it was an instruction from the office of the former president.

“It was an agreement between Muhammed Bazzi and the former president,” he responded.

According to him, €1.354 Million Euros was use to purchase Hyundai and coaches for the former president.

The Global Trading statement of account in respect to invoices to Kanilai Family Farm were admitted in bundles and marked as exhibits.

Commissioner Bai Mass Saine stressed the necessity to provide the alleged letter from the office of the former president which the witness say he will endeavor to get.

Counsel Bensouda put it to him that the invoices submitted by him were all meant for Kanilai Family Farm dealing with containers of vegetable oil which government has nothing to do with.

“Don’t you think you were assisting someone who might be diverting public fund,” Lawyer Bensouda asked.

“The documents were inconsistent,” she added.

“We were made to believed that the Kanilai Family Farm was receiving the vehicles and goods on behalf of the government,” Mazagi responded.

The Lebanese Businessman was told to provide a letter to the commission at a later date showing his exemption from paying tax.

Abdoulie Jallow, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and Momodou Lamin Bah, Accountant General were next witnesses to testify before the commission.

The two officials were summoned in respect to the accounts opened by the office of the former president.

Permanent Secretary Jallow said the Special Security Account was opened purposely to meet the travel expenses of the former first family. The deposited fund, he said were from the consolidated fund. He said he has not seen any law that allows the president to be signatory to account.

“There is no legal basis to use consolidated fund to pay the travel expenses of the first family,” PS Abdoulie Jallow said.

Jallow and Bah admitted the opening of the International Gateway, Vision 2016 and Special Security Accounts among others at the Central Bank by directives of the office of the former president.

Accountant General Bah admitted that the president cannot be signatory to the consolidated account.

Bah acknowledged that the Special Security Account was used to pay for the travel expenses of the former president and his entourage which he said was not in line with best practices.

“I understand that the same practice continues still now. You have to regularize things since it is not in line with best practices,” Lawyer Bensouda told him.

Accountant General Bah in respond said they had a meeting about the issue with the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs to tighten up things.

Meanwhile, the session was adjourned till Tuesday morning, September 26.

It was great relief and an indication that the Gambia was heading towards system change when Pres. Barrow demanded that his ministers declare their assets. But to the surprise of many not only did some ministers failed to declare their assets, but also those who declared their assets were also not made public. This raises the question as to what therefore was the rationale for the declaration of assets by ministers.

In the first place one must highlight that assets declaration is a growing governance and management issue that is fast gaining momentum worldwide. This is because it is seen as one tool that is effective in combating corruption, bribery and preventing conflict of interest by public officials. Assets declaration also serves to make the citizens have trust and confidence in the government and public officials. It therefore improves the integrity of public institutions and officials. Assets declaration also helps to dissuade public officials from misconduct simply because there will be noticeable variations in their wealth acquisition. Thus assets declaration saves public officials from unfounded rumours and accusations of corruption.

In light of the above reasons, assets declaration must therefore be made public so that citizens can see and know what is the level of wealth of ministers so that they can track any changes in their wealth. Without being made public, the value and purpose of assets declaration is therefore defeated. This is because at the end of the day, citizens cannot know if a particular minister has increased his or her acquisition of wealth or not during his or her term of office.

In that regard, Pres. Barrow must realize that an assets declaration in the Gambia must be perceived from the point of system change. Since independence, assets declaration has not been a major public policy and governance issue. Because of its absence, it has been one of the reasons why corruption and bribery has been rife in the Gambia for which the country has been ranked among the most corrupt societies in the world. The question is; is Barrow prepared to introduce a new system that will cleanse his government and future governments in the Gambia as his lasting legacy?

In my view, Barrow needs to draft a new assets declaration bill so that in addition to the constitutional provisions, we would also have a substantive law on this issue. In this law, assets declaration must be institutionalized and to expand it to also cover members of the Executive and its departments and agencies including public enterprises, parastatals and local government institutions as well as the Legislature and the Judiciary. Furthermore officials of statutory bodies such as the IEC, Ombudsman and NCCE are all public officers who must also declare their assets. This is one fundamental measure to cleanse the government and the entire society from corruption and bribery.

A separate institution other than the Ombudsman must also be created to purposely concentrate on assets declaration. The law could also determine at what level or rank should public officers declare, and what kinds of assets are to be declared and made public. If Barrow were able to create such a law and institution, he would have made the Gambia a champion in the fight against corruption in the world.

Furthermore, in creating this law, it is also necessary to create a freedom of information law so as to further empower citizens to demand public information from public institutions. Such a law serves to further curtail corruption and promote the integrity and transparency of public institutions and officials. Freedom of information law in the context of assets declaration is instrumental in institutionalizing good governance in this country. The current revelations at the Janneh Commission are clear evidence that we need an assets declaration law and institution backed by a freedom of information act.

Since coming to power there have been rumours of corruption and bribery levied against various ministers and top government officials. Mama Kandeh once said that loans contracted by the government are being shared among ministers. He is yet to give any evidence on that. Others have also said that the Interior Minister had bought a D10 million house. No evidence has yet come out on that too. But the incidence of frequent travels by senior government officials and ministers is rife with the president himself was reported to have taken along more than 50 people to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting.

These rumours and facts all point to the need for a freedom of information law as well as a more serious approach towards assets declaration. We do not wish to see our Government continue to be a free basket where everyone just picks whatever they wish to satisfy their desires. We do not want to have our public officials use official travels as a means to buy cars and compounds and stash their bank accounts while Gambians die for lack of electricity and good health facilities. Therefore let Barrow tell us how serious he is about assets declaration by stating clearly what was his intention to call for the declaration in the first place. Where does he want to go with this matter?

Public office is a right as well as a duty and also a privilege for all citizens to serve their country. But any citizen who wishes to work in the public sector must be prepared to submit to the laws, regulations and instructions that maintain efficiency, transparency and accountability. It is these values and standards that underpin the checks and balances that restrain the state and its officers from abuse and to confine themselves to the rule of law and service to the nation. Hence our public service must be clean and fair as well as justly rewarding for those who work in it. The public service should be a work place for the best sons and daughters of our land hence public servants must be individuals with integrity and discipline. To achieve that kind of a clean public service, assets declaration is one fundamental tool for that purpose.

God Bless The Gambia

The Ombudswoman, Fatou Njie Jallow has said that the President of the Republic should not control the State Intelligence Services SIS.

Mrs Njie Jallow made these remarks in response to the SIS Officer Commanding Operations at a one day sensitiaztion workshop organized by her office in collaboration with the Armed Forces, SIS, NDLEA and GRA at the Senegambia Beach Hotel, Kololi.

“I disagree with Mr Faal, the President should not control the State Intelligence Services they should advise him instead. What, if the president asks you to do something wrong,” Ombudswoman Fatou Njie Jallow asked.

“We are talking about a new Gambia,” she added.

Abdou Faal, SIS Officer Commanding Operations admitted the freedom enjoyed under the new dispensation without fear for one’s life.

“You can now advise the president and go to sleep but under the previous regime, you will not walk out of this room without being arrested,” SIS Officer Faal told the Ombudswoman.

Faal triggered the debate when he said that the national intelligence of any country is under the office of the President and that their role changes base on what a sitting President wants it to be. He said he cannot answer whether there are still detention centers like it used to be under the former regime, referred the issue to the Director General of SIS.

Lieutenant Colonel Abdoulie Jatta who was reinstated about two weeks ago after years in exile said he wanted to know whether they still torture detainees.

Faal said the SIS, Police, Soldiers, Drug Squad and Civilian population were all victims of the past regime across the board.

“We found ourselves in that situation,” he asserted.

“It was undesirable,” he added.

The SIS Officer Commanding Operations said they are trying to reshape the institution governed by the laws which says nobody should be detained more than 72 hours without taken to a competent court of law, adding that the law should be across the board.

“We can only arrest when there are no police officers,” he added.

He was questioned about the need to have legal minds in the institution.

The Ombudswoman Fatou Njie Jallow said the Office of the Ombudsman was established by an Act of Parliament in 1997 and has among its functions the mandate to ‘investigate complains of injustice, corruption, abuse of power, maladministration and unfair treatment of any person by a public officer in the exercise of his or her official duties.

“The office enhances the lofty goals of good governance through access to justice, promotion of the rule of law and protection of human rights,” Ombudswoman Fatou Njie Jallow asserted.

She reaffirmed the importance placed by her office in the protection of the fundamental rights and freedom of all Gambians particularly those in prison and detention. It also serves as a broker not only to articulate the rights of the ordinary citizen but to also act as a check on the administrative arms of government.

Meanwhile, she stated that her office has requested for unrestricted access to Prisons, Police Cells, and all detention centers countrywide. The request she added was made at the ministry of Interior.

Mambury Njie, former Minister of Finance has appeared before the commission of inquiry probing into the financial activities of the former president and his close associates.

Mambury Njie told the commission that he is currently the Managing Director of the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation GNPC.

Mr Njie has also served as Secretary General under the previous government was summoned in respect to his signatory on the accounts which he said he could not recall without documents. He was referred to the State Aircraft and Mobilization Accounts. He confirmed his signatures on the two accounts.

Njie told the commission that the State Aircraft Account was opened after the former president informed him about a grant from the Kingdom of Qatar to purchase a state aircraft and was asked to be signatory to the account.

“I insisted it should be channeled through the Directorate of the Treasury,” former Finance Minister Njie said.

Mambury Njie said he verbally advised the former president not to become signatory to the account. He said the former president insisted to be a signatory to the account, saying the request was made by him. The former Finance Minister maintained his signatory to the account was normal due to the circumstances prevailing at the time.

“I thought it was normal for the minister to be signatory,” he asserted.

Njie reasserted that the aircraft was not owned by the former president but it belongs to the state.

When asked whether a follow up was made to ensure the right procedure was followed he answered in the negative, saying the follow up entirely lies on the directorate of treasury.

Njie said he was not aware of the withdrawals of €4 Million Euros and €1.5 Million Euros from the State Aircraft Account at the Central Bank.

When asked by counsel about the acquisition of Boeing 757 Aircraft, Coach Buses and other luxuries acquired by former president he said he has no idea but was informed that it was from his personal money.

Njie further said he was not aware of the former president buying luxury cars from the Global Trading.

The former Finance Minster was questioned about the Mobilisation Account opened at the Guaranty Trust Bank. He confirmed his signatory on the account. He said the account was prompted by the presidential inauguration in 2012.

He spoke about the national organizing committee which his ministry and other ministries have participated in. He said there was a budget shortage and it was suggested to make private resource mobilization. He added that the purpose was only for the inauguration.

When asked by Counsel Amie Bensouda whether state ministers were supposed to be signatories to accounts in accordance to the constitution he answered in the negative but said it was due to the circumstances prevailing at the time.

He was told to return to the commission on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, two former Regional Governors, Lamin SI Jammeh of North Bank Region and Salifu Puye of Lower River Region also testified before the commission. They were summoned in respect to the D600, 000 Dalasi received from the Central Bank for sale of meat in their regions. The request is said to have come from the Office of the former President.

Sergeant Major Yankuba Colley, former Orderly of General Saul Badjie also testified before the commission. He confirmed the testimony of Lieutenant Nuha William Jammeh that he used to him unloading bags of money to the office of General Saul Badjie. Though, he has never witnessed the General counting the monies.

Colley said he is now posted at the Farafenni Barracks as a Company Sergeant Major CSM.

Meanwhile, Nuha William Jammeh, former Military Police Commander at State House was the next witness. He said he is a relative of the former president Yahya Jammeh. He claimed that he has seen General Badjie on several times carrying bags of money to the office of the former president.

“You alone have transported over D200 Million Dalasi to General Badjie,” Lawyer Amie Bensouda told him.

She added:”That was more than monies allocated for ministries “.

The witness was asked about his state of mind when carrying bags of money from the public funds to a top military aide of the former president.

Lieutenant Jammeh who was calculative in his testimony said it was his belief that the monies were used for national development.

Meanwhile, the sittings were adjourned till Monday.

By Omar Wally

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Interior, has denied allegations that they revoked the license of twelve private security companies operating in the country for not meeting the required standards.

Bulli Dibba, made these remarks Thursday, at Kairaba Beach Hotel, during an exclusive interview with The Fatu Network, on the sidelines of private security companies stakeholders workshop.

“What we did was, send them closure notices, because most of them are in default for two to three years, some are operating in their living rooms, whiles others cannot be identified.”

He said the closure notice is for them to either comply or their instiutions will be closed. But that is not the objective; he added, saying that the objective is for them to comply in areas of social security contributions noting that the government doesn’t want to compromise that.

Dibba said the deadline for them to comply is tomorrow (Friday) September 22, adding that they established a board and in the event that they did not comply, the board will act. “But already we have seen some signs of compliance; some companies are coming forward making their payments and then their contribution to social security.”

Dibba: “Even if they can do payment plans with Gambia Revenue Authority and Social Security that is better, we just cannot have companies operating illegally for three years without meeting the requirements.”

Interior PS disclosed that G4S is the most recognized private security farm in terms for meeting all standards and compliance.

“Gambia currently has seventeen private security companies, with two classified as ghost companies and out of the fifteen, only five are in full compliance that met Gambia Revenue Authority, Social Security requirements and the labour laws.”

Dibba added that the five that are in compliance, noticeable among them is G4S.

“G4S is leading in all categories, these include the way they portray their personnel wellbeing and making sure all their contributions are paid on time.” He said most of the companies are operating without license, every year they need to renew their registration and some of them are not compiling.

“You cannot hire people and at the end of their retirement they go to social security and realize that there is no contribution on their behalf.”

He added this is why they are trying to reorganize, making them aware of some of the defaults. “If you are talking about national security, we cannot leave the private security outside.”

Real De Banjul has issued a Press Release through its President Mr. William Abraham.  In the Release the concernedStakeholders were branded as ‘so called Stakeholders with malicious and fake news’.   While such a reaction is expected from Real De Banjul, it is important for us to further clarify the statements made at the Press Conference.

We wish to refer Mr. Abraham to point Number 7 of our Press Statements issued to the journalists and others during the Press Conference which reads; “There were evidence of favouritism and elements of match fixing . Whether a loan facility or not but GFF gave D1,000,000 (one million Dalasis) support to Real De Banjul FC during the CAF Club Championship in 2015, but they refused to provide the same to Brikama United FC  when they qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup in 2016.  Brikama United FC disgracefully withdrew last minute when they discovered that the doors of GFF are not open to all clubs”.

We are pleased to state that Real De Banjul confess that they have indeed received D1,000,000 loan from GFF (even though it is obvious that GFF is not a Financial Institution and not in the business of lending money)as conveyed in their reaction to the above statement.

The reason advanced by Real De Banjul was that due to the delay in receiving their claims from CAF, GFF partly financed the cost of the air tickets for their delegation to Algeria. This is not different from what we stated in our Press Statement and we wonder what Real De Banjul is purportedly refuting in their reaction to our Press Statements.

Our issue with GFF granting loan to Real De Banjul is that GFF has discriminated against Brikama United by refusing to support the latter when they were in similar situation.

Below is a re-account of what transpired between Brikama United FC and the President of GFF – Mr. KabaBajo when Brikama United qualified to represent Gambian in CAF club competition:

1. The President of GFF MrKabaBajo promised Brikama United during their ‘Road To CAF Campaign’ that GFF will support the Club through a ‘special approved fund’ which is meant to support clubs in CAF Club Championship Competition.  He stressed that Brikama United will be the first club to benefit from this support. Brikama United took this promise very seriously and were shocked when GFF President failed to honour his promise which resulted in the withdrawal of Brikama United from this prestigious competition and dashing the hopes and aspirations of the Brikama United players and the fans.

2. To make the already bad situation even worse, the GFF President was aware of the sponsorship arrangement between Brikama United and a renowned company which was a bit delayed because the company was going through the normal approval process for their annual budget. It was obvious that had GFF supported Brikama United in a form of a loan, the club would have been in a position to repay the loan.

In light of these two points stated above and bearing in mind that both Brikama United and Real De Banjul are equal members of GFF, we wonder why the President of GFF did not provide similar support to Brikama United as they have done for Real De Banjul so that Brikama United would compete in this prestigious CAF competition.

The conclusion we can make about this issue of GFF granting one member (Real De Banjul) of the Federation a loan to compete in the CAF competition while denying the other (Brikama United) the opportunity to compete in a similar competition is favoritism.

It is this segregation which is commonly known as apartheid that we highlighted in our Press Statements and we urge all to condemn especially the keen followers of football.

By

Concerned Stakeholders. # BRING BACK OUR FOOTBALL.

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT

Gambian President Adama Barrow announced earlier this week that his government has entered into an agreement with Israeli company International Medical Services to build a €220 Million state of the art hospital in The Gambia. At this stage little is known about the agreement, however, it appears as though this is the type of investment that the country needs. Currently, many Gambians travel abroad for health services. According to IMS President Ovadia Yardena, her group is committed to promoting health tourism in The Gambia and will build a modern 350-bed hospital. Ms. Yardena has a good relationship with the Government of Equatorial Guinea.

On the IMS official website, it highlights their “long-standing activity” with the people of Equatorial Guinea. This led to the appointment of Ms. Yardena as an Honorary Consul of Equatorial Guinea for Israel. Equatorial Guinea is currently the country of refuge for former Dictator Yahya Jammeh and their President is one of the longest-serving Dictators in West Africa having taken power since 1979. This may be irrelevant to the subject matter but the involvement of an Israeli medical company IMS in The Gambia requires significant attention, especially from Gambian health professionals.

Figure 1 – President Barrow and representatives of IMS

Medical tourism is when foreign nationals travel to other countries for cheaper, quality health services. These services range from cosmetic surgeries, low-cost dental services, and organ transplantation. These services are primarily provided by the private sector and payments are mostly out of pocket. Private healthcare providers have little incentive to consider population-wide based services, however, the general public must be served through public health interventions focused on the health needs of the entire population or population groups. Individual healthcare, population health, and public policy decisions must, therefore, be premised on best available evidence to avoid poor and inappropriate interventions. This article aims to highlight the pros and cons of health tourism and the involvement of Israel in this booming industry.

Pros of Medical Tourism

There are significant benefits in favor of medical tourism in The Gambia. Patients traveling to Gambia for treatment helps to clear backlogs in sending countries and eases pressure on the demand for health services in sending countries. New health services will now be available to Gambians that can afford it. Previously such services would have to be accessed abroad.

For receiving countries, it will create a new stream of revenue via private-public partnerships and helps to stimulate trickle-down economics by increasing the inward flow of foreign currency. The delivery of construction services for the €220 Million hospital will have a positive impact on the local economy especially if Gambian businesses can feature prominently in construction projects. Revenue generated can be used to improve public health services for the greater population.

Another advantage of health tourism is the importation of new medical technology. The presence of a state of the art hospital can help to provide best practice benchmarking for local health services. A state of the art medical facility will also attract the latest medical technology to The Gambia which could benefit the University and public health delivery.

A thriving health tourism industry will require experts to manage and run daily operations of the hospital. Although this is a private venture Gambian medical experts working abroad could be lured back home, thereby reversing the brain drain of the country’s medical professionals.

Cons of Medical Tourism

In receiving countries, medical tourism contributes to the creation of dual health delivery system, one for rich foreigners and one for poor locals. It leads also to draining of public sector funds and implementation of policies biased to commercial medicine. There are many risks around health tourism such as no congruent treatment and continuity and patient follow-ups. It opens up the possibility of illicit medical practices like illegal organ trade. There are many advantages and disadvantages but the most serious concern is that medical tourism encourages illicit organ trade in poor countries.

According to the WHO’s Veronica Riemer, “while most countries in the developed world have a legal system of oversight for organ transplantation, the fact remains that demand far outstrips supply. As a result, a black market has arisen in many poorer countries enabling those who can afford to buy organs to exploit those who are desperate enough to sell them. Sometimes, people travel to other countries specifically to buy organs they can’t find at home.”

The Royal Society of Medicine highlights the “many risks accompany the inclusion of organ transplant packages among the medical procedures sold to international patients. These dangers are magnified in countries where kidneys are purchased in underground economies or black markets. In these settings, promoting organ transplant packages to international patients’ risks escalating the number of kidneys purchased from poor citizens. Growing demand for transplants prompts organ brokers to increase the number of kidneys bought from impoverished individuals and sold to international patients.”

According to the Royal Society of Medicine study, in the Philippines, poor organ donors sell their kidneys for as little as $2,000. Proponents of commercial organ transplantation argue that poor individuals should be allowed to profit from selling a kidney. However, several studies indicate that the money poor individuals expect to obtain from selling a kidney goes to debt collectors.

Figure 2 – Typical seller and buyers

Israeli Connection

In 2014 the New York Times published a report headlined “Transplant Brokers in Israel Lure Desperate Kidney Patients to Costa Rica”. The demand for organ transplants is on the rise and this demand will follow hospitals that offer cheap organ transplantation. Many organ transplant experts and journalists highlight that Israel contributes significantly towards the highest receivers of organ transplants. They also have a thriving organ brokerage business with networks across the globe.

According to “a Times analysis of major trafficking cases since 2000 suggests that Israelis have played a disproportionate role. That is in part because of religious strictures regarding death and desecration that have kept deceased donation rates so low that some patients feel they must turn elsewhere. “When someone needs an organ transplant, they’ll do everything in their power,” said Meir Broder, a top legal adviser to Israel’s Ministry of Health.”

In South Africa, the Guardian reports that “Netcare, which also runs hospitals in Britain, took part in an international scam that allegedly saw poor Brazilians and Romanians paid $6,000 (£3,840) for their kidneys to be transplanted to wealthy Israelis.” It’s reported that kidneys “were initially sourced from Israeli citizens, but later Romanian and Brazilian citizens were recruited as their kidneys were obtainable at much lower cost than those of the Israeli suppliers.” This took place in “South Africa’s biggest private hospital group” which admitted to “receiving R3.8m (£342,000) from an illegal organ trafficking scam that included the removal of kidneys from five children.”

Conclusion

Although there is no reason to assume that IMS has or will conduct organ transplantation in The Gambia, significant evidence indicates a heavy Israeli presence in the illegal organ trade. The Gambia has a youthful population and an unemployment problem. This makes them an easy target for organ hunters who usually target young healthy people. It’s not uncommon to read of migrants exploited for their organs. According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, “selling purchased organs to medical tourists, organ transplant facilities and transplant procedures should be excluded from medical tourism initiatives. Including organ transplants among the procedures marketed to international patients risks undermining health equity and reducing the number of citizens who have access to organ transplantation.” Countries like Israel that conduct organ transplant have strict rules incorporated in their Organ Transplant Act. This helps to regularise the activities of organ transplant and deters illegal black market activities.

Figure 3 – Kidney Donors in Philippines

Could it be that the Government, Health and Tourism Ministry, in particular, are not aware of the pros and cons of health tourism? A thorough review of the impact could help the executive make an informed decision for The Gambian people. Health tourism should not be promoted to the disadvantage of public health services. It is possible to strike a balance, however, the dangers of exploitation and the health impact it can have on poor people who donate their organs due to financial constraints can be significant and poses a moral and ethical problem.

Most countries that practice organ transplantation only permit altruistic organ donations and ban commercial donations. This often leads to a black market prompting experts to recommend legislating and regulating commercial organ donations to eliminate the black market. What is certain is that the Gambia will need the right legislation and vigilant monitoring if organ transplantation will be permitted. For The Gambia to make this public-private venture a success, commercial organ transplantation should be excluded from health tourism packages. The government will also need to designate revenue generated from this venture toward improving the delivery of public health services.

Even with rigorous monitoring and the right legislation, there are concerns raised by the Guardian that Israeli pathologists harvested organs without consent. This does not give confidence that Israeli Investors will play by the rules. After all, a €220 Million investment will be expected to generate significant profit.