Kudos to the Director of Press Amie Bojang Sissoho for hosting her first press conference. With this press conference she has set the stage for the Government to begin to control the narrative that would build an interactive relationship with the population. By giving out the Government’s official decisions, actions and positions on issues, it means citizens can now agree or disagree with the Government which is how we will influence public policy and the actions of the Government. In turn it is also the way the Government will affect and influence the actions of citizens. It is this symbiotic relationship that goes to make democracy active, interactive and productive.

This press conference must be made permanent and regular, forever. For this matter, I would advise Amie to study other press offices and press secretaries around the world to see how they build a presidential press office and do their jobs. There are so many case studies and experiences around the word from which we can learn as we embark on building a modern democratic state.

Since the days of Jawara the State House Press Office was never developed as it should and the Director of Press was never seen in the full light of a public affairs professional. They were not involved in topmost decision making processes and places because the Director of Press was merely seen as an appendix. This has to change now.

The President must realize that the Director of Press is one of his fundamental pillars. The Director of Press is not just a public affairs function; it is also a national security function as well as national development platform. For that matter, the Director of Press must sit in Cabinet meetings and other strategic meetings of the State so that she can receive and mould the message in a nice package to deliver to the citizens. The President must see the Director of Press as an indispensable tool that can enhance his leadership, prevent a riot or bring about unity among the people of the Gambia among many other benefits. The value of the Press office is immense.

Therefore the Director of Press must also develop a structure in order to professionalize her office and job. She needs modern tools such as video and still cameras, recording devices and IT experts and reporters and other empowered staffs. She needs to be able to collect information and write good stories for the website or Facebook page or share with the media. She should be able to produce decent video, audio and visual materials to share. She needs to make full use of the Internet and social media. The State House website must be constantly updated. She needs to create the State House Reporters Forum in order to build a relationship with journalists. She needs to create a channel of communication with them so that they can obtain information anytime.

She needs to also build structures within other state institutions to obtain up-to-date information of what they are doing or not doing so that she would be on top of issues at anytime. The Director of Press should avoid saying ‘I do not know about this or that’. She should know everything. This means she should build a robust information gathering system within the State. She is the voice of the State.

Finally, this press conference tells us that indeed the Government is on the path of fixing things. When some of us put pressure on the Government, it is not that we are saying that Barrow must fix all the problems right now. Everyone knows that it will take years for us to fix electricity problems, for example. But what we call for is that the Government must be seen to be on that path of fixing the problem. What shows us that the government is on that path is when the government utilizes its structures and tools such as the Director of Press to give us timely, relevant and true information.

However let me say that, this press conference does not mean that Barrow cannot or should not also come to talk to Gambians. The press conference is not a substitute for what the president should do. They complement each other. Therefore I suggest that after every fourth press conference, the president should chair the fifth press conference so that he can talk directly to the media.

With this press conference Barrow and Amie help to establish a modern governance practice that history will record forever and ever. This is the system change we voted for.

Kudos to Amie Bojang Sissoho!

God Bless The Gambia

Madi Jobarteh

Dear Editor,

What in the world is happening in little Gambia?

After 22 years of fighting dictatorship, my question is are we heading back to dictatorship?

Why arrest a man, keep him for 5 months without a single witness appearing in court. Then after 5 months a competent high court Judge threw the case out for lack of proper evidence or due process. Then after few hours of his release from the 5 months detention a directive was given for him to be picked up again. This time around he was picked up at night.

Stop the nepotism and selective justice. When #Solo Sandeng got killed by the former regime IGP #Sonko was then the IGP and was responsible for the Paramilitary who did the arrest. Why is he still our #IGP and not questioned?

Mr Interior Minister #Mai Ahmad Fatty, are we heading back to the #Jammeh way of governance?

#NoToNepotism
#NoToSelectiveJustice
#NoToExecutiveOrders

I’m a concerned citizen

The piercing persistent ring of the phone shattered the tranquil of the brief predawn sleep. I concluded that it was not the Suhoor (heda) alarm having already let it ring a few times.

“Doctor, bed X’s condition has changed.”

“Please remind me again, what’s her name and the admitting diagnosis? “, I blearily mumbled to the nurse. “And secondly is she really alive or dead?” I asked the admittedly cynical question because believe it or not, I’ve been called numerous times about patients’ ‘changed condition’ only to find that the patient was actually taking their final breaths or already dead. But I digress as that’s a story for another day.

On the ward I found the patient gasping for breath. Her blood oxygen level was dangerously low and she urgently needed oxygen amongst other things. But life-saving oxygen first and foremost.

The nurse tiredly shook her head. The only oxygen sources on the ward, the portable cylinder and the concentrator were being used for two patients at that very moment. In effect there was no oxygen available for this patient. 4M15 am, no oxygen in the hospital. The hospital only had limited oxygen supply in the form of portable cylinders and oxygen concentrators. The word portable is a misnomer as there is nothing portable about them; each cylinder is the height of an adult male and heavy. Not to mention expensive. Oxygen concentrators are machines the size of a small suitcase and basically extract oxygen from the air using electrical power. They are also expensive to purchase, run and maintain, and our hospital only had 3 working concentrators. The remaining two are owned by the maternity/gynae department and paediatrics department. Borrowing from those two wards was out of the question. As we pondered this quandary, her sister who had been by her bedside all night pleadingly stared at me……

———————

This oxygen shortage experience I just related happens with wretched regularity the length and breath of the national health system, and I speak with the conviction of a health care practitioner on the front lines of care. I am not interested in massaging the facts or delivering some ‘maslaha’/spin about how plans are afoot to address this situation as healthcare practitioners have been hearing such platitudes for ages with no progress. The painful catastrophic reality is that patients i.e. your relatives, my relatives, OUR relatives, die daily due to a shortage of oxygen in our health system and the situation shows no Y. Z. [. \. signs or fierce urgency to improve.

Consider the following:

There is no overarching national framework or strategy to supply oxygen to the major health centers or public hospitals, or if there is, it is only on paper i.e. the perennial ‘being worked on’.

The international standard is for individual hospitals to have their own oxygen plants on site, or at the very least a central Government-owned manufacturing plant that supplies oxygen to the peripheral health facilities. Each patient bed ideally should have piped oxygen on demand from the on-site plant.

As such major hospitals and health centers (public and private) have to source/buy their oxygen cylinders from private oxygen manufacturers like Banjul Oxygen Ltd, which is hideously expensive and unsustainable.

Our apex referral Hospital EFSTH (Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital) at one point was allegedly spending 800,000 Dalasis monthly on oxygen purchases alone.

Oxygen is classified as a drug and it goes without saying that it is among the most elemental and fundamental in any health care system. It is critical in life support systems i.e. emergencies and surgeries.

Across the myriad issues facing the Gambian health system, there is a disheartening continuation even widening of that disconnect between the daily experience of those on the front-lines (i.e health care workers) and the policy/ decision makers ‘at the top’ especially how the former can guide what needs to urgently addressed to deliver good patient care.

A sustainable long-term solution to the oxygen issue would be a good start.

By: Dr John Locke

By Gibril Saine

I observed with great distress recent reports emanating from Treasury officials in Banjul regarding the health of the nation’s finances. The astronomical figures being quoted and claimed to have been embezzled by the previous incumbent continue to shock & awe in equal measure. It is no secret that the country is in dire straits in terms of its money and I fear, with near certainly that The Gambia shall never register any meaningful progress, nor fulfilled the sustainable development goals target without disposing of its debt burden. The country, like most of Africa is caught up in a vicious cycle of ill-advised loan schemes encouraged by Western powers through their agents – multilateral financial institutions – carrying punishing interest rates. After the subjugation of a particular country in such economic mess, the next phase becomes stringent austerity measures through the much maligned structural adjustment programmes, to be completed by privatisation, auctioning off its assets, companies and resources to foreign hands. This pillage and plundering of Africa’s resources thus became the norm, subjecting the continent at the beck and call of the West. Africa, how tragic, yet an avoidable one – But will we ever learn?

To President Barrow – you don’t have to be an expert in British and US foreign policy to effectively administer, just ponder & reflect and use common sense. Analysing from a vintage point across the London financial district, I sense such ground work being laid for the Gambia, urging the leadership to wise up to the trap. For the record – future generations of Gambians are indebted to the neck held hostage in financial ruins, but for the flamboyant lifestyle the ‘Jammeh family’ had lived crisscrossing the globe in private jets, decadent cars, lavish mansions, legendary ‘Kanilai’ parties the world has come to know about. It is still baffling to many, and an absolute travesty that Central bank officials and their cohorts at the Finance Ministry who aided and abetted – presiding over a thievery of the worst kind West Africa has ever seen prevail scot-free; still practising at the heart of government. Many-a-night, I woke up to nightmarish dreams watching history repeat itself for a country we all so dearly love. If empiricism is anything to go by, the Barrow government appears reticent leading without a rear-view-mirror, blinded by big money, the business class, auctioning off the nation’s assets to foreign hands reminiscent of recent past.

Cheii Gambia – Where are we heading to; and where is honourable Halifa Sallah and the rest of Parliament in their oversight roles policing executive power. With a measure of anger, the Gambian people are whispering chants of betrayal #President Barrow #Ousainou Darboe continually repositioning their selves & kind ever closer to positions of influence. With due respect to Darboe, he is clueless in terms of foreign policy and diplomatic niceties, and should be reshuffled. The banished adage of patronage, clientelism, thru a façade of nepotism and cronyism thus emerged overstepping bounds of conflict of interest. It is incumbent upon President Barrow to separate himself from businessmen and negotiations, and to allow each line ministry handle investments as accordingly. The so-called permanent secretary for investment at the office of the president is undemocratic, and must close immediately. The country boasts a chamber of commerce, and an Investment zone and free trade Agency (GIZFTA), so why the multiplication of services – further adding to bureaucracy.

Dialling back to the 2015 IMF & World Bank report on the country, both institutions in essence called out sheer incompetence at the Central bank of the Gambia and the finance ministry where officials are found culpable in their oversight duties pertaining to monetary policy. It was against the backdrop of that report when the erstwhile finance minister ‘Kolley’ came out with a falsified statement projecting 6% GDP growth rates he knew was untrue. Loans were contracted with foreign financial firms disappearing into thin air. Inflated road projects that do not measure to scrutiny, nor the huge costs attached. The diaspora is screaming asking why is it that European road projects are built to last 100 years, yet in Gambia multimillion dollar projects erode under the power of heavy rainfall. incredible right!. As of 2016 the interest rate payments alone on Gambia’s external and domestic debt stock stood at 107% GDP. This figure is bound to accelerate to monstrous figures the country can never afford nor repay. Over several decades, poorly structured schemes of greed emasculated under clouds of lies and deceit in covering tracks came to define Africa’s failures. Looking closer, It became apparent that certain aspects of corruption and looting selling the nations assets and reserves to vested interest are deliberately calculated by the very politicians screaming national interest. A classic scenario came to define Yahya Jammeh – rich beyond measure.

For Gambia, the country lives on hand-to-mouth producing just to give it all away in interest payments and then borrow more to survive the year ahead further adding more pain to the already existing wound. The Jammeh era mismanagement of borrowing-at-will with no questions asked a docile parliament nor the media unaware of its true role. From an advantaged vintage point in London, I watched the Gambia and Africa on a pattern to destruction signing mismanaged loans deals secured on exorbitant interest payments which consume large chunks of the country’s GDP. I’m all for debt ceiling legislation in curtailing supplementary budget expenses as brilliantly enunciated by Gambian economist, Nyang Njie. The IMF and such partner financial institutions carry bad reputations for impoverishing developing nations exacerbating poverty through painful austerity regimes. It’s about time Africa and Africans take our own destiny in our own hands drawing plans designed to last. With total debt wipe-out, I stand optimistic the Gambia can finally wave bye to the much maligned ‘SAPs’ and set meaningful economic agenda in motion as infrastructure spending, agriculture, education, ambitious social programmes that uplift everyday Gambians further away from the poverty line boosting job creation too.

Western bilateral and multilateral aid gestures are mere charitable handouts the Gambia must try kick addiction from. Just look at the few millions handed to the new government with the right hand, yet taking it all back with the left through excruciating interest payments on loans consuming total GDP output. To the world – the Gambia is drowning under the weight of a national debt burden ratio at an alarming 110% GDP, rising annually. The only honest and pragmatic solution to remedy this unacceptable state of affairs is total debt wipe-off if the United States and Europe truly care and are sincere partners as they claim. I urge Britain to lead in this benign gesture given centuries old history, but will she? So I task Mr Lajos, EU high diplomat in the Gambia to help lay the foundations with the Finance Ministry counting in U.S embassy and the UN system for a better way forward. I urge Gambians & our government to pre-empt IMF and World Bank together with EU are talking of debt restructuring. These are mere semantics, useless as the paper written on. They are also looking to prop up government and the nation’s coffers with few cool millions – do not fall for it, those shall register worthless in the long run as interest payments multiply on the debt in situ. The only pragmatic and honest solution to the Gambia’s economic woes & future aspirations in building a progressive city-state as envisaged in the national development blueprint is, but total debt cancellation and a wipe-off.

By Famara Fofana

One of the most common sights in major intersections and garages around this time of the month is that of commuters and drivers exchanging verbals. Sometimes, they would come to the point of squaring off like a pair of timid light-feathered boxers in a ring or as it used to happen in our hamlet in Jarra – two hens facing off, flapping their wings in style and looking into each other’s eyes, similar to the modern day version of ‘faasaa-faas’ before a duel.

At a time when most people are literally a contestant in the highly competetive rat race that is ‘raba raba’, anything that could delay ir throw a spanner in somebody else’s work is hardly taken lightly. If anything, that four-lettered word called TIME is considered tones of money even for a people that have spent years subjecting one another to the so-called West African International Time (WAIT).

And boy do you know? Of all the players in the game that is ‘Raba Raba’, motorists, particularly those in the commercial sector, appear to be the dominant players. Patience, it would appear, is their Achilles’ heel.

Picking and dropping passengers anytime, anywhere and anyhow ,it is not uncommon to hear cab drivers especially those that ply the West Field area, barking at pedestrians asking what on earth has become of such people they almost knock on the backside. Usually it is one of the side mirrors that does the trick. To send you panicking, a middle-aged taxi driver wearing a singlet and a Jim Iyke type of shades would impolitely yell ‘Uncle hana yow gisulo moto bi’ or in some instances to the ear-piece loving, mini-bag carrying young ladies ‘Son yew lu jot sa botiyi. Doh bayi doh di loh’.

Who knows , like the taxi driver himself, that commuter atthe receiving end of his fury, also woke up in the morning without a ‘kopar ndawal’ for the day and had to rush to one of those money transfer bureaus along Kairaba Avenue to collect some bucks wired to him or her the previous night.

In a spontaneous response triggered by the numerous items on their to-do list , the person on his or her feet too is tempted no matter how cool-headed they may be to say, ‘yow driver soh ma laa leh. Hana yow amulo brake’?

That is where it stops. No blows to trade but only words to bandy about, for the mantra of the drivers themselves is ‘fat-fat’ in reference to the little time they have. Similarly, the other person in the business of ‘nyeffeh’ would put the little altercation behind him.

These sort of scenarios I tried to depict may sound humorous but in reality they are daily experiences people like myself stumbled on or at times encounter to and from the workplace. They provide a bird’s eye view of the dwindling rate of patience among most young people; driver or pedestrian. It also underlines the gravity of intolerance fast creeping into our society.

In the end however, there tend to be only one winner; the one who exudes cocksure bravado amid the ‘shouti-bouty’ or the ‘dangam’ types. That is how they play by the rule book in such situations.

This is Sere-kunda after all. We are fond of the hullabaloo. We rarely fall in for real fights. So the young lady offended by the motorist would end up saying to herself ‘man mii nga hamneh seyanguma, awma dom amaanguma dara’. In contrast, the uncle who has seen enough in his life would pretend not to have noticed the driver asking for trouble because he can’t afford to indulge in any scuffle that may end up costing his family especially the newly wedded ‘Jongoma’ he has taken. Meanwhile, for the highly-ambitious taxi driver with fire in his belly, all that has passed has indeed passed. Attention is swiftly shifted to the next ‘kiliyaan’ as he hope for a happy return home, just like the uncle or young lady who was out in the morning to fend for their families.

Free Baboucarr Nani Sey; Go After the Big Fish

The arrest, rearrest, charging and arraignment of sports journalist Baboucarr Nani Sey beats comprehension. Baboucarr and his fellow youths were protesting what they saw as an ‘illegal transfer of ownership ‘ of a particular land in their area, Kololi. He was then arrested, charged, bailed and rearrested now to appear in court.

It is interesting to note that according to Baboucarr, they were simply demonstrating peacefully their disagreement on the selling of this important land by Kanifing Municipal Council to Global Properties and some other entity. The youth of the area have claimed that if anything, they are the ones who should be arrested but not Baboucarr Nani Sey.

It is said that when our football team performed well in a competition, Yahya Jammeh spontaneously gave them a piece of land situated near the stadium which used to belong to KMC; and then instructed the Department of Lands to compensate them by giving them another land. That is how the Department of Lands came to give the Kololi land (the disputed land) to KMC who later sold it to Global Properties and some other entity.

It is clear therefore that this mess is also a doing of Yahya Jammeh and his erratic behavior. Thus, even after being defenestrated, the clown is still impacting negatively on the Gambia and her people. This issue should therefore be viewed critically before it escalates into something else.

Government should therefore look into this problem quickly and closely with a view to finding a lasting solution to the standoff. As this involves the youth who are largely unemployed [thus frustrated, with a lot of time on their hands], it could escalate very rapidly.

Thus, as the saying goes, ‘Prevention Is Better Than Cure.’ Solve this problem. Now!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

By Alhassan Darboe

Whoever said that UTG graduates or certificates are not recognized internationally must be
having a rethink these days. Famara Singhateh, a UTG law graduate has bagged a coveted position as
head of Gambia Desk with A- law firm in Brussels, Belgium. His areas of specialization for his new
employer are Gambia Law on Trade and Investment, Banking and Finance, Insurance, Commercial law
and Practices, Establishment or Acquisition, License Requests and Public Procurement Policies and
Regulations.

Barrister Singhateh never traveled outside the shores of the Gambia for higher education but stayed
in The Gambia and obtained HTC from The Gambia college, Diploma in law at GTTI and a Bachelor of
law degree (LLB) at University of The Gambia. He further went on to obtain his Barrister at Law (BL) at
Gambia Law school in Banjul, The Gambia and admitted to Gambia Bar and enrolled as Barrister and
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia.

Well before his engagement with A-Law International law Firm, Mr Singhateh worked for FBNBank
Gambia Limited as the first Country Head, Legal Affairs which came after he served the same
institution as Country Head, Human Resources & Administration double hatting as Chief Anti-money
laundering officer. Prior to his stint with the bank, he worked in both Insurance and Education sectors
within The Gambia.Talking to WhatsonGambia from his base in Europe, modest barrister Singhateh
said that he is humbled and very grateful for his new appointment. ”All I can say is that I’m very happy
and humbled by this new appointment, Alhamduilillahi”.He concluded.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

How do you measure patriotism in the wake of the unprecedented type of body politics exists in the Gambia? Is it about falling in line behind your preferred political leader? Or does it mean confronting what is wrong with our country as well as what is right? These questions are not only of our time. They are timeless, and form key tensions at the heart of our system of government. I believe we should reconnect to some of the core values that have united us as a people in the past, and can unite us once more. What is patriotism? It is question that occupies my mind recently as the nation I love dearly is beset by crises that threaten to overwhelm the basic tenets of our cherished democracy.

My hope is that let no one expect any monopoly on wisdom. But I do hope, we can start recognizing that patriotism must be as expansive and inclusive as our democracy should be. We hope to start a conversation about love of country to which you would like to lend your voice and thoughts. We need to hear from our wonderful, diverse, citizenry now more than ever.

The difference between Patriotism and Nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility while the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to a war.

Nationalism vs Patriotism

Nationalism and patriotism both show the relationship of an individual towards his or her nation. The two are often confused and frequently believed to mean the same thing. However, there is a vast difference between nationalism and ariotism.

Nationalism means to give more importance to unity by way of a cultural background, including language and heritage. Patriotism pertains to the love for a nation, with more emphasis on values and beliefs.

When talking about nationalism and patriotism, one cannot avoid the famous quotation by George Orwell, who said that nationalism is ‘the worst enemy of peace’. According to him, nationalism is a feeling that one’s country is superior to another in all respects, while patriotism is merely a feeling of admiration for a way of life. These concepts show that patriotism is passive by nature and nationalism can be a little aggressive.

Patriotism is based on affection and nationalism is rooted in rivalry and resentment. One can say that nationalism is militant by nature and patriotism is based on peace.

Most nationalists assume that their country is better than any other, whereas patriots believe that their country is one of the best and can be improved in many ways. Patriots tend to believe in friendly relations with other countries while some nationalists don’t.

In patriotism, people all over the world are considered equal but nationalism implies that only the people belonging to one’s own country should be considered one’s equal.
A patriotic person tends to tolerate criticism and tries to learn something new from it, but a nationalist cannot tolerate any criticism and considers it an insult.

Nationalism makes one to think only of one’s country’s virtues and not its deficiencies. Nationalism can also make one contemptuous of the virtues of other nations. Patriotism, on the other hand, pertains to value responsibilities rather than just valuing loyalty towards one’s own country.

Nationalism makes one try to find justification for mistakes made in the past, while patriotism enables people to understand both the shortcomings and improvements made.

Summary:

Patriot: Expresses the emotion of love towards his country in a passive way

Nationalist: Strives for independence and the interests and domination of a nation and expresses his love or concern for the country in an active political way.

1…. while nationalism can unite people, it must be noted that it unites people against other people. It was nationalism driven by religious identity and political misgivings which caused the Partition of India in 1947. It was nationalism which was central to Hitler’s philosophy and which led the Japanese to invade China in 1937 and precipitate the Second World.

2. Nationalism focuses on the State while patriotism focuses on the people

3. It is better to love our country keeping in mind that democratic ideals are the most important. The term ‘national identity’ is difficult to define–it can mean a religious identity, an ethnic identity or even an ideological identity. The main shortcoming of nationalism lies in the fact that it can blind people. Love for one’s country is imperative and necessary, but if this love becomes more important than Constitutional values or democratic ideals, it is misplaced.

Additional Readings:

(The Huffington Post: There’s a World of difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism)

Read more: Difference Between Nationalism and Patriotism | Difference Between

http://www.differencebetween.net/…/difference-between-nat…/…

We Are Not Sheep….

Mr President, I cannot help but applaud your government through your minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe for the Gambia’s stance on the Saudi Arabia-Qatari issue. Of late, countries have been abandoning Qatar like a man stricken with leprosy, or worse, with Ebola.

Saudi Arabia’s calling Qatar a sponsor of terrorism is nothing but the height of paradox. It is like a case of a pot calling the kettle black. When one considers the stance of Saudi Arabia on terrorism, and then looks at the number of Saudi nationals embroiled in acts of terror, it becomes very evident who is a likelier sponsor of terror between the two nations.

Albeit, this in actual fact has got nothing to do with who is sponsoring terror and who is not. It’s unfortunate that Saudi Arabia has tied a rope on its nose and given the end of the rope to the United States to be pulled wherever and whenever they please; sometimes to the detriment of the Muslim world. The US-Saudi Arabia relationship is very complex indeed, and that much corrupt as well.

This relationship is used to entrench the stranglehold the United States has on the Muslims to ensure that the some-tines-lone-voices of dissent are put in check. One can observe this in the fact that part of the problem between Saudi Arabia and Qatar was sparked by the reporting of Aljazeera, a Qatari backed news channel on the so-called Arab Spring which rumpled feathers in the Middle East. This shows that all they are worried about is an uprising of the masses like what was observed in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries. The US has an interest in a stable Saudi Arabia as the Royal Family seems to be in their pocket.

So one may ask, what the heck does any of that have to do with little Gambia, thousands of miles away? Well, as we live in a global village, all countries are interconnected. But that connection has not gone to a level where we should just blindly follow Saudi Arabia in boycotting anyone, or jump anytime they say we do. So the stance of your government expressed through the foreign minister to stay out of this so-called fight against terror. Bravo Lawyer Darboe.

Let us make our own decision; of course after careful consideration and consultations. We are not sheep to be led blindly!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen