The Official Secrets Act (OSA) of 1922 obstructs the participation of society as it shields information from the public by means of criminalizing whistleblowers and journalists who expose corruption and mismanagement to the media and public.

By limiting the reporting of corruption to authorities, the Official Secrets Act (OSA) of 1922 promotes an environment that breeds corruption primarily because secrecy allows for cases to be squashed without an explanation.

On the other hand, exposing corruption to the public creates a democratic space which holds the authorities accountable at every stage of the investigation. This is a pre-requisite for any serious endeavor in cutting corruption in this country.

As such, by criminalizing whistleblowers and by perpetuating an atmosphere that accelerates corrupt practices, the Gambia increasingly losing its credibility as a democratic nation that upholds justice in a transparent and accountable manner. The Gambian people must call upon the authorities to stop harassing members of the public and alike, who blow the whistle on corrupt practices that can only destroy the health of our democracy.

The Civil Society should call upon the authorities concerned or the National Assembly to review the Official Secret Act of 1922 and draw up a moratorium on using it against whistleblowers in cases of public interest. Members of the National Assembly unanimously modified the Official Secret Act at the second meeting of the Assembly in the 2008 Legislative year.

Presenting the bill for modification, Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy, former Vice President and secretary of state for Women’s Affairs recalled that, the Official Secret Act modification bill, object and intend was to provide penalties for any unauthorized disclosure of official information’s and documents including spying, using of official secret codes and passwords as well as the use of unauthorized retention, possession or use of official documents.

Everyone must express shock at the arrest of whistleblower Alhagie Badjie. We should strongly condemn the authorities’ rash action to detained him to facilitate investigations under provisions of the colonial law Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1922.

As a responsible legal person, Mr. Alhagie Badjie exercised his duty to the public by blowing the whistle on what appears to be mismanagement and maladministration, and it should be the authorities’ duty to investigate the alleged misuse of power.

Instead, Mr. Badjie the whistleblower was arrested for alleged providing information was ignored. This undemocratic action is in violation of the principles of transparency and openness in government

Alagi Yorro Jallow

Alagi Yorro Jallow

Democracy in the digital era and the threat to Privacy and Individual Freedoms highlights the need for democratic oversight and transparency. Whistleblowers play a crucial role in ensuring transparency and freedom of information. The Gambian people should Strongly recommend that the National Assembly, as part of their oversight function, enact coherent and comprehensive legislation on the protection of whistleblowers in line with international standards and best practices.

Whistleblowers should never be prosecuted for exposing the unlawful practices of our government. They are courageous and should be protected, not punished! And to prosecute journalists is dangerous. This would make it easier for the corrupt to get away with their crimes.

The principles of transparency and openness are at great risk if we continue to allow governments to seek out and prosecute those who leak important and revealing information for the benefit and information of the people. It is the duty of the people to hold their governments to account. Whistleblowers play a key role in enabling this scrutiny through transparency. As citizens, as free businesses, and as a species that requires social interaction and connectivity to thrive, we should all do more to protect them.

Journalists and whistleblowers perform an essential service in ensuring transparency – often where government would keep us in the dark. There are at present very few means by which wrongdoing within government agencies can be exposed, and therefore it falls to individuals. There is no question that protecting national security is important, but public interest journalism and individual ethics have their place in democracy alongside security and the law. Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter it or protest.

Transparency is a virtue, anyone who acts in secrecy and fears the day his or her actions are exposed knows what they do is wrong. We should appreciate the whistleblowers, the leakers, and anyone who exposes truth. We should use the truth to determine our own informed response and demand transparency from those who profess to represent us.

In our democracy the most powerful institution with the greatest responsibility by law is the National Assembly. When one assesses the constitutional functions and relationships of our institutions, it is clear that the institution that stands above all else is the National Assembly. Apart from its law-making function, there are multiple places in our constitution that empowers the National Assembly to advise, monitor, review, approve, disapprove reports, budgets and public servants and institutions or even dismiss practically any public officer including the president.

Section 63(3) gives power to parliament to sack the president by a vote of no confidence. Section 67 also gives power to parliament to sack the president by impeachment. Section 75 gives power to parliament to censure ministers and the vice president for their poor performance, abuse of office or misconduct. The whole of Section 77 gives power to parliament to call the president, vice president and ministers to answer to questions. Section 102 gives power to parliament to receive and review government reports and also advise the president on his responsibilities.

From these powers and many more, it is clear that the National Assembly is the primary institution that is responsible for the good governance and sustainable development of the Gambia. If there is corruption, instability and poor public services, it is because the National Assembly has failed to stand up to do their job as required by law. This was how the APRC dominated parliament failed the Gambia and we hope this new parliament does not become another dormant parliament.

So far there have been many issues for which one would expect the National Assembly to assume its powers and address them. For example since Barrow appointed ministers and heads of public institutions, one would expect the National Assembly would invite each of these people one by one to tell the parliament how they intend to run their institutions. Key among these institutions is the Public Service, which is headed by the Secretary General. We have seen the Secretary General Dawda Fadera insisting on SCOT or travel clearance, which is utterly, counter productive and abusive. Yet the National Assembly is silent when it is also clear that conditions of work are dire in the civil service that needs urgent attention. The civil service is the backbone of the nation hence the parliament should call the person in charge to tell them how this civil service will be different from the Yaya Jammeh civil service especially given that Fadera was part of the folks running that terrible civil service.

We have also seen the environmental damage caused by Golden Lead Factory in Gunjur and Kartong, yet the National Assembly has not gone there publicly to see for themselves. They have also failed to call the Director General of NEA Muhammad Jama Suwareh or the Minister of Fisheries James Gomez or the Minister of Trade Isatou Touray to answer to the concerns and issues of this company. Instead the Ministry of Trade went ahead to allow this company to continue operations against the advice of the NEA. Meantime the damage is public knowledge! Why?

Secondly, we have witnessed riots in Farato, Sibanor and Kanilai yet the National Assembly has not called the Minister of Interior Mai Ahmad Fatty to ask him why those incidents happened and how his office handled and is handling these cases. We just saw Mr. Fatty issue public statements but the parliament is yet to hold him to account. At the same time, the presence of the Gambia National Army in Kanilai requires that the CDS Masanneh Kinteh be called to parliament to testify on the status of his forces in that village and around the country. This is apart from the fact that some former soldiers are being recalled back to the army while others are on the run. What is happening and what explanation does the CDS have?

We have also seen the issue of Gambian youths returning from Libya in droves yet the parliament has not invited the Minister of Youth Henry Gomez to tell us how his ministry is managing these hapless, unemployed and poor youths. Meantime the Minster of Foreign Affairs Ousainou Darboe has led many missions abroad, sometimes with the president and other ministers. But the parliament appears not to follow up to know what has been the outcome of these foreign trips to determine their cost and benefit to the Gambia. The parliament needs to hold public hearings on these issues so that the general public knows what is being done in our name.

Sometime ago the Minister of Finance Amadou Sanneh had released some information on the illegal financial transactions of Yaya Jammeh but the parliament is yet to follow up publicly. The Minister of Justice Aboubacarr Tambadou has appointed a special prosecutor as well as announced the freezing of the assets and accounts of Yaya Jammeh, but we have not seen the parliament call him to explain the real issues involved and the way forward. The country is currently facing severe utility supplies but the Director General of NAWEC Baba Fatajo and the Minister of Energy Fafa Sanyang have not been called to explain to Gambians why this is the case. A press release from NAWEC is not enough. Parliament must ask him the right questions for more details as to their real challenges and what needs to be done.

Above all, we are now going into the fifth month of Adama Barrow’s administration yet there is no Vice President. The parliament has powers to solve this issue but it has decided to keep mute. In addition, Barrow has not provided any policy direction in speech or document to show how he intends to run the Gambia, yet the parliament sits there without asking Barrow to come to the parliament to answer to these pertinent questions. Many decisions and actions are being taken and Gambians do not know the background or objectives, and it is only the parliament that can help us get to the bottom of things. But they decide to be silent!

Is this how the parliament want to live their lives? We have so much expectation on this parliament and indeed they are more than qualified to address these issues yet they have decided to take a back seat when they have the powers to act. Why are they silent? The parliament must know that only they can make the government transparent, efficient, accountable and responsive if they do their job well. The parliament must recognise that they are not there to serve the president. The parliament is not secondary to the Executive. Rather they have equal power and responsibility as the Executive and in fact they hold more power than the president.

The National Assembly has 12 select committees that touch on all the issues highlighted above. Yet these committees that are in fact the working legs of the parliament refuse to do what they are supposed to do. We expect that the parliament will initiate public hearings so that public officers and common citizens can openly speak to issues for the betterment of the Gambia. This will help to strengthen accountability and also encourage citizens to be interested and active in national affairs.

Public hearings are fact-finding measures that help to expose or prevent poor performance, abuse of power and corruption within the government and society. Public hearings seek to control and contain public officers to realize that they are mere servants of the people and that they have a duty to deliver. Public hearings make citizens see and feel democracy at work and therefore generate their interest and involvement in national issues. Because public hearings are preventative, they therefore help to avoid serious damage from occurring in the first place, which could lead to prosecution. Above all public hearings are an accountability exercise that further strengthens democracy, good governance and development.

Since the April election, the National Assembly has not been fully and proactively responding to issues of national importance, as they should. Yet issues are boiling in the country. This is not what we expect from them and they better assume their responsibility and make sure this country is safe and secure. Citizens are spending over D30, 000 on salaries, allowances and incentives for each parliamentarian, not to mention the amount of money we spend to maintain that huge building daily. Yet the National Assembly appears to have forgotten where we came from and where we need to go. If the Gambia fails, no one is responsible other than the National Assembly.

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

No. The Gambia isn’t stopping. For you. For me. Or anyone else. Yes, the leadership has got a few things wrong. But they haven’t crossed the criminal forward line yet. “Oh hell, they did”, some will hastened to charge. “The unlawful killing of Haruna Jatta”, they will exhibit. Blind and ill-informed conclusion. Did the leadership ordered the shooting of the Kanilai protesters? Or did the soldier shoot out of panick? Did he execute an order of a senior man? Until independent and conclusive investigation into the incident is dusted, all we are doing is speculate what happened and should have happened. However, what remains ethical is not to fish for excuses to justify the killing by apportioning blame. Having highlighted that, one now tests the protest merit. Is it government’s responsibility to provide them with free food, electricity and water supply? Is it legal for ECOMIG to be housed in Kanilai? Is it right for them to protest for the reinstating of Goloh Ajuma? Was it their constitutional rights to burn tyres next to the fire station and demand it should not be extinguished? Was their protest against peaceful one? These are pertinent questions which require honest answers.

Firstly, it is not sustainable for government to continue providing them the free services they enjoyed under Jammeh. That is not victimisation. It is reality. Secondly, it is not government’s responsibility to do so. What government must do for them and every or Gambian community is to create avenues for sustainable community and individual projects for all to develop and live a decent life. Secondly, Goloh was democratically booted out in a free and fair election which Goloh Ajuma initially conceded. So to protest for him to come back without being duely elected is likened to building castle in the air. Government cannot and should not allow citizens to use democracy and constitutional rights to manifest to hold it hostage and render the Gambia ungovernable.

On the other hand, government must not also cover up wrongs by quickly running off with doctored self-sanctifying statement without verifying its authenticity. What that does is to create doubt and questions for the motive of your action. Are you covering something? Did you handled the crisis maturely? Is your reaction defusing or further intensifying the crisis? Are you impartial in your handling of the crisis? Answers to these fundamental queries will vilify or vindicate you. Everyone is watching you with keen interest. Some are learning from you to model their leadership. Others are interested in how you will emerged successfull from this delicate and challenging circumstance.

Can you imagine? More than 60% of the National Intelligence Services staff cannot read and write? This revelation really beats. How can anyone expects an Intelligence Service ridden with such high illiteracy rate to perform as expected. No wonder they were a bunch of killer machines for Goloh Ajuma. The Intelligence Service needs a complete overhaul. Get rid of all those bunch of good for nothings and recruit new young and educated GAMBIANS. Proper screening process must be set for all new recruits. “According to the legal adviser, the reform is not yet done and without it the NIA cannot contribute effectively to the crucial role a democratised intelligence service can play in the national security architecture to combat both traditional and emerging threats including terrorism, espionage, insurgency, sabotage, subversion, human trafficking, money laundering and illegal migration”, The Point. Hon Mai Ahmad Fatty needs to translate his promise of transforming the Gambia Security services into action. Nothing has changed with the security services apart from the mere change of name.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

Taking Stock….

There is no gainsaying the fact that your victory was more widely greeted and received than any other in the annals of history. Perhaps this was due to the fact that for twenty two years the Gambia lived under a brutal and tyrannical dictatorship which robbed us of lives, economy, honour, respect and recognition. Many a Gambian lost hope in the future of our country. Then we went to the polls and Lo and behold! Gambians mustered the courage to go out and exercise their franchise, making our voices heard loud and clear. We defenestrated the dictator and voted for you to be our new Chief Servant. Our hopes were rekindled and we entered a new dispensation of democracy and good governance. Or so we thought!

Mr President, no one is a stauncher supporter of your government than I am. I had longed to see the back of Yahya Jammeh who stifled our voices and did not allow anyone to express his or her opinion. Being a writer, nothing could be harder for me. So, here we are today, in a new [though nascent democracy] prepared to stand tall among the comity of nations once again. True to form and your good nature, you have shown us that with a little cooperation from citizens, you can make a great president. You have assured us of the right to express ourselves without fear of molestation. The media is now free and citizens are speaking out on a daily basis. Kudos!

You have appointed a good cabinet [at least I think so] and have made sure that the judiciary is independent. You have restored sanity to our civil service and things are picking up, at least in some areas. But there have also been some epic failures on your part. Perhaps this is to be expected, seeing that you don’t have any experience running a public office; but you must consult and communicate. We hope that these will be reversed and solutions sought. From henceforth, Mr President, consult widely before you embark on anything. You have a good team, as you kept repeating during the campaign period, men and women who are consummate politicians and technocrats. With advice and suggestions from these, you will not stumble at all.

Your failure to appoint a substantive Vice President, in my opinion, is your most serious failure. Everyone knows that the office of the VP is the second highest office in the land, and as such, it is unfathomable that you will be in office for more than four months without a Number Two. The idea that someone is overseeing that office is not enough. Roy du niroo piir! Appoint a vice president and complete your impressive cabinet. This is a matter of urgency.

Secondly, up until now, we have not heard or seen a development blueprint. This means that we are groping in the dark. It is like one going to a strange place without a map. This does not augur well for democracy. A few weeks ago, you told the BBC that the Development Blueprint will be out very soon, and two weeks and a lot of complaints later, we are still without one. This is being regarded in some quarters as ineptitude and an I-don’t-care-attitude on your part. Fix this mishap, Mr President.

There have been some security breaches in some parts of the country with citizens calling on you to show leadership and address the nation, but you responded with deafening silence. What is the reason for that? You magnanimously [if haphazardly] pardoned some prisoners, but this was done without proper consultation with the relevant authorities. The result is that we are told that the increase in crime rate is a direct consequence of that as it has been estimated that seventy-five percent of the current wave of crimes are being committed by people you pardoned. In the beginning of this write-up, I referred to you as our Chief Servant, which means that we are your employers. You do what we tell you to do. You don’t get to ignore us like Yahya Jammeh used to do! Address the nation and reassure us that you are on top of things.

The issue of NAWEC has been a perennial problem which we thought you will tackle with urgency. In the past week or so, the water and electricity company has struggled to provide these basic needs and failed – still failing – miserably. What are you going to do about it, or are you going to give us the silent treatment again? I hope not. We (the Gambian people) have given you all the tools you need to fix our problems. The laws allow you to seek help, sign contracts, invite investors, take loans, contract experts; anything, just to provide us with basic services. Take control of the situation and do something.

Mr President, remember that yours is a transitional government and you don’t have all the time to procrastinate…. Waatoo te je. Whatu amut. Waktu al. Wakhtu jegee. Get out there and work for our progress.

You promised to provide employment to the teeming youth population. These are now getting desperate and frustrated. Do something before it’s too late. A stitch in time saves nine!

Our rallying call was #GambiaHasDecided…. One is now tempted to ask: #HasBarrowDecided?

Have a Good Day Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Recently, in the past two weeks, I have written two essays in response to BB Sanneh’s allegations against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. These essays, like BB Sanneh’s, were published on the Fatu Network. In the first and second articles I extended a challenge to him to produce the al Kitaab al mubeen, a book he claimed is the book of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. In the second essay, I challenged him that if he is so sure of his statements about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, then he should invoke the curse of Allah on the liar. I deem it necessary that I should publish these challenges separate from the essays I have written because it seems that he is deliberately ignoring that these challenges are included in the essays.

FIRST CHALLENGE

BB Sanneh stated, “They [Ahmadis] say there is no Qur’an other than what the Promised Messiah (Ghulam Ahmad) brought…. They also believe their book was revealed. Its name is al kitaab al-Mubeen and it is different from the Holy Qur’an.”

In response to BB Scanner, I wrote:

“I hereby challenge BB Sanneh to kindly show the complete text of the book the “Promised Messiah (Ghulam Ahmad) brought” which “is different from the Holy Qur’an” revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) more than 1400 years ago. I put forward a reward of twenty five thousand dalasis (D25, 000.00) if he produce this book and prove its authorship, beyond any reasonable doubt, by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Let him kindly exhibit this book. The onus of proof lies on the claimant. This unsubstantiated claim has been made for decades; let us now see the proof. I give you one month, starting from the date of the publication of this article, to prove your claim, if indeed you are truthful. Remember that Allah’s curse is always on the liars.

“The amount is very meager but no amount should in fact be meager for BB Sanneh as far as fulfilling his “responsibility” is concerned. In fact, even without a financial reward he should fulfill this responsibility.”

The above quotation is from my response to BB Sanneh which was published on the Fatu Network on 27 May 2017 and therefore the deadline is 27 June 2017.

In an effort to evade the challenge, BB Sanneh responded in an essay published on the Fatu Network published on 30 May 2017. He responded:

“The brother (referring to me, Tahir Ahmad Touray) is trying to put a spanner on the spoke of the wheels in order to deceive the gullible and uninformed readers. Why is he offering D25, 000 just for this point out all the so called allegations? In any case I will list down here some of their verses and writings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and you the readers can judge if their Quran is different or not.”

This is an attempt to evade the challenge. However I responded to him in an essay published on the same medium published on 3 June 2017:

“I have realized that you want to run away from the challenge by saying that why did I choose to offer D25, 000 just for this point out of all the so-called allegations and also referring to it as “…trying to put a spanner on the spoke of the wheels…” This is the simple reason: The Holy Qur’an is the essence of Islam; there would have been no Islam without the Holy Qur’an. The fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam are embedded in the Holy Qur’an. By attacking the Holy Qur’an, you have attacked the very foundations of the religion which is the acceptable religion in the sight of Allah, the religion called Islam. How did you attack it? You attacked it by saying that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was able to produce a book like the Qur’an called al Kitaab al Mubeen, contrary to the Qur’anic declaration that no one can produce even a chapter like any chapter of the Holy Qur’an. I am therefore obliged to defend the very foundation of Islam which you have vehemently attacked.

“The 27^th Day of June 2017 is the deadline I have given you and the challenge still stands. Instead of making unnecessary statements in order to evade the challenge, please let the world see this book al Kitaab al Mubeen. By doing that you will save the entire Ummah from the deception of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at as you called it.”

I am reiterating here that I am calling on BB Sanneh to produce the so-called al kitaab al mubeen of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. A book that he referred to as “THEIR QURAN”. He believes that there is a Qur’an different from the Qur’an brought by Sayyednaa Muhammad Rasoolullaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Ahmadi Muslims believe that there is only one book on earth that deserves the name QURAN and is called so. That book was revealed to Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw). However, BB Sanneh believes that there is another “Quran” and the other name of that “Quran” is al kitaab al mubeen.

No Ahmadi Muslim throughout the world has ever seen that book. BB Sanneh has possibly seen the book and most probably possesses it. It is now time for him to show it to the entire world. He must show this book to the world and prove his case or tell the entire world that he is a fabricator of the highest order and a mental slave who cannot think for himself. THE WORLD IS WAITING! THE DEADLINE IS 27 JUNE 2017!!

THE SECOND CHALLENGE

BB Sanneh throughout his two essays attributed many beliefs to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Despite my response to the allegations, he is still insisting that his statements are true. In my essay of 3 June 2017, I extended the following challenge to him:

“You have been trying to hail your scholars as heroes and custodians of the Islam to an extent that you believe they have the mandate and authority to declare who is or is not a Muslim, among them you specifically mentioned Abdoulie Fatty, formerly of the State House mosque. Let me put it to you that those so-called scholars in the Gambia were challenged to a Mubahala (a duel of prayers wherein the curse of Allah is invoked on the wilful liars0. Ask Abdoulie Fatty especially and his team of anti-Ahmadiyya scholars why they did not accept the challenge for a duel of prayers and invoke the curse of Allah on the wilful liars whoever those wilful liars may have been. For twenty years now, the challenge has not been accepted. I am now telling you, Bakary B Sanneh and whatever scholar you are referring to, that if you are so sure of your truthfulness and allegations that you have raised against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at; if you are so sure of the falsehood of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), then publicly announce what you think and believe about the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and then publicly declare that you pray for the curse of Allah to descend upon the wilful liar whoever it is. …. Please do not hesitate to do this if indeed you are defending Islam. It will definitely be a great service to Islam.”

BB Sanneh is now writing obscenities on facebook. I challenged him there many times to make a public announcement that Allah’s curse should descend upon the liar but he has always evaded it. He wrote on facebook:

“For the record in 1907, Mufti Sanaullah of India took your deviant murrtad founder to the challenge of a public Mubahala that the liar should die in the lifetime of the other. Barely a year later your disgraced kaafir Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died a very disgraceful death on his bed by defecating and vomiting while the former lived for almost another 40 years afterwards preaching and spreading the word of Islam. So our scholars have already done that job for us. If fighting and continuing to expose the kuffur of your jamat is going to bring me disgrace then I look forward to that disgrace. May Allah guide you all to Islam.”

BB Sanneh, to say that your scholars have done that job for you, therefore you do not need to do it is exposing your falsehood. Your scholars have also authored for you volumes of lies and obscenities against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Then you should not have written the lies as an essay. Since you have written the lies that they have already written for you, you should also be able to accept the invocation of Allah’s curse on the liar. This statement shows that you are certain that you are not the least truthful.

Let me shed some light on the Sanaullah issue. This is what happened: In 1897, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, in his book Anjam-e-Atham, invited some people to a Mubahala and among them was one Maulvi Sanaullah of Amratsar. The terms of this Mubahala were left open. The Promised Messiah (as) clearly and unambiguously stated that Allah would decide according to the standard of truthfulness set by Sanaullah so that there would be no room for complaint. So, actually, the Promised Messiah (as) gave Sanaullah a blank cheque and Sanaullah filled in the terms of his own choice. In 1902, Maulvi Sanaullah filled in the blank cheque by writing that the liar should die in the lifetime of the truthful one. The Promised Messiah (as) readily accepted it. Immediately after the Promised Messiah’s acceptance, Maulvi Sanaullah changed course and retreated from his term that the liar should die in the lifetime of the truthful. Maulvi Sanaullah made many statements in order to evade the challenge. Later, in 1907, Maulvi Sanaullah filled in the blank cheque once again by writing that the truthful should die in the lifetime of the liar citing the Holy Qur’an that Allah grants respite to wrongdoers so that they would increase in their wrongdoing and eventually face the punishment of Allah. He went further to say that that was why Musailima the Liar outlived Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw). The Promised Messiah (as) readily accepted the challenge and he the truthful (the Promised Messiah) died in the lifetime of the liar (Maulvi Sanaullah). So, the blank cheque given by the Promised Messiah (as) and filled by Maulvi Sanaullah in the terms of his own choice was honoured accordingly.

The truth is that the Promised Messiah (as) had stated clearly, as a prophecy, that Allah would decide according to the standard of truthfulness set by Sanaullah, and so He did. The true one died early and the liar lived long to tell the tale of his own falsehood.

If you still believe and insist:

1. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed Goodhood
2. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed superiority to Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw)
3. That Ahmadis have “their Quran” which is different from the Holy Qur’an that was revealed to Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw)
4. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died a disgraceful death as result of a Mubahala with Maulvi Sanaullah
5. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a false claimant
6. That Ahmadis are kuffaar
7. That Ahmadis believe that Allah forgets, makes mistakes, sleeps and even engage in carnal pleasures

(These are beliefs you attributed to Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at)

Then make a public announcement of these issues and then declare the curse of Allah on the liar. I hope that before the 27 June 2017, you will make a public announcement, and publish it on the online newspapars and our local newspapers in the Gambia, that these are Ahmadiyya Muslim beliefs and then you declare the curse of Allah on the liar.

I pray that the curse of Allah descend on the liar. The curse of Allah be upon the liar. The curse of Allah be on the liar. Aameen. Aameen. Aameen.

Written By: Tahir Ahmad Touray

Pirjo Andersson is a Swedish who teaches, plays, and composes music, and also works with
theatre and drama. She is in love with The Gambia, and has visited several times. Pirjo is
hopeful that if Barrow works on his body language, he can build much trust.

Your Excellency,

Bear with few minutes of your time to read what I think would be helpful to friends, citizens and
observers of Gambia and its politics. Some people might be wondering what on earth has a
toubab to do with Gambian politics, especially when the toubab’s forefathers were the very ones
who plundered Africa’s natural resources and enslaved its people. Nevertheless, I am a keen
observer of Gambian politics; and God knows, I was the happiest when Gambians finally voted
for change.

Your Excellency, there is a language no one can hear, but still it speaks loud and clear, and even
children understand this part: the body language. It is understood internationally even by very
small children who have not started communicating verbally.

The language of the body carries more than half of the message a person conveys to his listeners.
This makes it important for leaders to know its significance. As an actress and drama teacher, I
have been taught to observe the body language of people when they speak to me. So I have been
observing you.

I do know that many leaders, especially in the West, are trained on how to use their body
language. This is nothing to be shameful of; it is a political mission that leaders exploit in order
to make their message look relevant.

Your Excellency, you have a beautiful smile, so use it wisely when you appear in front of
cameras. Knowing when to smile, how to sit properly by avoiding leaning backward is a good
start. Most, if not all the time, your body language tells the observer if you are in full control of
the matters in Gambia, as well as yourself.

Your Excellence, you do not need to shove people in order to be seen, like Donald Trump the big
bully did when he visited Europe last month. I do not want to remind you, because you know
better than me that politics is not a soap opera. In soap operas we often see very exaggerated
gestures and facial expressions because the performers only have a short time to tell us their
story and we never ge to ask questions.

Your Excellency, the posture of the body tells us if you feel good speaking to us; if you are in full
control of your message; if we should trust you; if you wish to be in that seat or wish you were
somewhere else, drinking ataya and eating benachin.

Having said this, I must add that sometimes when I see the photos the world share about Your
Excellency, I wish that you could be presented more flattering than some of the photos,
especially the one about your visit to a mosque in Saudi Arabia. This photo left observers and
critics asking, ‘Who is pulling the strings in today’s Gambia?’ I wish someone trained in physical
communication can give a piece of advice as to the damage some photos of yours can cause.

Finally, before any photo session or before appearing in front of cameras, if I were by your side,
I would whisper: “Dear Mr. President, you know I like you and we are many who do that, but
you must show the world that you are a leader we can be proud of. Please, stand up straight, pull
your shoulders back, hold your head high and give us that great smile of yours.”

Your well-wisher,
Pirjo Andersson

Dear Editor,

Please allow me space in your newspaper to add my voice to the call made by GCCI
president Muhamad Jagana for the new Gambian government to review taxes especially
the payroll tax on the Point Newspaper of Tuesday 6 June 2017. Mr Jagana could not
have said it better when he said, “This will make it possible for people to have more
disposable incomes, spend more money on their lives, improve their quality of living and
also help to gel the economy”.

These are very important considerations and I could not agree more with Mr Jagana that
reviewing the payroll tax for a better regime where low income earners are not penalised
for being in a low-income bracket is necessary. I want to talk a bit more about the unfair
nature of the Gambian payroll tax system and I will do this looking at how employment
income is taxed in the Gambia.

According to the PKF Individual Country Tax Guide 2016/17, anybody with a monthly
income of D1,500 will not pay tax but any amount in excess of this will attract tax at
varying levels of 5% to 30%. PKF has stated in its guide that “tax is payable on the gross
employment income of an employee monthly”. However, I will disagree with this statement
and I will give my reason for the disagreement a bit further in this write up.

Mr Jagana just hit the nail on the head and I think the new government should prioritise
this review to ease the burden on low income earners. Living cost is very high in the
Gambia and I have done a guesstimate of this for a small family of 5 living in Busumbala
and the breadwinner working in Brikama.

This is just an assumption that the family lives in their own home, spends a bare
minimum on basic things with school fees, clothing and medical bills excluded.

Bag of rice last 1 month = D1,200, fish money for a month = D1,500 (30 days x D50),
travel cost to and from work for a month = D320 (20 days x D16), electricity = D500.

As can be seen from the above basic things, the total living cost is assumed to be D3,520.
This is far more than the per capita income reported by the World Bank Group in 2014 of
D1,533 per month (($460 a year x D40) / 12 months). From the above analysis, a small
family needs at least D3,500 to survive at the brink of poverty. If the average income is
£1,500 a month as stated by the World Bank, then poverty is the order of the day as
families will not be able to look after themselves.

Coming back to the statement by PKF that tax is applied on gross monthly income, I will
use the recent payslip of the Honourable Minister of Tourism which featured on the
Freedom Newspaper of 5 April 2017 to argue that this is not the case. It is worth noting
that I have not seen any rebuttal from the Accountant General’s department neither from
the minister himself on the validity of this payslip. On that note, I hold that the payslip is
genuine and valid.

On the said payslip, the minister is paid a basic salary of D29,333, Telephone Allowance
of D5,000, House Rent Allowance of D5,000 and Responsibility allowance of D10,000.

This gives a gross salary of D49,333.50 including a rounding of D0.50. The payslip shows
a net salary of D41,567, meaning a tax deduction of D7,766.50. If we are to rely on the
statement of PKF that tax is based on gross pay, then the minister’s salary will be taxed at
30% being income range above D58,000 per year. Therefore, the tax to be deducted from
the minister’s salary should have been D14,800.05 but only D7,766.50 was deducted
hence why I conclude that Gambia’s income tax regime is flawed and open to abuse by
people in authority.

I have tried to establish the tax rate used on the minister’s salary but find myself chasing
my own tail. Tax of D7,766.50 appears to be 26% of basic pay or 16% of gross pay. This is
not in line with the PKF guide and the rate should have been 30% on basic or gross pay.

The government should note that the current income tax regime is flawed and open to
abuse. All it takes is a clever accountant to pay himself and the senior executives lower
basic salaries and increased allowances. This way, they will pay less tax and go home
with pockets full of money. The poor low income earner who is not privileged to have
allowances will be taxed on their meagre earnings. Have you ever wondered why the rich
are getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Well, here is an example.

I am recommending to the Gambian government to raise the Personal Allowance (Tax
Free Allowance) to D3,500 (basic living cost) and apply tax on gross earnings and NOT
basic salaries. I know critics will say that raising Tax Free Allowance will mean less tax
revenue for GRA but this will be more than compensated by the extra tax revenue to be
generated from fat cat directors and high income earners.

Before anyone attacks me, please note that this write up is not aimed at any particular
person and I used the Tourism minister’s payslip because it is available in the public
domain. The new government needs support in highlighting some of these things which I
believe some people in authority who are benefitting from them wont.

I believe the government should constitute a committee to look at all the tax regimes from
personal tax to Capital Gains Tax, Dividend tax, Withholding tax etc. If there are
resourcing constraints at the GRA, I am willing to collaborate with them and provide help
where necessary. For those who may think that I am looking for employment, well I am
not. I have worked for the likes of Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax Bank of Scotland,
Skipton Building Society and currently with the fourth largest consumer retailer in the UK
with an annual turnover of £16bn. I believe we all should support the government in any
little way we can whether or not you are in the country.

As an example, by applying tax on gross income, tax revenue from the Tourism Minister
would be £14,800 per month compared to the D7,800 being deducted. This is extra
D7,000 revenue per month and apply this to all the ministers and fat cat directors, the tax
revenue will be maximised and more disposable income for poor workers.

As mentioned before, this piece is not aimed at anyone but If anyone is offended by it, I
make no apologies.

Thanks for the space and keep up the good work.

Nuha Ceesay

Don’t Blame Anyone: Yahya is a Narcissist!

 
Alagi Yorro Jallow

 
Off with his nose to spite his face: “Cutting off the nose to spite the face” is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive over-reaction to a problem: “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face” is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one’s anger. Yet, the government is acting out recklessly, as is the Interior Minister thus far. Hopefully someone talks some sense into President Barrow and quickly; otherwise, he’ll end up just as much a flop as a petulant politician who never learn only to act on revenge.

 
Politicians will need to exercise restraint. Leadership is about educating the public that civil war in a democracy is not a spectator sport. It is not about ratcheting up security measures, or giving vent to revenge to shore up an image of toughness. It is about allowing people to have their say on issues of war and peace, not just at the outset but continuously share grievance and, perhaps, not to take vengeance instead show love and forgiveness.

 
Revenge politics and paranoia are distracting the government of President Adama Barrow. There is a dangerous pattern in Gambia’s approach towards the security challenges. On the one side, it is complacent in settling the security against the party cadres of the APRC, perhaps because of its political calculations; on the other, it is using collective punishment tactics to deal with the APRC militancy. The current security situation will vouch for this policy’s failure. Still his fanatics continue to applaud every action or inaction of his, showing weird loyalty to an individual or party rather than to the nation. A leader can heal the wounds of his nation or aggravate such wounds. A leader can bring peace to his nation or cause a war to erupt within his nation.

 
Personal angst, public interest, and a sharp eye for a political opportunity have combined in different measures to prompt Mai Fatty to do what he himself may have regarded as unthinkable: revolt against the Foni leadership. No matter what else it does or does not, this revenge of the underdog is a success. It might not help President Barrow much in the short term, but could have long-term implications for President Barrow that is the nature of revenge. Because of political hero worship, some people lose their basic humanity and sense of logic.

 
I have said it time and again that the Gambia is on a very dangerous political trajectory. Gambians do not be fooled, know that violence breeds violence and when it spills out of control no one of us is safe, we all would be affected regardless of our social and political standing in society.

 
We have reached a point where most of us have lost the normal human feelings of empathy and sympathy for one another. My heart was broken seeing how many people celebrated the tragic killing of Haruna Jatta while others went ahead without thinking of what the family who just experienced an unexpected permanent loss were feeling, they even reached a point of blaming the deceased person for his own death.

 
Prior to that we saw many APRC members being brutally having their dear lives cut short others for the simple mistake of wearing APRC t-shirt. Others have been stripped naked like we saw on social media while many more have been forced out of trading places and Gambian always found this amusing.

 
Since yesterday social media in Gambia has been gripped with yet another sad story of a young lady who is a being attacked by alleged members of party cadres and the only crime she committed was to belong to Yahya Jammeh’s tribe.

 
Gambians, does it have to get this far for us to realize that the path we are on is unsustainable? How much more blood of innocent people must be shaded to maintain the status quo? There is no darker period in our recent history than the dictatorship era of Yahya Jammeh. There is hardly any Gambian family that was left untouched by death and grief during the Yahya’s dictatorship. To this day, we carry with us stories of men killed in incommunicado, women raped in detention centers, and children left orphaned by countless human rights violations across the country and all throughout the tenure of Yahya Jammeh.

 
Today, the man who set the wheels of dictatorship in motion is in exile in Equatorial Guinea as a farmer. This is a man who buried us in debt and left us mourning our dead as he stole from the country’s coffers and pillaged our nation for more than 20 years. For how long shall we continue blaming the victims when we should have been sympathizers? It has never been a crime for one to belong to a party of choice but why should we allow cadres define society?

Let’s end this madness and allow people to freely join and express their political affiliation. This isn’t just a right but also one of the duties of citizens in a democracy.
Let’s respect the right of members to parties of their choice. No one should not victimize people for being APRC the same way no one should not be allowed to victimize people. Nothing can change history. Nothing can change the truth. Yahya Jammeh is a bad man. He is not a great man, not a human man. He is a machine; a money machine; stripped by his overwhelming passion of greed of every quality which makes a man unworthy of a citizen. He has not made good. He cannot make good. It is not him. He has nothing the aspiring world needs.

 
On the contrary, that for which he does stand is a menace, to our free development not only or chiefly, our free development in human rights, but vastly more important, our free development in citizenship and morals.
To deny that these atrocities happened and to forget the suffering it has caused is to betray our history as people who fought for freedom from the dark days of dictatorship. Yahya Jammeh is inconsolable and unforgivable. The people of Foni does not deserve to suffer for Yahya.

 
It is in these stories that we as a nation will share grievance and, perhaps, the urge to avenge. It is these instincts that need to be led and shaped. If they are left unchecked, if private reason can become supreme, if each is left to judge for themselves what is right, then we will be left with the chaos of conflicting claims. That is why we need not politics but leadership.

 
This should have set a precedent to put aside politics in the name of national unity. President Barrow could have simply solved the current political crisis instead of his Interior Minister.

He would have strengthened his claim to national leadership by inviting all political actors with him in Foni to show that there were times – even in a fiercely political tension – when national leadership mattered more than party politics.

Building The New Gambia

Open Letter to Pres. Adama Barrow,

Wednesday 8 June 2017

Chief Servant Adama Barrow. Anything Anything!!

Mr. President, do not hesitate and do not ignore. Do not downplay and do not procrastinate. Do not delegate and do not refuse. Speak to your people. Say anything. Indeed Anything, Anything! Tell us about the meetings and conferences you have had since last week, or since last month or since January. Just say anything. It serves the country no good for the head of state to remain silent for more than 48 hours. Every week we deserve to hear a statement from your own mouth. It could be Anything Anything!!

Institute a weekly national address over radio and television to tell us anything. It could be a message of unity and reassurance. Speak to us so that we know that you are there. We want to know whether you see and hear and feel us. We want to know if you are indeed on top of issues. By just knowing that, you help to settle our minds. That would be encouraging and refreshing. Please just say something. Anything Anything. Tell us about your expectations and vision for the Gambia.

You can even tell us about the foreign leaders and donors you have met, and the contracts you have signed to address transportation, electricity, employment or about the issue of our youths in Libya and those who returned. You can also tell us what you expect from each and every Gambian. It is now more than four months since we elected you, yet we do not still hear from you. This is indeed unprecedented in the history of leadership. Even the Dump Trump speaks to his Americans every hour – at least through Twitter. He does not say anything substantial, but he just says anything that comes to his mind. Therefore Mr. Barrow, speak to us! About anything. Anything Anything.

Barrow, you do not even have to talk to us in English. But you can address us in Fula or Jola or Mandinka or Wolof or Aku or Manjago or Serer and indeed in any of our languages. They are all our languages, equal and dignified. There are translators at GRTS who would put it into English. No doubt. But just speak to us. Anything Anything.

If you cannot talk to us, then go out with your wives to visit market women in Serre Kunda or Brikama, or Farafeni market. Visit taxi drivers and share your vision and hopes with them. Listen to them. Visit our neighborhoods, villages and towns. And Kanilai could be a great stop. But just get out and meet your people directly. Above all go to the National Assembly and address them and the nation. Leadership is also about personal touch and closeness to the people; that is called visibility and communication and they strengthen leadership. Visibility and communication make leaders being loved and respected, and build public confidence and trust in them. Hence no visibility and no communication erode public confidence in a leader.

Alternatively, you can call groups to State House to meet with you to discuss. Invite teachers to hear their concerns. Invite imams and priests to pray for the nation. Invite farmers, women’s groups and not forgetting persons living with HIV/AIDS or persons with disability and especially our children. Talk to them to hear their issues and concerns. Invite the private sector or CSOs to discuss national development issues and concerns. Invite any sector of our population and dialogue with them.

One very important sector you could meet collectively is the victims of the Dictatorship. Invite them to State House to console them and share with them your determination to see justice done. These are the parents of April 10/11 victims; Parents and wives of November 11 victims or D30 Heroes; The families of Deyda Hydara, Koro Ceesay, Daba Marenah and co-victims; Solo Sandeng and his fallen colleagues; Kanyiba Kanyi, Enor Kolley, Jasarja Kujabi, Marcie Jammeh, Binta Jarju and also the family of Haruna Jatta among other victims. It will soothe their hearts and give them hope for justice. It will serve to stabilize and strengthen our transition to our democracy and promote unity and reconciliation.

Yes, your ministers are within their powers to speak on your behalf and about their areas of responsibility. But they cannot substitute you no matter how competent and relevant they are. Remember, we did not elect them. We elected you and then you employed them. Therefore above all else, You and The People have a direct accountability relationship. The ministers are accountable to you and also to us, but you are primarily accountable to no one but to We The People first and foremost and then second, to our elected parliamentarians. Hence no minister can better speak for you than yourself.

By not speaking to us, then you disrespect us. It means you ignore us. But it also means you are not ready to lead. It could be you are afraid to speak lest we criticize you for what you say. It could be you have no ideas to share. It could mean anything and we are right therefore to speculate anything we wish to speculate. Such speculation projects a leadership vacuum that frustrates citizens even your supporters like me. But we want you to succeed and this is why we want you to speak to us.

But more seriously such vacuum creates an unfortunate opportunity for criminal gangs like APRC to take advantage to subvert our democracy as they just did in Kanilai. So all of these incidents in Kanilai, Farato, Kartong and Bakau with many coming are also your fault because folks did not know what or where you stand. Therefore they misjudge and misinterpret you hence they take issues and the law into their own hands. So if you had shown the leadership since the very beginning it is clear that none of these incidents would have happened or at least not as bad as they did.

Your silence is empowering detractors and enemies of the Gambia such as Yaya Jammeh. Your silence is validating the speculators. Your silence is vindicating those who said the Coalition is a bunch of selfish and incompetent parties and leaders who cannot govern. Some had said the Coalition Government still thinks it is still an opposition. Your silence is validating those misconceptions. Prove them wrong by speaking to the issues and to Gambians directly. Be ready to be criticized and respond to those criticisms. That is democracy.

Speak, Mr. Barrow. Anything Anything.

God Bless The Gambia.

In The Service of the Nation, I remain

Signed

Madi Jobarteh

Dear Editor,

The entire management team of Project Aid have resigned a fortnight ago under duress as their chairman, Matthias Ketteler continues to excerpt pressure on them as a way of purging instead of out right firing.

This further backfired as the nurses and teachers at Jahally Health Center under the said project also resigned due to very low salaries which have been stagnant for yrs.

This mass resignation came as last resort after the chairman and his team failed to consider the request of the staff which were discussed on several meetings over the years. At the time of reporting, the clinic and the kindergarten are still closed while negotiations are ongoing to resolved the impasse.

Concerned Citizen