By Lamin Drammeh

The Fatu Network is honored to provide exclusive coverage on the 22 annual Sohn investment conference that came to a spectacular end at David Geffen hall in Lyncoln center, New York City on Monday, May 8 2017.

The conference brought together renowned investors from some of the world’s most powerful investment companies with the ultimate desire to support the foundation’s work towards helping the lives of thousands of children diagnosed with pediatric cancer and other killer diseases globally.

Officials say, “this year’s Sohn conference is the most prominent investment conference with total dedication to the treatment and cure of pediatric cancer and other childhood diseases. The Conference amongst other initiatives aimed at providing supports to cutting-edge medical research, state-of-the-art research equipment, and innovative programs that would ensure children with cancer survives and thrive.
Mr Douglas Hirsch, co-founder and chief Executive officer of Sohn Foundation said, “the Sohn conference is the original and premier investment conference which provides the platform for investors to bring together fresh insights and money-making ideas to benefit the Sohn conference Foundation’s work to end childhood cancer.
“We are honored to be part of such a massive initiative and the most important impact is about those who have supported the Foundation’s work and donated a share of the profits from Sohn’s money-making ideas, he said.

Delegates at this extraordinary investment conference took time to honor the memory of Ira Sohn, a talented Wall Street professional whose life was cut short when he passed away from cancer at the age of 29.
In 1995, Ira’s friends Douglas Hirsch, Lance Laifer and Daniel Nir, alone with Iran’s Mother Judith Sohn and brother Evan, created the Sohn Foundation in honor of the late Ira.

The idea is to provide support to the people diagnosed with cancer with supports from investment partners such as CNBC, a recognized world leader in business news that provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 385 million homes worldwide. The news outlet also provide coverage to more than 94 million households in the United States and Canada which is the venue for the next Sohn Foundation conference.

Participants representing CNBC said they were appreciative of huge recommendations from Sohn Foundation and took time to return tribute to their investment partners in joyous manner.

“We are honored once again to be global partners with the Sohn Investment Conferences. No other investment conference combines such star power from the finance industry. While raising tens of millions of dollars for charity. News is always made at Sohn, and we are proud to be able to provide our audiences around the world exclusive coverage of the market-moving presentations,” says Nikhil Deogun, senior vice president & Editor-In-Chief of CNBC Business News, who also attended the conference on behalf his institution.

The world’s biggest gathering of investors (Sohn Investment Conference) that attracted prominent speakers worldwide has witnessed the presentation of 2017 Sohn honorary award to Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR cup series champion who joined Fox NASCAR as a full-time race analyst in 2016. The California native, one of the most versatile drivers of his era, is credited with helping take NASCAR mainstream in the 1990s. Gordon changed the face of NASCAR, which also made the sports attractive to Madison Avenue. In his 23 years of full-time cup series competition, Gordon served as one of NASCAR’s most effective and committed ambassadors.

With his first title in 1995, Gordon became the youngest champion (24) in NASCAR’s modern era in only his third full season. He retired with 797 consecutive starts, a journey that began with the 1992 season finale at Atlanta Motor speedway as petty brought his impressive racing career to a close in controversial circumstances.

The Sohn Foundation hosted similar investment conferences in Hong Kong, India, London,Monaco, San Francisco, Switzerland and Tel Aviv.

Magistrate Janneh-Njie of the Banjul Magistrates’ Court on 3 May 2017 acquitted Njogu Bah, former secretary general and head of the civil service, who was charged with abuse of office.

His acquittal followed the application earlier made by the state counsel, M. Jobe, to withdraw the case by virtue of section 68 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Prosecutors alleged that Mr Njogu Bah sometime in January 2013, at State House in Banjul, abused the authority of his office as secretary general and head of the civil service by interfering with the recommendation and posting of Ms Jainaba Jobarteh to the Gambia Permanent Mission at the United Nations in New York without following the proper procedure of nomination.

The former director of press and public relations at State House, Mam Sait Ceesay, has said that Chief Manneh’s disappearance was not only because of a BBC article critical of former President Jammeh which he intended to publish on the Daily Observer.

Speaking to The Standard yesterday, Mr Ceesay, who served as Editor-In-Chief of Observer at the same time press officer at State House, revealed that Chief Manneh’s sufficient knowledge and obsession with the story of the alleged killing of Ghanaian citizens in The Gambia, might have also unsettled the former president.
“Chief was an expert in that alleged mass killing of Ghanaians in July 2005. He had spent nearly a year in Ghana on a short study trip prior to the incident and had kept contact with his people in Ghana throughout, including when the Ghanaian killings occurred. He knew far too much about the incident than the average Gambian journalist and this must have troubled the former President. That incident about his intention to publish a critical article was just a cover-up. I think he knew too much about the Ghanaian incident and that attracted a lot of grudges around him too,” Ceesay said.

“The BBC article in question was not even entirely critical as it was only in the last paragraph it mentioned that Jammeh came to power through a coup which was not a problem because it is a fact and we published worse things before,” he added in explicit terms.

Mr Ceesay continued to say that State House was under so much pressure to release Chief Manneh and when he, Ceesay, advised Jammeh to solve Chief’s problem by “telling the truth”, he too got his share of Jammeh’s wrath.

He said: “About a year after Chief’s disappearance, the Office of the President was inundated with petitions and requests from Media Foundation for West Africa, Article 19, Committee for Protection of Journalists and other journalist federations for his release.

“While I was at State House as the Director of Press, there was a letter addressed to the President in connection with Chief’s disappearance. The secretary general minuted that letter to me so that I could take action and forward it to the president. I told the president that we have had enough of these requests about Chief Manneh so why didn’t we put a stop to it by telling people the truth. If we keep saying that we don’t have him, then we should put an end to it. The president sent me a reply and in it he said I should tell him what I know about Chief’s disappearance. I then sent him a brief explanation of how Chief was arrested but he replied with his green pen calling me a bloody spy and I should be picked up. A week later, I was picked up and kept at Banjul Police Station for five days without anyone knowing before I was eventually taken to court,” Ceesay said.

He concluded that Chief was actually released the very day he was taken but the police detained him when he returned to report to them the following morning.
Ebrima Chief Manneh was picked up from the Daily Observer office on July 7 2006 and has since not been found.

Many eye-witnesses said he was reported to the paper’s management by his jealous colleagues for allegedly trying to publish an international feature story from the BBC website critical of the Jammeh regime. The management and board then handed him to the authorities who detained him at various locations before his disappearance.

Former President Jammeh once suggested he might have gone by the ‘back-way’ while a police chief once suggested he could have been in the United States. Neither the family nor the Gambian public believed either of them.

Source: Standard Newspaper

Officers of the Forensics & Scientific Support Unit, Crime Management Unit, and the Public Relations Office of the Gambia Police Force, benefited from a training exercise on exhumation techniques and skills by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) agents.

The training, which was aimed at assisting Gambia Police Force to enhance their techniques and skills on exhumation, was conducted from 2nd May to 3rd May, 2017.
A trainer and an agent of the FBI said the training will help the Gambian Police build their capacities in the subject matter.

According to him, this will also serve as a stepping-stone for a better and brighter collaboration and cooperation between the FBI and the Gambia Police Force, which can be further strengthened to the leadership and the people of the two countries.
The FBI also presented exhumation equipment and medals to the GPF through the Inspector General of Police, Yankuba Sonko.

For his part, the IGP commended the FBI training team and the US Embassy in Banjul for their timely intervention.
According to him, the training could not have come at a better time when the GPF is seriously challenged with sensitive and tedious investigation processes.

He further stated that the techniques and skills gained by his officers during the training will help expedite and enhance the whole investigation process.
The Crime Management Coordinator (CMC) Assistant Commissioner Bubacarr Sarr, thanked the FBI for their foresight and kind gesture. He promised that the donated equipment will be put into good use and the knowledge gained will be utilised and spread to other affected units of the Police.

The ceremony was attended by the trainees and members of the senior management of the Gambia Police Force and chaired by the Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Foday Conta.

Source: Standard Newspaper

By Lamin Sanyang

Mr. NJogou Saer Bah, Permanent Secretary, Head of the Diplomatic Service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has told The Fatu Network that Ambassadors At Large are not on the payroll of the government.

“Ambassadors At Large don’t have salaries. They don’t have offices. It is the prerogative of the President to appoint them,” Mr. Njogou Saer Bah, Permanent Secretary at The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Speaking to this medium at his office at Marina Parade in Banjul, PS Bah explained that the role of Ambassadors at Large amongst others is to serve as emissaries of the president to countries where there are no Embassies.

“They are under the disposal and authority of the President,” he pointed out.

He added: “It is only the President who deals with them.”

The Permanent Secretary and Head of Diplomatic Service disclosed that the Ambassadors At Large were issued with Diplomatic Passports and that their travel expenses will be paid by the president.

PS Bah was questioned about the appointment of certain people as full-time ambassadors but he only confirmed the appointment of Mr. Ebrima alias Ebou Manneh and Mr. Alasana Jammeh as ambassadors to Washington DC and Morocco respectively. He denied the appointment of Mr. Femi Peters as The Gambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He added that the people appointment were issued with appointment letters.

He explained the procedures taken to formalized the appointment of ambassadors before going on foreign missions, saying it starts with sending credentials of the person to that particular country for scrutiny before acceptance. He said the credentials of Ebou Manneh and Alasana Jammeh were sent to the respective countries, they are waiting for acceptance.

Meanwhile, PS Bah rejected the rumors of recalling six ambassadors. He said there was no name listed to be recalled but added that as a new government they will recall some ambassadors sooner than later. It is only the president who will give those instructions.

By Lamin Sanyang

The US Government has still maintained its travel ban on senior Gov’t officials after the country has democratically elected a new administration.

The travel ban was imposed shortly before the last general election on the Yahya Jammeh regime alongside members of his immediate family and senior government officials. Many Gambians particularly the opposition at the time thought the ban was aimed at crippling the dictatorial regime of President Jammeh. The former President was voted out of power in the past presidential elections but it has been more than 100 days since the new administration came to office and the ban is still not lifted.

“The ban has not been lifted yet but we are working hard with the Ambassador to make sure it is lifted,” Mr. Njogou Saer Bah, Permanent Secretary and Head of The Diplomatic Service at Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Permanent Secretary Bah said the travel ban came after a request from the US State Department for the Gambian authorities to provide a list of Gambian citizens who were illegal migrants to the United States. He did not disclosed whether the new administration will comply with the demands made by the State Department. He explained that the travel ban which has equally affected other countries does not stop them from going to the UN Summits and other international forums.

Permanent Secretary Bah described the country’s international relation with The US and other organizations as favorable. He mentioned the good relations The Gambia has with the ECOWAS, African Union, European Union and UN among others. He talked about reintegrating to the Commonwealth which he said has benefitted The Gambia in the past paying rents for the embassy in New York and assisting them with lawyers and judges as well.

“We are a small nation but the way we turned around things in the last elections made us significant in the world,” he asserted.

Permanent Secretary Bah finally informed this medium that the government is very advanced with the issue of The Commonwealth, saying it will be fully integrated before the next summit which would be held later this year. He said the same thing about the International Criminal Court ICC which he said the country has not left because the due process was not followed by the former government. He also disclosed that the country will be hosting the OIC conference in 2019.

“We are on the spotlight right now,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, PS Bah spoke at length about the cordial relationship between The Gambia and Senegal commending the role played by the Senegalese authorities during and after the political impasse.’

PRESS RELEASE, OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

1.We the Cabinet Ministers of The Republic of The Gambia held a retreat at the
Coral Beach Hotel, Banjul, The Gambia from 5-7 May 2017. The objectives of
the retreat were:

a)To position Collaborative Leadership and Dialogue as a core value among
Gambian Leaders;
b)To create a platform where relationships of trust and communication
between key leadership is strengthened to help restore social harmony;
c)To stimulate discussion and analysis of ways to achieve more effective and
holistic strategies for inclusive processes that advance governance in the
country;
d)To provide opportunity for participants to build a joint commitment to
concrete actions that will enhance collaboration;
e)To lay the foundation for an Infrastructure for Peace and Social Cohesion;
and
f)To collectively agree on key priorities of the government and refocus on
ways forward.

 
2.We were addressed by His Excellency President Adama Barrow who
commended the meeting for recognizing the importance of peace and
reconciliation as an essential requirement for democratic stability and
economic development. He urged us to strengthen the capacities of the
Ministries we lead; create policies to ensure transparency and accountability of
public officials; enhance youth employment; promote women’s equality and
empowerment; ensure judicious use of state resources; and to demonstrate
high standards of integrity.

3.We were also addressed by H.E. Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang, the Minister for
Women’s Affairs and responsible for the Office of Vice-President; Dr. Ibrahim
Assane Mayaki, former Prime Minister of Niger and currently CEO of NEPAD
Agency; H.E. Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, SRSG, UNOWAS; Dr. Abdoulaye Mar
Dieye, Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the African Bureau of UNDP;
and Dr. Fatima Denton, Director of the Special Initiative Division, UNECA.

4. We reviewed and discussed wide ranging topics including: the Gambia’s
National Development Plan (NDP) in the context of Africa’s development

agenda; and strengthening mutual trust and confidence among the different
ministries to respond to the wishes and aspirations of all Gambians in
achieving “One Gambia, One Nation, One People.”

5. We pledge to perform our duties guided by the following principles:

i.Probity, accountability and transparency;
ii.Inclusivity;
iii.Justice and rule of law;
iv.Effective Civil Service delivery;
v.Patriotic Altruism;
vi.Togetherness;
vii.Resort to legal means for dispute resolution;
viii.Pragmatism;
ix.Openness to new ideas and criticism;
x.Detribalization;
xi.Modesty in lifestyle; and
xii.Collaboration with regional, continental and international stakeholders.

6.We are individually and collectively committed to the great people of The
Gambia, and will be guided by the Constitution and the laws of The Gambia.

7.We pledge to accelerate the socio-economic development of The Gambia by
prioritizing the following:

a.Accelerate economic revival and transformation underpinned by:
i.strong economic management;
ii.robust institutional development;
iii.reinforce the enabling environment for the private sector, and
domestic and foreign investment;
iv.expand the industrial sector, trade and regional integration;
v.redynamize the tourism and fisheries sectors; and
vi.ensure effective land use planning and management.
b.Promote investments in infrastructure and energy;
c.Modernize and revitalize the agricultural sector and agribusiness,
with the aim of achieving food security and rural development;
d.Promote youth development and employment;
e.Ensure the safety and security of all Gambians;
f.Provide health care and education systems.
g.Mobilize domestic and external resources to support development
efforts.
h.Strengthen citizens’ engagement in governance and development,
with attention to gender equality and empowerment of women and
youth;

i.Enhance rule of law and justice, and establish a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission to promote social cohesion and durable
peace; and
j.End The Gambia’s isolation and strengthen its relationships with
other countries in the sub-region, the continent and the rest of the
world.

8. We commit to the implementation of this Compact and will establish a
monitoring and evaluation framework to track its progress.

 
9.We thank the UNDP, UNOWAS and UNECA for sponsoring this Collaborative
Leadership Retreat.

Done in Banjul, The Gambia, on 7th May, 2017

Demba Ali Jawo, the Minister of information and communication infrastructure on Wednesday 3rd May 2017, assured media practitioners of freedom of the media in The Gambia.

He gave this assurance while addressing media practitioners upon delivery of a petition from the Gambia Press Union at the premises of the ministry where the media practitioners culminated their march in commemoration of world press freedom day.

Mr. Jawo said the petition which is given to him by the Gambia Press Union will be looked at and the issues will be addressed.

He assured the media that they have already got the press freedom they are demanding for and as far as this government is concerned, they will give the media all the freedom they deserve to do their work.

He added they will eradicate all those bad laws and there will be press freedom for everybody and we expect everybody to abide by the law without any harassment by anybody.

Minister Jawo said he was talking to the minister of justice to look at all the bad laws to amend or repeal them to suit the standards of what we are all yearning for.

About 200 media practitioners, including editors, marched from Traffic Lights along Kairaba Avenue to the ministry of information and communication infrastructure where they delivered the petition to the minister.

Source: Foroya Newspaper

Perhaps one of the unlikeliest things to have happened in this country was people waking up to the news that a young Gambian has joined the so-called Islamic State terrorist group. But what is scary is the news that he was recruited right here in the Gambia.

A young man called Dawda Jallow, a former Nusrat Senior Secondary School student, appeared to have joined the terrorist group after a video of him in which he pledged loyalty to ISIS went viral online.
He is said to have surreptitiously left the Gambia in 2015 purportedly on a fellowship to Morocco but never returned.

One Talibeh Touray, Dawda’s closest friend in the Gambia, said he was already indoctrinated before he left as he was obsessed with watching videos of radical Islamists from around the world.
“Every day he would watch videos and fatwa of prominent radical Islamists and we would debate about it all night. It reached to a stage, he went too far. I remember he once said to me that one cleric told him that it’s very easy to go to heaven. When I told him to share it with me, he said all I have to do is kill one disbeliever. That is when I knew the videos got into his head,” he said.

Dawda was newly married but, according to Touray, his wife also secretly followed him to Morocco where she is also believed to be an active member of the terrorist network.
“He just disappeared without informing anyone; not even his family. After six months, he sent me a message on WhatsApp and apologised for leaving promptly. I was just happy he was okay and then he told me he has fellowship to Morocco. I asked him where he got it because we were doing everything together. There was no way he would get something like that and I didn’t know about it. He said he picked a form at a certain office in the Red Cross building at Westfield and he was called just few days after submitting it. That’s how he left. His wife also left the same way he did; she just vanished,” he said.

The Gambia is a relatively stable country and the issue of terrorist networks recruiting Gambians has not been an issue. However, according to Touray, ISIS most likely has a recruitment team in the country that is brainwashing young ones.

“The way Dawda transformed from a rapper at school to ‘marakas’ and then, quickly, to a hardline Islamist was just too quick. There are people in the country who are indoctrinating them. Someone else must have introduced him into it. This office he claimed at Red Cross building where he picked a form should even be checked,” he told The Standard.

Musa Bah, English Language and Islamic Studies teacher, Nusrat Senior Secondary School, expressed shock at the news, adding that the school has always prevented students from reaching such levels of extremism.

“I can’t say I remembered when Dawda was here but I was shocked when I heard that he joined ISIS. At Nusrat here, we try to do everything to discourage extremism. It is a huge surprise that a Gambian can join such a group as ISIS, especially someone who passed through Nusrat. I guess all schools should learn from this and do more to enlighten our young ones,” he said.

Hundreds of people shared Dawda’s video on Facebook, most of whom are former Nusrat students but none of them ever imagined a humble young man like him would end his future even before it began.
Among those visibly disappointed is Ahmad Gitteh, a former head boy of Nusrat who was Dawda’s colleague at the school from 2005-2008. Speaking to The Standard online from Canada, Gitteh said: “I knew Dawda Jallow very well and we were very close as well. I personally taught Dawda Mathematics and he also worked under me as a senior prefect when I was headboy. He was a very smart, funny and discipline boy.

“We both lived in Bundung and he used to come to my house and study there up to late in the morning. We were still very close and in contact after we both left Nusrat. He became very pious and would attend the weekly programs that were held at Marakaz in Bundung. So when I left Gambia in 2011 for studies we lost contact. A few days after I saw his picture on What’s On Gambia, I felt very sad and disappointed. Dawda Jallow would have been an amazing asset for Gambia no doubt about that.

“I am sad and I pray to Allah that his family can bear not only the pain and sadness but also the stigma that may be attached to such a heinous crime.”
No one could tell if the video is recent or not but there was no argument about the young man in the video and, to a larger extent, it is a big threat to the country’s fragile security.

Contacted for comments, the Principal of Nusrat Senior Secondary, Karamo S Bojang, said he did not know Dawda during his time at Nusrat but he too has heard of the video. “I have heard of the video but I can assure you that whatever ideas he or his likes may develop started from where they came from before joining Nusrat. Some of these lads must have already completed secondary school at some Arabic school before joining Grade 8 in secondary school and since they are often very brilliant students, they have no problems in passing to Grade 12 with good grades. But we always have problems with them such as the way they cut their trousers or grow their beards,” Mr Bojang said.

A Gambian social commentator, upon hearing about the video, advised government to take proper attention to the proliferation of Madrassas in the country for security reasons.

Source: Standard Newspaper

The office of the Inspector General of Police over weekend issued a statement stating that it has received series of complaints of alleged “plastic rice” sold in the Gambian market, which is believed to be false.

“Since the eruption of the rumour on the alleged ‘plastic rice’, the Gambia Police Force in collaboration with Food Safety & Quality Authority work diligently to ensure that the matter is thoroughly investigated. Based on the above, the GPF and FS&QA assigned Police intelligent officers and FS&QA food inspectors to gather facts with regards to the presence of the alleged ‘plastic rice’ in the Gambia,” the statement said

It added that various rice samples of the alleged “plastic rice” were collected from various shops and tested by the Food Safety & Quality Authority and preliminary investigations have indicated that, until this moment, neither the Gambia Police Force nor the Food Safety & Quality Authority have seen any alleged “plastic rice” in the Gambian market, and there is no plastic content in any of the samples collected.

The statement concluded by assuring the public of the full commitment and preparedness of the Gambia Police Force in ensuring peace, safety and security for all Gambians and non-Gambians alike.

Source: Standard Newspaper