Alagi Yorro Jallow

In Gambian life, there is no creativity, no aspiration, no vision, no mission, no genius, and no dream beyond joining Mansa-Kunda civil service or political appointments without any particular attachment to a public service ethos.

There are two types of Gambians: those in government employment and those awaiting their turn in government appointments. Forget all the talk about the size and potential of the Gambia’s economy. Forget all the talk about business, entrepreneurship, innovation, and the rise of a vibrant new demographic of creators defying the odds to crystallize into a 21st-century transnational elite.

That is all puff and powder for there is only one business in the Gambia and it is called “The Gambia Government Civil Service”. Everybody is just really waiting for and on government appointments. Every other sector and sphere of Gambian life and all the players in all those private spheres and other sectors are merely waiting on and for their turn in government employment.

The sum total of national life is nothing but an endless footsy playing between those in government and those outside, hoping to cajole them to be let in or scheming to shove them out and take their place. Either by election or appointment, a Gambian has no greater definition of success and life fulfilment than a political office, no matter how paltry and insignificant.

This atrocious national sociology of course has consequences. It is at the center of the Gambian tragedy. At the personal and national levels, it stifles growth, initiative, and development because the citizen and his nation are defined exclusively by prebend. The citizen destroys all regenerative and innovative possibilities because his or her creative energy has only one purpose: profit from government prebend (if he or she is already in government) or aspire to profit from government prebend (if he or she is awaiting his or her turn in government).

The Gambia is the only place where the path to building a global business brand, powered by genius, innovation, creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and drive can be abandoned midway to serve as a Permanent Secretary or Special Adviser on Miscellaneous Matters in the Presidency. The owner of a flourishing innovation hub or a growing e-commerce outlet will drop all that creative energy and suddenly become a Permanent Secretary or Special Adviser to the President or Minister.

Sarcastically, only in the Gambia, do not be surprised to wake up to news that Gambian business tycoon Mr. Muhammed Jah CEO of Qcell and Quantum Net is abandoning the Qcell Group to run to become Special Adviser to the President. Instead of joining Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos on a panel in Dubai, do not be surprised to hear that the CEO Mustapha Njie of TAF Africa Homes Construction has accepted an appointment as Special Advisor to the President on mega infrastructural projects.

In essence, any Gambian great news on the innovation front is only great until government appointment happens to it because every other sphere of agency in the Gambia is tentative and aspirational in a move towards government and mediocrity and corruption.

It is true that many of the Gambia’s most accomplished abandon potential global brands for life in government because of the belief that they will loot with impunity and divert public funds and government patronage to their businesses.

They forget that all their stealing and looting has never taken any of their businesses to a truly global dimension because no truly global brand can be built on a foundation of such brazen rottenness. The money they steal and infuse into their businesses is only Pyrrhic victory.

There is also of course the story of businesses private enterprises   innovative business brand that government office happened to and destroyed. The business people are not the only class affected by this Gambian disease. Generations of the country’s brightest minds go to government, when they leave government, they do not return to any worthwhile ventures and activities that could uplift the country because they understand that life in the Gambia is divided into two strict phases: life in government and life spent awaiting life in government.

I live in a part of the world where people have time for short spells in government appointments before returning to other spheres of nation building. Academia is a very popular destination for people after government office. They come and join us in training the next generation. Look at journalism and mass communication schools in the US and Canada. Very often, people quit influential government spokesperson positions to become Deans or Chairs of such schools or programs. They don’t have to be academics. Universities negotiate with them based on their profile and experience.

You come to the Gambia and you get smart people (names withheld) brilliant first-class minds that any school of journalism or mass communication in the country or abroad should be privileged to engage as Dean or Chair. What are they doing? They are roaming social media to maintain relevance in preparation for any possibility of returning to government anytime. One of the Gambia’s best minds now understands that there is only life in government and life spent awaiting a return to government.

There are as accomplished Gambian scholars falls into this category. Before they discovered the tragic duality of Gambian life, they are actually bright minds on the rise in the United States. Now, they too are roaming social media, carefully curating their nuisance value to maintain visibility ahead of the possibility of a return to government at time given chances, accompanied by their fellow vermin.

Think of Mamudu; think of Fatoumatta in some innovative new program in any of our Universities. No matter what you think of them, they would serve Gambia’s future excellently in such stations. Sadly, they are like fish out of water, unable to conceptualize agency and nation building outside of the sphere of government crumbs.

I have used Maimuna and Fatoumatta to illustrate the crematorium of talent and innovation that is the Gambia. Once you leave government, you are pretty much useless to the Gambia because your brain is colonized by the singular desire to return to government. You cannot even sustain a business after life in government. Look at Fatoumatta and Maimuna, thrashing around like somebody high on Vicodin because there is no life for them outside of government. They are desperate to return. We need to revamp civics to achieve this mental rewiring.

The 15^thExecutive Council of the School of Business and Public Administration of the University of The Gambia, under the leadership of Ebrima L Dampha, wishes to extend its heartfelt gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the relentless services they are rendering to The Gambia and her people.

However, with reference to the press release from The Gambian embassy to Dakar through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dated 6^thAugust, 2018, the Executive members of the said association hereby write to express dismay and utter disappointment in the said release and debunk some of their claims. It is indeed unfortunate to learn that the release has put the integrity of the University at stake, and thus the need for clarification.

Firstly, the release clearly states “…the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public that on the 8^thJune 2018, the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia received an email from one Ebrima L Dampha, who claimsto be the president of the School of Business and Public Administration of the University of the Gambia, requesting the Embassy to provide accommodation for 60 Gambian students in Dakar.”

From the above statement, it should be clear that our first email wasn’t sent on the 8^th  of June, as per the press release, but instead on the 31^st  of May. On the said date, we wrote to ask for their advice , guidance and counselling as the embassy responsible to represent the Gambia, which they chose to ignore for whatever reasons, until we had to lobby for help from a friend who knows someone from the embassy, who advised that if we write again, she would do the follow up. Then we wrote the second letter which happened to be on the 8^thof July, and not the 8^thof June as their release stated.

On the third paragraph of the press release, it is stated, “ On the 9^thJune 2018, the Ambassador of the Gambia to the republic of Senegal, His Excellency Ebou Ndure, convened a meeting with staff of the embassy to discuss the email and agreed that the Embassy should look for some hotels in Dakar as requested by Mr. Dampha. On the 10^thJune 2018, the embassy replied to Mr. Dampha’s email conveying that the piscine Olympique De Dakar was identified for possible accommodation of 60 students but unfortunately they wanted free accommodationwhich the embassy cannot afford due to limited resources.”

From the above, we want to make it crystal clear that we never requested for free accommodation from the embassy. We also neversaidhotel, but motel. What we requested was for the identification of an affordable accommodation. We see no reason why the embassy should confuse the identification of affordable accommodationand provision of free accommodationfor 60 students. This we think is utterly unfair.  In fact, for the purpose of clarity, the embassy never replied on the 10^thJune, as they claim, but instead, 10^thof July. There is a difference!

Moreover, in one of the emails sent, we stated that we were to send our advance team to have a direct surveyof the places we intended to visit, and then we solicited for them to host the two-man advance team for the period of two days. They never did, and we never blamed them for it.

The press release further stated that we went on to circulate an unfounded article. The article released by the Secretary General of the association is based on experience and not anything defamatory. This said article is suggesting that expatriates need to serve the needs of the ordinary citizens, otherwise there is no point having them at all.

The 15^thExecutive Council of Economics and Management Students’ Association of the University of the Gambia wants to register its utmost disappointment in the press release, which is full of unfounded accusations, and is with the opinion that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through which the press was released should have at least heard from the other side with regards to the contents of the report from the embassy. This would have given the Ministry the opportunity to strike a balance on the issue.

Notwithstanding, we would like to bring it to your notice that we are currently camped in Senegal for a research purpose on the theme: The socio-economic relationship and currency impact on the rebirth of Senegambia. On our return to The Gambia, we would make more clarifications on the issue when and where necessary.

On the same vain, the 15^thexecutive Council, wants to use this opportunity to caution all students of the university of the Gambia, particularly the students of Business and Public Administration to remain calm and  refrain from all sorts of improper conducts. We are duly elected to preside over your affairs, and by God’s grace we shall never relent or deviate from such a course.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL

ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION (ECOMANSA)

UNIVERSITY OF THE GAMBIA

Having gone through the explanations given by MoBSE at the press conference they convened today, I have come to conclude that instead of really appreciating the severity of the problem at hand, they have gone into defensive mode and started to cover themselves.

Breaking down the analyses of the results and highlighting isolated successes in some schools is not the solution at all. Unless one admits that there is a problem; a challenge, one cannot begin to truly seek solutions. The results are clear; there is a serious problem with our education system and whoever denies this fact is simply trying to take us for a ride.

Out of 13, 335 candidates that sat to the exams in 2018, only 475 had five credits including English Language and Maths. This is the minimum requirement for admission into the University of the Gambia and most other universities in the world. Of course, there are others – many others – who had six, seven, eight or nine credits but didn’t get either Maths or English Language. But that is the point; they can’t go to university or find a job.

It is true that in some fields, one can be admitted into the university without a credit in Maths but that is new and how many students can they take anyway? By all standards the results this year are a national tragedy.

The question many are asking is this: What plans are there to integrate these students who have all but failed into the education system? We have very few tertiary institutions, technical ones even fewer. Government must understand that without quality education to back up development plans, we are making any progress anytime soon. For there to be development, we need a well educated and skilled population and the fastest way to do that is through education.

This problem is so serious that the president should even make a statement on it so that everyone knows that government is serious about education. This will put everyone in the sector on their toes so that we begin seeing changes geared towards bettering our education.

The National Assembly Select Committee on education should invite the minister to answer questions as to how this tragedy happened. They must be seen to be doing something. Why is there a serious national discourse on education steered by the government? We need to do something. Now!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Essa Njie

I have promised myself not to be involved in unhealthy debates, but circumstances will not allow me to relax my muscles in these trying moments our country is going through. I do not intend to provide a lengthy write-up but to respond to certain claims. It is indeed irrefutable that the Gambia is at a crossroads and our transformation journey will be trickery if the current situation persists. It must be understood that nations are built on ideas and ideas deserve a space of lassie fairewhere each is at liberty to opine his/her views deemed relevant to national development. The Gambia’s predicament has not been on anything but the existence of a citizenry that has been living in self-denial even when the truth is presented on the national table for all to see. As a matter of fact, an uneducated citizenry does not only serve as a threat to national development but to human consciousness, thus the liberty, dignity and prosperity of the same citizenry will be at risk.

The past days have been sad moments for me; for the fact that I am seeing my country heading toward an unknown destination where unhealthy debate is preferred to a healthy one. Dr Ismaila Ceesay has been the subject of an emotional/sentimental debate for expressing what one may describe as a subjective opinion; subjective in the sense that his views are not binding and therefore should be subjected to agreement and disagreement. Inasmuch as Ceesay has the right to express his views on national issues, others hold the same right to disagree with his views. From a personal point of view, I believe there are so many ways to counter Ismaila’s opinion which would have led to an intriguing national debate.

However, sadly, those that went on the other side of the coin never oppose the man’s view but ended up attacking his personality for expressing a personal opinion which is the least we expect in the so-called new Gambia. This is the altitude of not only ignorance but hypocrisy in a small country like the Gambia. I have heard and seen people asked what I consider the most unpatriotic question; “where was Ismaila when Jammeh was here”? I have come across rebuttals including that of Sait Matty Jaw, setting the record straight about what Ismaila has been doing while Jammeh was president. Those of us who were taught by Ismaila at the UTG would attest to what he has been saying and doing in exercising his academic freedom within the university setting.  However, just like Ismaila himself refused to be dragged into such a conversation, considering it as ‘childish’, I would also not want to be hauled into the same conversation because I consider it not only childish but a distractive conversation that will not add value to the best we want for the Gambia. My respond therefore to such an unpatriotic question is, one of the primary reasons why we voted out Jammeh was to have a say in our affairs. Therefore, whether Ismaila was talking during Jammeh’s era or not is immaterial to me and in this present circumstance. What matters most to us is the fact that every Gambian citizen deserve the right to express his/her views and nothing on the face of this earth should and can stop that.

On the issue of academic qualification for presidency, again I consider it the height of hypocrisy when people claim that setting a university degree as the prerequisite for presidency constitutes discrimination against those that do not acquire or cannot afford to acquire a university degree. Ask yourselves whether the current qualification for a secondary school certificate is not also discriminatory to those that could acquire only GABECE certificate. Again, ask yourselves whether the minimum age requirement for presidency is not also discriminatory to those below the age of 30. Today, a healthy, young and brilliant Gambian at age 29 cannot contest for presidency even with a university degree because the constitution is exempting him/her from seeking the office of the president based on age, but a 99 year old Gambian with a secondary school certificate whose thinking capacity is not apt could contest for presidency. I am not insinuating that university degree is the absolute guarantor for an impeccable leadership. Essentially, I am trying to make those who claim the issue of discrimination to ponder over these questions and be the judges of their own. If we could set a minimum financial requirement for presidency, what is stopping us from setting a minimum academic requirement for the same position to meet the standards of global dynamics which is changing on a daily basis? Again, I am not insinuating that every country in the world today has its president graduated from university but I am trying proving a point that the secondary school certificate requirement in our constitution was put in place based on our educational circumstance at the time.

On the issue of Ismaila ‘harsh’ in his language toward Barrow, I have spotted yet a notch of hypocrisy and insincerity. Those arguing from a so-called moral perspective that Barrow is a president and does not deserve such ‘harsh’ words, I challenge you to reflect to the era of Jammeh when you were insulting Jammeh, forgot that despite all odds, he was our president and deserved the ‘respect’ that you think Barrow deserves from every Gambian including Ismaila. I personally do not consider Ismaila’s language discourteous in tone; certainly, it was his opinion that Barrow lacks the ‘intellectual disposition/pedigree’ to run the affairs of the Gambia. Again, it must be understood that Barrow holds the highest office of the land, thus he is no more an ordinary citizen from the perspective of responsibility and therefore deserves public scrutiny. As a matter of fact, Barrow needs informed guidance on how to run a government because it is a well-known fact (no secret) to all Gambians that the man does not possess what it takes to transform this country. It might be bitter but the fact.

The fact that Barrow can stand in front of Gambians and promise to provide public Wi-Fi to a community in the presence of a deteriorating health care system, a seemingly collapsed education sector, agriculture, dilapidated road infrastructure and a close-to-dead economy is the biggest slap on the face of Gambians and the greatest insult to the integrity of poor and vulnerable Gambians. It only shows that the man does not either understand the plight of Gambians which reflects the lack of intellectual pedigree that Ismaila insinuated, or he is taking them for granted. But pathetic about this was to see Gambians show appreciation for such a promise. Barrow must not easily forget that Jammeh made series of unrealistic promises to Gambians for more than two decades without implementation. Therefore, we must exercise the highest form of sincerity by speaking the fact and let Barrow know that it is not business as usual.

Finally, to those that have taken personal attacks including Barrow himself as the tool or an attempt to discredit concerned citizens, kindly note that silence is no more an option. No one is here to be anyone’s spokesperson. Therefore, do not expect to hear what you want to hear but expect to hear what people want to say for themselves. Ismaila like any other Gambian will continue to express his opinion without remorse. We will speak! It is the slogan of Barrow himself ‘no retreat no surrender’ against dictatorship. Similarly, no retreat no surrender against mediocrity.

This is state business and not estate business!

State House, Banjul, 7th August 2018–

The First Lady of the Republic, Her Excellency Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow has said the Gambia is making a steady progress in the fight against breast and cervical cancers, despite the high infection rates being registered across the sub region.

Speaking at the Seminar of First Ladies from member countries of the Africa Group of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Cancer held in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso on the 1^st – 2^ndAugust 2018, First Lady Barrow said that despite these high figures – 80% of which is due to late diagnosis and treatment– breast cancer is a disease that can be prevented and treated when detected early.

Outlining that the Gambia is steadily winning the fight against breast cancer, the First Lady announced that most of the medical facilities necessary to diagnose breast and other cancers are now available at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul. Lady Barrow explained that health care professionals throughout the Gambia are always on hand to provide support and counseling on this deadly disease to people that are in need.

Despite the giant strides being registered in the push against breast cancer, the First Lady observed that there are challenges to be overcome.  “Unfortunately, The Gambia, like many poor countries, is neither able to provide affordable cancer services, nor meet the increasing demand for such services. In fact, more than half of the OIC countries lack the capacity to tackle chronic diseases or address their major causes,” the First Lady observed.

Giving the high financial cost involved in accessing cancer services or treatment, particularly in developing countries, she explained that her foundation – Fatou Bah-Barrow Foundation – decided to take a stance and complement government’s efforts by supporting cancer treatment services and awareness raising activities in The Gambia.

The first lady added that ‘’there is an urgent need to support poor countries in Africa to overcome the

major challenges linked to both detection and treatment services”.

Health systems in poor countries are too weak to support the basic care and services linked with

cancer. A significant increase in investments involving a broad range of partners is necessary to

improve the quality of life of cancer patients and strengthen national health care systems.

State House, Banjul, 7th August 2018

World leading America-based research company, Gallup, has found that 72 percent Gambians, nearly three in four residents, approve of President Adama Barrow’s leadership. An even higher percentage (75%) is also confident in the honesty of the election process under the leadership of President Adama Barrow.

Along with the confidence they have in Barrow, Gambians show signs of hope that their living standards are getting better. Nearly two in three Gambians (65%) said their standard of living is getting better, the highest result among ECOWAS Countries that participated in the 2017 polls. The pioneer public opinion polls in the US, and the world by extension, released their findings on The Gambia on Tuesday, 7th August, 2018 in Washington, DC, US.

“The Gambia sits at a crossroads. In the first year of their president’s leadership, residents exhibit confidence in their new government and the democratic process that put it there,” the poll concluded.

The research organization observed that the government’s ‘’sound fiscal policy such as reducing debt and investing in irrigation and other commercial farming infrastructure in an effort to return farming to a viable backbone of The Gambian economy’’ is indeed paying dividend.

The outcome of the polls, however, suggest that the government must not rests in its laurels, and needs to augment economic improvement to continue to meet the expectations of the public.

The results of this poll are based on face-to-face interviews with 1,000 adults, aged 15 and older, and conducted in The Gambia between December 14 and 26, 2017.

The group, Gallup World Poll, is a global performance-management consulting that tracks the most important issues worldwide, such as food access, employment, leadership performance, and well-being. Since creating the World Poll in 2005, Gallup has conducted studies in more than 160 countries that include 99% of the world’s adult population.

Meanwhile, Freedom House, another US-based research institute, has said that freedom in the Gambia has seen remarkable improvement compared to what used to obtain a few years ago.

“[Gambia’s] political rights rating improved from 6 to 4, and its civil liberties rating improved from 6 to 5 due to the installation of newly elected President Adama Barrow into office in January 2017 and the holding of competitive legislative elections in April. Among other openings associated with the departure of former president Yahya Jammeh, exiled journalists and activists returned, political prisoners were released, ministers declared their assets to an ombudsman, and the press union began work on media-sector reform.”

According to them, the ‘’freedom’’ level in The Gambia has progressed from “Not Free to Partly Free’’

Information reaching The Fatu Network has it that Police have arrested six prison guards on the recent prison break at the Jeshwang Prisons on Thursday night.

According to reports, dozens of prisoners have escaped from the state prisons who are still at large. It is said that the recent prison break is one of the biggest since after the 1981 coup.

Superintendent David Kujabi, Police Spokesperson has reliably informed The Fatu Network that six prison guards are arrested by the police in connection to the Jeshwang Prisons break.

“Five Prison Guards are arrested today plus the one who was arrested last week, making a total of six. They are arrested by the Police Anti Crime Unit,” Spokesperson Kujabi said.

The Police Spokesperson told The Fatu Network that the arrested prison guards are currently held under police custody. They are helping investigators who are digging into the matter.

“I’m not in the position to give the names of the arrested officers,” he added.

The arrested prison guards are not yet arraigned before the courts.

1. Meanwhile, the Prisons Spokesperson could not be reached for comments.

By Adama

The people of Sukuta have called on the government to help upgrade their health centre from minor to major.

They made the request recently during a handing over ceremony of health materials donated by a UK based Gambian held at the health centre.

Speaking on behalf of the villagers, Ousaman Mamakeh Bojang, said the heath centre is among the “biggest health facilities” in the country.

“Sukuta health centre is among the biggest health centres in the country. It is as big as that of Soma, Gunjur and Essau and those have been changed to major health centres. Why no Sukuta now?” he asked.

According to him, the health centre has all the facilities to operate as any other major health centre in the country.

He added: “I think this is the right time for us to stand up and tell the government…especially the ministry of health and social welfare to upgrade our health centre from minor to major health centre, because we have the equipment and the facilities.”

Buba Cham, a member of the village development committee, described health as the solid rock of any living being especially human race thanking the staff of the health centre.

Rose Mendy, a nurse at the health centre assured the commitment of both the management and staff of Sukuta health centre in terms of achieving the goals of the nation in health.

However, on Saturday standard newspaper published that, Alhagie Sankareh, health director for west coast region has announced that Sukuta health centre will be upgraded from minor to a major healthcare.

While, Baba Galleh Jallow, National Assembly member for Sanementereng called on government to provide a referral hospital for his constituency or increase the number of ambulance as the population in the area is increasing.

By Adama

Bulli Sowe, a Gambian based in Turkey and a supporter of Gambia Democratic Congress has said that the  departure of the seven executives members of GDC party was a ‘relief  for the party’.

‘’First of all, if look at all the people that left, some of them are the people that have caused all the headaches in the party, they have been the ones attacking their own party. They are very quarrelsome, they cannot live under the same roof with anybody,’’ he said.

He added: ‘Many people are wondering what must have been the reason for their resignation. But to me I will not miss my sleep just because some permanent political mercenaries left our party and were in the business for personal reason.’’

According to him, these people wanted to hijack the party from Mamma Kandeh and further described them as ‘undemocratic’.

He also said many of them came into the party just to contest for election, adding that once they lose; they leave making reference to Pa Njie Grigara, who contested for  GDC in the 2018 mayoral election.

‘‘Now after we grow older, we will begin to see that after these people left, the party will gain stability and momentum. Last year they were the ones who turned the party into an object of ridicule,’’ Mr Sowe said.

Meanwhile, it could be recalled that seven of the party’s executives tendered their resignations over the weekend in which the deputy leader of the party, Yusupha Jaiteh is a part of.

PRESS RELEASE

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and
Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia wishes to inform the general public that the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, on Tuesday July 24th met the President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, at the Presidential Palace in Nouakchott.

Dr. Tangara was in Nouakchott as a Special Envoy of His Excellency President Adama Barrow. The visit was geared toward further building the bridge of friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation between The Gambia and Mauritania.

Issue by: Communication Unit
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Cooperation and
Gambians Abroad

Alagi Yorro Jallow

A favorite dictum of African politics is that a week is a long time in politics. It follows, then, that three decades is virtually an eternity. This is how long these notable political philosophers, Sidia Jatta, Halifa Sallah and Sam Sarr including some who may be better known for their work in other areas of politics has been at the forefront of the Gambian political scene, mucking in the scrimmages, throwing and taking punches, getting smeared in political mud, and doing some smearing of their own and generally making the whole political scene worth watching and listening to them.

 These political scientists have managed to establish themselves as one of the most promising leaders in this country, a mantle they carry to be political champions of their generation. They have risen to become very vibrant, competent and famous political figures in this country, outweighing the known political heavyweights in their own game, something that propelled them to become the architects of People’s Democratic Organization for Independence and Socialism (PDOIS) and the founding editors of the powerful FOROYAA newspaper. They are a force to reckon with. Those who have tried battling them politically have been met with full force of wits, intellect and political correctness from men who understands politics well.

 We cheered them on when they agreed with them, even going so far as to brand them cross-tribal and socialist. This was so, considering in the Gambia, a politician has not arrived until he is baptized with a name from a tribe not his own. In this sense, Sidia, Halifa and Sam as they were known in the Gambia, arrived a long time ago. The People’s Progressive Party government also lambasted them when they thought they were going astray, though typically this was whenever they defied ethnic stereotypes, corruption and human rights violation to reach across this or that tribal divide. But that means nothing in the Gambia, where a person can be a darling one minute — because he backs your tribesman for high office — and an enemy the next, because he has the temerity to run against another of your tribesmen. That’s just who Gambians are. These political thinkers — People universally refer to them using their first names — has lasted a lifetime at the business end of their political spectrum. But it is now time for them to go.

In recent times, young politicians and some Gambians crawling on social media barely out of their napkins have taken these eminent politicians recently as an opportunity to hurl insults at them. They conveniently forget that the very structures over which they lord, the very country that they now bestride with noisy tweets and Facebook posts and many of the freedoms they enjoy, would never have been possible without the sacrifice of these gentlemen and their contemporaries.

  These men endured years of persecution from the PPP government and under the dictatorship of the Alliance for Patriotism, Re-orientation and Construction (APRC), banged up in detention without trial, to birth the openness and the democracy that we now take for granted, and in whose free air the new political class now hold forth with their salt-in-the-wound rubbing.

In so doing, they come to resemble Chinua Achebe’s unwise little bird eneke-nti-oba, who so far forgot himself after a heavy meal that he challenged his personal god to a fight. Sidia, Halifa and Sam are a yardstick against which to measure the performances of our old and new crop of politicians. They made mistakes — like everyone else — but their virtues far outweighed these. It is this very standard against which we will now judge the fortitude, the fitness-for-purpose, of our new leaders.  They have not begun on a good footing, letting their followers humiliate these men in ways that are decidedly un-African. Like Achebe said, those who mock Sidia, Halifa and Sam should remember that he whose palm nuts have been cracked for them by benevolent spirits, should not forget to be humble. Thank the men and their colleagues for their selflessness and service and let them be.

 And to the doubting Thomases, they have prepared the way for sons and daughters born, sons and daughters who will change the political thinking this country.

It has come to the notice of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia that The Standard newspaper had published in its issue of Monday, 30th July 2018, an opinion piece in its Viewpoint column titled: “Our Gambian embassy in Dakar should be…” Categorically stating in the first paragraph of the piece that the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Senegal should be shut down. A similar story
was carried by Fatu Network in its publication of 29th July 2018, under the headline “Our Gambian embassy in Dakar should be…”

The Ministry is also informed that the same news is making circles in various social media platforms. In light of the above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public that on 8th June 2018, the Embassy of the Republic of The Gambia in Dakar received an email from one Ebrima L. Dampha, who claims to be the President of the School of Business and Public Administration of the University of The
Gambia, requesting the Embassy to provide accommodation for 60 Gambian students in Dakar.

On 9th June 2018, the Ambassador of The Gambia to the Republic of Senegambia, His Excellency Ousmane Ndure, convened a meeting with staff of the Embassy to discuss the email and agreed that the Embassy should look for some hotels in Dakar as requested by Mr. Dampha. On 10th June 2018, the Embassy replied to Mr Dampha’s email conveying that the Piscine Olympique de Dakar was identified for possible accommodation of the 60 students but unfortunately they wanted free accommodation which the Embassy cannot afford due to the limited resources.

It is public knowledge that all exams in Senegal, including Entree en Sixieme(Common Entrance), BFEM (Secondary School Leaving Certificate),BAC (A’ Level)  and even Universities are scheduled to hold at the end of July every year. Therefore, requesting for free accommodation on
campus or at any school during this period is not possible.

The Embassy received both the President and the Secretary General of the said Student Association and were informed that the Embassy does not have the means to provide free accommodation for 60 students. The Embassy advised them to engage institutions for sponsor before venturing into such trip and that hosting 60 students  should be properly planned as it entails so many logistics.

The Embassy further urges the students to prepare a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a twinning with their  Senegalese colleagues in order to formalise the annual study trip and possible exchange visits between the University  of The Gambia and Senegalese Universities. They promised to heed to the advice but unfortunately they went on to circulate unfounded article.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform the general public that Embassies do not have enough resources and are not mandated to provide direct accommodation for individuals on private businesses. Gambians travelling abroad are urged to make their own arrangements prior to leaving the country.

Issued by: Communication Unit
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad

I said I was not gonna say anything…. but who cares…

I joined UTG in 2008 to study a BSC degree in Political Science. The only course in my entire program that focused on Gambian politics (Contemporary Gambian Politics) was never taught in UTG until Dr. Ismaila Ceesay arrived in 2010. This was after many years of trying to convince some of the lecturers to teach that course. No one did. Why? Just like any sector in this country under the past regime, the university was never exempted from the dictator’s grip. Academic freedom was under attack daily. The late Dr. Susso lost his job, not for his teachings or anything else, but because he was a member of a political party.

BANJUL—Justice Aminata Saho Ceesay of the Banjul High Court has dismissed the application of the State to unfreeze some properties belonging to the former President Jammeh at the Tourism Development Areas (TDA) to construct hotels for the upcoming Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit in 2019.

The dismissal of the application was a blow to the State after the AG Chambers failed to win a court decision to unfreeze the former President’s properties at the Tourism Development Area (TDA) for investors to construct hotels for the upcoming OIC Summit in The Gambia.

According to the application of the state, there is an urgent need to construct 10, 000 hotel rooms to host the summit. The application further stated that the alleged properties were illegally obtained by the former President.

The OIC Summit is one of the highly publicised events of the Barrow Administration and is expected to attract infrastructural development and foreign investments amongst others.

The judge said that the court has initially granted the State to freeze Jammeh’s assets for a period of 180 days since in May, 2018 pending on the outcome of the Commission of Inquiry probing into the financial dealings of the former President.

“If the application is granted it will deny the former president the right to his properties which is like shooting one’s own foot,” the judge said.

The judge further stated that the court at this stage is not empowered to discharge or extend its restraint order on Jammeh’s assets because the Commission of Inquiry has not completed its task. She said there is nothing before this court that shows that the former president acquired the properties illegally.

The Gambia’s political party architecture? Top-heavy bureaucracies navigated by strongmen – its “owners”. Weak by design and deliberately set up to dysfunction. The party officials – its apparatchiks, will be expected to play subservient roles to secure party “crumbs” and state appointments. Overlapping mandates: a cacophony. Fundamental structural flaws that cannot simply be cured by “change of guard”. Let’s empathize (not sympathize!) with our political parties. Our political outfits are a mess.

We have not developed serious political parties; what we have are vehicles for contesting political seats and which are trashed immediately the objective is achieved. They do not have branches and offices other than ad hoc groups. None of the parties have validly elected officials. When parties fail the democratic test, as they have done so far, they lose the legitimacy to govern a nation.

A party with “democracy” in its name should ensure that democracy is in its DNA. It must always, project fidelity to its constitution, the Political Parties’ Act and, good manners. After all, the least we expect are ego massaging, fisticuff internal party elections, hand-picking of officials, ejections, dissonance, disarray and, the total absence of concise, coherent and distinguishing party platforms:

The leader of a political party is fashioned in the image of a dreaded demigod, directing the tribe howsoever he wills. The political class lives under pathological fear of the tribal leader. The members follow and support the leaders not because they love him or believe in him, but because they are afraid of him. Where the leader moves become a party, so to speak. The space he vacates ceases being a party. The country is a graveyard of erstwhile popular political parties.

The problem at hand is not party hopping, but the practice of party politics. Political parties in the Gambia are purely vehicles for ascending to power. None subscribes to any ideology or ism. Secondly, party nominations are always a terrible mess. It is worrying when the leaders of major political parties. Push for such an amendment and whip their party MPs to vote for it. Not only are they being insincere, but they are trying to perpetuate dictatorship of party leaders, which is an affront to democracy.

Our political parties are a haven of personality cults, a temporary arrangement of convenience. Hope we learn something from the US election contest. Our politics has regressed to depend more and more on identity rather than policy or ideology.