The man behind Julakay Company, Ansumana Marenah known as “Julakay” has appeared before the Commission of Inquiry probing into Faraba Bantan incident at The Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.

The Faraba incident has caused the death of three youths leaving several others injured.

Julakay who testified in Mandinka said he first acquired a Mining License in 2007 from the Geology Department with approval from the National Environmental Agency. He added that her later renewed the license in 2017, following the advise of the former Secretary General, Dawda Federa.

“I was advised by the Geology Director to seek the consent of the villagers before any mining activities,” Julakay said.

“I met the Village Head (Alkali) of Faraba who summoned a meeting in the presence of Lamin Star Bojang, former Works Minister, Council of Elders and some VDC members,” he added.

The former Jammeh associate and financier of APRC Party said he made agreements with the villagers to rehabilitate their road, build a market for women, buy cash cash power for the village borehole as well as relocate and fence the football field.

“I gave D35, 000 Dalasi to the village head for the development of the village mosque”

Abdoulie M Cham, Director of Geologyl Department also testified before the commission. He was asked to provide the initial License documentation of Julakay Company after saying that the company was issued License in 2007. He could not provide the documents.

The Kombo East Chief, Babucarr Sanyang was next to testify he said he knows nothing about how Julakay acquired his mining documents. Julakay was first introduced to him by Jung Conteh, former Chief and MP of Kombo East. He confirmed attending a meeting at the Ministry of Local Government with the former IGP, Geology officials and Faraba elders to resolve the crisis.

Chief Sanyang said the village youths attacked his house and destroyed his properties equivalent to D375, 000 Dalasi.

Nuha Kujabi, Alkalo of Faraba Bantang said Julakay informed him about the license, saying he wanted to have a meeting with the villagers. The meeting was attended by the Chief, VDC Chairman and Council of Elders.

“Julakay brought D15, 000 Dalasi with Kola nuts to the meeting,” Alkalo Kujabi said.

He added that the village has signed an MoU with Julakay to deposit D100, 000 Dalasi, a quota of the mining income but failed to turned up to a meeting called by the VDC regarding the environmental damages caused by the mining.

“This angered the youths and they condemned the mining of the quarry”

Alhagie Sanyang, VDC Chairman refuted the D100, 000 Dalasi Agreement with Julakay, complaining that further mining of the quarry would suffocate the rice cultivation and cause erosion. He explained the visit of the National Assembly Select Committee on Environment to the quarry. The Committee promised to communicate to Julakay and Geology Department.

“Three days later Honourable Suwaibou Touray, head of the Committee informed us that they met Julakay who responded that only Geology could stop him because they issued him a license,” Chairman Sanyang said.

“Julakay continued on his mining operations”

The VDC Chairman said he was called on June 18 while at work about the riot between the PIU officers and the village youths.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

President Adama Barrow’s political ambition is so reckless, it borders on being poisonous. His latest predicament teaches us that however badly you want something, never, ever, show people that you are desperate to get it; even if you are desperate. The reason the anti- Barrow Youth Movement for Development brigade is gathering a massive storm is because everyone is beginning to sit up and ask themselves why this guy is so madly in love with drunken power he wants it so badly and through whatever means necessary. And if you consider the damage he has done with the little power he has been given in the past two years, people are beginning to wonder how much more pillage he will do if he got the full serving in 2021 and beyond.

The red flags are beginning to be flown, and whenever that happens to a politician you know he is about to get into dangerous uncharted waters. And if he is not careful, he will burn his fingers bad.

Gambians must forget the pedestrian nonsense about “hustlers” propelling President Adama Barrow to state house in 2021-2026. Adama Barrow’s candidature is framed on a pre-existing alliance between section of the United Democratic Party militants, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) supporters and the middle-class elites in the Gambia and those in the Diaspora. It is foolhardy to imagine that Adama Barrow can win the United Democratic Party votes if Ousainou Darboe and the UDP supporters decide to go against him.

More so if Adama Barrow is seen to be vexing the rural elites with his “Youth Movement” directly attacking the UPD militants: For that reason, Adama Barrow has never directly attacked UDP. Most often with his “Youth Movement” and the political patronage Adama engages appears to be engaging his political father, vice president Ousainou Darboe in shadow boxing through his “unofficial” and sometimes poorly gifted political strategies.

To become President, you need the State working for you, not against you. I heard people saying that President Adama Barrow and his political God- father Ousainou Darboe are building a “war chest.” People also say President Barrow is determined to form his own political party and contest elections after his current mandate. Adama Barrow and Ousainou Darboe have two problems, the factory of their war chest is within the realm of the republic and that no “war chest” equals the State’s carte blanche to collect taxes. There has been, in the past, equally determined, hardworking candidates, with great reach across the Gambia and who spent millions on their presidential aspirations, but such ambition did not see the light of day.

Adama Barrow is the only candidate that has managed to break the State “ceiling” because of the 2016 grand coalition that brought most of Gambian opposition and civil society activists together, in unity, to end 22 years of entrenched dictatorship. Ousainou Darboe could have easily won against Yahya Jammeh in previous elections, but Yahya used the State resources, deployed the divide and rule charm (read money) within the ranks of Gambians especially certain politicians, religious groups and civil society groups, leading to the fielding of divided presidential candidates to the advantage of Yahya Jammeh.

Adama Barrow is the kind of candidate that is solely focused the 50+1 threshold and nothing more. Pulling “this tribe” together with “that tribe” to achieve that threshold. His presidential ticket will not be “revolutionary” like that 2016 grand coalition but President Adama Barrow is equally loved and loathed in many places, just like Ousainou Darboe and any other politician.

Being predictable is a bad thing in politics. The main reason Ousainou Darboe has long survived in Gambian politics is his rare ability to be enigmatic. No one can read Ousainou Darboe’s next political move, there is no school such political artistry that taught you must be Ousainou to study Ousainou Darboe. That’s what Adama Barrow lacks; the patience of a hungry lion watching a herd of buffaloes from his vantage position in the savanna, picking the weakest link in the herd and pouncing when least expected.

When you are hungry for prey and you run all over the grassland chasing after anything that walks, you give your prey easy time to take advantage of your desperation to gang up and take you out of the ecosystem once and for all. In politics, as in the jungle, the predator that does not have the patience to time its prey always ends up starving to death. Adama Barrow should start watching his weight, because very soon there will be no prey to catch.

Science says that it takes a lot of energy, skill and tact for a marathoner to sustain a race from the front of the pack. The reason the IAAF introduced pace-setters in the marathon race is because they wanted elite athletes to be assisted to lower world records. The reasoning is that you cannot lower the world marathon record by beginning from the front, and so the World Athletics body started paying a bunch of road-runners to set the pace in front for the guys following them to keep up, after which the pacesetters would fall off and leave the elite runners to dogfight to the finish line.

That’s precisely the point Adama Barrow should learn here. When you are the guy everyone is struggling to chase, you must have a set of three lungs and the poise to keep your head even when everyone around you is losing theirs trying to catch you up. But Adama Barrow being Adama, he will damage his lungs struggling from oxygen debt and run out of steam from the beatings he shall be receiving all over the place. I am not saying Adama Barrow will be damaged goods before 2021, but when you are running a full marathon like a sprinter, you know your lungs are about to collapse, and you will have yourself to blame.

President Barrow needs to watch how Cheetahs hunt their prey in the jungle. Wildlife researchers put the cheetah top of the list of the jungle master schemers. The cheetah is the fastest animal on land. On its day, a cheetah can run faster than a speeding bullet, science built its body for speed. But this superior ability comes with a major drawback. A cheetah can only sustain that speed for short times meaning that before he begins to hunt he has to be ready to get his prey before he starts to run.

To do this, a cheetah stalks his prey until they are as close as they can get, then they kick it into high gear. A gazelle knows that if he outruns a cheetah in the first 100 meters of the chase, he has won the competition and saved his life. Because a cheetah’s brain is smaller than a pea-pod and if they keep running at 100 meters per second for long distances, they risk suffering brain damage and dying during full flight chasing a meal that has already beaten it for pace.

The Barrow Youth Movement politburo, especially the young, restless greenhorns like Dou Sanno and the Diaspora wing of the movement should be more tactical in their politicking in support of President Barrow’s 2021 campaign bid. If they insist on taking the current path, Adama Barrow’s presidential ambitions may evaporate before 2021.

 Unlike his predecessors Yahya Jammeh was known to constantly pursue his detractors using ALL available levers of the State power. Yahya cracks the whip, and it pours. He has occasionally and ruthlessly so, exploited the coercive power of the State to banish his political “enemies” in times when he felt his leadership was acutely being undermined.

Yahya Jammeh exploits the “unhindered” power of the State, using a ruthless carrot and stick approach, with constant harassment, intimidation, arrest and persecution thereafter, has succeeded in placing on a permanent “inactive” mode of activist, politicians and Diaspora clicktivist who tweets short sentences with “big” English words, far from home, somewhere on the Streets of chilly Seattle and London. If push comes to shove, Adama Barrow has no qualms in flexing his muscles and removing any stubborn surrogate or member of his Youth Movement. In his final term Adama has no obligation to be nice. Not even to his cat. He may or not be seeking re-election any time soon.

In so doing, the President Barrow is attempting preempt early political campaigns as he embarks on solidifying his legacy in his first term. Many supporters of the President have the view that pre-mature 2021 elections jostling may undermine his authority as President, as politicians his supporters will be trying to “replace” him even before a significant part of his first term expires.

The President of the Republic Mr. Adama Barrow has told the people of Niumi that his government has developed specific projects that will deliver to the Gambian people from now against 2021 when his five year mandate would have ended.

Responding to concerns raised by representatives of Lower Niumi, who lamented severe delays and frequent break downs of the Banjul-Barra ferry service, the President revealed that his government has a permanent plan for the crossing point: “Discussions have reached advanced stage to construct a bridge over Banjul-Barra crossing that would last fifty years. The foundation stone will be laid in 2019 and works will take four years to complete’’.

The bridge, once complete, would enable the capital city of Banjul to connect with Barra and the rest of Niumi to Amdalaye into one big city, he added.

The President and delegation on Monday began a 10-day tour of the country that will witness him holding over 44 meetings across the length and breadth of the country. He was seen off at the country’s naval base near the sea port in Banjul by cabinet ministers and the Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Lowe. On the North Bank, the delegation was received by Governor of the region, Ebrima Dampha, traditional leaders and community representatives.

The President used the opportunity to outline his vision for a new Gambia and the position of the region of North Bank in the same.

“My government will implement over 40 development projects under the NDP financing. I ask you to have a check list to assess my government based on these projects when we come here in 2021,” he told a meeting in Essau, North bank region, where hundred turned out to discuss development matters with his delegation.

The graveled, crater filled, winding, Bunyadu-Kuntair road that span from Barra-Kerewan Highway was also among the President’s plans for the Niumis, and a part of a 1000 kilometers road network planned to be implemented within the four years span.

Funds have been secured for the construction of 25 boreholes that would provide water supply to 85,000 people across the country. The Africa Development Bank also approved funding for the provision of 60 other boreholes per year in The Gambia. “In four years, we would deliver 140 boreholes across the country,” he told them.

The President also explained that through a youth-initiative that seeks to enhance youth participation in national development, he was able to secure financing for 60 mosques and 48 horticultural gardens across the country.

The fisheries sector, through government’s licensing programme also provided 626 jobs for the Gambian youths as inspectors, the president said, adding that plans are advanced to build 18 hotels within the four years that would also provide 6,000 jobs to the youths.

He therefore called on the Gambian youths to actively participate in national development.

Information reaching The Fatu Network has it that mosquitoes have increasingly become a major problem in some part of Brikama Primary School in the West Coast Region.

According to reliable sources, some students could not attend lessons without buying mosquito coils to repel the parasites.

A visit to the school has confirmed some of the alleged complaints. There is an abandoned toilet behind the Grade 2 Block that is a breeding space for mosquitoes.

One parent told this medium that the matter was brought to the attention of the Headmaster to engage health officials to spray the mosquitoes but to no avail. The passersby use the school toilet through a fallen fence at the back.

“We are looking for sponsors,” one woman said.

The Headmaster of the Primary School was not available for comment.

The Brikama Primary School is one of the oldest schools in the area attended by high profile personalities in the persons of the former VPs Isatou Njie Saidy and Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang and some prominent Governors, MDs and Directors.

Health, it is said, is wealth. A healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Every government should make the provision of quality healthcare delivery a priority to ensure that it nurtures healthy and good citizens who will work to bring about the development of the country. This is when we will be able to build the necessary strength and expertise to improve the lives and livelihoods of the people.

However, Mr President, at the moment our healthcare delivery system is not at all in good shape. Sources close to the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital have decried the very poor quality of services at the hospital. There are so many things which could have – should have been – basic tools for the proper functioning of the hospital and are not there at all.

It is said that there is no CT Scan at the hospital at the moment. Thus, when someone needs to be scanned, it is either the individual is brought to Serekunda Hospital or there won’t be any possibility of him/her getting that for a proper diagnosing. It is said that the CT Scan machine that was available has a problem and it’s been months and it’s still not repaired.

Again, another serious problem at the hospital is that there is no x-ray service and as such,if there is a patient who needs to be x-rayed, there will be no way to do it except sending him/her to Serrekunda hospital. This definitely puts a sick person to too much inconvenience. It means that doctors will find it hard – if not impossible – to diagnose certain ailments. Consequently, Mr Ppresident, some Gambians might die – might have died – due to the fact that there was no way to properly identify their ailments and treat them.

Reports also have it that some individuals within the hospital administration have been defrauding the hospital by buying half of the fuel they were supposed to buy and pocketing the balance in cash. This is extremely horrible and whoever is responsible should be investigated and brought to book. Corruption is bad in all circumstances but when it is at a hospital it means direct loss of lives of ordinary Gambians. It is high time we took a firm stance against malfeasance.

Unbelievably, it has also been reported that even cotton was once completely unavailable for a period of as long as two months. One can’t wrap one’s head around such a thing happening in our hospitals. Of course, there are private hospitals in the country where one can get all these, but how many Gambians can afford the charges of those private hospitals?

Another unfathomable happening at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital is the periodic lack of oxygen. It is said that sometimes one cannot get oxygen for certain usages in treatment. It is indeed worthy of concern that at our age (I mean as a nation) we can still lack something as basic as oxygen in our hospitals. Government should work to ensure that these problems are tackled as soon as possible because we cannot afford to keep losing Gambians lives to these difficulties.

Have a Good Day Mr President…

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Alagi Yorro Jallow

Mamudu: It’s intriguing how smart and passionate the ordinary Gambians gets when it comes to debating the Constitution, arguing for the rule of law and beyond the polemic against fraudulent electoral laws yet surrenders the same smarts and excitement when it comes to the things that oppress them the most. I’m talking about the hoi-polloi ordinary Gambians, not the so-called middle class or the intellectual pundit who eats three meals a day.

Poverty is the foremost biting injustice suffered by thousands of same ordinary Gambians, many rising and retiring daily in unspeakable squalor, thousands with that constant fear of where to get the next meal or how to pay rent or what if that sick child won’t survive the night or what will happen if people find out that my church-going wife or my ‘veiled  or hijab’ wife is the same night-time sex worker at Jankeh Wally in Tallinding,or around  at Senegambia area in Kololi who feeds our families through prostitution. And a lot of same said ordinary Gambians in squalor are graduates too.

Mamudu: This level of poverty is a crime, is a crime, is a crime. There’s a class of people in charge of the instruments of political and economic power who have cultivated it, enabled it for their own benefit, and they know it. There’s a greed virus in their minds that tells them there isn’t enough for everyone, and a stupidity virus that makes them sit contentedly on the fat fruit-filled branch of the tree while the people at the bottom angrily saw off the trunk of the same tree, so they can get to the fruit.

The greed and stupidity viruses make this class of leaders do bizarre things like steal thousands and millions not in local currency (the Gambian Dalasi) but in foreign exchange (the US dollar, euro and the pound- sterling) from public coffers, meanwhile the people with ethnocentric virus still vote them back in. This class of political leaders’ signs bad contracts through corporate gluttony and the people celebrate them for bringing development which they could never afford to enjoy. This class of leaders swats off smart thinkers who are trying to empower ordinary folk because these thinkers are like flies buzzing around their meat.

Deep inside you know there’s something very wrong with the whole setup. So, what do you do? You decide you’re too powerless to do anything about it and you choose to claim spiritual superiority. You dish out Quranic verses everyday just to convince yourself that your situation is somehow willed by Allah and Allah will reward you with a mansion in heaven. Your shallow self-serving man of the cloth tells you not to question those Allah has put in power, however oppressive they are. You conveniently choose to believe this manipulative lie because it supports your pathetic prejudices.

Mamudu: Allow yourself to be smart for your own good for once; not for someone else’s gain. If you’re languishing in poverty, having worked hard to no avail, sent hundreds of resumes as a graduate and never found a job, lost everything you had, fell off the cliff of experimental capitalism and split your head because there was no welfare cushioning to catch you, wake up to the realization that you’re both the victim and willing participant in the ongoing game of profits at any cost that results in the kind of sick society you live in.

Mamudu: If you’re religious like most Gambians, for show or for real, then start looking for those Quranic verses that talk about truth and justice and ridding the land of wicked leadership. You don’t need to worship those in power when they are not giving you the opportunity to thrive; heck you don’t need to worship them at all. Stop preaching Hadiths, and verses of the Quran about not uncovering your inebriate father’s nakedness when said father sits on immoral wealth while thousands languish in abject poverty.

Instead, embrace those who open your eyes. Practice the religion that empowers you. Say aloud, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” / “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan”. These are inconveniencing truths that prick the comforts of your anemic tribal nationalism, but they are medicine.

Mamudu: You say- but the groans of the people are being caused by that political leader who wants power at any cost! You’re getting mixed up over who the wicked leader is in “when the wicked rule, the people groan”. The ruler is the person who has control of state machinery – military, legislative and economic instruments of power. The “Dictator” who is zealously followed by many only has people power, which comes with the opportunity to shape history, but this person is not the ruler; he/she can be crucified in a minute.

Following the circulation of about four leaked whatsapp audios between former President, Yahya Jammeh and memebers of his Alliance For Patriotic Re-orientation and Construction (APRC) party, The Fatu Network has gathered that The Gambia Government is working towards criminalizing contacts with the former president.

According to highly placed sources, considerations are said to be in high gear to start working on this. Here is what The Fatu Network is told the act will look like.

“Any citizen of The Gambia, or person, entity, organization, registered or unregistered political party, association or other group in The Gambia who for any reason, objective or purpose gives to or receives from former President Yahya Jammeh any gifts, monies or materials in any form whatsoever whether directly or indirectly commits an offence under this Act”.

Once this is put in place, those who speak to or receive gifts from Jammeh will be punished by the law.

In one of the audios making the rounds on social media, former president Jammeh could be heard telling his new party leader, Fabakary Tombong Jatta that he is working on something and that once that is finalized he will hear back from him. He was also heard giving directives to Jatta to expel two members of the party, those directives were later carried out by Jatta.

Meanwhile, The Fatu network will follow this story for you.

By Lamin Fatty

Members of the Gambia Fire and Rescue Services have continued to express total resentment and displeasure over what most of them described as indiscriminate and unfair deductions from their salaries. They questioned the deductions when they (junior officers) do not even have risk allowance considering the nature of their work.

The firemen could not fathom why anything for whatever reason should be deducted from their paltry pay package, which to them, is obviously nothing to make a song or dance about compared to the great risk involved in their job.

The Management of the fire and rescue services was alleged to have made deductions of D350 from the salaries of the officers which starts last month for possible overseas treatment. They are also deducting D100 since 2010 which the fire service authorities say was meant to recover Bus fares, CUG charges and the police canteen. The angry staff say such deductions are illegal since they are not benefitting from these schemes.

Some of the firemen said, the management went round the various stations informing them of the said D350 deductions which they flatly rejected. They however raised serious question claiming that they were not duly informed before the commencement of the deductions.

Following all these aforementioned issues, the PRO of fire and rescue services was on capital FM as a host to discuss the welfare of the firemen. Callers among them some firemen decried of the illegal deductions. The fire service authorities are leveraging on the fact that firemen cannot openly protest. The PRO was since removed and redeployed to Brikama fire service.

Speaking to me PRO Muhammed Drammeh confirmed his removal but did not know why he was removed. Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports intimated that, those firemen who took part in the talk show would be transferred to the provinces.

One of the firemen who spoke with this writer and wish to remain anonymous was visibly angry at the decision of the fire service authorities to arbitrarily deduct their salaries without their consent. He said; “Please tell them to return our money and stop any further deduction from our salaries. We are not interested in any possible overseas treatment. How can they forcefully deduct our money for an ulterior motive when we are not interested? Why should they continue to cut our pay that is not even enough to take us home? The chief fire officer should forget these deductions and work towards ensuring an improved salary package for us. Of all the security agencies in the country, firemen are the least paid.”

At the time of putting these reports together, group of firemen surrounded me to express dissatisfaction over these deductions which they described as unrealistic. They cited various instances where there colleagues either died or incapacitated in active service.

One fire officer told me that their colleague Corporal Ansumana Drammeh was shot following the land dispute in the border village of Jahanka. He is since languishing in hospital with no overseas treatment. Where is the justification for the overseas treatment, queried the fire officers. They also cited another incident where another colleague Lamin S Bah was knocked down by the car whiles mounting a checkpoint near Gambia College. In both cases according to fire officers, they have not received any support from the fire service management. They lamented the risks involved in their work and cited an incident during which one of their colleagues died in an inferno at Kanifing.

At the time of going to press, there was no response from the management to the outcry of the firemen.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

There are reasons to celebrate the “July 22 Revolution” and remember President Yahya Jammeh in a simple way. This may be with national prayers in churches and mosques to heal and reconcile a divided and polarized nation, to move on from the whole aspect of nation-building, or to give it a more positive outlook and more positive understanding, whether it can best be described as amoral not immoral, but amoral in the Gambia’s history. The Gambian people are not blind to the darkness and oppression of the Yahya years.

Although controversies and unsolved cases marred Yahya’s 22 years rule, what will also be forever engraved in The Gambia’s history are his contributions in infrastructure development. Infrastructures were built that were unprecedented in the history of our country that provided a venue for Gambians to highlight cultural heritage, propagate arts and culture, generate tourism, improve and contribute to economic growth.

Remembering the “July 22 Revolution” might speed up the process of reckoning. This can start with the retelling of the horrors: the knock on the door before dawn for an arrest without warrant, the rape, regular beating, and water cure, the cigarette burned through flesh, the wires attached to genitals and breasts for mild electric shocks.

The struggles are worth retelling. It is the responsibility of those who lived through those difficult days to keep the memories alive for the future generations, to ensure that the abuses are not repeated. Those who dared challenge the dictatorship often paid the ultimate price. This is worth celebrating, as democracy has endured despite numerous attempts and persistent threats to civil liberties. The greed that gave rise to the word “dictatorship” has been tamed. The systematic violation of human rights is over.

Beyond the physical horrors, there was the insatiable greed for power and wealth, with the dictatorship confiscating opponents’ businesses and handing these over to cronies. As the nation is seeing, the alleged amassed wealth is mind-boggling, with 86 bank accounts, 131 movable and immovable properties, and $50 million in accounts alone, impossible for a salary of 22 years. Basically, the thrust of remembering this day is moving the nation forward from just looking back at what has happened in the past and encouraging everybody to cooperate in nation-building.

Yet, President Adama Barrow’s revolution is unfinished. Corruption remains rampant at all levels of government and democratic institutions are weak, including the police and judicial system, which has failed to make anyone accountable for the abuses of President Jammeh except the “NIA Nine” and the few “Jugglers”. Millions have not been recovered in ill-gotten wealth, and no one has been sent to prison for amassing such wealth.

According to Freedom House the Gambia’s political rights rating improved from 7 to 6 dues to Adama Barrow’s victory in the December 2016 presidential election but the regime shows little respect for personal rights and civil liberties, there is urgent needs for improvements.

The cumulative outcome and costs of President Jammeh’s dictatorship are incalculable. He was not content with simply being a president who had been reelected to four terms of the Gambian presidency. However enormous, his plunder of the nation’s wealth is only one of the costly consequences of his evil rule.

During his 22 years in power, the Gambia fell far behind several neighboring countries in West Africa in the pursuit of development, becoming “the basket case” in the region. Democracy was destroyed, the economy was in ruin, and a cul¬ture of corruption, violence, and cynicism arose.

Hundreds of Gambians were killed, imprisoned, tortured, or displaced from their homes and communities, or they simply disappeared without a trace. Also, with impunity, women were raped and degraded by the military, police, and other criminal elements known as the “Green Boys” and the “Jugglers”.

President Jammeh’s economics of debt-driven growth was disastrous for the Gambia. His regime was not interested in inclusive development, long-term state-building, or the genuine social transformation of the country, despite its “Vision 2020 Blueprint” rhetoric. Instead, President Jammeh was mainly concerned with perpetuating his personal hold on power by favoring family members, friends, and other cronies.

Thus, he simply created new elites or “oligarchs” rather than abolish them — supposedly one of his main justifications for dictatorial rule. Those who dared challenge the regime’s monopoly on power whether politicians, businesspeople, political activists, lawyers, farmers, the urban poor, journalists, or students — young or old, rich or poor — were intimidated, imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured, or summarily executed.

Section of Gambians have branded President Jammeh as merciless and even a criminal, true, but let us not forget the achievements of Jammeh’s administration before everything turned sour. It’s not always easy to see the good despite the bad, particularly because there are events which happen that we may never fully understand. The infrastructures that Yahya’s administration has left us is a reminder that we should all start building something good despite hard times. A good foundation with the right maintenance can lead to productivity

In his one of his speeches, he made a promise to make the nation great again and in a way, he did. Infrastructures were built that were unprecedented in the history of our country that provided a venue for Gambians to highlight cultural heritage, propagate arts and culture, generate tourism, improve and contribute to economic growth.

A lot of Yahya’s infrastructures today still stand like the Gambia university, Gambia Radio and Television Services, and other infrastructural developments, Kombo Coastal roads networks bridges, schools, the Supreme Courts complex and amongst others, because the people behind these infrastructures still believe that the mission of either providing a venue for performance, giving aid to the sick and connecting people is not over. Until now, these infrastructures continue to help our economy in their own aspect. Some of them are recognized landmarks that help sectors of the economy like the real estate market by increasing the value of homes or properties nearby or accessibility to establishments.

Today, the Gambian people must refuse to forget the atrocities committed by President Jammeh’s regime, and we renew our demand that the perpetrators of these crimes be brought to justice. We also reiterate our position that the government of President Barrow should relentlessly pursue and reclaim all the ill-gotten wealth accumulated by President Jammeh’s family and its cronies. Moreover, the victims and their families should be given justice and compensation in full. Any call for unity, reconciliation, and forgiveness, which bitterly divided the country, will be empty and meaningless unless truth and justice are upheld.

The Gambian people must affirm their commitment to telling the truth about the horrors of President Jammeh’s dictatorship so that it can be remembered as one of the darkest periods of the Gambian history.

The Gambian people must reject the argument that democracy does not work in the Gambia and that only a dictatorship, benevolent or otherwise, can bring our country to prosperity. We must instead encourage and harness the full democratic capacity of our people and institutions to progress as a nation. Although inequality and injustice continue to persist, we believe the solution to these problems lies in deepening our democratic institutions and practices, empowering the marginalized, and exacting accountability from our leaders and ourselves.

I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the attempts by some individuals and particularly public figures to whitewash President Jammeh regime’s wanton violation of human rights and to distort its political and economic record. I call on all our politicians to take a definite stand on the abuses of President Jammeh’s dictatorship. I challenge them to join our call to never again allow the conditions of tyranny to take root in our society. I demand that candidates who directly or indirectly participated in and benefited from the regime apologize and, if necessary, make restitution for their role in the regime or their support of it.

I joined the Gambian people aspire to keep alive the ideals and heroism of the many brave Gambians who fought the regime. For as long as we remember and share these stories, and I believe that future generations of Gambians will learn the lessons of the years of struggle leading to the defeat of the dictatorship during the People’s Power Revolution on December 1, 2017.

The fullness of democratization, especially the creation of a political and socio-economic order, which respects the dignity of all Gambians, has yet to be achieved. It is our responsibility now to continue and complete this unfinished struggle and start with the truth

Vanity. Unpatriotism. Idiocy.

The APRC conversation between Yaya, Yankuba and Fabakary is not only rude and immoral but also highlights the misfortune that befell a nation that was led by such a bunch idiots for so long!

Commissioner Lala Camara of The Gambia Police Force has called on the authorities to create equal opportunities for female officers in the service.

Commissioner Camara made these statements during a courtesy call on President Barrow by the police high command on Friday at State House, Banjul.

“We have only one female police commissioner in the entire force,” Commissioner Camara said.

“We are looking for equal opportunities,” she added.

Commissioner Camara told the authorities in the presence of the President, Vice President and Interior Minister that the female officers are equally good as their male counterparts in the service. She calls for the promotion of female officers in the police force.

Meanwhile, she also talked about the Female Police Network that endeavours to promote the welfare of female officers.

The newly appointed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mamudou Jobe together with his team paid a courtesy call on President Adama Barrow on Friday at State House, Banjul.

The new IGP Jobe whose former boss Landing Kinteh resigned after the Faraba incident said the forum is historic for it has never happened in the country for over 30 years. He called Commissioner Omar Darboe to highlight some of the constraints facing the police force.

“We the police have been neglected for 30 years,” Commissioner Omar Darboe said.

Commissioner Darboe spoke about the lack of communication material, touring vehicles and salary increment as part of the constraints facing the force. He also spoke about lack of human resources and police protection amongst others.

President Barrow commended the police delegation, saying the meeting is very important but also explained his surprise that such meeting has not happened for 37 years. He added that the police is very important institution for nation building.

President Barrow advised the police command to maintain discipline and good conduct within the police force.

“Leadership is a shared responsibility,” President Barrow told the police.

Barrow emphasized that the diversity of the country should be a strength, saying that the common factor that binds them is that they are all Gambian citizens.

“Everybody is equal as far as the new Gambia is concerned,” he said.

“Security is paramount in nation building,” he added.

President Barrow called on Gambians to respect the rule of law and protect patriotism. He said people should not misinterpret democracy to disrespect other people’s rights.

“No one should take the law into their own hands”

The Gambian leader also told the security command to protect the new found democracy and nurture it.

“We cannot reverse to the old way of doing things otherwise it will defeat the purpose of the change we achieved,” he said.

He revealed the discussions his government has made with the Saudi authorities that they would start partnering with the Saudi police. He added that the Gambian police high command will be traveling there.

Ousainou Darboe, the new Vice President also advice the police to remained apolitical and refrain from tribalism.

“Your loyalty should be to the state,” VP Darboe said.

Meanwhile, he warned them to refrain from taking sides and to remain neutral.