By Omar Wally

Director General of West African Health Organization, has said that The ECOWAS region has suffered chains of diseases and outbreaks such as Lassa Fever, Rift Valley Fever, Yellow Fever, Dengue Fever, Ebola and others in recent times as well as Non Communicable Diseases that claims dozens of lives each year.

Professor Stanley Okolo, made these remarks Monday (4th June 2018) at the opening of the 19th Ordinary Assembly of ECOAWS Health Ministers underway in the Gambia. ‘All these brought to the fore the urgent need for us to strengthen our health systems as well as our surveillance, preparedness and response capacities.’

According to Professor Okolo, the 47th Ordinary Session of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of States and Governments decided to establish the ECOWAS Regional Centre for Surveillance and Disease Control (RCSDC) with headquarters’ in Abuja, Nigeria.

Prof Okoli, however, said more work needs to be done to make the center fully operational to enable it play its full role in epidemics prevention, preparedness, detection and response in the region.  ‘In the coming months, we will resume the process of filling the remaining positions at the RCSDC and we are keen to attract competent West Africans to support our disease control agenda.’

He said ensuring optimal health of the people in ECOWAS region is a permanent challenge in the face of recurring epidemic and endemic diseases. ‘At West Africa Health Organization, we will not relent on our efforts to surmount this challenge.’  He added that their role is to develop, promote and lead ECOWAS health agenda across the 15 member states and he had the opportunity to discuss the issues with the Ministers of Health of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, The Gambia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo during his courtesy call on them.

Adama Barrow, President of the Republic of The Gambia said on Monday that two terms for the Office of the President should be entrenched in the Constitution.

“A two term for all Heads of State should be entrenched in the Constitution,” President Barrow said.

Barrow, made these statements during the swearing-in ceremony of members of the Constitutional Review Commission at State House in Banjul.

The Constitutional Review Commission has 11 members headed by Chairman Cherno Sulayman Jallow. The members are Hawa Sisay Sabally, Janet Ramatoulie Sallah Njie, Fatoumatta Jallow, Amie Joof Cole, Salimatou Touray, Gaye Sowe, Lamin S Camara, Yankuba Dibba, Dr Melville O George and Yankuba Manjang.

President Barrow in his keynote address emphasized the importance of having a well prepared Constitution that protects the fundamental rights and freedom of all Gambians regardless of ethnic, religious and political affiliation. He added that the former regime has consolidated power to an individual which he said should not be the case in new Gambia.

“This is an important task,” Barrow said.

“The Constitution should be build on nationalism” he added.

The Gambian leader expressed trust and respect for the newly sworn members of the Constitutional Review Commission.

The Gambia’s Chief Justice, Hassan B Jallow explained that the 1997 Constitution needs serious amendments.

“It is important to have a consultation with Gambians,” Chief Justice Jallow said.

“Its a difficult and challenging task,” he added.

Abubacarr Tambadou, Attorney General and Minister of Justice commended the members, saying the time has come to do more work than talking.

“The Constitution should reflect the true aspirations of The Gambian people,” Justice Minister Tambadou said.

“It should be an immortal Constitution,” he stated.

The Constitutional Review Commission Chair, Cherno Sulayman Jallow reaffirmed his commitment to work for the interest of the Gambian people.

“The team and I will perform our duties with consent in accordance to the law,” Chairman Jallow pointed out.

Jallow went further to justify the establishment of the Committee, saying the 1997 Constitution was tampered several times by the former regime.

As required by the U.S. Congress, the United States Department of State released the 2017 International Religious Freedom Report on May 29, acknowledging the commitment of the government of The Gambia towards religious freedom and tolerance.  Selected excerpts of that report follow.

In January 2017, President Adama Barrow announced the country’s return to a secular republic as prescribed in the constitution, overturning a decree by former President Yahya Jammeh that proclaimed the country an Islamic state.  On several occasions, President Barrow stressed the need for continued religious freedom and tolerance, and in February 2017, he appointed a special advisor to the president for religious and traditional affairs.  The President called for continued religious tolerance between Christians and Muslims in the region on various occasions, such as during a meeting with Archbishop Benjamin Ndiaye of Dakar in August 2017.  President Barrow also linked religious freedom and tolerance to investor confidence.  During official events and ceremonies, it was customary to begin with both Muslim and Christian prayers.  In May 2017, Minister of Agriculture Omar Jallow spoke at the 41st Jalsa Salana (Annual Convention) of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at (community) and promised full government protection of that community.

The Gambian constitution provides for the freedom of religious choice, as long as doing so does not impinge on the rights of others or the national interest.  It prohibits religious discrimination, establishment of a state religion, and formation of political parties based on religious affiliation.

Interfaith marriage remained common and accepted. There were continued tensions between the majority Sunni Muslim community and the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. The Supreme Islamic Council (SIC), a religious council tasked with providing Islamic religious guidance, continued to state that the Ahmadiyya community did not belong to Islam, and it did not include members of the community in its events and activities. Ahmadi Muslims stated they were part of Islam and thus should be fully integrated within the Muslim community. The government largely did not become involved in the disagreement between the two communities.

At the embassy’s annual iftar in June, the Ambassador urged government officials and religious leaders to safeguard religious freedom and tolerance and to continue being open to different views and beliefs.  The Ambassador encouraged Sunni and Ahmadi Muslims to practice restraint and tolerance and to allow one another to coexist in mutual respect and acceptance.  Embassy officials met representatives of the Ahmadiyya community and the SIC on numerous occasions and expressed hope for continued peace and tolerance.

The full report, including The Gambia country narrative, can be found online at: https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/#wrapper

State House, Banjul, 30 May 2018– The General Public is hereby informed that His Excellency, President Adama Barrow, accompanied by a high power delegation, will on Tuesday, 5^thJune 2018, travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as part of ongoing preparations for the forthcoming Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Summit.

The next OIC Summit will be hosted in The Gambia in 2019.

While in Saudi Arabia, the President will use the opportunity to perform Umrah in Mecca.

Those invited to see off the President are expected to be at the Airport at least half-an-hour before departure time – 11:00 a.m. – for usual ceremonies.

*PRESS  RELEASE
1st June ,2018.

FROM:Task force

I write with a heavy heart to commend all teachers in the country for their impeccable services to national development even though with perpetual hardship. Furthermore, for the love of our profession and the Gambia at large, the task force urges all its loyal members to patiently continue duties at school untill the third term ends. After several months of consulting authorities for a better living conditions of teachers that yielded disappointment the task force deem it necessary to conditionally call on the attention of the authorities.

Consequently the following points are alarming

1. The task force wishes to express  dissatisfaction and disappointed from government for increasing allowances (transport) of a section (urban) of professionals of the same profession and not considered the other section ( rural)as wel and there is no plans of even considering the other section by government in this fiscal year. We urge the government to pay the allowance with drawbacks. Portion is segregated.

2. The task force resolutions with MOBSE and Gtu has expired and not resolved.

With the above highlights, the task force and the schools commitee are calling on all their loyal members to observe an indefinite sit down strike come **SEPTEMBER*if schools opens first term until the highlighted issues are met by the government and concern authorities then we can go back to the classroom and continue our duty as teachers.

Kind regards.

Cc. GTU
Cc MOBSE
Cc all schools in the country.

Sign: Babucarr Janko
Chairman (Task force)

Those Who know me knows that I am a man of few words. My brother Omar Touray is arrested for uttering foul language towards President Barrow and Lawyer Ousainou Darboe. I received lots of message and calls, I appreciate all you concerns.

Unfortunately or fortunately , I am not my brother, his actions personally are wrong ethically and morally and I condemn such behavior entirely .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-wU-R8Ve5g

On the other hand , I am worried as a citizen of Gambia . I am worried because, with numerous evidences, our government, our new baby government we all fought to install, is growing to be no different than the one unseated.

A leader should soar like an eagle ?, to view at your goals and visions from a bigger and better perspective. With the perspective of a whole country in your view, arresting disgruntled citizens, who have nothing other then empty utterance shouldn’t even be on your agenda.

I found this troubling for a nation that fought 22 years of backwardness and neglect from the rest of the world due to poor human rights record, I found this troubling for the next Gambian, Who may have different views and will not be able to express their views for fear of being arrested !! This issue is bigger then Omar!.

We expect president Barrow and all his leadership to exercise wisdom in leading. A leader will be insulted, castigated, call names etc, you know why ? It’s because you are a leader, you job is to bring all together to work with you in pursuit of your goals and vision for the country we all love, thats how a leader put shame those who call them names, not arresting them .

What Omar did is wrong in our culture and in any descent culture, but as a president, a leader of a whole nation, the respond could have been better.

Sincerely
Musa Touray ( Bala Musa ToRay.)

By Omar Wally

Information reaching The Fatu Network has it that Fabakary Tombong Jatta who was retired Friday June 1 as The APRC  party leader has bounced back.

It would be recalled that Retired General Momodou Alieu Bah replaced Mr. Jatta after his retirement was announced.

However, at the time of going to Press no reason(s) was given as to why Momodou Alieu Bah’s appointment was rescinded.

When The FatuNetwork contacted Bah he confirmed the story.

Dear Editor,

Disturbing revelations has emerged on Chinese trawlers engaged in illegal fishing activity right deep in Gambian territorial waters. The vast majority of boats identified are found to be using ‘bottom trawling’ – an extremely destructive form of fishing which catches anything & everything on its path, illegal under Gambian law, and UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

It came as no surprise that the reason(s) for depletion of fish stock right across the South-China Sea came to a much-maligned habit violating the territorial integrity of Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and every other country it’s found – is the sort of abuse replicated in Gambia and West Africa’s territorial waters by agents of the Chinese state The deployment of tight fishing net-types whilst ramming through the seabed destroying undersea marine life is the primary cause of concern – as dead fish wash up the coastline, littering pristine scenery.

By all accounts, 2018 has turned out to be the great China debate on Gambia’s coastal communities mobilised against Golden Lead. Mr president, local people are crying foul, yet the administration answered with a cold shoulder, indifferent to the overwhelming crime scene. Mounting evidence has piled up backed by toxicology results from reputable sources; how outrageous then government is tight-lipped on a critical environmental catastrophe – exposing Gambia’s economic security to risk.

Pro-environmental campaign group #Greenpeace, has highlighted China’s distant water fishing industry is now the largest in West Africa, operating more than 400 fleet. China’s own Agriculture ministry puts that they produce £340 million each year, thou I suspect the true figure to be double that several times over. In 2015, #Greenpeace further exposed 74 Chinese vessels in prohibited waters falsifying their vessel tonnage, but for a regional naval force with no such technology to police & command the high Sea. As a matter of urgency, the Gambia navy has to advance for expert divers to peek right deep through the sea bed size up the damage & destruction these trawlers are doing in territorial waters.

Home or abroad, Gambians all the time are known for restraint, extend a helping hand to complete strangers – yes, the Gambian way.  The government better start waking up smell the coffee – for I refuse to be colonised twice. Near and far, the public stood united sending a declaration to the people of Gunjur town, fraternise on the issue. If #NewGambia is to mean anything, how then a member of parliament is to turn against his constituency for a little less profit of an arrogant ‘Golden lead’ causing much injury to an entire coastal region – the sad case of Kebba K Barrow!

According to maritime estimates, over 70% of China’s boats in Africa are harvesting the Seas off the Senegalese coast, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, and the Gambia. A UN report also documents decades of intense exploitation of West Africa’s Seas by all states operating in the area, have resulted in over 50% of fishing resources overfished. Local communities are crying foul, but for a government muted on injustice – How outrageous the Gambia government dare punish the people of Gunjur, and Kartong or Faraba for standing up for ‘rights’ – all charges ought to be dropped if the justice system is to measure up credible!

The Minister for Fisheries, James FP Gomez, visiting Golden lead factory ought to be mindful, learn from history. Cruising through the seaside town calling protesters criminals has overstepped portfolio & an insult to those of us advocating national interest. Imagine then, hypothetically, the fate of a Gambian company operating in china engaged in criminal act – not only will it be closed-down never to see the light of day again, but a court case topped up by stringent financial penalties. How foolish then, ‘Golden Lead’ is let off the hook scot-free, raising a flag on prime beach location – adding salt to injury.

Writing on #UKGambia social media, Tony Ceesay opined that, ‘the question to consider is production for exchange vs that for need. The former, he said, is based on the possibility of extracting maximum profit or value from production. The way profit is generated is to pay the minimum possible for the resources (fish) and the labour to obtain and transform it into fishmeal – as seen with the owners of Golden Lead making a fortune out of a helpless local community. The alternative, Ceesay points, is ‘Production for need, for a robust domestic industry; that Gambia reduce its food imports and a need for livestock and poultry food supplements. That could be financed through social formats where the widest possible number of local people have a stake in the company, i.e, Cooperatives, partnerships or Village Development Committees (VDCs)) rather than distant private shareholders without a clue what Gambia is all about. Production for need creates local employment that cannot be outsourced, open-up supply chains & unleash entrepreneurial drive – Plus, the money retained in the economy, stimulating economic growth.

The ‘Coalition government’ should embark on an industrial policy strategically designed in practical terms that enables local Gambians to be the main creators & owners of jobs and wealth for the economy. You’ve to wonder why China need to export such vast quantities of fish in exploitative manner, the true (economic) picture of which cannot be captured in dalasi terms. It is estimated that staff aboard a China Fujian Distant Water Fishing ship earn up to RMB300,000 (£35,000). Similarly, Western fishing trawlers are also at it, posing a significant challenge in Gambian waters – instark violation of sovereignty rules.

The Gambian people will soon come to the realisation that China’s new roads & donor cheques cannot develop the country. To compete and excel, and to ensure sustainability – requires critical thinking & vision from the political class & intellectuals alike. Let’s change the way we do politics, and to inject a little humility into the mix – facing up to demands and challenges expected of great 21st century leadership.

”Why degga degga, maan dayy waaruna chii ngurrbii” – showing contempt against its own for merely questioning callous behaviour. Where are Gambia’s ‘Health & Safety’ standards, or the guardians of it, in Environment Agency (NEA). If the government is incapable of action against ‘Golden Lead’, stuck in the pocket of their paymaster generals in Beijing, at least try fake it. That, they have gotten quite good at – accustomed to luxurious surroundings, counting all the way to the bank.

Gibril Saine

By Musa Bah

We have had three successive governments since independence. In all three, corruption has been the bane that kept us from achieving our developmental goals. Corruption has been like an octopus, spreading its tentacles everywhere and poisoning our fabric. It has – and continues to – destroy our resources all for selfish and individualistic benefits. No one seems to be able to escape its evil.

During the first republic, it became so rampant that it was almost accepted as a norm. This foretold of future upheavals which actually became. In January of 1994, while I was still a school going boy, I told one of my aunts (who is still alive by the way) that I foresaw a military takeover in this country. It was like some crazy idea to her. Seeing that the former president was universally loved, seemingly, she could not bring herself to believe that some Gambians will muster the courage to mount a coup d’état against the then government.

You see, it was not a prophecy, but an observation arrived at by a most gullible schoolboy at the time. That is how corrupt and decadent the government was then. The modus operandi of the then president was to punish any official known to have been corrupt or committed an act of malfeasance by reshuffling the government and transferring said individual to a new post. This in effect was simply saying: you’ve stolen enough from this department, go to the next one.

Thus, when in July 1994 Yahya Jammeh and a few other military personnel overthrew the government, my aunt called me to her house and asked if I had somehow received some hint from these soldiers that they were planning a coup d’état. “No,” I said, “I have just been observant of the goings-on.” The other reaction – this time of the general public – was of joy and hope. We all jubilated that now we will have a government that actually cared about the wellbeing of its people. Boy, were we in for a surprise!

A military with a difference! That was their motto and we naively bought into it. When they marched under the rain, holding hands and headed to the then McCarthy Squire, we all hailed them as the political and economic messiahs of the nation. We thought that they would come and wave a magic wand and lo and behold! All problems solved. They were the panacea that never was! The Algali Commission was set up and it exposed a despicable level of corruption and malfeasance that had hitherto fore never been seen. We tuned into GRTS every evening to listen to the tales of horror, as it were. Where did it lead and where are the monies recovered by the Assets Management and Recovery Commission (AMRC)? Ask me again!

On the corruption, loot and gross malfeasance of the Jammeh government, one has only to tune into to GRTS or QTV as they broadcast the proceedings of the Janneh Commission to be informed. The amount of money being mentioned and said to have been looted and destroyed is just too painful to delve into here.

Just yesterday, while I was watching these proceedings, I heard that the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) lost over sixty million dalasis in revenue because the former president had ordered that some villages in Foni be supplied with electricity but no metres. This meant that those villages enjoyed twenty-four hours electricity supply without paying a dime while the rest of the nation was plunged into darkness. What effrontery!

On 1^stDecember 2016, we said we had had enough. We said that we wanted to take back our country and usher in a government that will be for the people. We hoped for a government that will be forthright with the people, a government that will work for the good of one and all and not just for the pockets of the leaders. That was how we came to the presidency of Adama Barrow through a Coalition government.

One and half year on, we are back to square one, so to speak. It is strange that the Gambia Revenue Authority – the body that generates our income – is as corrupt as ever before, or so it seems. It is said that when one goes to the major shopping centres and big magazines, one is issued with an invoice instead of a receipt. I was told that this is so that when the officials of the GRA come, they would not know how much sales have taken place and thus the nation loses the tax that was supposed to be paid from those sales. Those amounts thus go to the foreign businessmen/women, mostly Lebanese.

But another person told me that the money doesn’t only go into the accounts of those foreigners; but, is usually split between them and the GRA officials who knew aforetime that the magazines issue invoices instead of receipts. This is unfortunate indeed. Well, these are all allegations as at now but I think the government of President Adama Barrow owes it to the citizens to investigate these allegations, so we know for a fact who is robbing us, if indeed it is going on.

A month or so ago, it was reported that some immigration officials took close to a million dalasis from tourists who had entered the country via a yacht. It was reported that they shared this money amongst themselves and it was reported to the Ministry of the Interior. Some people were said to have been called in for questioning, but up until now, we have not heard anything about it. These things should be made public – very public indeed – to serve as a deterrent to others.

There is also a rumor that the president has constructed a mansion in his home village of Mankamankunda; that there are now streetlights everywhere in that village. The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs is also said to be constructing two giant storey buildings in his hometown of Bansang. What marvelous news!

Well, supporters will say that these two people were already rich before coming into office. That might as well be true, but the question is this: why is it that with all their wealth, it is only now that they are in office that they decided to build these magnificent buildings? It sure looks suspicious, doesn’t it?

In the Wolof Language it is said, “Ku ndobin rey sa maam soo gisee lu nyuul daw”. The corruption and malfeasance of the previous two regimes has taught us to be wary of anything that looks like looting. The government must understand that perception is important in politics. Well, this is the perception of many in the general public. Now, the onus is on you to clarify or prove otherwise.

We must build a more transparent Gambia for our future generations. Remember, we did not inherit this country for ourselves; rather, it is a trust we must bequeath to our children!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

First, some three youths were arrested in Gunjur a fortnight ago and then charged with bogus offences for standing up to the obnoxious Golden Lead factory in their community. For many days now, scores of youths in Faraba have also been arrested and detained and then bailed for their determined stance against industrial sand mining in their community. Now there is news that Amadou Scattered Janneh and many more youths have also been charged with the same bogus charges for uprooting Golden Lead pipes clandestinely buried under the beach to dump waste in the ocean. These actions by the Police are utterly unacceptable and unhelpful.

It must be noted that until the change that Gambians registered in December 2016, several individuals, families and communities had their lands taken away from them by the Despot Yaya Jammeh with impunity. That regime had also given licenses to many extractive industries to mine and farm in the Gambia against the interest of the host communities. We can all recall Carnegie Minerals in Sanyang as well as clandestine mining in URR, not to mention Golden Lead itself which came to Gunjur during the period of the dictatorship. The continued festering of Bakoteh Dumpsite and the threats against Monkey Park must also not be forgotten.

Since taking over, the new Government is expected to review all of these companies and their activities to ensure that community interests are protected first and foremost by ensuring that these companies do not engage in unethical practices and that the environment is protected to guarantee the survival of present and future generations. Until Golden Lead came to the Gambia, this country has never witnessed large amounts of fish being dumped on the beach including dolphins being swept ashore. Therefore any reasonable person should be concerned that such occurrences are taking place now.

The environment and the resources and means it provides for human beings to live and earn a source of living are an integral part of economic, social and cultural rights. These rights are guaranteed by the Gambia Constitution in Chapter 20 under Sections 215, 216 and 218 as Directive Principles of State Policy. Furthermore international law has guaranteed these rights in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that the Gambia had ratified since 1978. Therefore the Gambia Government has obligation under national and international law to protect the economic, social and cultural rights of citizens.

The situation in Gunjur and Faraba as well as the Bakoteh Dumpsite or the case of Kololi including the proliferation of housing estates where lands and natural resources of communities are taken away for private benefit is a major cause of concern. Most of these cases find their roots in the APRC Dictatorship. Hence Pres. Barrow must not remain silent and ignore these happenings. We must not take these cases as a mere law enforcement issue and therefore the police can handle them.

Pres. Barrow must be told that these economic, social and environmental issues are in fact in the heart of the peace and stability of this country and our failure to address them urgently and constructively could potentially destabilize the country.

Human rights experts and development thinkers have noted that economic, social and cultural rights including the environment concern the basic social and economic conditions needed to live a life of dignity and freedom. It is these rights that provide and ensure durable livelihoods, social security, health, education, food, water, healthy environment and practice and survival of culture. Social, economic and cultural rights are based on the fact that human dignity would be compromised if these rights are not fulfilled. Therefore international law requires that governments take full steps in ensuring that their citizens have adequate conditions to live a meaningful life.

What we are therefore seeing in these communities is a direct threat to the present and future abilities of these communities to live decent and healthy lives as well as obtain a decent and unfettered source of livelihood because of the activities of these private businesses. It has been recognised that the disregard and contempt of human rights have been one of the major, if not the leading factor that compels human beings, to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion.

The happenings in Gunjur and Faraba are not a police matter. Subjecting community members to arrest, detention and trumped up charges will only delay but will not and cannot prevent an eventual uprising by the rest of these communities so long as private businesses continue to unduly benefit from the natural resources of those communities. These actions by the police will only threaten the peace and stability of the community and the Gambia as a whole eventually.

The solution to this matter is therefore a political one where the president must take the lead. Pres. Barrow must summon all the necessary public agencies as well as all of the affected communities to engage in a dialogue to find a lasting solution. These communities have a genuine concern that needs the full attention of the Head of State. The youths and other members of the community engaged in this matter are not foolish men and women without any purpose in life. Hence the Government must not take the matter as a criminal affair by some irate folks.

The incidence of private companies, local or foreign, exploiting natural resources in communities to the detriment of the people is an factual reality all over Africa. The reason there is war in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is the same reason why folks in Gunjur and Faraba are standing up. It is the same reason that communities in several African countries are also engaged in all forms of violence in response to the operations of companies while their governments remain indifferent. In most cases the government is indifferent because these companies bribe public officials.

Pres. Barrow must be told that he was elected for a purpose which is to correct the wrongs of the past and usher in a new democratic dispensation in the country. His government had passed a transitional justice law and has started the process of setting up a truth commission. The fact that these steps were taken is a recognition that many wrongs were committed against individuals and communities in this country by the former government particularly in the area of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. Hence when some of those wrongs now manifest as social, economic and environmental issues, what is expected is for the Government to take urgent steps to deal with them politically and not through law enforcement.

If the police have to involve it must only be to restrain community members where violence is likely to erupt and maintain law and order. But the police must not go further to arrest, detain and charge citizens for a matter that is a political issue primarily and not a criminal matter. The folks involved in these cases are not clandestine but open and visible. They are not armed and they have not been releasing violent statements. Hence this matter is not a criminal matter. It is a political issue that requires a political solution for which the intervention of the president and all of the political resources of the State and society are necessary, i.e. including the National Assembly, Area Councils, governors, religious and traditional authorities, community elders as well as youth leaders.

Drop all Charges. Free the Youths of Gunjur and Faraba. For the Gambia, Our Homeland.