The Fatu Network has been reliably informed that The Gambia Government has issued a ‘Prospecting Licence’ to local investors to do research at The Badari Mining Area in the Upper River Region URR.

Photo Credit: Sainey Marena

According to Government sources, the licence will allow local investors to look into the possibilities of mineral deposits in the area.

“These are prospecting licence, it is different from mining license,” a source told The Fatu Network.

“If there is any mineral available then applications for licence will be opened,” he added.

The country’s former President Yahya Jammeh was personally involved in the mining sector during his term particularly heavy sand mining at Sanyang, Batokunku and Badari but the one at Badari was allegedly used for gold mining which was not officially confirmed at the time.

Jammeh went into mining operations at Badari based on the information he gathered from the communities within the area but could not find what he expected.

Meanwhile, government sources went further to refute allegations of heavy sand mining at Sanyang which they said stopped since 2016.

The Cabinet of The Government of The Gambia, in a meeting chaired by the Vice President, May 10^th approved and supported unanimously a recommendation by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) for the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure to issue a content service provider (TV) licence for Muslim Television Ahmadiyya.

Cabinet also approved the ratification of the 1994 Agreement for the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  By becoming a party, The Gambia would join 150 countries that would have a say in the authorization of seabed exploration and mining.

A tax exemption was also approved for the construction and installation of 25 solar powered water supply systems in the five administrative regions of The Gambia.  The US$3.4 million project is part of an MOU signed between the Government of The Gambia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in April 2017 as part of the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources drive to providing potable water.

In a bid to curb inappropriate management of fishing practices which continue to endanger ecosystems, fish habitats and further diminish economic returns, cabinet endorsed the decision of the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources to acquire two fisheries inspection vessels.

Cabinet also discussed and approved for the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to consider an offer of a price of 240,000 Euros by the West Africa Aero Services Sarl for two small airplanes belonging to the government of The Gambia.

For More Information:

Contact: Demba A. Jawo, Spokesperson of The Government of The Gambia

Email: [email protected] Tel: 437 8028/ 437 8000

The ruling today by The Gambia Supreme Court that sedition as stipulated in the Criminal Code is constitutional is indeed frightening, disappointing and annoying.

Sedition first emerged in England in the latter part of the 16th century as a political and judicial weapon against intellectuals who were raising critical issues about freedom, democracy and the power of the monarch. Before sedition, the monarch had already created the offenses of treason to contain rebellious elites, clergy and the privileged class while martial law was also created as a weapon against commoners. Hence sedition is the final complement of draconian laws used to protect the monarchy from scrutiny and accountability and to place it beyond and above citizens.

In a monarchy such as 16th century England, the sovereignty of the people resides in the king. Hence it is understandable to have such an obnoxious offense as sedition in a monarchy so that no one questions the king.

But in a democratic republic the sovereignty of the nation resides in citizens and the government derives its legitimacy from the people. This is what The Gambia Constitution states in Section 1 subsection 2.

Furthermore the right of Gambians to express their opinion about their president and his government, rightly or wrongly, pleasantly or unpleasantly as well as to petition the president and to participate in politics to oppose the president are clearly stipulated and guaranteed in the constitution.

The presence of sedition laws therefore directly and clearly violate the spirit and letter of our constitution which purposefully intended to establish a democratic republic and not a monarchy.

Therefore to have our Supreme Court now stamp that sedition is Constitutional is indeed a very backward and a politically motivated decision that can only produce dictatorship once again in our country.

Not long ago the ECOWAS Court in which The Gambia is a party ruled that sedition laws in The Gambia are inimical to democracy and a civilized society. The supreme courts in Nigeria, Uganda and India among many had long since ruled that sedition is unconstitutional in a democracy.

This ruling by the Supreme Court therefore serves only one purpose: that is, to elevate Pres. Adama Barrow and his government above the will and power of Gambian citizens to scrutinize. The Supreme Court has now confirmed that no Gambian citizen has the right to question the president much more to disagree and criticize the president.

This means the Supreme Court has just told us that the President of the Republic of The Gambia is a monarch! Anyone who says this is indeed committing a treason because such a statement means the sovereignty of The Gambia does not reside in the people of The Gambia. The Supreme Court is saying that the President is the sovereign in The Gambia. That is treason!

All citizens must resist this ruling and demand that this Supreme Court review it’s decision or those judges who hold this decision to resign. They do not represent the supreme interests of The Gambia. Their ruling clearly indicates their intention to lock this country into a dictatorship forever and ever!

For The Gambia ?? Our Homeland

Madi Jobarteh

The United States Ambassador to The Gambia, C. Patricia Alsup on May 9 presided over an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) workshop in Banjul, using the opportunity to reaffirm the United States Government’s commitment to restoring and expanding its trade links with The Gambia.

The AGOA workshop was organized in partnership with the Gambia Investment Export and Promotion Agency (GIEPA), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  The workshop symbolizes the genuine desire of the United States Government and its various agencies to help The Gambia and the local private sector access the large and highly lucrative U.S. market.

Ambassador Alsup enjoined The Gambia to take advantage of exporting local products that can enter the U.S duty free under AGOA.

She remarked: “The Gambia should be able to export nuts, fruits and juices, but the products need to be properly developed and branded and packaged. Efforts should be made to export processed rather than raw products to the U.S. to increase the value added.  We urge the government of The Gambia and the private sector to enthusiastically tap into all AGOA channels to increase bilateral trade with the United States.  We know that The Gambia is open for business and we are too.”

The U.S. Ambassador said The Gambia’s AGOA eligibility reinstatement is a testament to improved bilateral relations between Washington and Banjul and their mutual desire to see democracy, human rights, and economic prosperity flourish in The Gambia.

“The two sectors that have the greatest immediate potential to benefit from AGOA in The Gambia are the fishing industry and the apparel and garments industry.  Gambian fish was already being exported to the U.S. under AGOA prior to 2015.  Now it’s time to refocus, get back on track and pick up where you left off,” she urged.

AGOA provides Sub-Saharan African countries the opportunity to export a wide range of products to the U.S. market duty-free and quota-free.  AGOA covers an expanded list of 6,400 products from Africa, including handicrafts and footwear, fish and fish products, textile, and apparel, which are some key items produced by The Gambia.

The Gambia lost its AGOA eligibility in 2015 due to human rights abuses and the deterioration of the rule of law.  Three years later, the decision to reinstate The Gambia’s AGOA eligibility is a recognition of all the progress made by The Gambia under leadership of President Adama Barrow to strengthen the rule of law, improve human rights and support political pluralism and democracy.

BANJUL, The Supreme Court of The Gambia has today declared laws on sedition, false publication and broadcasting as constitutional and necessary in a democratic society.

The five panel judges presided by the Chief Justice further declared the laws on criminal defamation and false publication on the internet as unconstitutional. The two decisions made by the court brought mixed feelings to the members of the media fraternity.

Moments after the court decisions were delivered the Secretary General of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), Saikou Jammeh, posted on his Facebook page.

“The Supreme Court’s decision is bad news for New Gambia, outrageous and unacceptable. The Gambia Press Union is committed and will consider measures seeking to overturn the decision by the court on laws used to suppress free speech and restrict the freedom and independence of the media,” SG Saikou Jammeh said.

“There is good news though. Criminal defamation and false publication on the internet have meanwhile been declared on unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” he added.

The President of The Gambia Press Union, Emil Touray has expressed the same feelings as his Secretary General.

Meanwhile, there is mixed feelings amongst those in the media fraternity of the tiny West African country.

Our police are enduring a general lack of respect from the public. Cases of disrespect toward our police are reaching shocking levels. Focus must be fully on reversing the trend. I’ll be first to back such effort.

I feel upset about it. Last month we had a recalcitrant student of law at the University of The Gambia who was arrested after he took pictures of a team of police officers on patrol. He obstructed them from performing their duty. They asked him to stop, he refused. That this idiot continued his show of disrespect even as he was taken into custody still weighs with me. There are similar other incidents that deserve our sincere denunciation.

The police are here for one simple reason: to keep us safe. This is a hugely important job in any civilized society. Security remains the first and the last essential for any serious government.

While it is right that the reputation of our law enforcement authorities was battered for much of the past two decades, there role has changed since the Barrow government came to power.

I have worked with the police and I can tell you this: it’s decent and law-abiding citizens who make up Gambian police. I can also tell you that these people who have their country at heart. Their service is to their country.

I don’t want to be too patronizing but that they are diligent about their job is the obvious, towering fact. What they might have achieved if they had all what they continue to need must necessarily be a mere matter of speculation.

And about the odds, we know the average Gambian police constable receives 1,500 dalasis salary every month. What is a man who gets D1, 500 monthly salary? A nobody?  To some, yes. Yet, these men and women do the job that they do. And they often do it with zeal.

I will misrepresent the facts if I said our police are performing their duty of keeping us safe to our expectation. But that is not because they have refused to do so. That’s down to capacity. They will tell you. If they don’t then a little find will go a long way for you.

Meanwhile, people will tell you how well police and other enforcers of the law are respected in other countries. There’s a general show of respect for the police all the time. In The Gambia, it’s different. People have a general knack for despising law enforcement.

It’s more common among young people. Nowadays, all hell breaks loose if a group of young boys are arrested for smoking cannabis. We have seen it in Bakau. Even women were beating police and drug law enforcement officers as they tried to arrest a group of boys caught with drugs.

We often demand that our rights be protected as citizens. But we often fail to ask ourselves the question, ‘On what basis should our rights be protected?’ Our rights have to be protected, I’ll admit. But it can’t obtain in an environment where there’s a breakdown of law and order.

To every right there’s a responsibility. It’s time we all took responsibility for our actions. You can’t be someone who doesn’t believe in law, someone who goes about disrespecting our police and other law enforcement officers and expect that your rights be protected. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t know about you.

The thing is it’s not like before. Our police are now treating us with respect as they go about the demanding, risky job of maintaining law and order. We owe them respect, too.

Lamin Njie wrote from Serrekunda. He can be reached via email at: [email protected]

The National Environment Agency, NEA in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources, and the Ministry of Information will convene a press conference on Wednesday, May 10, to shed light on some of the enviromental considerations of public concern.

According to The NEA, the dialogue will center on issues surrounding the Golden Lead Factory in Gunjur, Agua Waste Treatment Center in Kotu and The Monkey Park Located in Senegambia.

Information reaching The Fatu Network has it that President Adama Barrow earns D2, 040, 000 Millions a year, ($46,000) a source at the Personnel Management Office disclosed.

It is reported that former president Yahya Jammeh’s salary was removed from the budget to hide it from the public.

The Fatu Network is privy to the salary scale of President Barrow’s executive including the Vice President and Cabinet Ministers with their per diem allowances for overseas travels and night allowances.

According to information gathered at the Personnel Management Office, the Vice President earns D562, 116. 00 Dalasi per annum ($12,500) while Cabinet Ministers earn D351, 996. 00 Dalasi per annum ($7,800)

According to documents privy to The Fatu Network, the per diem allowances for overseas travels and night allowances for local travels of the Vice President is pegged at £350 per day. The ones for the Secretary General, Ministers and Speaker of the National Assembly, Chairman PSC, Chairman National Planning Commission are pegged at £300 per day.

However, the Deputy Secretary General, Secretary to Cabinet, Chairman IEC, Ombudsman are pegged at £250 per day while Permanent Secretaries, Governor Central Bank, Director Generals, Chief Executives, Managing Directors, Ambassadors, Auditor General, NAMs, CDS, IGP, Director General NIA, Executive Director NDEA, Commissioner General and Chief of Protocol among others get £230 per day.

The officials on Grade 12 and below are pegged at £200 per day, Drivers and Orderlies get £130 per day, night allowances for all grades is D650. 00 per night.

It is reported that there is no per diem for the First Lady in the budget but the former and current First Ladies are getting per diems.

There is a Special Committee for Overseas Travels that screens overseas training with the exception of political delegates.

Meanwhile, there is growing concerns over the frequent overseas travels of government officials in the Barrow Administration.

The United States Department of State has recently released its 2017 Human Rights Report, recognizing that The Gambia’s democratic transfer of power has resulted in “significant positive changes in the human rights climate.”

The democratic transfer of power (in 2016) resulted in significant positive changes in the human rights climate. Among President Barrow’s first acts was the release of 171 prisoners from the state central prison, a majority of whom were political prisoners.  National Assembly members repealed the state of emergency declared by former president Jammeh during the political impasse a few days after Jammeh flew into exile on January 21.  The new administration made several significant efforts to create a more conducive environment for freedom of expression.  The Justice Department conceded that the country’s sedition law and some provisions (pertaining to criminal defamation and false publication on the internet) of the country’s internet law were unconstitutional.  The country previously enacted legislation making both female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and child marriage illegal, although deep-seated cultural norms made the full eradication of these practices difficult. Several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies actively publicized the newly introduced laws in local communities.

Proceedings continued against nine former officials of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) charged with the torture of protesters arrested in May and April 2016 and the subsequent killing of Solo Sandeng, an official of the UDP party; as of November their trials were underway. The government took steps towards establishing a Truth, Reconciliation, and Repatriations Commission (TRRC), led by the Ministry of Justice, to probe human rights abuses that occurred during President Jammeh’s administration. The National Assembly unanimously passed a bill in December that formally established the nine-member TRRC and outlined its composition, objectives, and functions. Also in December, the National Assembly passed a bill establishing an independent National Human Rights Commission.

The most significant human rights issues included: harsh and potentially life threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests; lack of accountability in cases involving violence against women, including rape and FGM/C; trafficking in persons; and child labor.

The government took steps to prosecute or punish some individuals who committed abuses.  Nevertheless, impunity and the lack of consistent enforcement remained problems.”

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

The Fatu Network has been reliably informed that some of the Presidential Advisers Appointed at the Office of the President (OP) such as the Security, Special and Youth Advisers alongside dozens of other Advisers at various Ministries are not captured in the government’s budget.

The Ministry of Interior is the latest to appoint a former Inspector General of Police (IGP) as Adviser to the Office of the Interior Minister.

According to sources at the Personnel Management Office (PMO) their salaries are not also captured in the government’s budget.

The PMO confirmed the appointments of only three Presidential Advisers and they are the Political, Religious and Business Advisers. The three advisers combined earn a basic salary of D887, 994.00 annually, which is a monthly salary of D24,666.5 for each of them.

“Nobody should be in the government system without his/her salary being in the budget,” a source told The Fatu Network.

“None of the Advisers to the Ministers are in the manpower budget,” he added.

Sources further revealed that most of the Advisers at the Office of the President including various ministries are using government vehicles, coupons and per diem among other benefits at the expense of poor tax payers.

“I don’t know who is paying their salaries,” he asked.

Recently, Mr Demba Ali Jawo, Minister of Information okayed the appointment of advisers at his monthly press briefing with local journalists. He said advisers facilitate weekly updates but does not explained whether the government is paying their salaries.

Meanwhile, the appointment of so many people in the Foreign Service without adequate resources was also raised as another concern.