Baba Fatajo, the general manager of the national energy company, Nawec, has confirmed that negotiations are at an advanced stage for the country to source electricity supply from Senelec, the national electricity company of Senegal.

Nawec has been struggling with old generators and limited financial resources. It is owed hundreds of millions of dalasis by consumers including public enterprises.
Fatajo said the initiative which is expected soon is a familiar agreement among many African countries who rely on one another for energy.

“If Senegal has an excess in energy, they can supply and if we also have an excess, we can supply them,” he told The Standard.
“The deal is very likely. Discussions are on and hopes are very high because both utility companies are very enthusiastic about it.”

The energy that is going to be outsourced, Fatajo said, will be used in powering rural Gambia.
Nawec currently covers only 42% of the country. Although there have been many expressed intents of investment, analysts say its debt liabilities was a put- off.

On Tuesday, Interior Minister Mai Fatty told journalists that the move is part of initiatives aimed at normalising the erratic water and power supply being experienced at the moment in most parts of the country.

Fatty said the energy outsourcing will in particular help The Gambia’s rural settlements, while the government works on the issue of old generators to normalise water and electricity supply and distribution throughout the country.

Source: Standard Newspaper

For Progress….

For the progress of our nation [which has been ravaged by consistent mismanagement for the past twenty two years by a brutal and despotic dictatorship] we need to make some hard decisions which may not be very popular in the short-term; but will yield great results in the long-term. But you are the one who can usher us into the Promised Land seeing that you have proven to be a democratic leader, and the fact that as per your Coalition MoU, you will not seek reelection.

Mr President, in order for you to succeed and leave a good legacy for posterity, you need to put in place sound economic policies. This can be done by looking for good short and long term financial plans. Key among these is the revitalization of our agricultural sector which was actually ignored – or manipulated and monopolized by the previous president – to pick up again. I’ve learnt from one of the leading experts in this country [with surprise, I might add] that the rice produced in this country if managed properly, and the production enhanced a little bit, can feed this country without having to import any. That is marvellous! Please, Mr President, can you look into this and make the necessary adjustments and arrangements for us to take advantage of this? Perhaps the Think Tank that has been so much talked about can render the necessary advice on this point.

In order for this and other ventures to be of benefit however, we need mechanisms to curb and eradicate corruption. Here a Wolof proverb comes to mind, Ñii di gas ñii di suul coow lai bari waaye pax du am,’ (Some digging and some burying, lot of noise but no hole). So, we need to set up a very strong anti-corruption commission. Corruption was endemic in the past two previous governments and thus it will take time, energy and tenacity to curb it. There is a need to set examples that this government will not condone any form of malfeasance. There needs to be arrests, prosecutions and imprisonments to send this message home. This is of extreme importance otherwise all efforts for economic progress will be defeated.

In addition to the above, we need a strong, patriotic, and dedicated workforce to backup any progress achieved as a result of the growth that would be realized from the economic policies. For this, we will need a very progressive, development-oriented education system. The current education system has failed us tremendously as it has only succeeded in producing more out of job graduates. This education system did not take into account the development needs of our country. I do not want to go into the nitty gritty here but let me just give an example. Look at the job market in the country, at least in the area of skilled labour, majority of the people doing this work are foreigners. We need our sons and daughters to have an education which will enable them to take over those jobs. What is the essence of having students who can pass all their exams with flying colours but cannot do anything, when they cannot deliver on the job? We need to look at this properly.

The education system needs to inculcate patriotism, hard work, dedication and pride in our country. I would even go further to advocate for the doing away with examination as a way of measuring the level of intelligence of our young ones. Or at least change the way it is done. Instead, the system should seek to identify the interest and talents of each student and encourage them to pursue what they can, and want. In this way, we will close the gap in the skilled work sector in our labour markets quickly. A plus for the economy.

Finally, we need strong leadership which will not shy away from taking the hard unpopular decisions. That is why nurturing our democracy is vital. If our government is truly democratic and observes the Rule of Law, then taking those decisions will be that much easier. For this reason also we need to encourage citizen participation. Government, as it is said, is participatory. This is why we need strong institutions, strong Civil Society Organizations which will always keep government and its officials on check. This will ensure that everyone in the country has a stake in the advancement of the country. With all these in place, within a short time we can turn the tide and move from the status of poor and underdeveloped country to a middle income country and from thence, developed.

This though requires hard work, dedication, perseverance and the willingness to make hard unpopular choices. We pray that Allah grant you the courage and vision to take the country to the Promised Land.

Have a Good Day Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

By the provisions of the Income and VAT Act 2012, GRA is probably the most powerful law enforcement agency and that is why it could close down a company with immediate effect for non-payment of taxes. Hence the action GRA took against the Daily Observer is not outside of the law but within their powers. However I think the timing and circumstances of this action are cause for concern, simply because the target is a media house. I think both GRA and Daily Observer could have employed smarter leadership and innovation to better address the issue. Now that GRA has closed the company which can last for only 14 days, what happens next if at the end of that period the Daily Observer fails to pay up and in full?

The fact is that the Daily Observer was deliberately faulting in its tax obligations simply because Yaya Jammeh was behind the company. That is the only explanation for the Daily Observer to operate for so long and accumulate so much tax arrears without any direct action from GRA. But it is also the same Yaya Jammeh Factor that also explains the reason that GRA was not able to act on its full powers all these years. I am sure if we look into KGI or Kanilai Farms and the many businesses of Yaya Jammeh, one would find that they are also not fully compliant with their tax obligations. During the Yaya Jammeh Tyranny, it is clear that GRA would dare not close down the Daily Observer otherwise heads will roll at Revenue House like a football!

Hence when we reach this stage we must recognize that both the Daily Observer and GRA had responsibilities by law but both of them failed to fulfill their obligations fully at the right time because of the Dictatorship. The Dictatorship protected the Daily Observer while it disempowered GRA. The fact that the Daily Observer accumulated 17 million dalasi in tax arrears attests to that. Why didn’t GRA hit them when their liabilities were 2 or 5 or 7 or 10 million dalasi? Why wait until its D17 Million?

In light of that, I do not think GRA should therefore close down the company even it will last for only 14 days as per the law. My view is that GRA should engage the company to agree on a payment plan and other measures just to ensure compliance. A worse case scenario would have been a temporary taking over of the company and placed under a caretaker management until their tax issues are fully settled just to make sure the newspaper does not stop operating.

Closing down a media company for non-payment of tax is not a popular action around the world. There are many governments that have used taxation as a means to close down media houses, not because of their failure to pay tax but because they do not like those media houses. Hence there are many regional and international declarations that call on governments not to use taxation as a means to close down media houses. Thus this action by GRA could bring undeserved and negative focus on the Barrow Administration even if the intention was not to clampdown on the media. The use of tax and business registration laws to close down companies perceived as government opponents is a common practice around Africa and in such countries like Russia or Turkey and many others. Hence when it happens anywhere, it raises eyebrows regardless of the reasons behind it.

Remember that in 2011 Yaya Jammeh set up a bogus Tax Commission to witch-hunt some lawyers, accountants, insurance companies and other businesses. Many lawyers and accountants challenged the findings of the commission but it was clear that the regime was merely using taxation to settle political objectives. I am not saying the current Government is using the same tactics. But we must recognize that closing down a media house for whatever reason has a direct link to freedom of the press, which is guaranteed in Section 207 of our Constitutions. And what is standard in the world is that no government should close down a media house for tax issues.

If GRA pursues this action in this way, it could lead to the total closure of the Daily Observer, which would raise the question as to, how therefore would GRA ever get all the arrears paid? If we recall when AFPRC came to power, they used both the law and might, without any consideration to pursue and close down many companies and business people just because of taxation and other administrative issues. What resulted in the end was that many businesses closed down while many people fled. People lost their livelihoods and families suffered. Thus we must learn from that past. There have been many anomalies in every sector of the Gambia thanks to the APRC Dictatorship. If we wish to solve all those issues with the full and uncompromising application of the law, then the collateral damage will be huge.

Let us remember that the Daily Observer predated the AFPRC and APRC. It was a glorious media house that contributed immensely to democracy in the Gambia until that Infamous Day came on 22 July 1994. First Yaya Jammeh deported the true owner of the company Kenneth Best in October 1994. Since then he intruded into this property until he occupied it unlawfully. He messed it up so much so that we do not even know the very owners of the company today. But Observer has fellow Gambians who work there to earn a living with their families. We cannot ignore those humanitarian concerns. Thus I think we must pursue other alternative means to ensure that the media house does not close yet it is guided to fulfill its tax obligations in full.

Since Yaya Jammeh deported Kenneth Best and illegally occupy this company, I have never been a fan of the Daily Observer. I even despise the newspaper more today as it continues to celebrate Yaya Jammeh despite the atrocities the Dictator inflicted on the newspaper itself. That notwithstanding, I would wish the Government follow the paper strategically so that we can unravel the intrusion of Yaya Jammeh in order to return this once noble newspaper back to its rightful owner Kenneth Best. My concern right now is the ‘intended or unintended’ impact of this action on freedom of expression and the media in the country.

In this regard, I would urge the Minister of Information Demba Jawo as well as the Gambia Press Union to intervene to see how to bring the Daily Observer and GRA to a table to discuss the way forward. In other words how can we save the newspaper component of this company such that the media does not suffer because of the gross irresponsibility of the company managers?

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

Wonders shall never end. Particularly in the Gambia. Definitely. I do not get it. Criminalising the innocent and sanctifying the villain. How could we hasten to heap tons of dirt on the leadership for the wrongs of others? That is neither freedom nor democracy. If the truth be said. Just because the press has to be protected by upholding enshrined freedom of speech and press regulations, the latter can defraud us and be protected? Not in my world. For 12 years, the management of Daily Observer press knew by law it has to pay tax in order to be operational yet it condescendingly refused to comply despite time without number. Now GRA is exercising its duty, we think it is trendy to castigate it. Very convenient. If anyone should care about the dozen of the paper’s staff is its management. If they had complied with their taxes, we would not be having this discussion today. This attitude of wanting to be relevant by endeavouring to protect the unprotected does not augur development and justice. It further makes us relax with irresponsibility and corruption. Even if Goloh Ajumah owns it, as responsible and good citizens, the Observer management should have ensured that they pay their taxes. How can we as conscientious citizens hasten to protect those who rob us of our lifelines? Government should not only close the paper but repossess and auction it to recover all monies the paper owes.

We want Gambia to be a city state desk on solid institutions of good practice and governance. But that cannot be attained if we remain u just to ourselves. No matter how you loathe a person or system be objective and fair in your dealings with them. If we are really serious about holding our leadership accountable, we must invest in developing ourselves first to understand how and what is required of us. Some of us don’t even know what constitutes a government and how it operates yet we strive to be its moderator. To be a driver, one has to learn to drive first. Others just flow with the tides in order to become relevant and be seen of men. Attitudinal change is all we need to make Gambia a Dubai of Africa. How many of us when avail the opportunity will resist enriching themselves at the expense of the rest? Are we willing to sacrifice our time and resources to help develop the country? If it takes to institute an Anti-Corruption body to curb corruption that says a lot about us. How about our attitude to work? Public properties? We love our country yet we steal from it. What kind of love is that?

I am keeping it brief. My readers complained of my articles being long. You see I listen and value your opinion.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

Ear to The Ground….

I have said before that I am very impressed by your willingness to lead a democratic government and do it in an exemplary style. You have shown to the whole world that the Gambia has a democratic president who is indeed very progressive.

I read in the newspapers that you have promised to speak out more often, and that the Ministry of Information will map out ways of communication between the government and the general public. This is indeed a great move.

This is what should happen, Mr President, we voted for you to do a job for us and therefore it is important for you to find out how we want you to do that job and do it like that. You have shown us that you have your ear to the ground and that you listen to the voices of the Gambian people. Kudos!

This shows that at least you do not look low upon us, the ordinary citizens, like your predecessor used to do. When the population talks about something repeatedly and over a long period and yet the leadership keeps quiet, it shows lack of respect for the people. You did not do that, Mr President.

However, there is one last thing that we have repeatedly heard Gambians complain about and we still haven’t heard any action taken about it by your government. This is the issue of your Number Two. Mr President, the office of the Vice President is still vacant and reportedly being overseen by the minister of Women’s Affairs. We need you to appoint a substantive vice president. Once you do that, your cabinet will become complete.

We are waiting to hear you say something about that.

Have a Good Day, Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Alagi Yorro Jallow

At present, it would be unimaginable for any Gambia government officials operating under the orders of their bosses to lawlessly close or burn newspaper offices or radio station, as was the case under previous regime of Yahya Jammeh. Instead, the Tax Offices in this contemporary era serve other purposes such as to shut down media house under the guise of enforcing the law for reported failures to pay tax.

If a man is accused of a crime, do you hang him and wait for the judicial system to sort out whether he, did it? The question seems farcical, but that’s the situation facing the Gambia’s daily paper, The Daily Observer. How much tax arrears the paper owes? Was there any judicial review and notice to the proprietors?

Gambian Government closure of The Daily Observer newspaper is a disturbing development clearly designed to silence critical media voices. The shutting down of one of Gambia’s main independent newspapers is an affront to media freedom and the authorities should immediately reverse their decision.
The way the Gambia Revenue Authority acted against the Daily Observer newspaper could justify arguments that the closure of the action is not only in bad faith but also politically motivated.
The Daily Observer Newspaper grew into one of the best Gambian brands and diversified into courier and information services.

Previous regimes targeted the Daily Observer Newspaper with closure but it refused to die.
It is my opinion that Gambia Revenue Authority’s action has been politically influenced as there are a lot of companies that owe the Gambia Revenue Authority huge sums of money but can operate. I am also surprised with the speed at which the Revenue Authority processed the case as it has thousands of cases awaiting to be processed.

The closure of a business is an economical disaster as families and other businesses that depended on it experience difficulties of varying magnitude. The closure of the Daily Observer newspaper is not about Yahya Jammeh, Amadou Samba or Baba Jobe. Think about the few workers employed as editors, journalists, security guards, garden boys… And more deeply and emotionally, think about the street vendors who depend on 10 Dalasi per day they make from newspaper sales. All these will be denied money for rent, food, school fees. This is political miscalculation. Like shooting your own leg.

Everyone is aware that Newspaper business all over the world has been affected by electronic media and changes in the way people are informed. The closure of the Daily Observer also provides lessons for media, politics, law and business.

As a former proprietor, the Independent and a victim of arbitrary closure I am urging the Gambia Government to work with the Gambian Revenue Authority and the Daily Observer to find a way forward that allows Daily Observer to reopen immediately.

And I am appealing to the Government to reconsider the decision to close the Daily Observer Newspapers and avoid throwing hundreds of workers into unemployment thereby adversely affecting the welfare of their families.

While it is a matter of human rights law that the State is entitled to enforce laws as it deems necessary to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions, there should be further room for negotiations to find an amicable solution to meeting the tax obligation of the Daily Observer Newspapers without necessarily closing it.

There is also a need to use negotiations, mediation and conciliation methods rather than exclusively using a legalistic approach in this matter. At the same time the collection of domestic revenues through corporate taxes is the responsibility of government and it is the responsibility of corporate bodies, including media houses to meet their tax obligations. I hope that the concerned parties will take steps to find an amicable solution to this issue.

The Daily Observer has particularly been instrumental in promoting the right to freedom of expression of divergent viewpoints, providing checks and balances to various State and Non-State institutions and individuals as well as in promoting transparency and accountability. The right to freedom of the media, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are particularly important. The ability to debate different views, policies and activities in an impartial conducive environment supports the electorates ‘capacity to make informed decisions.

It would be a sad chapter in the development of Gambia’s democracy if a drastic action taken to close the Daily Observer Newspapers is not reversed.

The unlawful arrest and trumped up charges against Baboucarr Sey is a serious infringement of not only civil rights but also a direct threat to social and economic rights of Gambians. This case is reflective of the malpractices and the effect of the APRC Regime, which had almost totally denied Gambians our civil, political, economic and social rights. The situation in Kololi is about a piece of land that was under the ownership of the KMC. But in 2014, KMC sold this land to SWAMI International, an Indian estate developer through the facilitation of the Gambian-owned Global Properties Company. The sale of this public property was not conducted publicly as the members of the community were not consulted and involved. Yet within this land there is a football field that youths of the area utilize.

Understandably the community and the youth in particular could not raise any significant objections to the sale of this land during the Dictatorship for obvious reasons. But clandestinely some of the youths would damage the fence that was erected by the company to show their opposition to the confiscation of their land. Therefore when we are supposed to have a democratic dispensation, Baboucarr Sey, who has never been involved in the demolition of the fence decided to convene a press conference in order to generate public awareness about the issue as well as inform the government so that they can look into the matter. To his amazement, the police invited him for questioning only to have him detained three weeks after the press conference and charged with an outrageous offence.

This matter is very significant in that it highlights the fact that during the past 22 years, public institutions and officers at central and local levels have conducted business transactions that were detrimental to local and national interests. In many cases these deals were conducted with private companies without the involvement of the concerned community. These public institutions and businesses were able to do these dubious business transactions under the cover of the Dictatorship.

One of the areas in which such dubious business transactions took place concerns land. The proliferation of private estate developers and even the manner of acquisition of land by SSHFC attest to that. Hence it is important that land issues be reviewed because in most cases private and community lands have been taken away for the selfish interest of businesses and public officials. Our communities have therefore been left empty as the unfortunate losers.

We must recognize that KMC is the local government for the Kanifing Municipality. According to the Local Government Act, KMC have duties to provide social goods and services to the community. Members of the community pay taxes to KMC, which are supposed to be ploughed back into the community. Yet over the years, it is clear that Kanifing Municipality, the largest and richest local government has provided minimal social goods and services in the region. In the area of the youth alone, there is no single standard stadium that KMC has built within the municipality.

It is said that KMC sold this land for 20 to 25 million dalasi yet there is nothing visible in Kololi that KMC has provided. If KMC could not develop this land on their own such that they have to sell it, then what we expect is for KMC to plough back this 20+ million dalasi or part of it into Kololi since they own the land. But KMC has not provided and developed a new football field for the youths but took the money away just like that. The necessary documents of this sale are not even public so that we might know if KMC and SWAMI International did agree on any arrangements for the provision of social and economic goods and services to the people. In short, where did KMC spend that money?

We all can recall that in 2015 KMC entered into a contract with an Italian company for 2.2 million euros to fill the Bakoteh dumpsite. Yet until today no work has been done at that horrible site which continues to release hazardous fumes into the surrounding communities and making the people sick. This is also a matter of social rights as it deals with the health of the people. Until today, the relevant authorities have not called KMC to answer to these serious issues.

Hence what we expect is for the Gambia Government to look into these issues in order to protect the economic and social rights of citizens. The issue in Kololi is about social and economic rights of the citizens, which Baboucarr has spearheaded. It is unlawful therefore, when citizens are standing up peacefully to protect their fundamental rights that they are subjected to arrest. That is abuse, which we have fought against in the past.

I would therefore call on the National Assembly to summon the Mayor of KMC Yankuba Colley to answer to this matter. Why did KMC sell this land? Did they follow proper procedures in advertising and selling this land? Where is the money? What have they used the money for since they sold the land? What have they provided back to Kololi whose land was sold?

The Ministry of Regional Administration must also look into this matter and all other land issues in our various regions. Area councils and municipalities must be scrutinized to ensure that public lands are not sold to private companies at the detriment of the community. The Farato and Gunjur/Kartong issues are cases of similar nature.

During the past 22 years, Yaya Jammeh completely seized the social and economic rights of Gambians by directly and deliberately taking over local and national properties such as land, livestock, farms, forests and beaches. He had also closed down, interfered with or damaged several business activities and industries such as tourism, betting, foreign exchange, poultry, dairy, transportation, farming, horticulture and groceries. These have caused thousands of Gambians to become unemployed, redundant, impoverished and die! Hence what we expect the new government to do is to restore and protect our social and economic rights.

Baboucarr is not involved in any vandalism and he does not need a permit to organize a press conference. Hence Baboucarr has not broken any law to warrant his arrest, detention and charge. This is abuse of power and the Inspector General of Police must withdraw this case and set Baboucarr free.

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

Alagi Yorro Jallow

Let us make election conversations meaningful, where development is felt, where impact matters and where people can attest that their lives are changing for the better. In this new Gambia, the people have opened the door to a new era of transparency in governance and they hope that this will lead to a domino effect across the globe. The people must know what the government has done and is doing with their tax money and recognize the trust they have invested in the government to govern them.

The Gambian people want the enactment of Access to Information, Right to Information and Freedom of Information (FOI) laws that would benefit not only the media but also the public, who need information to enable them to make informed decisions and debate the matters affecting them. These laws would enable them to help the government implement development projects in their areas. People will be empowered as an extension of the government’s rule to ensure that projects are planned and implemented on time, with the necessary quality requirements.

The freedom of the press is meaningless if elected officials can legally keep their actions and performances a secret. Indeed, the principle of the freedom of the press led to FOI laws. Since the adoption of the world’s first FOI law in modern-day Sweden and Finland in 1766, more than 90 countries have adopted such provisions. The challenges to building on the gains of a new democratic dispensation from dictatorship to democracy include (I) passing the FOI bill as a legislative anchor, (ii) making governance institutions capable of transforming transparency measures into accountability responses at all levels of engagement and (iii) scaling up access to information for the smallest communities, which means a greater and more effective national ICT infrastructure and more enhanced community outreach, especially to the poorest sectors.

The fact remains that the only commodity that is scarcer than meat in the Gambia is the truth. It is incredible how Gambians constantly receive contrasting and contradictory information from official government sources, suggesting an unacceptable level of incompetence or, worse still, intentional misinformation and deceit for propaganda purposes.

FOI can be defined as the right to access the information held by a public body and is deemed as one of the fundamental civil rights supporting democratic processes. FOI is required to ensure that citizens can vote in an informed way and that they can hold their governments accountable through public scrutiny.

The Official Secrets Act of 1922, in the interest of such concerns as national security and the public good, prevents journalists from publishing some information in the public interest. This colonial law makes it very difficult to access information; there are many secrets in government that we still cannot access and powerful people in our economy and politics remain corrupt. It is time to legislate the FOI Act and repeal and replace the Official Secrets Act, which curtails open access to information and allows government secrecy. States should be able to keep some information confidential in line with the legitimate purposes and processes set out in international human rights laws. However, information from administrative and executive authorities, concerning for example laws and public expenditure, should generally be accessible to everyone. Hence, FOI both helps provide oversight over governmental bodies and holds them accountable, and this right strengthens the relevance of press freedom and independent journalism. Journalists argue that any attempt to weaken their rights to protect their sources would discourage people with evidence of wrongdoing from approaching them. The role of journalists as watchdogs of public accountability would in turn be weakened, and society would be the worse for it.

Press freedom is enshrined in the more general freedom of expression. No distinction is made between the average citizen’s right to freedom of expression and the journalist’s right to the same freedom. The law only says that every citizen (including journalists) has the right to freedom of expression and that this freedom includes the right “to hold opinions and to receive and impart information without interference by public authorities.”

In a true democracy, the public are expected to have access to information on how they are governed. Such access to information is basic to the democratic way of life, and the tendency to withhold information from the public is an indication of unconstitutional, fraudulent or corrupt practices by government officials. The denial of access to information and attendant widespread ignorance in society does more harm than good. However, the level of secrecy in government is so ridiculous that every government file has the words “top secret” printed on its cover, even if all it contains are newspaper cuttings already in the public domain.

Many government officials say that the Official Secrets Act makes it an offence for civil servants to give out government information, preventing them from giving information to journalists and the citizenry. The enactment of an FOI law in the Gambia would remove most of the legal impediments that journalists used to face in trying to access information and records in the custody of government officials or government departments and agencies. The law would neutralize the negative provisions and consequences of restrictive laws such as the Official Secrets Act, the Criminal Code and the Penal Code. The FOI law would override the secrecy clauses that pervade many laws in the Gambia and provide protection from official reprisals for public officers who take the initiative to release information to the media in the public interest.

With the enactment of the law, therefore, public information ought to become more generally available to both the media and members of the public as it imposes an obligation on the government, its officials, departments and agencies to provide public access to documents and information that would enhance the capacity of the media to report freely on the exercise of political power. Where public officers are reluctant to disclose information or release documents, the media can ensure that they are compelled to do so.

Any journalist who truly wants to carry out investigative reporting will find the FOI Act a powerful tool for digging for information in government departments and agencies. It opens infinitely more possibilities for resourceful and creative reporters.

But I doubt that the FOI Act will be of any assistance to a lazy journalist. It does not eliminate the necessity for tenacity and the rigorous checking of facts. If anything, the enactment of the law imposes additional responsibilities on the media. Since the excuse of having no access to information and records is no longer available to the media, journalists are increasingly going to be subject to higher standards of accuracy, fairness and responsibility in their publications or broadcasts. The reading, viewing and listening public, to which the media are accountable, certainly have higher expectations. Journalists, therefore, must carry out more thorough research and investigation and check their facts more rigorously before publishing.

Interestingly, FOI laws also protect privacy under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. The law guarantees every citizen access to information about government actions, yet ensures their personal information is confidential. (Personal health records are none of anybody’s business.)

The Right to Information Act is the latest law that has codified the “freedom of speech and expression” guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) in terms of the right to receive information. This law consolidates all the provisions facilitating access to information in different legislations. FOI has revolutionarily changed the so-called law of privilege where the government used to hold information in secret as a matter of principle and allow it to be disclosed only exceptionally.

Since the FOI law, the rule is disclosure and exception in withholding information. FOI overrides the Official Secrets Act of 1922 and all other legislation that contradicts or conflicts with the FOI Act. The provisions of privilege in the Gambian Evidence Act must give way to the disclosure of information. Official documents pertain to affairs of state; they cannot be withheld by the state as privileged documents under the Evidence Act, but must be disclosed under the Right to Information Act.

MY ANSWER IS A CATEGORICAL YES, IN 20 YEARS MAXIMUM.

AND IN 10 YEARS, SHE SURELY ESCAPES POVERTY.

AND HERE IS HOW [YOU START.] JUST A FEW IDEAS JOTTED DOWN ON THE FLY!

AT THE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY LEVELS, WE SHALL BEGIN BY CHANGING THE NAME STUDENT TO PUPIL. PLEASE, DO NOT FLATTER THEM; THEY ARE NOT STUDENTS.

First of all. I am going to put the emphasis on science and technical education. Ok, not that I have little respect for the other disciplines. On the contrary, on another occasion, I shall say why the arts too are pretty important. There will be emphasis on true, genuine, basic education. By that, I mean we will make sure that pupils that complete primary school can genuinely read and write. For that we shall invest more money in that area to train teachers, and also to pay them better. We shall put emphasis on training teachers who can really teach the English language to non-English speakers. Because without a certain mastery of the language as the medium of instruction and learning, well our children’s precious time will be wasted at least in part.

Then, gradually we will up the level of mathematics and science starting from the fourth grade to have the same instructional time duration as does English. The reason we need to wait a while for math and science to catch up with English is that we would like our children to learn to start thinking in English before they are introduced to more subtle math and science notions in a foreign tongue. At grade 6, we should begin to know the strength of each student. Those who show promise for the Arts will have their science hours lessened comparatively. And those who show more promise for mathematics and the sciences will have their science hours upped and their arts hours lessened. But there will still be those who will never be cut out for academic stuffs. For those, it will be better to orient them sooner rather than later to vocational schools where they will be schooled in more technical subjects and trades of their own choosing, while continuing to study with a lesser emphasis the academic components of their school program. These folks shall learn the practical art of carpentry, auto mechanic, plumbing horticulture, electronics, etc. etc.

Then we know that our nation shall need engineers, scientists, and first class professors in our universities and colleges to keep training the nation’s work force. This is where we will focus on our youngsters who really have shown they can do the rigorous learning, the academic stuff. [I for one do not think that every single person ought to matriculate into a university in order to have a good life. Trade and vocational schools too are an essential part of the developmental matrix.] Also, in our universities, the subject areas we should put emphasis on should be those that are more relevant to our development needs. For example, if you are going to support a student research, say, in Physics, well you might want it to be in the renewable energy field, like solar or wind energy. Similarly, if you are going to support a student research in Botany, well you might want it to be in the area of strengthening the peanut species to certain diseases. After we’ve implemented these common sense measures for a few years, we as a nation should be on our way to a decent living standard. But that is not the end.

Now, at this point in our development, we need not continue to just survive, we need to excel. I shall say, we need to beat , say for example, Europe at its own game: the game of SCIENCE. We should not become complacent in our success as it was remarked in the “Ambiguous Adventure” of Cheick Amidou Kane, by the family matriarch, the Most Royal Lady; we should perfect the art and science of the white man and return to beat him at his own game. I mean the game of scientific innovation and technology. For that to happen, we do not have to go into all fields. Given our size, we may focus on just a couple of research areas, say Agriculture, Computer science, and renewable energy. Just three fields will suffice for tiny Gambia. [This is one of the rare domains where smallness becomes an asset; I call this the art of Tzu Shu.] These fields, especially computer science and mathematics do not take much to innovate in them. All you need are the brains, the intellects. Put them in an ideal condition or setting, and they will create. If you can beat Europe in this her game, then the world will come to you. And before that the whole of West Africa will come to tiny Gambia. BELIEVE ME!

This is exactly what Europe did to the Islamic world, they beat us at our game, the game of science, exactly at the time we Muslims started fighting amongst ourselves. And that has continued up to this day!.

I will elaborate [IN THE MINUTEST DETAILS] if need be, and should you have any questions. But these are the major points!

Brahima Mbodje

USA

There will be challenges. Our hope, for the security and sanctity of our Republic, that President Barrow will respond to the challenges with circumspection and wisdom.

Our democracy demands debate and dissent – fierce, sustained, and unflinching when necessary. There is an urgent sense, the tide is rising amongst Gambians eager to toss aside passivity for action. Gambians are already seeing a more emboldened citizenry ever witnessed in ages. It is being fueled by a fervent energy bubbling from the grassroots up, rather than the top down.

These are the swirling currents about our ship of state. Gambian now have a new and untested captain. His power is immense, but it is not bestowed from a divinity on high. It is derived, as the saying goes, from the consent of the governed. That means President Barrow now works for us – all of us. And if he forgets that, it will be our duty to remind him.

As we go through the present tribulations of those in power and their advisors and the total disregard of the human rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law and indeed the Constitution. Let us be mindful that the country is being put to a test never experienced.

The happenings of the last few weeks have exposed a scheme where those with power wish to bring about discontent and blame it on others as politicians always do.

The stubbornness and lack of fair judgement will come and haunt those that have taken it upon themselves that they wield power and think they shall wield it in perpetuity. As the saying goes “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. But when it goes you are left lonely and isolated, and vulnerable to all sorts of retribution and answerable to all abuses that one did when in power.
One must do the right things in accordance with the Constitution and not go on an ego trip. State power is temporal and the Gambia is not a monarchy. The same people urging others on will deny when things sour.

Only cowards use state institutions to fight their personal battles and institutional loyalties are temporal. These same institutions end up standing against you and swallow you. One ends up blaming the same institutions that were used in the first place.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

From 1994 to 2016, Yaya Jammeh unleashed a reign of terror on Gambians for 22 years. Hundreds of our citizens shed blood and tears. Hundreds more lost property, limb and life just for one man to stay on top of our heads by force. Gambians tried all ways and means to oust this terrible dictatorship but failed on so many occasions at great cost to our people. Our opposition leaders who happened to be the governors today at both Executive and Legislative arms of the State faced all forms of harassment and incarceration. Halifa Sallah, OJ, Hamat Bah, Isatou Touray and Ousainou Darboe are among many leaders who were dumped in prison at various times for merely standing up for democracy in our country. Yaya Jammeh was able to terrorize us because his APRC party used the parliament to legalize and legitimize his misrule. Secondly he used a set of public and security officers within the state machinery to intimidate the population just to entrench himself in power.

One of those who served in the state security apparatus is Bubacarr Badgie. He is a direct beneficiary of Yaya Jammeh’s agenda, which was intended to train certain citizens so that they can become tools to strengthen his dictatorship. Yet when the tide turned and Gambians gained freedom, Badgie did not run away or hide and he was not sacked from the NIA, rather he continued there as the Legal Adviser. Whether he is genuine or not, time will tell, but Badgie has shown that he is committed to creating a new chapter for the NIA. For that matter, he demonstrated utmost professionalism and honesty by providing genuine legal advice to his Director General Ousman Sowe. Shockingly DG Sowe decided to not only ignore Badgie’s legal and professional advice but also went further to torment Mr. Badgie for that.
Undeterred, Badgie decided to inform and advise the Head of State about the state of affairs in the NIA. In informing the President, he also copied his Director General as well as the Inspector General of Police. Therefore by all accounts, we must give Badgie the benefit of doubt that indeed here is a man who wishes to bring about change in the Gambia. On 1 December 2016, we when decided, our verdict was for the Gambia to have a system change. Badgie’s petition is about system change.

Yet the President did not only ignore Badgie’s petition, but the Director General of NIA went further to write to the PMO to suspend Badgie because they claim he leaked so-called official secrets to the media. This means the President, the Director General and the PMO have all decided to ignore the extremely vital and serious issues of national interest that Badgie had raised in his letter. They have all rejected the fact that Badgie has alleged severe corruption and threats to national security. In fact Badgie has indicated that the agents who killed Solo Sandeng are still inside the NIA. Yet the very people responsible for our national security, i.e. the President and the Director General NIA just ignored these very important issues only to now find ways of harming this genuine citizen, Bubacarr Badgie.

This is indeed a huge travesty of justice and a gross negligence of duty that is unfolding right in front of our eyes. Why should the President receive such a petition from none other than the very Legal Adviser of the topmost national security agency and decide to ignore such a letter.

We see a similar scenario currently unfolding in the United States. There is a man called James Comey who was the former Director of FBI, which is the equivalent of the NIA. Comey had a meeting with Pres. Donald Trump few weeks ago and soon after that meeting he leaked their conversation to his friend so that his friend could send the information to the media. This is because the president told Comey some very inappropriate things that concern the FBI’s investigation of the link between the Trump Campaign and Russia. Since then Trump fired Comey because of that investigation. But because of that leak, the current FBI Deputy Director appointed a special prosecutor to continue that investigation. Comey testified this whistleblowing before the US Congress few days ago because he did not want Trump to interfere with the FBI or the investigation. Comey was not rebuked or arrested or charged for anything. Rather many people commend him for that action which led to the appointment of a special prosecutor. Yet in the Gambia another intelligence agent blew the whistle about wrong things in the NIA and instead of Pres. Barrow appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the NIA, he decided to let this man be arrested and charged with lies.

Gambians must not sit by and watch Badgie persecuted on a matter that concerns our individual and collective security. If there are killers inside the NIA, those killers must be exposed and held to account. Why are Pres. Barrow and the NIA Director General Ousman Sowe and PMO hiding killers from justice?
Has Pres. Barrow forgotten that it was those agents who killed his party member Solo Sandeng, Solo Koroma, Lang Marong and Ebrima Ceesay? Has Pres. Barrow forgotten that it was those agents who tortured and raped UDP militants and manhandled Ousainou Darboe and colleagues? Has Pres. Barrow forgotten that it was those NIA agents who tortured Amadou Sanneh on national television until he was drunk? Has Pres. Adama Barrow forgotten that he is president today simply because Ousainou Darboe and the entire UDP leaders were in jail because of those NIA agents? How dare Pres. Barrow ignore the facts and the reality only to cover up killers and rapists and torturers and then punish the man who is exposing them?

I hereby condemn Pres. Adama Barrow for this gross irresponsibility and total disregard of the national interest. Why is the Cabinet in which are OJ, Hamat Bah, Ousainou Darboe, Isatou Touray, Fatoumatta Tambajang, Baa Tambadou and Mai Ahmad Fatty keeping silent over this matter? Why are they not advising the president to follow this petition? Why are you people silent and allowing such a travesty of justice to slap us in our face with impunity? Why are you people protecting the NIA? Indeed Solo Sandeng, Deyda Hydara and our schoolchildren will never ever forgive any of you for this gross irresponsibility. This is national betrayal of the highest order!

Why is Speaker Mariam Denton who has encountered these notorious NIA agents keeping quiet? Why are Halifa Sallah and Sidia Jatta keeping quiet over this matter? Why are our National Assembly members keeping quiet over this petition?

Bubacarr Badgie has provided the key into the very heart of the APRC Dictatorship. This petition is the key to inform us how, why, when, where and what atrocities were committed in the past 22 years and who committed them and on whose orders. Yet Pres. Barrow and his Cabinet and Speaker Mariam Denton and the National Assembly decide to ignore this petition. I am disappointed beyond words.
I want to tell Gambians to rise up and demand that Pres. Barrow provides total protection to Badgie and ensure that the NIA is put under serious enquiry right now.

If we allow Badgie to be subjected to a fake trial on trumped up charges, he will go to jail. This means the winners are those NIA rapists, torturers and killers. They will continue to walk our streets freely at our own risk. Their victims are crying from their graves for justice. We cannot and must not abandon and further injure those victims.

Free Bubacarr Badgie and Investigate the NIA! NOW.

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

Criminals Let Loose….

About ten days ago, I read in the newspapers that a man had been arrested, accused of raping an-eight-year-old girl. I was gobsmacked. What type of animal would do that? Are we becoming so predatory? These were the thoughts assailing my mind. That was until today, when I read that another man had raped a six year old girl. Can you imagine the depravity of some people?

Come to think of it, rape is one of the most heinous crimes one can commit, especially when it involves underage girls. This is made worse when the girls are as young as six or eight. What can these people say as defense when they are brought to a court of law? Should they even be allowed to narrate some mysterious stories that forces them to do it?

These pedophiles cannot be allowed to continue to destroy the lives of our young girls with impunity. The crime of rape has far-reaching consequences. One can even argue that it is worse than murder. For, if one murders a person, in most cases one has taken one life. But if a rapist rapes an underage girl, the consequences may include the girl being unable to bear children in the future. Thus, if that girl was destined to have a girl child in the future, who in turn was destined to have children, one can imagine the number of lives that that rapist snuffed off even before they had the chance of being born.

Rape should be considered worse than murder and its punishment should match the severity of the crime. But the huge problemof rape is the culture of silence. Hardly would the family of a rape victim report the case, for fear of stigmatisation, especially if the rapist happens to be a family member, which is most often the case. Therefore, this is not only about law enforcement but also about sensitisation. In this, government should increase support to women groups, the Women’s Bureau and other civil society organizations to sensitize the population.

Mr President, I want to suggest naming and shaming of pedophiles when they are convicted. This will perhaps have an effect on the rampant problem of rape cases we hear about almost every other week. As this is a conservative country, perhaps the fear of stigma will sway them more than any other thing. Also, anyone who covers up a rape case because the rapist is a relative, if such a person is arrested, he or she should face equal punishment with the rapist.

Last week, I wrote on the bane of blaming everything on God. We must learn to take responsibility of our actions and stop blaming God for our shortcomings.

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Written by Anonymous the Patriot

The New Gambia has many needs in terms of institutions, processes and norms to form her essential content. One of these needed institutions is a new law enforcement agency suggestively called The Republican Bureau of Investigation (RBI). Such a need has become more apparent and necessary especially after recent events in Kanilai and the Fonis, the questionable arrest and detention of Lawyer Bubacar Badgie (Legal Adviser of ‘SIS’) and the stripping of the hitherto main investigative agency of The Gambia, NIA (now SIS) of its arresting and detention powers by the President of the Republic in exercise of his powers and prerogative, earlier this year.

Due to the change of government and the new political environment that it had ushered; the rule of law, good governance and democracy, the need for new approaches in policing, law enforcement and justice delivery has become more urgent and complex in many regards. It is also an undeniable fact that the only remaining institution which now has the sole power of carrying out law enforcement functions in the country is the Gambia Police Force (GPF) and to a limited extent the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDEA). This institution (GPF) is very much underfunded, ill equipped and acutely unprepared for the increase and more serious demands of modern day law enforcement in the New Gambia and carried out under increased public scrutiny, with stricter procedural conformity to the law and accountability.

The Investigation units of the Gambia Police Force including the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) were marginalized and rendered irrelevant for two decades under the dictatorial regime of the APRC government. This accounts for its limited operational experience, shortage of skilled investigators, lack of adequate forensic equipment and limited knowledge in proper procedures necessary to protect crime scenes and preserve evidence for possible prosecution. These deficits are quite steep for such an inelastic state institution to overcome in a reasonable period when the demands for its services will continue to increase, if not already at such unprecedented levels i.e. the soon to be constituted Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

The absence of a well-equipped and professional investigation agency like the one I am proposing let to too many delays and other technical difficulties for the task force investigating the alleged unlawful deaths and disappearances of the Jammeh regime. These in turn lead to the need for short term training of our police and military Investigators by bilateral partners such as United States through its FBI as reported and acquiring foreign experts such as pathologist to address the knowledge gap in identifying bodies and ascertaining the causes of death in those gruesome murders.

We cannot stuff our collective heads in the sand by expecting antiquated institutions of law enforcement to adequately address our new democratic demands of law and order, institutional accountability and good governance on the basis of the sovereignty of the Gambian citizenry. These and other technical reasons make it fiscally prudent, timely and efficient to establish a complimentary, streamlined and specialist investigative agency from the ground up with all necessary components needed to address the law enforcement needs in our new dispensation.

The Republican Bureau of Investigation (RBI) will mirror in terms of institutional scope, professionalism and capabilities of its counterparts such as the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) of the United States of America and is inline what the New Gambia needs and deserve. I urge the government to move quickly on this recommendation while we have the support and attention of our regional partners like ECOWAS and the AU, developmental partners such as the EU and indeed the world. I rest my case.