We Are Not Sheep….

Mr President, I cannot help but applaud your government through your minister of Foreign Affairs, Lawyer Ousainou Darboe for the Gambia’s stance on the Saudi Arabia-Qatari issue. Of late, countries have been abandoning Qatar like a man stricken with leprosy, or worse, with Ebola.

Saudi Arabia’s calling Qatar a sponsor of terrorism is nothing but the height of paradox. It is like a case of a pot calling the kettle black. When one considers the stance of Saudi Arabia on terrorism, and then looks at the number of Saudi nationals embroiled in acts of terror, it becomes very evident who is a likelier sponsor of terror between the two nations.

Albeit, this in actual fact has got nothing to do with who is sponsoring terror and who is not. It’s unfortunate that Saudi Arabia has tied a rope on its nose and given the end of the rope to the United States to be pulled wherever and whenever they please; sometimes to the detriment of the Muslim world. The US-Saudi Arabia relationship is very complex indeed, and that much corrupt as well.

This relationship is used to entrench the stranglehold the United States has on the Muslims to ensure that the some-tines-lone-voices of dissent are put in check. One can observe this in the fact that part of the problem between Saudi Arabia and Qatar was sparked by the reporting of Aljazeera, a Qatari backed news channel on the so-called Arab Spring which rumpled feathers in the Middle East. This shows that all they are worried about is an uprising of the masses like what was observed in Tunisia, Egypt and other Arab countries. The US has an interest in a stable Saudi Arabia as the Royal Family seems to be in their pocket.

So one may ask, what the heck does any of that have to do with little Gambia, thousands of miles away? Well, as we live in a global village, all countries are interconnected. But that connection has not gone to a level where we should just blindly follow Saudi Arabia in boycotting anyone, or jump anytime they say we do. So the stance of your government expressed through the foreign minister to stay out of this so-called fight against terror. Bravo Lawyer Darboe.

Let us make our own decision; of course after careful consideration and consultations. We are not sheep to be led blindly!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

In 2006, the parliament enacted the Former Presidents (Office, Allowances and other Benefits) Act. Since Barrow is now on the seat, I wish to remind him that great benefits await him if he governs this country in line with our Constitution and democratic principles and hand over power peacefully at the end of his tenure.

The benefits specified in this Act for a former president are as follows:
1. Monthly allowance of D50, 000 for life
2. Two personal staffs for life.
3. Twenty-four hour security service at home and office for life
4. Three vehicles and the drivers will be selected by the former president
5. A diplomatic passport for life.
6. Protocol services within and outside the Gambia
7. Free medical treatment for the former president and his or her spouse anywhere in the world for life.
8. Thirty days vacation for the president and spouse anywhere in the world to be selected by the former president for life.
9. Air tickets and perdiem for the vacation will be paid to both the former president and spouse for life.
10. A well furnished office with four paid staff, one vehicle and one motorcycle and both fueled permanently by the state for life.
11. Residence of the former president shall be maintained by the state with two cooks, four housekeepers and two gardeners for life.
12. The accommodation will also be provided with telephone, Internet and other unspecified facilities for life.
13. At public functions, the former president will sit immediately after the current vice president for life.

Apart from this constitutional entitlement that awaits Barrow, there is another more lucrative opportunity that Barrow could win. That is the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. This is a lifetime award that a former African president could win if such a person was democratically elected, served his constitutional mandate and demonstrated exceptional democratic leadership and left office peacefully. For that achievement, such a president could be selected as winner and the prize is

• $5million USD over ten years
• $200,000 USD per year for life thereafter.

Since the prize was launched in 2006, only four African presidents have won it so far as follows:

• President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique (2007).
• President Festus Mogae of Botswana (2008),
• President Pedro Pires of Cape Verde (2011)
• President Hifikepunye Pohamba of Namibia (2014)

But one needs to remember that the Gambia Constitution has stated in Section 4(2) that a president who left office due to Section 67 of the Constitution does not qualify for the benefits and allowances of this Act.

Section 67 is about impeachment of a president for misconduct that range from abuse of office, willful violation of the Constitution or misconduct that injures the economy among other crimes. This means it is utterly necessary and important that Barrow abides by the Constitution and other laws of the Gambia and avoids making decisions and actions that would negatively affect the economy hence lose these great benefits. This means if president Barrow leaves office in 2019 under the circumstances of Section 67 then he will also not qualify for the Mo Ibrahim Prize.

Therefore, if we go by Section 67 we can see that it directly disqualifies Yaya Jammeh since he willfully violated the Constitution on 9 December 2016 when he rejected the polls. More seriously Yaya Jammeh never demonstrated exceptional democratic leadership and never left office peacefully. Thus Yaya Jammeh does not qualify for the benefits of a former president under this Act. This means Yaya Jammeh will not even be considered for the Mo Ibrahim Prize as well.

Therefore the ball is in Barrow’s court: To rule well and enjoy life after the presidency. He must not allow partisan and political expediency cause him to miss this great retirement package. Otherwise he will be doomed like Yaya Jammeh! For Life!! Those who love and support Barrow and wish him well must therefore guide him to lead with exceptional leadership and act according to democratic principles.

Having said that, we must also highlight the fact that the Act in the Gambia Constitution needs a little but significant amendment. This is because the Act was tailored purposely to serve the selfish interests of Yaya Jammeh. For example, it defined a former president as a person who held the Office of the President for not less than two terms (Section 2). In 2006, it was clear that Yaya Jammeh had spent more than two terms hence this section was purposely made to suit him. The section did not also set a term limit of the president because Yaya Jammeh never had any intention to step down.

The parliament now needs to review this Act so that Section 2 would define the former president as a person who served for at least one term and not more than two terms. This must be done as soon as possible before the end of tenure of Adama Barrow.

God Bless The Gambia.

Madi Jobarteh

Nah. No one is unreasonable here Mr President. Most of the criticisms levied on your administration stems from the trauma Goloh Ajumah precipitated on us. Nontheless, we all want a prosperous Gambia desk on strong democratic institutions and practices to harness our fragile democracy, justice and equal opportunities for each of us. However, the sooner we appreciate that the solutions to this national ambition just isn’t rested in politics but our attitudes and media the closer we get to achieving our goal, Mr Penguin, oops President. Evidently, on December 1st 2016, Gambians had succinctly demonstrated what Goloh Ajumah denied us in politics we compensated by networking and sharing information in the social media which resulted in a historic democratic change. The ability to network and share information on the Gambian social media has reached completely unprecedented heights, which means that the status quo which has been used to lull us into accepting the establishment narrative is wielding less and less substance. The internet has the potential to initiate a total shift in public perspective.

Mr President, you are a living testimony to this assertion. In the recent past, the Gambian social media particularly Facebook and WhatsApp audios have illustrated it has potential to initiate carnage and well as broker peace, stability and development. The Gunjur beach and Kanilai sagas are a clear manifestation.
While the social media is influence the narrative for a viable political dispensation, our attitudes to work and state remained unpalatable. Unless we awaken ourselves from the lullaby of attitudinal nomalcy your administrative efforts to deliver development will be daunting.

For instance, reporting time to work. Officially, every civil servant must clock in at 08:00 for work. Sadly, majority walk in majestically late without any sense of guilt. Furthermore, most of the time spent at work has little or no bearing with official business. Thus, government and the public are daily rob of valuable official time and resources. Additionally, the condescending arrogance welded by some of our civil servants is obnoxious.

Let us cite Hon Madi Ceesay as an embodiment of the others to illustrate my assertion. “I missed my flight to Malta but did not miss my meeting. So what?” he communicated on his Facebook. It is the same flippant attitudes that citizens endure from people they pay to work for them daily. That must change Mr President if we are really serious about transforming our country to a City State. His flight ticket was paid by the taxpayers and the most he could have done was to apologise for his lateness and assure us it won’t happen again. But no. He had to massage it on our faces. Similarly, the belief that “one has to survive where one works” must equally be binned. How can one steal from a family and be cool with it Mr President? In most cases, before one gets a civil servant execute his or her duty, one has to dig into one’s pocket first. That is wrong. It is unacceptable. And shameful.

The National Civic Education Council has a crucial role in helping reform our attitudes to work and responsibilities. Systems must also be initiated to curb wasting of public valuable time and resources during official work periods. Many people are getting paid for virtually doing absolutely nothing at all. The only reason many are so desperate to have a government appointment is to steal from us. Get rich for nothing. That is not an ingredient for development. The social media also has a role to play in redifining our attitudes to work.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

Here are the 12 Select Committees of the National Assembly including the National Assembly Authority which is composed of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Majority and Minority leaders.

1. National Assembly Authority
2. Public Accounts / Public Enterprises Committees
3. Agriculture, Rural Development, Environment, Sustainable Development & NGO Affairs
4. Appointments, Standing Orders, Privileges & Ethics
5. Defence & Security
6. Education, Training & ICT
7. Foreign Affairs
8. Health, Women, Children, Refugee, Disaster & Humanitarian Relief
9. Monitor The Implementation of Government Projects
10. Tourism, Acts, Culture, Youth and Sports
11. Trade, NEPAD, Regional Integration, WTO, WB, LDC & ACP-EU Matters
12. Local Government & Lands, Ombudsman & IEC

The purpose of these committees is to strengthen the oversight and investigative function of the parliament. They focus on specific issues by receiving reports, conducting fact-finding missions or holding public hearings as part of investigation into issues of the country. These committees have their rules and procedures of operation.

National Assembly Select Committees therefore make the National Assembly function better and stronger in monitoring of public institutions and officials to make sure that they are transparent, efficient, accountable and responsive to the needs of the people. In this way the parliament makes public institutions deliver quality public goods and services to the entire people all the time.

These public goods and services include healthcare hence making sure our health workers and public health facilities are performing their duties adequately. They also ensure that our teachers and schools are also giving quality education as well as making sure that our police officers or prison officers or managing directors or permanent secretaries and indeed all public servants in our pubic institutions are all doing their jobs properly. They also monitor the private sector and the civil society.

In this way, the National Assembly therefore makes sure human rights are respected and protected which means the rule of law is adhered to by all which means corruption is curtailed which means good governance prevails hence improving democracy in our society. This is why the National Assembly is the most important and most powerful institution in the Gambia.

But for the National Assembly to make democracy work, it means citizens like you and me must also be active, vigilant and patriotic so that we follow them. We must know how the parliament works and what their powers are and what structures they have and which processes exist in the parliament.

Politicians or the government do not deliver democracy. Politicians always want to keep power and control the people. Look at Donald Trump right now in the United States. Remember Yaya Jammeh in the Gambia and his accomplices. Therefore only the Almighty Citizens produce and protect democracy and make it work for all. This is what history has shown everywhere in the world. When Trump wants to trample on democracy in the US it was public servants like Sally Yates, Preet Bharara, James Comey and many judges as well as the millions of American citizens who rise up to stop him. The examples are in our own history.

We have democracy today because first and foremost our forefather Edward Francis Small stood up against the British Colonialists. Since then many more of our forefathers joined the fight for democracy such as Dawda Jawara, IM Garba Jahumpa, PS Njie and Rev. JC Faye among many others. They were also joined by many chiefs and alkalolu and indeed ordinary men, women and youth in our villages and towns as well as our Gallant Mothers to fight for freedom until we gained independence.

During the APRC Tyranny, we have also seen how many ordinary citizens stood up against the government to ensure democracy prevails in our country. People like Deyda Hydara or the students or Solo Sandeng among many were tortured, jailed, maimed and killed because of their stand for democracy and human rights. One can see therefore it is only the people who bring democracy and protect it, but never politicians or the government.

Therefore let us start to follow and pressure our National Assembly to make sure democracy works in the Gambia. Only democracy can produce quality education and healthcare, good roads, uninterrupted electricity supply, good salaries and good roads, peace, justice and stability.

Therefore, ask your National Assembly Member to which committee he or she belongs and who are the other members and the Chairperson of the Committee. Let us demand the telephone numbers of these people so that we can call them. Let us know their offices and the time they are available to the public so that we can visit them to tell them our piece of mind. Let us write letters to them about our issues and concerns. Let us protest in front of the parliament to let them know we mean business.

STAND UP FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE GAMBIA. TODAY!

God Bless the Gambia.

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