By Famara Fofana

One of the most common sights in major intersections and garages around this time of the month is that of commuters and drivers exchanging verbals. Sometimes, they would come to the point of squaring off like a pair of timid light-feathered boxers in a ring or as it used to happen in our hamlet in Jarra – two hens facing off, flapping their wings in style and looking into each other’s eyes, similar to the modern day version of ‘faasaa-faas’ before a duel.

At a time when most people are literally a contestant in the highly competetive rat race that is ‘raba raba’, anything that could delay ir throw a spanner in somebody else’s work is hardly taken lightly. If anything, that four-lettered word called TIME is considered tones of money even for a people that have spent years subjecting one another to the so-called West African International Time (WAIT).

And boy do you know? Of all the players in the game that is ‘Raba Raba’, motorists, particularly those in the commercial sector, appear to be the dominant players. Patience, it would appear, is their Achilles’ heel.

Picking and dropping passengers anytime, anywhere and anyhow ,it is not uncommon to hear cab drivers especially those that ply the West Field area, barking at pedestrians asking what on earth has become of such people they almost knock on the backside. Usually it is one of the side mirrors that does the trick. To send you panicking, a middle-aged taxi driver wearing a singlet and a Jim Iyke type of shades would impolitely yell ‘Uncle hana yow gisulo moto bi’ or in some instances to the ear-piece loving, mini-bag carrying young ladies ‘Son yew lu jot sa botiyi. Doh bayi doh di loh’.

Who knows , like the taxi driver himself, that commuter atthe receiving end of his fury, also woke up in the morning without a ‘kopar ndawal’ for the day and had to rush to one of those money transfer bureaus along Kairaba Avenue to collect some bucks wired to him or her the previous night.

In a spontaneous response triggered by the numerous items on their to-do list , the person on his or her feet too is tempted no matter how cool-headed they may be to say, ‘yow driver soh ma laa leh. Hana yow amulo brake’?

That is where it stops. No blows to trade but only words to bandy about, for the mantra of the drivers themselves is ‘fat-fat’ in reference to the little time they have. Similarly, the other person in the business of ‘nyeffeh’ would put the little altercation behind him.

These sort of scenarios I tried to depict may sound humorous but in reality they are daily experiences people like myself stumbled on or at times encounter to and from the workplace. They provide a bird’s eye view of the dwindling rate of patience among most young people; driver or pedestrian. It also underlines the gravity of intolerance fast creeping into our society.

In the end however, there tend to be only one winner; the one who exudes cocksure bravado amid the ‘shouti-bouty’ or the ‘dangam’ types. That is how they play by the rule book in such situations.

This is Sere-kunda after all. We are fond of the hullabaloo. We rarely fall in for real fights. So the young lady offended by the motorist would end up saying to herself ‘man mii nga hamneh seyanguma, awma dom amaanguma dara’. In contrast, the uncle who has seen enough in his life would pretend not to have noticed the driver asking for trouble because he can’t afford to indulge in any scuffle that may end up costing his family especially the newly wedded ‘Jongoma’ he has taken. Meanwhile, for the highly-ambitious taxi driver with fire in his belly, all that has passed has indeed passed. Attention is swiftly shifted to the next ‘kiliyaan’ as he hope for a happy return home, just like the uncle or young lady who was out in the morning to fend for their families.

Free Baboucarr Nani Sey; Go After the Big Fish

The arrest, rearrest, charging and arraignment of sports journalist Baboucarr Nani Sey beats comprehension. Baboucarr and his fellow youths were protesting what they saw as an ‘illegal transfer of ownership ‘ of a particular land in their area, Kololi. He was then arrested, charged, bailed and rearrested now to appear in court.

It is interesting to note that according to Baboucarr, they were simply demonstrating peacefully their disagreement on the selling of this important land by Kanifing Municipal Council to Global Properties and some other entity. The youth of the area have claimed that if anything, they are the ones who should be arrested but not Baboucarr Nani Sey.

It is said that when our football team performed well in a competition, Yahya Jammeh spontaneously gave them a piece of land situated near the stadium which used to belong to KMC; and then instructed the Department of Lands to compensate them by giving them another land. That is how the Department of Lands came to give the Kololi land (the disputed land) to KMC who later sold it to Global Properties and some other entity.

It is clear therefore that this mess is also a doing of Yahya Jammeh and his erratic behavior. Thus, even after being defenestrated, the clown is still impacting negatively on the Gambia and her people. This issue should therefore be viewed critically before it escalates into something else.

Government should therefore look into this problem quickly and closely with a view to finding a lasting solution to the standoff. As this involves the youth who are largely unemployed [thus frustrated, with a lot of time on their hands], it could escalate very rapidly.

Thus, as the saying goes, ‘Prevention Is Better Than Cure.’ Solve this problem. Now!

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

By Alhassan Darboe

Whoever said that UTG graduates or certificates are not recognized internationally must be
having a rethink these days. Famara Singhateh, a UTG law graduate has bagged a coveted position as
head of Gambia Desk with A- law firm in Brussels, Belgium. His areas of specialization for his new
employer are Gambia Law on Trade and Investment, Banking and Finance, Insurance, Commercial law
and Practices, Establishment or Acquisition, License Requests and Public Procurement Policies and
Regulations.

Barrister Singhateh never traveled outside the shores of the Gambia for higher education but stayed
in The Gambia and obtained HTC from The Gambia college, Diploma in law at GTTI and a Bachelor of
law degree (LLB) at University of The Gambia. He further went on to obtain his Barrister at Law (BL) at
Gambia Law school in Banjul, The Gambia and admitted to Gambia Bar and enrolled as Barrister and
Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia.

Well before his engagement with A-Law International law Firm, Mr Singhateh worked for FBNBank
Gambia Limited as the first Country Head, Legal Affairs which came after he served the same
institution as Country Head, Human Resources & Administration double hatting as Chief Anti-money
laundering officer. Prior to his stint with the bank, he worked in both Insurance and Education sectors
within The Gambia.Talking to WhatsonGambia from his base in Europe, modest barrister Singhateh
said that he is humbled and very grateful for his new appointment. ”All I can say is that I’m very happy
and humbled by this new appointment, Alhamduilillahi”.He concluded.

Alagi Yorro Jallow

How do you measure patriotism in the wake of the unprecedented type of body politics exists in the Gambia? Is it about falling in line behind your preferred political leader? Or does it mean confronting what is wrong with our country as well as what is right? These questions are not only of our time. They are timeless, and form key tensions at the heart of our system of government. I believe we should reconnect to some of the core values that have united us as a people in the past, and can unite us once more. What is patriotism? It is question that occupies my mind recently as the nation I love dearly is beset by crises that threaten to overwhelm the basic tenets of our cherished democracy.

My hope is that let no one expect any monopoly on wisdom. But I do hope, we can start recognizing that patriotism must be as expansive and inclusive as our democracy should be. We hope to start a conversation about love of country to which you would like to lend your voice and thoughts. We need to hear from our wonderful, diverse, citizenry now more than ever.

The difference between Patriotism and Nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility while the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to a war.

Nationalism vs Patriotism

Nationalism and patriotism both show the relationship of an individual towards his or her nation. The two are often confused and frequently believed to mean the same thing. However, there is a vast difference between nationalism and ariotism.

Nationalism means to give more importance to unity by way of a cultural background, including language and heritage. Patriotism pertains to the love for a nation, with more emphasis on values and beliefs.

When talking about nationalism and patriotism, one cannot avoid the famous quotation by George Orwell, who said that nationalism is ‘the worst enemy of peace’. According to him, nationalism is a feeling that one’s country is superior to another in all respects, while patriotism is merely a feeling of admiration for a way of life. These concepts show that patriotism is passive by nature and nationalism can be a little aggressive.

Patriotism is based on affection and nationalism is rooted in rivalry and resentment. One can say that nationalism is militant by nature and patriotism is based on peace.

Most nationalists assume that their country is better than any other, whereas patriots believe that their country is one of the best and can be improved in many ways. Patriots tend to believe in friendly relations with other countries while some nationalists don’t.

In patriotism, people all over the world are considered equal but nationalism implies that only the people belonging to one’s own country should be considered one’s equal.
A patriotic person tends to tolerate criticism and tries to learn something new from it, but a nationalist cannot tolerate any criticism and considers it an insult.

Nationalism makes one to think only of one’s country’s virtues and not its deficiencies. Nationalism can also make one contemptuous of the virtues of other nations. Patriotism, on the other hand, pertains to value responsibilities rather than just valuing loyalty towards one’s own country.

Nationalism makes one try to find justification for mistakes made in the past, while patriotism enables people to understand both the shortcomings and improvements made.

Summary:

Patriot: Expresses the emotion of love towards his country in a passive way

Nationalist: Strives for independence and the interests and domination of a nation and expresses his love or concern for the country in an active political way.

1…. while nationalism can unite people, it must be noted that it unites people against other people. It was nationalism driven by religious identity and political misgivings which caused the Partition of India in 1947. It was nationalism which was central to Hitler’s philosophy and which led the Japanese to invade China in 1937 and precipitate the Second World.

2. Nationalism focuses on the State while patriotism focuses on the people

3. It is better to love our country keeping in mind that democratic ideals are the most important. The term ‘national identity’ is difficult to define–it can mean a religious identity, an ethnic identity or even an ideological identity. The main shortcoming of nationalism lies in the fact that it can blind people. Love for one’s country is imperative and necessary, but if this love becomes more important than Constitutional values or democratic ideals, it is misplaced.

Additional Readings:

(The Huffington Post: There’s a World of difference Between Patriotism and Nationalism)

Read more: Difference Between Nationalism and Patriotism | Difference Between

http://www.differencebetween.net/…/difference-between-nat…/…

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