Recently, in the past two weeks, I have written two essays in response to BB Sanneh’s allegations against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. These essays, like BB Sanneh’s, were published on the Fatu Network. In the first and second articles I extended a challenge to him to produce the al Kitaab al mubeen, a book he claimed is the book of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. In the second essay, I challenged him that if he is so sure of his statements about the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, then he should invoke the curse of Allah on the liar. I deem it necessary that I should publish these challenges separate from the essays I have written because it seems that he is deliberately ignoring that these challenges are included in the essays.

FIRST CHALLENGE

BB Sanneh stated, “They [Ahmadis] say there is no Qur’an other than what the Promised Messiah (Ghulam Ahmad) brought…. They also believe their book was revealed. Its name is al kitaab al-Mubeen and it is different from the Holy Qur’an.”

In response to BB Scanner, I wrote:

“I hereby challenge BB Sanneh to kindly show the complete text of the book the “Promised Messiah (Ghulam Ahmad) brought” which “is different from the Holy Qur’an” revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) more than 1400 years ago. I put forward a reward of twenty five thousand dalasis (D25, 000.00) if he produce this book and prove its authorship, beyond any reasonable doubt, by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Let him kindly exhibit this book. The onus of proof lies on the claimant. This unsubstantiated claim has been made for decades; let us now see the proof. I give you one month, starting from the date of the publication of this article, to prove your claim, if indeed you are truthful. Remember that Allah’s curse is always on the liars.

“The amount is very meager but no amount should in fact be meager for BB Sanneh as far as fulfilling his “responsibility” is concerned. In fact, even without a financial reward he should fulfill this responsibility.”

The above quotation is from my response to BB Sanneh which was published on the Fatu Network on 27 May 2017 and therefore the deadline is 27 June 2017.

In an effort to evade the challenge, BB Sanneh responded in an essay published on the Fatu Network published on 30 May 2017. He responded:

“The brother (referring to me, Tahir Ahmad Touray) is trying to put a spanner on the spoke of the wheels in order to deceive the gullible and uninformed readers. Why is he offering D25, 000 just for this point out all the so called allegations? In any case I will list down here some of their verses and writings of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad and you the readers can judge if their Quran is different or not.”

This is an attempt to evade the challenge. However I responded to him in an essay published on the same medium published on 3 June 2017:

“I have realized that you want to run away from the challenge by saying that why did I choose to offer D25, 000 just for this point out of all the so-called allegations and also referring to it as “…trying to put a spanner on the spoke of the wheels…” This is the simple reason: The Holy Qur’an is the essence of Islam; there would have been no Islam without the Holy Qur’an. The fundamental beliefs and practices of Islam are embedded in the Holy Qur’an. By attacking the Holy Qur’an, you have attacked the very foundations of the religion which is the acceptable religion in the sight of Allah, the religion called Islam. How did you attack it? You attacked it by saying that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was able to produce a book like the Qur’an called al Kitaab al Mubeen, contrary to the Qur’anic declaration that no one can produce even a chapter like any chapter of the Holy Qur’an. I am therefore obliged to defend the very foundation of Islam which you have vehemently attacked.

“The 27^th Day of June 2017 is the deadline I have given you and the challenge still stands. Instead of making unnecessary statements in order to evade the challenge, please let the world see this book al Kitaab al Mubeen. By doing that you will save the entire Ummah from the deception of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at as you called it.”

I am reiterating here that I am calling on BB Sanneh to produce the so-called al kitaab al mubeen of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. A book that he referred to as “THEIR QURAN”. He believes that there is a Qur’an different from the Qur’an brought by Sayyednaa Muhammad Rasoolullaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Ahmadi Muslims believe that there is only one book on earth that deserves the name QURAN and is called so. That book was revealed to Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw). However, BB Sanneh believes that there is another “Quran” and the other name of that “Quran” is al kitaab al mubeen.

No Ahmadi Muslim throughout the world has ever seen that book. BB Sanneh has possibly seen the book and most probably possesses it. It is now time for him to show it to the entire world. He must show this book to the world and prove his case or tell the entire world that he is a fabricator of the highest order and a mental slave who cannot think for himself. THE WORLD IS WAITING! THE DEADLINE IS 27 JUNE 2017!!

THE SECOND CHALLENGE

BB Sanneh throughout his two essays attributed many beliefs to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Despite my response to the allegations, he is still insisting that his statements are true. In my essay of 3 June 2017, I extended the following challenge to him:

“You have been trying to hail your scholars as heroes and custodians of the Islam to an extent that you believe they have the mandate and authority to declare who is or is not a Muslim, among them you specifically mentioned Abdoulie Fatty, formerly of the State House mosque. Let me put it to you that those so-called scholars in the Gambia were challenged to a Mubahala (a duel of prayers wherein the curse of Allah is invoked on the wilful liars0. Ask Abdoulie Fatty especially and his team of anti-Ahmadiyya scholars why they did not accept the challenge for a duel of prayers and invoke the curse of Allah on the wilful liars whoever those wilful liars may have been. For twenty years now, the challenge has not been accepted. I am now telling you, Bakary B Sanneh and whatever scholar you are referring to, that if you are so sure of your truthfulness and allegations that you have raised against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at; if you are so sure of the falsehood of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as), then publicly announce what you think and believe about the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at and then publicly declare that you pray for the curse of Allah to descend upon the wilful liar whoever it is. …. Please do not hesitate to do this if indeed you are defending Islam. It will definitely be a great service to Islam.”

BB Sanneh is now writing obscenities on facebook. I challenged him there many times to make a public announcement that Allah’s curse should descend upon the liar but he has always evaded it. He wrote on facebook:

“For the record in 1907, Mufti Sanaullah of India took your deviant murrtad founder to the challenge of a public Mubahala that the liar should die in the lifetime of the other. Barely a year later your disgraced kaafir Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died a very disgraceful death on his bed by defecating and vomiting while the former lived for almost another 40 years afterwards preaching and spreading the word of Islam. So our scholars have already done that job for us. If fighting and continuing to expose the kuffur of your jamat is going to bring me disgrace then I look forward to that disgrace. May Allah guide you all to Islam.”

BB Sanneh, to say that your scholars have done that job for you, therefore you do not need to do it is exposing your falsehood. Your scholars have also authored for you volumes of lies and obscenities against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at. Then you should not have written the lies as an essay. Since you have written the lies that they have already written for you, you should also be able to accept the invocation of Allah’s curse on the liar. This statement shows that you are certain that you are not the least truthful.

Let me shed some light on the Sanaullah issue. This is what happened: In 1897, the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, in his book Anjam-e-Atham, invited some people to a Mubahala and among them was one Maulvi Sanaullah of Amratsar. The terms of this Mubahala were left open. The Promised Messiah (as) clearly and unambiguously stated that Allah would decide according to the standard of truthfulness set by Sanaullah so that there would be no room for complaint. So, actually, the Promised Messiah (as) gave Sanaullah a blank cheque and Sanaullah filled in the terms of his own choice. In 1902, Maulvi Sanaullah filled in the blank cheque by writing that the liar should die in the lifetime of the truthful one. The Promised Messiah (as) readily accepted it. Immediately after the Promised Messiah’s acceptance, Maulvi Sanaullah changed course and retreated from his term that the liar should die in the lifetime of the truthful. Maulvi Sanaullah made many statements in order to evade the challenge. Later, in 1907, Maulvi Sanaullah filled in the blank cheque once again by writing that the truthful should die in the lifetime of the liar citing the Holy Qur’an that Allah grants respite to wrongdoers so that they would increase in their wrongdoing and eventually face the punishment of Allah. He went further to say that that was why Musailima the Liar outlived Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw). The Promised Messiah (as) readily accepted the challenge and he the truthful (the Promised Messiah) died in the lifetime of the liar (Maulvi Sanaullah). So, the blank cheque given by the Promised Messiah (as) and filled by Maulvi Sanaullah in the terms of his own choice was honoured accordingly.

The truth is that the Promised Messiah (as) had stated clearly, as a prophecy, that Allah would decide according to the standard of truthfulness set by Sanaullah, and so He did. The true one died early and the liar lived long to tell the tale of his own falsehood.

If you still believe and insist:

1. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed Goodhood
2. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claimed superiority to Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw)
3. That Ahmadis have “their Quran” which is different from the Holy Qur’an that was revealed to Muhammad Rasoolullaah (saw)
4. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad died a disgraceful death as result of a Mubahala with Maulvi Sanaullah
5. That Mirza Ghulam Ahmad is a false claimant
6. That Ahmadis are kuffaar
7. That Ahmadis believe that Allah forgets, makes mistakes, sleeps and even engage in carnal pleasures

(These are beliefs you attributed to Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at)

Then make a public announcement of these issues and then declare the curse of Allah on the liar. I hope that before the 27 June 2017, you will make a public announcement, and publish it on the online newspapars and our local newspapers in the Gambia, that these are Ahmadiyya Muslim beliefs and then you declare the curse of Allah on the liar.

I pray that the curse of Allah descend on the liar. The curse of Allah be upon the liar. The curse of Allah be on the liar. Aameen. Aameen. Aameen.

Written By: Tahir Ahmad Touray

Pirjo Andersson is a Swedish who teaches, plays, and composes music, and also works with
theatre and drama. She is in love with The Gambia, and has visited several times. Pirjo is
hopeful that if Barrow works on his body language, he can build much trust.

Your Excellency,

Bear with few minutes of your time to read what I think would be helpful to friends, citizens and
observers of Gambia and its politics. Some people might be wondering what on earth has a
toubab to do with Gambian politics, especially when the toubab’s forefathers were the very ones
who plundered Africa’s natural resources and enslaved its people. Nevertheless, I am a keen
observer of Gambian politics; and God knows, I was the happiest when Gambians finally voted
for change.

Your Excellency, there is a language no one can hear, but still it speaks loud and clear, and even
children understand this part: the body language. It is understood internationally even by very
small children who have not started communicating verbally.

The language of the body carries more than half of the message a person conveys to his listeners.
This makes it important for leaders to know its significance. As an actress and drama teacher, I
have been taught to observe the body language of people when they speak to me. So I have been
observing you.

I do know that many leaders, especially in the West, are trained on how to use their body
language. This is nothing to be shameful of; it is a political mission that leaders exploit in order
to make their message look relevant.

Your Excellency, you have a beautiful smile, so use it wisely when you appear in front of
cameras. Knowing when to smile, how to sit properly by avoiding leaning backward is a good
start. Most, if not all the time, your body language tells the observer if you are in full control of
the matters in Gambia, as well as yourself.

Your Excellence, you do not need to shove people in order to be seen, like Donald Trump the big
bully did when he visited Europe last month. I do not want to remind you, because you know
better than me that politics is not a soap opera. In soap operas we often see very exaggerated
gestures and facial expressions because the performers only have a short time to tell us their
story and we never ge to ask questions.

Your Excellency, the posture of the body tells us if you feel good speaking to us; if you are in full
control of your message; if we should trust you; if you wish to be in that seat or wish you were
somewhere else, drinking ataya and eating benachin.

Having said this, I must add that sometimes when I see the photos the world share about Your
Excellency, I wish that you could be presented more flattering than some of the photos,
especially the one about your visit to a mosque in Saudi Arabia. This photo left observers and
critics asking, ‘Who is pulling the strings in today’s Gambia?’ I wish someone trained in physical
communication can give a piece of advice as to the damage some photos of yours can cause.

Finally, before any photo session or before appearing in front of cameras, if I were by your side,
I would whisper: “Dear Mr. President, you know I like you and we are many who do that, but
you must show the world that you are a leader we can be proud of. Please, stand up straight, pull
your shoulders back, hold your head high and give us that great smile of yours.”

Your well-wisher,
Pirjo Andersson

Dear Editor,

Please allow me space in your newspaper to add my voice to the call made by GCCI
president Muhamad Jagana for the new Gambian government to review taxes especially
the payroll tax on the Point Newspaper of Tuesday 6 June 2017. Mr Jagana could not
have said it better when he said, “This will make it possible for people to have more
disposable incomes, spend more money on their lives, improve their quality of living and
also help to gel the economy”.

These are very important considerations and I could not agree more with Mr Jagana that
reviewing the payroll tax for a better regime where low income earners are not penalised
for being in a low-income bracket is necessary. I want to talk a bit more about the unfair
nature of the Gambian payroll tax system and I will do this looking at how employment
income is taxed in the Gambia.

According to the PKF Individual Country Tax Guide 2016/17, anybody with a monthly
income of D1,500 will not pay tax but any amount in excess of this will attract tax at
varying levels of 5% to 30%. PKF has stated in its guide that “tax is payable on the gross
employment income of an employee monthly”. However, I will disagree with this statement
and I will give my reason for the disagreement a bit further in this write up.

Mr Jagana just hit the nail on the head and I think the new government should prioritise
this review to ease the burden on low income earners. Living cost is very high in the
Gambia and I have done a guesstimate of this for a small family of 5 living in Busumbala
and the breadwinner working in Brikama.

This is just an assumption that the family lives in their own home, spends a bare
minimum on basic things with school fees, clothing and medical bills excluded.

Bag of rice last 1 month = D1,200, fish money for a month = D1,500 (30 days x D50),
travel cost to and from work for a month = D320 (20 days x D16), electricity = D500.

As can be seen from the above basic things, the total living cost is assumed to be D3,520.
This is far more than the per capita income reported by the World Bank Group in 2014 of
D1,533 per month (($460 a year x D40) / 12 months). From the above analysis, a small
family needs at least D3,500 to survive at the brink of poverty. If the average income is
£1,500 a month as stated by the World Bank, then poverty is the order of the day as
families will not be able to look after themselves.

Coming back to the statement by PKF that tax is applied on gross monthly income, I will
use the recent payslip of the Honourable Minister of Tourism which featured on the
Freedom Newspaper of 5 April 2017 to argue that this is not the case. It is worth noting
that I have not seen any rebuttal from the Accountant General’s department neither from
the minister himself on the validity of this payslip. On that note, I hold that the payslip is
genuine and valid.

On the said payslip, the minister is paid a basic salary of D29,333, Telephone Allowance
of D5,000, House Rent Allowance of D5,000 and Responsibility allowance of D10,000.

This gives a gross salary of D49,333.50 including a rounding of D0.50. The payslip shows
a net salary of D41,567, meaning a tax deduction of D7,766.50. If we are to rely on the
statement of PKF that tax is based on gross pay, then the minister’s salary will be taxed at
30% being income range above D58,000 per year. Therefore, the tax to be deducted from
the minister’s salary should have been D14,800.05 but only D7,766.50 was deducted
hence why I conclude that Gambia’s income tax regime is flawed and open to abuse by
people in authority.

I have tried to establish the tax rate used on the minister’s salary but find myself chasing
my own tail. Tax of D7,766.50 appears to be 26% of basic pay or 16% of gross pay. This is
not in line with the PKF guide and the rate should have been 30% on basic or gross pay.

The government should note that the current income tax regime is flawed and open to
abuse. All it takes is a clever accountant to pay himself and the senior executives lower
basic salaries and increased allowances. This way, they will pay less tax and go home
with pockets full of money. The poor low income earner who is not privileged to have
allowances will be taxed on their meagre earnings. Have you ever wondered why the rich
are getting richer and the poor getting poorer? Well, here is an example.

I am recommending to the Gambian government to raise the Personal Allowance (Tax
Free Allowance) to D3,500 (basic living cost) and apply tax on gross earnings and NOT
basic salaries. I know critics will say that raising Tax Free Allowance will mean less tax
revenue for GRA but this will be more than compensated by the extra tax revenue to be
generated from fat cat directors and high income earners.

Before anyone attacks me, please note that this write up is not aimed at any particular
person and I used the Tourism minister’s payslip because it is available in the public
domain. The new government needs support in highlighting some of these things which I
believe some people in authority who are benefitting from them wont.

I believe the government should constitute a committee to look at all the tax regimes from
personal tax to Capital Gains Tax, Dividend tax, Withholding tax etc. If there are
resourcing constraints at the GRA, I am willing to collaborate with them and provide help
where necessary. For those who may think that I am looking for employment, well I am
not. I have worked for the likes of Lloyds Banking Group, Halifax Bank of Scotland,
Skipton Building Society and currently with the fourth largest consumer retailer in the UK
with an annual turnover of £16bn. I believe we all should support the government in any
little way we can whether or not you are in the country.

As an example, by applying tax on gross income, tax revenue from the Tourism Minister
would be £14,800 per month compared to the D7,800 being deducted. This is extra
D7,000 revenue per month and apply this to all the ministers and fat cat directors, the tax
revenue will be maximised and more disposable income for poor workers.

As mentioned before, this piece is not aimed at anyone but If anyone is offended by it, I
make no apologies.

Thanks for the space and keep up the good work.

Nuha Ceesay

Don’t Blame Anyone: Yahya is a Narcissist!

 
Alagi Yorro Jallow

 
Off with his nose to spite his face: “Cutting off the nose to spite the face” is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive over-reaction to a problem: “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face” is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the object of one’s anger. Yet, the government is acting out recklessly, as is the Interior Minister thus far. Hopefully someone talks some sense into President Barrow and quickly; otherwise, he’ll end up just as much a flop as a petulant politician who never learn only to act on revenge.

 
Politicians will need to exercise restraint. Leadership is about educating the public that civil war in a democracy is not a spectator sport. It is not about ratcheting up security measures, or giving vent to revenge to shore up an image of toughness. It is about allowing people to have their say on issues of war and peace, not just at the outset but continuously share grievance and, perhaps, not to take vengeance instead show love and forgiveness.

 
Revenge politics and paranoia are distracting the government of President Adama Barrow. There is a dangerous pattern in Gambia’s approach towards the security challenges. On the one side, it is complacent in settling the security against the party cadres of the APRC, perhaps because of its political calculations; on the other, it is using collective punishment tactics to deal with the APRC militancy. The current security situation will vouch for this policy’s failure. Still his fanatics continue to applaud every action or inaction of his, showing weird loyalty to an individual or party rather than to the nation. A leader can heal the wounds of his nation or aggravate such wounds. A leader can bring peace to his nation or cause a war to erupt within his nation.

 
Personal angst, public interest, and a sharp eye for a political opportunity have combined in different measures to prompt Mai Fatty to do what he himself may have regarded as unthinkable: revolt against the Foni leadership. No matter what else it does or does not, this revenge of the underdog is a success. It might not help President Barrow much in the short term, but could have long-term implications for President Barrow that is the nature of revenge. Because of political hero worship, some people lose their basic humanity and sense of logic.

 
I have said it time and again that the Gambia is on a very dangerous political trajectory. Gambians do not be fooled, know that violence breeds violence and when it spills out of control no one of us is safe, we all would be affected regardless of our social and political standing in society.

 
We have reached a point where most of us have lost the normal human feelings of empathy and sympathy for one another. My heart was broken seeing how many people celebrated the tragic killing of Haruna Jatta while others went ahead without thinking of what the family who just experienced an unexpected permanent loss were feeling, they even reached a point of blaming the deceased person for his own death.

 
Prior to that we saw many APRC members being brutally having their dear lives cut short others for the simple mistake of wearing APRC t-shirt. Others have been stripped naked like we saw on social media while many more have been forced out of trading places and Gambian always found this amusing.

 
Since yesterday social media in Gambia has been gripped with yet another sad story of a young lady who is a being attacked by alleged members of party cadres and the only crime she committed was to belong to Yahya Jammeh’s tribe.

 
Gambians, does it have to get this far for us to realize that the path we are on is unsustainable? How much more blood of innocent people must be shaded to maintain the status quo? There is no darker period in our recent history than the dictatorship era of Yahya Jammeh. There is hardly any Gambian family that was left untouched by death and grief during the Yahya’s dictatorship. To this day, we carry with us stories of men killed in incommunicado, women raped in detention centers, and children left orphaned by countless human rights violations across the country and all throughout the tenure of Yahya Jammeh.

 
Today, the man who set the wheels of dictatorship in motion is in exile in Equatorial Guinea as a farmer. This is a man who buried us in debt and left us mourning our dead as he stole from the country’s coffers and pillaged our nation for more than 20 years. For how long shall we continue blaming the victims when we should have been sympathizers? It has never been a crime for one to belong to a party of choice but why should we allow cadres define society?

Let’s end this madness and allow people to freely join and express their political affiliation. This isn’t just a right but also one of the duties of citizens in a democracy.
Let’s respect the right of members to parties of their choice. No one should not victimize people for being APRC the same way no one should not be allowed to victimize people. Nothing can change history. Nothing can change the truth. Yahya Jammeh is a bad man. He is not a great man, not a human man. He is a machine; a money machine; stripped by his overwhelming passion of greed of every quality which makes a man unworthy of a citizen. He has not made good. He cannot make good. It is not him. He has nothing the aspiring world needs.

 
On the contrary, that for which he does stand is a menace, to our free development not only or chiefly, our free development in human rights, but vastly more important, our free development in citizenship and morals.
To deny that these atrocities happened and to forget the suffering it has caused is to betray our history as people who fought for freedom from the dark days of dictatorship. Yahya Jammeh is inconsolable and unforgivable. The people of Foni does not deserve to suffer for Yahya.

 
It is in these stories that we as a nation will share grievance and, perhaps, the urge to avenge. It is these instincts that need to be led and shaped. If they are left unchecked, if private reason can become supreme, if each is left to judge for themselves what is right, then we will be left with the chaos of conflicting claims. That is why we need not politics but leadership.

 
This should have set a precedent to put aside politics in the name of national unity. President Barrow could have simply solved the current political crisis instead of his Interior Minister.

He would have strengthened his claim to national leadership by inviting all political actors with him in Foni to show that there were times – even in a fiercely political tension – when national leadership mattered more than party politics.

Building The New Gambia

Open Letter to Pres. Adama Barrow,

Wednesday 8 June 2017

Chief Servant Adama Barrow. Anything Anything!!

Mr. President, do not hesitate and do not ignore. Do not downplay and do not procrastinate. Do not delegate and do not refuse. Speak to your people. Say anything. Indeed Anything, Anything! Tell us about the meetings and conferences you have had since last week, or since last month or since January. Just say anything. It serves the country no good for the head of state to remain silent for more than 48 hours. Every week we deserve to hear a statement from your own mouth. It could be Anything Anything!!

Institute a weekly national address over radio and television to tell us anything. It could be a message of unity and reassurance. Speak to us so that we know that you are there. We want to know whether you see and hear and feel us. We want to know if you are indeed on top of issues. By just knowing that, you help to settle our minds. That would be encouraging and refreshing. Please just say something. Anything Anything. Tell us about your expectations and vision for the Gambia.

You can even tell us about the foreign leaders and donors you have met, and the contracts you have signed to address transportation, electricity, employment or about the issue of our youths in Libya and those who returned. You can also tell us what you expect from each and every Gambian. It is now more than four months since we elected you, yet we do not still hear from you. This is indeed unprecedented in the history of leadership. Even the Dump Trump speaks to his Americans every hour – at least through Twitter. He does not say anything substantial, but he just says anything that comes to his mind. Therefore Mr. Barrow, speak to us! About anything. Anything Anything.

Barrow, you do not even have to talk to us in English. But you can address us in Fula or Jola or Mandinka or Wolof or Aku or Manjago or Serer and indeed in any of our languages. They are all our languages, equal and dignified. There are translators at GRTS who would put it into English. No doubt. But just speak to us. Anything Anything.

If you cannot talk to us, then go out with your wives to visit market women in Serre Kunda or Brikama, or Farafeni market. Visit taxi drivers and share your vision and hopes with them. Listen to them. Visit our neighborhoods, villages and towns. And Kanilai could be a great stop. But just get out and meet your people directly. Above all go to the National Assembly and address them and the nation. Leadership is also about personal touch and closeness to the people; that is called visibility and communication and they strengthen leadership. Visibility and communication make leaders being loved and respected, and build public confidence and trust in them. Hence no visibility and no communication erode public confidence in a leader.

Alternatively, you can call groups to State House to meet with you to discuss. Invite teachers to hear their concerns. Invite imams and priests to pray for the nation. Invite farmers, women’s groups and not forgetting persons living with HIV/AIDS or persons with disability and especially our children. Talk to them to hear their issues and concerns. Invite the private sector or CSOs to discuss national development issues and concerns. Invite any sector of our population and dialogue with them.

One very important sector you could meet collectively is the victims of the Dictatorship. Invite them to State House to console them and share with them your determination to see justice done. These are the parents of April 10/11 victims; Parents and wives of November 11 victims or D30 Heroes; The families of Deyda Hydara, Koro Ceesay, Daba Marenah and co-victims; Solo Sandeng and his fallen colleagues; Kanyiba Kanyi, Enor Kolley, Jasarja Kujabi, Marcie Jammeh, Binta Jarju and also the family of Haruna Jatta among other victims. It will soothe their hearts and give them hope for justice. It will serve to stabilize and strengthen our transition to our democracy and promote unity and reconciliation.

Yes, your ministers are within their powers to speak on your behalf and about their areas of responsibility. But they cannot substitute you no matter how competent and relevant they are. Remember, we did not elect them. We elected you and then you employed them. Therefore above all else, You and The People have a direct accountability relationship. The ministers are accountable to you and also to us, but you are primarily accountable to no one but to We The People first and foremost and then second, to our elected parliamentarians. Hence no minister can better speak for you than yourself.

By not speaking to us, then you disrespect us. It means you ignore us. But it also means you are not ready to lead. It could be you are afraid to speak lest we criticize you for what you say. It could be you have no ideas to share. It could mean anything and we are right therefore to speculate anything we wish to speculate. Such speculation projects a leadership vacuum that frustrates citizens even your supporters like me. But we want you to succeed and this is why we want you to speak to us.

But more seriously such vacuum creates an unfortunate opportunity for criminal gangs like APRC to take advantage to subvert our democracy as they just did in Kanilai. So all of these incidents in Kanilai, Farato, Kartong and Bakau with many coming are also your fault because folks did not know what or where you stand. Therefore they misjudge and misinterpret you hence they take issues and the law into their own hands. So if you had shown the leadership since the very beginning it is clear that none of these incidents would have happened or at least not as bad as they did.

Your silence is empowering detractors and enemies of the Gambia such as Yaya Jammeh. Your silence is validating the speculators. Your silence is vindicating those who said the Coalition is a bunch of selfish and incompetent parties and leaders who cannot govern. Some had said the Coalition Government still thinks it is still an opposition. Your silence is validating those misconceptions. Prove them wrong by speaking to the issues and to Gambians directly. Be ready to be criticized and respond to those criticisms. That is democracy.

Speak, Mr. Barrow. Anything Anything.

God Bless The Gambia.

In The Service of the Nation, I remain

Signed

Madi Jobarteh

Dear Editor,

The entire management team of Project Aid have resigned a fortnight ago under duress as their chairman, Matthias Ketteler continues to excerpt pressure on them as a way of purging instead of out right firing.

This further backfired as the nurses and teachers at Jahally Health Center under the said project also resigned due to very low salaries which have been stagnant for yrs.

This mass resignation came as last resort after the chairman and his team failed to consider the request of the staff which were discussed on several meetings over the years. At the time of reporting, the clinic and the kindergarten are still closed while negotiations are ongoing to resolved the impasse.

Concerned Citizen

On 28 July 2010, through Resolution 64/292, the United Nations General Assembly explicitly recognized thehuman right to water and sanitation and acknowledged that clean drinkingwater and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. … It is a prerequisite for the realization of other human rights”.May 29, 2014

But even before that, earlier, about one thousand five hundred years ago, Allah the Sublime assured us (Humankind) of the following.

‘It is provided for thee that thou wilt not hungertherein, nor wilt thou be naked.

And thou will not thirst therein, nor will you be exposed to the elements…. (20:119-120)

The provision of water therefore, among other things, was guaranteed by the Glorious Quran. Yet, as indicated above, it is only a few years ago that the international body of nations recognized water as a fundamental human right.

Lacking potable water is indeed a violation of our fundamental human right. This is an evil of huge proportion and has the potential of causing great harm. The first casualty of this horrendous problem will be the health of the population. The transfer of communicable diseases will ravage the country and further stretch our already beleaguered health sector.

The catastropic consequences can range from a sick population, which is the workforce of any nation – the engine of the economy which will drastically dwindle, and fast. God help us all if our economy is unable to withstand any further lashing from an inflated medical bill from our hospitals.

The horrible unending queuing for potable water in the country in the past few days – coming to weeks – is a cause for concern. The National Water and Electricity Company seems unable to solve their seemingly perennial problem of supplying water and electricity constantly. What is being done about this?

The Gambia is such a small country that it is unfathomable that our government cannot even provide this basic need. Isn’t it time that the government started looking for other solutions as far as the same old system has repeatedly failed us?

Can we consider privatisation and see if that is the way to go? It is futile trying to do something the same way for fifty-two years with no result and we are still adamant and persistently repeating the same method. It is time to start thinking outside the box!

These are extraordinary circumstances and thus need extraordinary measures. We must be willing to do the unthinkable so as to be rid of these perennial woes. This needs strong leadership which is not afraid to take the hard unpopular decisions.

Have a Good Day Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

Gambian social media. The debate. The discourse. And the discussion. It is becoming shamefully worrisome. The profanities. The demonising. And the smear campaign are transforming our social platform into a fierce battle ground. You either conform or you are an enemy of progress. “To make a difference, we must elevate the discussion and keep it professional. We are all professionals, young and smart. I see no reason why we can’t debate and positively come up with solutions to better ourselves. No one is winning this blame game. We are only allowing the past to re-emerge”, Momodou MB Krubally warned. He could not have said it any better. Beside, some of us cautioning the leadership to excel and delivery harbour no grudge against them. Moreover, non of you hauling profanities from the cliff love the Barrow government more than me. However, I, unlike you, do not blind love Barrow. Since I dearly want him to succeed, I will not excuse anything that is likely to slip him into failure.Every Gambian wants the best for the country. Good healthcare services, excellent electricity and water supply, good road networks, employment opportunities, peace, security and stability. Unfortunately, these are never achieved by giving a blank cheque to a government or sanctifying it. In sum, that mutates self-hate. And self-hate is destructive. Furthermore, it is foolhardy to assume we can all view the world in one wavelength.

The Kanilai saga has generated varied emotional reactions. As some quickly faulted the disoriented villagers, others accused the leadership of inappropriate handling of the protest. Firstly, Kanilai is not autonomous and cannot be isolated by the leadership. Similarly, as a home of Goloh Ajuma where a lot is said to have gone under the bridge, it generates a lot of security interest to the leadership. Secondly, Kanilai is reported to have housed most of the state sophisticated armoury. Arguably, by virtue of it proximity and ethnicity to Casamance which known for its rebellion equally highlights the village as a security interest in nurturing peace and stability in the country. Consequently, any iota of incitement to further weaken the already fragile security of the country will be met with stiff measures. By this I am not insinuating brutal and unlawful killing of unarmed civilians. But proportionately managing and controlling such uprisings effectively. For instance, a good and professional Intelligence Unit would have quickly pick up the brewing of such protests with potential to reck national security at its embryonic stage. Engage the ringleaders or deploy the necessary and trained officers to control and manage the crowd. Additionally, the leadership could have also averted the fermentation of insecurity in Kanilai by neutralising its potent through engagement and dialogue.

Like Madi Jobarteh puts it, make them realise that it is manifestly sickening to continue agitating “in support of Yaya Jammeh is unacceptable because it is utterly shameful and painful. Yaya Jammeh is not a person in the league of Edward Francis Small or any patriot. He had the unique opportunity to rule the Gambia during which time our people gave him full support from Banjul to Basse. Yet he decided to flout our Constitution, dishonour our dignity, trample upon our sovereignty and disregard our religious and cultural norms and values to unleash a reign of terror on Gambians. He directly raped, tortured and murdered citizens as well as directly plundered national resources with impunity for 22 years. Therefore the least we expect from you lot is grief and remorse and not a rowdy bunch celebrating a killer”.

 
On the other hand, the leadership can also make the appreciate their government is not an exclusionist which bestow undue favours on only one region against the rest of the country. What they have been enjoying under Goloh Ajuma was likened to stealing from family and friends. As a result it is morally and ethically unacceptable. Notwithstanding, where government can assist in making them self-reliant through the sponsorship of community and individual projects should do so. Since Senegal has a vested interest in broking peace and stability in Casamance given their army’s historical encounters in the region and Goloh’s alleged involvement, it is wise to replace the Senegalese ECOMIG presence in Kanilai with either Nigerian or Ghanaian soldiers. To continue perceiving Kanilai as the enemy and further isolating it, will only harness it into a formidable rebel base against the leadership. Most importantly, our international gateway must be taken from the Swiss company and given back to GAMTEL to manage. That way, the Intelligence Services can filter any calls from outside inciting internal unrest. The Intelligence Services should be vigilant and proactive in their quest to harness security of the Gambia.

Sulayman Jeng
Birmingham, UK

Dear Editor,

The security guards at Banjul international airport are gearing up for a stand off because the management do not care about our welfare.

The security officials are graded from H which is the least salary received at civil aviation and with less benefits,  also the condition of the electrical work and other equipment are in a very bad stage which is detrimental to us the guards, other individuals and for general aviation safety.

We have been complaining about it but still no improvements. Some of The guard posts are without toilets which is a basic human need and nothing has been done about it.

The worst of it all, there is a serious sanitary condition with the uncovered sewage system. Each time the auditors come to audit they tell ask us to cover up stories to backup their failures.

The unit (Security) personnel are now fed up and are appealing to the auditors not to only link with the management, but to contact us directly. This way they will have a proper auditing once they liaise with the guards on the ground for correct and reliable information. They will know whatever is happening at The BANJUL international airport. Not just made up stories. This is just Part (1). Part 2 will come soon.

Thank you for the space.

No development in the Absence of Potable Water….

No form of development can take place in the absence of a constant, clean and uninterrupted supply of potable water. Even the United Nations recognises this as a basic fundamental human right. The provision of potable water is so vital that it affects all sections of human life.

If people lack potable water for an extended period of time, the consequences can be very dire indeed. The first casualty of this horrendous problem will be the health of the population. The transfer of communicable diseases will ravage the country and further stretch our already beleaguered health sector. This in turn will batter our depleted economy and will result in the skyrocketing of goods and services.

With a sick population, the workforce which is the engine of the economy will dwindle fast and, God help us all if our economy is unable – and it is certainly not robust at present – to withstand any further lashing from an inflated medical bill from our hospitals. Let’s face it, without potable water nothing can be achieved. It is not an exaggeration to say that water is life. Nothing can be achieved in the absence of clean and potable water.

Yet, for the past few days, if not weeks, the constant lack of water supply has assailed many parts of the country. The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) seems unable to solve their seemingly perennial problem of supplying water and electricity constantly. What is being done about this?

Gambians are tired of the same old story of Generator Number Six, Five, Three or that there was a linkage in Brikama, Bundung or other places which is making it impossible for them to provide us with water and electricity. It is time government takes serious action to solve these problems once and for all.

The Gambia is such a small country that it is unfathomable that our government cannot even provide this basic need. Isn’t it time that the government started looking for other solutions as far as the same old system has repeatedly failed us?

Can we consider privatisation and see if that is the way to go? It is futile trying to do something the same way for fifty-two years with no result and we are still adamant and persistently repeating the same method. It is time to start thinking outside the box!

We need water and electricity ASAP!

Have a Good Day Mr President….

Tha Scribbler Bah

A Concerned Citizen

The political, security and socio-economic situation in the Gambia is a serious cause for concern. Events are unfolding at breathtaking pace and President Barrow (of The Gambia) and his government seems to be reacting to them, instead of shaping these events. His constant travels outside of the country for meetings, state visits or diplomatic engagements leaving a dangerous vacuum in political and executive leadership makes the issue of the Vice Presidency even more pressing. His refusal to relieve Hon. Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang of the Vice Presidency Overseer position and her lack of political maturity and inability to graciously vacate the office for the greater good is a dangerous sign of hunger for power and prestige or at the very least political grandstanding and nepotism.

I made the point before that I believe she should do the right thing and give up her aspiration for the position due to the huge reputational damage hanging on to it could do to her otherwise respectable legacy in the fight to rid our country of dictatorship and political backwardness. It is safe to say that not so honorable Tambajang is dead set on ripping her political capital bare bones. She seems determined to hang on to the Vice Presidency no matter the political cost and regardless of how weak it makes President Barrow.

The truth is that the president’s inaction in filling the highly important Vice President post within his cabinet with a sworn deputy president that could properly and fully execute his or her duties and that of the president in the president’s absence or in such a situation that he is incapacitated is not only a sign of weakness, ineptitude and an act of tomfoolery but is constitutionally questionable. I am even prepared to call it a dereliction of duty! Mr President, your cabinet is not ‘fully constituted’.

When an elected leader is deliberately unwilling to assuage the wishes and clear expectations of the people that elected him or her into office on matters of high national importance to the political stability and socio-economic equilibrium of society that is an ominous sign of dictatorial tendencies. How can we have any confidence in an evolving leadership predicated on breaking agreements and an administration resorting to quasi democracy (democracy of convenience)? First, the president softened on the 3yr Coalition Agreement, got quite on Declaration of Asset for himself and his ministers and refuses to appoint a Vice President when it became clear his prearranged choice was unqualified contrary to what both the president and Mrs. Tambajang’s surrogates had claimed.

It is obvious to any Gambian of average intellect and political understanding that the reason the Vice Presidency is still dangerously vacant is because it is ‘reserved’ for Mrs. Tambajang. This arrangement is seriously bordering on nepotism and a clear sign of individual interest eclipsing that of the good of the nation. No one can argue that Mrs. Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang did not contribute to the new political reality. However, this is not a compensation scheme and there are other competent and qualified Gambians deserving to be given an opportunity to serve in this important position without causing a perilous political scenario from becoming a full fledge crisis. For Allah sake, enough is enough!

Mr. President, in case you do not recognize the writings on the wall, you are losing political capital, political support and increasingly looking weak in the eyes of our people and the world. Lest you forgot, your base is merely 19,000 more Gambians larger than the dictator’s. That is not a very admirable political base to feel awfully comfortable and you CANNOT afford to lose any more support from some of us that constitute that base or else…!

Written by Anonymous the Patriot