By Madi Jobarteh

Since the release of the draft constitution two weeks ago a growing struggle over the soul of the nation has been brewing up over a single word, ‘secularity’. The fact that the CRC did not mention the word at all yet in their draft they went further to speak about ‘Shariah Court’ seems to have generated fears and antagonism among citizens. The undeniable background to this vibration is certainly the unconstitutional declaration of ‘The Islamic Republic of the Gambia’ by the Tyrant Yaya Jammeh in 2015.

It must be said that the recent remarks from the CRC Chair did not also help while earlier comments by an Islamic Scholar Dr Omar Jah have all contributed to making the issue of secularity of the state very contentious. Let me state upfront that I stand for the inclusion of the word ‘secular’ in the draft constitution.

In that regard I hold a different view from the Chair of the CRC Justice Cherno Jallow who defended the exclusion of the word ‘secular’ out of the draft constitution on the basis that it has never been in both the 1970 and 1997 constitutions. By that claim alone one may ask the CRC why therefore are we writing a new constitution if we will not add or subtract any word that was not found in the 1970 and 1997 constitutions? Already in his own draft constitution Justice Jallow has put in many new words, ideas and institutions that never existed in both the 1970 and 1997 constitutions. So why not put in ‘secular’ as well?

For example, in the draft constitution the right to development was mentioned when this is not the case for the 1997 or 1970 constitutions. The draft constitution also mentioned the creation of an Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission as well as proposed the idea of a National Assembly Service Commission among many other innovations. None of these innovations are in the 1970 or 1997 constitutions. Therefore, how could the CRC decide to leave out the word ‘secular’ just because it did not exist in the previous constitutions?

After all the CRC is tasked with the responsibility to seek people’s opinion on the bass of which it was to write a new constitution. And indeed many have opined that the Gambian state must be secular. I think that view must be considered strongly by the CRC.
Therefore, I wish to strongly argue that we indeed need to write in Section 1 subsection 2 of the draft constitution that the Gambia is a ‘multi-party party, democratic and secular’ state to cement the separation of state matters from being influenced by any religion. Yes, Section 151 (2)b has entrenched that the National Assembly shall not establish a state religion. While that is clear, it must be noted that this provision only refers to the National Assembly. It did not say no other person or authority shall establish a state religion.

When Yaya Jammeh declared the Gambia an Islamic Republic, he did not go to the National Assembly to do so knowing full well that the 1997 Constitution bars the parliament to do that. But at the same time there was no provision in the 1997 constitution that said the President cannot also declare state religion. Hence by having ‘Secular’ stated in Section 1 it will serve to prevent any person or authority to declare a state religion.

Furthermore, when you check section 151 in subsection 2(a) of the draft constitution it is stated that the National Assembly shall not establish a one-party state. But when you go back to Section 1 subsection 2 you will also find it there that the Gambia is a ‘multiparty, democratic state’. These two sections therefore reinforce each other such that they prevent not only the National Assembly but also the President and indeed any other person or authority to declare the country a one-party state. Why therefore cannot the CRC do the same in regard to section 151 subsection 2(b) by stating that the Gambia is a ‘multiparty, democratic and secular’ state?

The value of putting in the word ‘secular’ is to further reinforce all other provisions in the draft constitution that uphold the principle of secularity. Furthermore, it serves to provide reassurance to all citizens that indeed no particular religion will have any influence on the decisions, actions, laws, policies and management of public resources and delivery of public services in the Gambia. This is utterly important to emphasise so that we ensure that no one is discriminated or underserved or violated simply because a particular state institution or state official refuse to serve citizens because of either his or her own faith or because of the faith of the citizen who must be served.

Secularity is not anti-religion. Secularity rather provides the space for all citizens to perform their religious obligations without having to bring that to bear on public services and public institutions. As a republic, the Gambia is multireligious, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and comprising men and women. Regardless of what section of the population or faith or ethnic group one belongs, we are all equal in sovereignty in the Gambia. There are no first class or second-class citizens in anyway. But the moment we allow beliefs, tribe and other sectarian considerations to drive our public policy and law making therefore we will create a situation of inequality and discrimination hence injustice and violence against each other.

Secularity therefore protects freedom of religion which is guaranteed in the 1997 Constitution as well as in the draft constitution. Contrary to the misconceptions peddled by Dr. Omar Jah that with secularity Islam will lose out in the Gambia, the fact is secularity will only serve to bring respect, protection and dignity to Islam and Islamic religious leaders.
We all can recall how Yaya Jammeh used the State to politicise the Supreme Islamic Council to the point that many Gambians have come to lose respect for many high-level imams. Not only that but also Yaya Jammeh had used the State to arrest, torture and humiliate imams while preventing Muslims to even pray as they wished.

Clearly Yaya Jammeh was dragging Islam into state matters which in the final analysis became a threat to all Muslims. Dr. Omar Jah knows that at that time when Yaya Jammeh designated any day for Tabaski or Koriteh, he, Dr. Jah dare not pray on another day in defiance! If he did, he was going to be arrested and tortured and even killed. Therefore, to prevent such abuse of Islam and Muslims by a President or the State it is necessary that Muslims support secularity because we could produce another Yaya Jammeh, which we seem to be working hard to do again!

Secularity does not mean when there are official meetings such as cabinet meetings or opening of parliament or a school assembly or workshops that no one will pray. That is a misconception and misinformation. Secularity does not mean that people should abandon religion.

Human beings have beliefs and they practice their beliefs. But when we are in a republic where there are multiple religions and beliefs, we have to agree that the national institution that we will create, such as the State will only operate based on objective laws without reference to any religion so that we all can be served and protected by the State without favour or ill-will. Otherwise is Dr. Jah asking that we make Shariah and the Quran the basic law for everyone in the Gambia? What if someone also suggests that we make the Bible and Christian law the basic law of the land?

If the President is either a Muslim or Christian or a non-believer, he or she has a right to express his prayers before doing anything. If anyone goes to court, you are at liberty to swear by the Bible or the Quran or just affirm if you do not wish to use any religious book. Already we cater for religious events such as Tabaski, Koriteh, Easter, Christmas and Friday and Sunday by making sure there are holidays and breaks to allow citizens to observe their religious obligations. This is secularity.

It is a recognition that the Republic is not non-religious or anti-religion because the Republic is the people. But the State as an institution of the People is non-religious but not anti-religion. This is why the State therefore allows citizens to observe their religious obligations in such a way that it does not affect the performance and functions of the State and the people who work in it.

To claim that secularity will legalise homosexuality is a false and unfounded notion. Homosexuality cannot be imposed by the State but only by the people of the Gambia. Therefore, no amount of secularity will legalise homosexuality in this country. That decision is up to Gambians to make. Such decisions are not caused by secularity as they are not connected. Secularity is merely about separating the State from any religious influence, positively or negatively. What decisions a State will make next is left to the socio-political ideologies of the people and their political parties and other stakeholders.

I must therefore say that those who hold positions of authority and influence must measure their opinions before expressing them so as not to create unnecessary rifts, confusion and fears. Dr. Omar Jah need to conduct more research on secularity so that he provides a more informed preaching that will help the nation. To refer to the socio-political issues in Israel or the US and other places and therefore conclude that the same scenarios over there are coming to the Gambia is utterly farfetched. Until today there are states in the United States that have banned homosexuality despite the high democratic credentials of the US.

I wish to urge the Muslim ummah in our country to realise that Muslims are the majority here. Such status also imposes responsibility on them to uphold the values of fairness, consideration and justice to ensure that we make the environment comfortable for the minority without having to deny or threaten our own position or security.
Islam is a well-established way of life in the Gambia such that there is no force on earth that can bulldoze, threaten or limit Islam in this country. Therefore, to generate imaginary fears on ourselves by making false equivalences based on what obtains in other countries will only turn the Ummah into an intolerant bunch of extremists for which Muslims will only become enemies and threats to themselves.

Secularism cannot and will not threaten Islam and Muslims. It will not prevent Muslims from praying on Fridays. It will not close down mosques around the country or take away Cadi courts. Muslims will continue to enjoy their Islamic holidays and hold their Gamo and indeed continue to worship as we have been doing for the past 1000 years since Islam came to the shores of the Gambia. Secularity is not the imposition of materialism, immorality, irresponsibility or vanity on society. Let no one scare or fool or mislead you about secularity.

On that note I hereby urge the CRC Chair to review his position on secularity so that we could have it back in the draft constitution.

Why has the Inspector General of Police failed to arrest the driver of the vehicle alleged to have fatally knocked the five-year old girl Fatou Sanyang and three other people in Bwiam in the convoy of the President? Murder is a capital offence for which there must be accountability. The life of young Fatou cannot be wasted just like that and then compensated with an envelope of cash by the President!

Above all the President of the Republic bears primary responsibility to protect the rights of all Gambians. Section 17 of the Constitution imposes this obligation on the President. Therefore, what is expected of Pres. Adama Barrow is to ensure that the right to life of Fatou Sanyang and the other three people was protected in the first place. Where that life is damaged it is now the immediate duty of the President to repair that damage by ensuring accountability and justice.

Failure to ensure that there is accountability and justice for the killing of Fatou and injuring of three other people means the President and the IGP are aiding and abetting the violation of the rights of citizens with impunity. The convoy of the President is protected such that anyone who interferes with it will be arrested to face the law. Similarly, that convoy must not also cause injury or death to any citizen. If there happens to be any such killing by that convoy it is incumbent on the President to ensure that whoever is responsible faces justice immediately.

The President must not cover up this crime by visiting the injured in hospital and handing over cash to the family. What the Present must do, first of all is to call for investigation to make sure that justice is done. This blatant abuse of the rights of Gambians is the second to be reported in this presidential tour. Just last week a number of journalists were equally assaulted by members of the President’s convoy yet until today there has been no investigation or arrests or prosecution of perpetrators. For the IGP and the President to fail to ensure that there is redress means that they are complicit in these crimes which tantamount to blatant abuse of the Constitution.

After 22 years of killings of Gambians by Yaya Jammeh’s presidential convoys we do not expect that a new President will come around to also commit that same abuse against innocent citizens. We do not need a President who will cover up human rights violations with apologies, visits to hospitals and donations of cash. We need a President who will hold perpetrators to account to ensure justice.

I therefore demand that the IGP arrest and prosecute all those people who are responsible for the death of Fatou Sanyang and the injury of three other people as well as the brutal assault against the journalists. The Gambia Government must ensure that justice prevails all the time. Failure to ensure justice it means the Gambia Government is promoting abuse and impunity which would be a direct violation of the Constitution and the sovereignty of Gambians as well as a clear and direct threat to national security.

Failure by the IGP to prosecute the perpetrators I call on the victims – the family of Fatou Sanyang and the three other injured persons as well as the affected journalists – to take legal action against the perpetrators immediately.

For The Gambia Our Homeland

Supreme documents like the Constitution are supposed to strengthen the union, not weaken it by assigning all the rights and privileges to some while denying them to others. The knowledge of and adherence to this principle is the secret that separates enduring democracies built on institutions of trust and integrity from states that are still meandering, floundering, in total chaos and decadence for generations without any hope of ever disentangling themselves from the madness.

The Constitution is the only law that matters, it is the only document that matters, the reference point for all things regarding the degree of ones acceptance and level of citizenship in a given country. In a world of social stratification, discrimination of all sorts, rich and poor, haves and have-nots, high and mighty and the peasants, patriarchs and underprivileged women, religious bigotry, tribal issues, the Constitution is supposed to be the equalizer. Everyone is Equal Under the Law should be a valid and meaningful refrain.
The writing of such an Almighty document should therefore not instigate the kind of elbowing that we continue to see in most African countries. Elbowing creates winners and losers, it leaves some happy and celebrating while others disappointed, sad, dejected, and hopeless. Any law that does such a cruel thing – whether intentional or otherwise should be discarded and thrashed.

Africa’s failure is not in its past, not in its abundant natural resources, but in its treatment of each other. We are too mean and vicious to each other. We have somehow managed to convince ourselves that we cannot win unless the other loses, that our success lies in the failure of the other, that there is great satisfaction in dashing the other’s dreams and aspirations, that life’s simple pleasures reside in watching others fail, that unless affected by it, the issues of our fellow citizens should not be our concern at all. This attitude my dear people is not sustainable, the net effect will continue to bite us all regardless of what side of the divide you belong. We either sail together or sink together!

When the Constitutional Review Commission set out to draft the constitution, there was great hope that finally we will get it right – we will right all the wrongs that have held us back for so long. We all know that we must accord every citizen their rightful place in this country of ours. But unfortunately, we yet again couldn’t resist the urge that got us in trouble in the first place. Our demons won’t allow us to make each other whole for the first time in our history – the most important part of hitting the reset button – a prerequisite for the advancement and development we yearn so badly for. We proceeded to influence, campaign, and advocate – not to put our agenda on the table but to take concerns of others – concerns that are critical to making them feel a part of our beloved country, off the table.

To top it off, instead of negotiating whatever differences we have, we are insisting on our way or no way. If we get this wrong, we are stuck in the past for another decade after decade. Those demons residing in us I alluded to earlier would rather have that though, and that is what makes this untenable situation so tragic for us and many other African countries before us – from countries we have sadly even decided to copy from in most cases, verbatim this very draft.

So here we are – at a crossroads. We can resist the temptation, bite our tongue, and create the country of our collective dreams, or go for it – burn and slash till we have fully satisfied our egos and narrow interests. Let’s pick our poison so help us God!

The writer, Banka Manneh, wrote from the United States

By Madi Jobarteh

What is your worth as a human being? What are your rights and duties as a citizen? What is a Republic? What is the purpose of Government? Why is the majority of Gambians poor and deprived of basic social services and economic opportunities? Why is the quality of living extremely low for the majority of our people? After five decades of Independence why is the Gambia a highly indebted and highly taxed yet highly poor society?
These and many questions are worth asking given that we have experienced three successive governments from 1970 to 2019 yet they have been unable to lift up the country to a status of dignity and prosperity? December 1st came as a revolt against this deplorable status quo which transformed self-perpetuating rule into full blown dictatorship in 1994. When Gambians went to the polls on 1st December 2016 they were not necessarily voting for only the Coalition or Adama Barrow. Our citizens were voting against perennial failed leadership, Dictatorship, APRC and Yaya Jammeh and all that they represent.

December 1st therefore was a day when our people were resolved to reclaim their sovereignty, dignity and power which were hijacked and corrupted by successive governments since Independence. Therefore, December 1st was not only and just about Yaya Jammeh and his authoritarian regime. It was a resistance against power without conscience in which the ruling class manipulated and transformed our mandate into a weapon against citizens for the benefit of few.

Therefore, if one is a dignified citizen and understand the worth of a human being the least one could accept is to allow the emergence of another system of manipulation and exploitation for the interest of few against the majority. This unfortunate scenario against which our people fought in 2016 has come back to the shores of the Gambia, if it had ever left the country in the first place! The blatant abuse of power and plunder of the wealth of our people by the current Government led by Pres. Adama Barrow shows glaringly that the Gambia has not changed as desired by the people.

The current proposed 2020 budget by the Barrow Administration is a clear indication that indeed the ideas, practices and objectives that underpin the APRC Regime are still the same until today. Here is yet another budget, just like in previous years, where the wealth of the country is showered more on the few public officers and denied to the majority of Gambians. In 2019 the budget was pegged at 19 billion dalasi. In 2020 this budget is expected to be 24 billion dalasi yet there has been no meaningful transformation of lives for the better. Rather once again Gambians are presented a budget that only services to perpetuate poverty and deprivation.

When Gambians voted in 2016 the expectation naturally was that for the first time we will witness a change of the system of governance that will usher in true democracy, empowerment of the people, transparent and accountable leadership and efficient and effective public services that deliver affordable and quality public goods and services to the people. Unfortunately, this has not been the case as every day Gambians grapple with high cost of living and poor services which are not mostly available for most of our population.
Apart from the delivery of goods and services, our expectation was that there would also be fundamental reforms in the Constitution, laws and public institutions. Disappointingly the new rulers deliberately refused to undertake these reforms, and if they do it is either slow or half-hearted or both, only because they wish to keep power out of the hands of the people so they can continue to perpetuate exploitation and oppression.

For example, this Government stated in its 2016 manifesto that they would reform all laws that infringe on human rights and democracy within six months of coming to power. But they have refused to do so such that within three years only one constitutional and one legal reforms were done to suit their own objectives. No other legal reforms were carried out until recently when the criminal code was reviewed only to attempt to make it even more draconian than how the colonialist left it. If it was not the conscious, prompt and strong reaction of the masses, we would have seen a law that directly kills our sovereignty. Until today the Public Order Act remains in place! Shame.

Similarly, there has not been any single institutional reforms either in the public sector or the security sector. Instead the blatant abuse of power by public institutions such as the corruption exposed in the audit report of the seven state-owned enterprises speak to the intention of this Government to continue to plunder the Gambia. No security sector reform was also carried out which is why in 2018 young Gambians could be shot dead by security forces in Faraba while citizens continue to be subjected to constant abuse, delay and inconvenience at the numerous checkpoints littered all over the country. Even when they attempted to legitimize the NIA into SIS it was done unconstitutionally and illegally thus highlighting the corrupt tendency of these new rulers.

It makes not sense to create a National Human Rights Commission as well as other independent institutions including the TRRC yet that same Government refuses to engage in commensurate constitutional, legal and institutional reforms in order to sanitize the entire governance system. Without these necessary reforms it means these independent institutions mandated to protect human rights and enhance accountability of the Government will be severely constrained. So long as the Government refuses to reform and bring its own actions in line with the rule of law then no amount of independent institutions will be able to function efficiently and effectively. For example, the presence of corrupt decisions and actions by the Government is a threat to effective performance of independent institutions.

Until today Gambians are yet to be told who are the anonymous donors to our President while the 35 million dalasi from China said to be for the Government was lodged in the account of Mrs. Fatou Barrow but cannot still be accounted for. Where is the money? Meantime the increasing presence of Chinese investors in our marine and agriculture sectors calls for huge concern given the environmental destruction in Mandinari, Gunjur and Monkey Park among others. Any interested observer would know that the Chinese are notorious for unethical business practices around Africa. But thanks to the corrupt nature of this Government they are prepared to mortgage the present and future of this country for the benefit of few individuals.

Therefore, on a day like today Gambians must wake up to realize that we are once again led by a neocolonial elite who are unpatriotic, immoral and corrupt. Since Independence it is this very neocolonial elite that continuously betray and sell the people to the highest bidder. They engage in populist programs and activities intended to hoodwink the masses just to loot and entrench themselves in power. They have no regard for law and order and prepared to utilize every and any opportunity to mislead and exploit the masses. Therefore, so long as the people remain dormant, silent and indifferent rest assured this country will cruise for another fifty years under self-perpetuating, poor and corrupt leadership with impunity!

The current country tour by the President is a case in point. Our Constitution requires that the President conducts a nationwide tour at least two times every year in order to see and respond to the conditions of the people. Thus the Constitution did not ask for mass mobilization of people for a political jamboree across the country. The intent of the Constitution is that this is an official tour that does not call for rallies, clapping, dancing and fanfare or transporting everyone along. Instead Pres. Barrow just like Yaya Jammeh decided to subvert the intention of the Constitution to transform this tour into a selfish political affair at great cost to the country without any tangible benefit.

Apart from using the tour to waste public resources and abuse his office, the President went further to also abuse the Constitution by refusing to conduct the mandatory two tours. Otherwise why would the President wait until the middle of November to conduct a countrywide tour when he is required to make two tours? This means the President has no intention to abide by the Constitution but rather to flout the Constitution with impunity just as Yaya Jammeh did.

What all of these portray is that indeed it is the President and the Gambia Government which is the leading violator of the Constitution as always. Furthermore, the actions of this Government like those before it clearly shows that it is the Government that creates and perpetuates poverty and deprivation in the country. They plunder our wealth by creating a budget that only takes money out of the pockets of poor people for the privileged few. Through our institutions such as hospitals, schools and law enforcement and others they abuse the rights and dignity of our people such that our citizens continue to die from preventable diseases or receive poor quality education while they are unnecessarily obstructed at checkpoints.

For how long shall we continue to have governments and leaders who continue to bastardise the very sovereignty, rights and dignity of our people. The Gambia is not poor just because it is the Gambia or it is in Africa or Allah ordained it. The poverty and deprivation in the Gambia is man-made by the Gambia Government. This country has immense potential and unlimited resources to produce one of the most advanced nations on earth in a generation. Yet our governments have failed to salvage the Gambia until today after so many generations.

Rather what we see is that those who assume positions of authority and leadership in our Government turn out to be wealthy and living a quality of life far above that of the average Gambian. This is injustice that all well-meaning Gambians must fight tooth and nail to ensure that we have a Government that we deserve. A Government that is transparent, accountable and efficient led by an honest and committed leadership. A leadership that has conscience and prepared to stand for and by the people to ensure we live in dignity, security and happiness.

So far this is not the kind of leadership this country enjoys. A major reason for this poor leadership is also because of the poor followership. Our people must begin to therefore recognize and uphold their human dignity and defend their sovereignty and demand that they will not settle for any mediocre, corrupt and poor leadership. It is high time citizens raise their own political awareness to realize that power resides in them and that the purpose of Government is to secure our rights and fulfill our needs by creating the necessary facilities and opportunities and delivering the necessary goods and services.

When we allow personalities, ethnic, religious or other sectarian feelings to drive our political agenda then we will only serve to produce and entrench bad leadership hence undermine our rights and security in our country. In that case we will only help to further impoverish ourselves with high cost of living and deprivation of basic services, and for that, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. Wake Up Gambia!

For the Gambia Our Homeland

Many are perturbed by the exclusion of the word ‘secular’ from Constitution draft. I see no reason why we need a government to guide our attitudes towards each other. True we had a rogue one that declared whatever to please his Arab Cash cows. That gratefully went nowhere as people cried loud enough to keep his tail in control. We are mostly mixed and almost every Muslim family has Christian cousins or grannies. That won’t changed whether the word appears there or not.

The fear that #Sharia will be forced on every Gambian is mostly unfounded. Not all Muslims follow true sharia especially in Gambia so I don’t see it being forced on non Muslims. Remember that the sharia court only applies to those that are affected by it. If just replaces the Cadi court.

A responsible government protects all of its citizens therefore the Sharia courts provide an avenue for muslims to marry, divorce, adopt and administer inheritance. If there are any Canon laws that we feel should add to the constitution, let’s do so . We still have a window. We will all amplify the cry for them to be added . When Gambia was declared a Muslim state we all got up. Let’s not lose that unity.

However, as we are interrelated, when one sibling in the household has genuine fear of your pet snake, the best thing would be to get rid of it. In this case, some of our Christian family has a fear about the word not being there. Why not indulge them? If you want it added, make a presentation to the CRC without sowing seeds of discord. Out of almost 300 clauses, we don’t need to be hung up on one word to try to divide us. Besides the CRC already made the freedom to practice one’s religion entrenched. This therefore makes the argument of a single word unnecessary. The word secular was illegally added there because it didn’t go to a referendum, rev. Kemeseng Jammeh Vs The State.

We should ensure that we continue to sow seeds of unity. Conflict is started when seemingly good people start to fan the flames of tribe , religion, region , race …….
It’s very simple if the word secular is important, just write to the CRC . We should be bold enough to address our issues that bother as and when they arise in a manner that will continue to foster peaceful cohesion. I do not recognise The Gambia nor the Gambian anymore. There is a lot of healing . If the TRRC think that the reconciliation is only limited to some of the abuses commented by Jammeh and co they are mistaken. The absence of the word “secular” has unearthed a broken society, revealed a certain level of anger, mistrust and bottled up emotions that one naively did not expect that they existed. Let’s help each other to heal. Let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt and avoid taking certain positions that could and should be easily avoided cause post referendum we have continue our peaceful co existence.

This is easy to solve . Make a submission to the CRC with all required amendments . Nyawor hejj jut fi . Some of the words that are being bandied about can be avoided because all that we are fighting for is protected.

We can move on to the other clauses that need adjusting like the one that makes assaulting a boy a felony and assaulting a girl a misdemeanor. We don’t need to encourage a few that are trying to fight the perceived marginalization agendas.
Wa Salaam, Namaste, Peace, Shalom!

The writer, Lamdo Sailey Sey, lives in the United States

On May 16, 2019, the Gambia’s public utilities regulatory body, PURA, announced the introduction of a new telecommunications sector levy earmarked for the development of sports. This, set to come into effect a month later in June, came on the backdrop of Cabinet’s approval of the scheme and it is hoped that it would finally close the gap on Gambia’s acute sports funding deficiency.

For a start, the Authority stated that the new levy is charged as follows: a) US $ 0.02 (two cents) per minute on all international incoming calls into the country; b) D 0.50 (fifty bututs) per minute on all local calls or charge a levy of 1% on airtime purchase. However, what the Authority failed to state is how the supervision and implementation would be done as well as the disbursement and the custodians of the funds. It also failed to state the targeted annual income from the scheme. I’ve heard in the recent past that the Ministry of Finance is fighting strenuously to be the custodians of those funds, though I can’t confirm this hypothesis. But if that is the case, it would beg one to ask the rhetorical question, is our government truly serious about sports funding.

That notwithstanding, it is indeed a welcome development since the obsolete Sports Development Fund has failed to make much impact as the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the body charged with the responsibility of collecting those funds, was faced with serious bottlenecks in gathering up the funds from the public corporations tasked to make such contributions. While attending a module on Sport Organisation and Governance, this week, taught by Professor Borja Garcia (for the Dream Together Master students at the Seoul National University), a distinguished Spanish lecturer from the Loughborough University, England, I was able to link a hypothetical situation to the recent release of the zero draft constitution of The Gambia. It has failed to include any national policy on sports funding and development; thus my motivation for this article. This is another confirmation of my country’s lack of strategy and interest in developing the sector, which is either linked to the lack of the wherewithal to see the importance of sports education and promotion in every facet of national development or a deliberate attempt to ignore a very critical sector that has the potential of being the largest job creation sector in a country that has limited natural resources to boost of.

I link this article to the release of the draft constitution because having read extensively, of recent, and attended international conferences on sport development coupled with my day-to-day job of sports management back home, it has left no iota of doubt in my mind that if given the proper commitment and funding, sports, not only football, will definitely solve most of our current problems we are faced with as a nation, including the increasing youth unemployment and the menace of irregular migration. There are practical examples of few countries where The Gambia can emulate and legislate sport development to give the authorities concerned the legal basis to ensure sport development is enshrined in our national policies.

I’ll come to that later but before going further, I want Gambians to see and understand sport beyond the context of just physical exercise and realise that its value to our central, local governments and communities far extends beyond sport for sport’s sake. There is a considerable amount of theoretical and academic evidence that sport play a critical role in delivering substantial benefits to local communities, individuals and countries, including rapid economic growth and a significant decrease in health care delivery. Sport can help increase economic prosperity, provide employment opportunities and contribute towards raising aspirations and increasing skill levels.

A recent study by Sports England concluded that sports activities and events, sports facilities, sports volunteering, sports leadership, sports training and sport employment schemes all help develop the knowledge, skills and productivity of individuals and communities and create strong and vibrant neighbourhoods and cities where people want to live and businesses invest. Here I’m talking about sport in its widest context, going far beyond a regular daily workout routine, hitting the gym for weight loss and practice it for fun and leisure. At a time when there is an increasing spate of untimely deaths in The Gambia linked mainly to childbirth and unexplained circumstances, as well as metabolic diseases among young people, who are the crème la crème of our country and the increasing difficulty of accessing basic healthcare for the average Gambian, the time couldn’t be better for a legislation on sport development.

According to studies, there is strong evidence of the health and physical fitness benefits of sport; for example, the link between physical inactivity and obesity and the role of physical activity in reducing the risk of cardiovascular heart disease. Doctors have also confirmed that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of many chronic conditions, including coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and increase mental health and well-being. Thus, moving someone from inactivity into just doing something is where the greatest public health benefits can be gained. “If physical activity was a drug, it would be regarded as a miracle, so everyone must take it seriously,” Professor Dame Sally Davies, the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK government from March 2011 to September 2019 told Sports England.
A significant proportion of the £39 billion sport contributes to the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) comes from grassroots sport: the millions of people who buy trainers, bikes, gym memberships or pay match fees. The government’s investment of £10 million in the Tour de France Grand Départ in 2014 helped unlock a £125m contribution to GDP, so the UK’s economic success is bound up with our sporting engagement, and vice versa (Sports England, Accessed-2019).

Three-quarters of the Gambia’s population depends on agriculture for its livelihood and in the country’s economic overview for 2019, it was found that agriculture provides for about one-third of GDP, making The Gambia largely reliant on sufficient rainfall. However, the agricultural sector has untapped potential – less than half of arable land is cultivated and agricultural productivity is low (Theodor, 2019). We have seen situations where insufficient rainfall, which is a consequence of nature, has seriously affected farming seasons in the country and this coupled with the failure to embrace modern technology in farming, it is safe to say that even though the sector would continue to play a pivotal role in the livelihood of many Gambians, the country’s hopes of food self-sufficiency is still farfetched.
However, there are considerable amount of evidence that on the direct impact of the sport sector on the economy of many countries across the globe in terms of job creation and more evidence on the indirect impact of participation in sport and physical activity on the economy which would contribute to reduced healthcare costs due to a healthier population, economic value on crime reduction, improved employability, sport tourism, increased economic activity creating jobs, tourism, construction, events, and volunteering, and increasing productivity of a workforce.
Suggestions

The Gambia Football Federation (GFF) is set to launch its first ever professional football league for the 2020/21 season with membership opened to any club, whether old or new, that meets the set criteria to be considered a professionally run sport organisation. The professional league would be catapulted to become the highest echelon of Gambian football (that in itself is an opportunity for those calling on the Super Nawettan–community football- to be transformed as league clubs to capitalise on). Now imagine a situation where clubs in the professional league and the top two divisions of our football country meet the criteria to become professional. Under the current format, 30 clubs participate in those two divisions and let’s say another 10 is to participate in the top flight, that would increase the number to 40. With each team obliged to register a maximum 30 players every season, when you do the arithmetic it would give you a total number of 1200. There is still the big matter of the regional third divisions in each of the seven administrative regions that are the basis of our grassroots football. If the seven regions combined produce 70 teams (an average of 10 teams per region) in a semiprofessional set up that can still guarantee a minimum monthly wage of D5,000:00, that would guarantee decent employment for another 2100, making it a combined total of 3,300 youth assured of annual employment.
Exciting right! Well it isn’t farfetched and indeed achievable but only with the right policies and serious commitment devoid of mere lip service. This would bring me to my first case study of Guatemala where it is embedded in its constitution government’s commitment to sports development in its annual budget. Chapter 6, Article 91 of the Guatemala Constitution reads: Budgetary Allocation for Sports; It is the duty of the State to encourage and promote physical education and [the practice of] sports. To that effect, a specific allocation no smaller than three percent of the General Budget of Ordinary Revenues of the State will be set. From such allocation, fifty percent will be destined to the federated sports sector through its administrative organs, in the form established by [the] law; twenty-five percent to physical education, recreation, and school sports; and twenty-five percent to non-federated sports (Guatemala Constitution -1985).

The Finance Minister last week laid before Legislators the draft budget for 2020 with the Ministry of Youth and Sports allocated an estimated D114,397,000:00 of the D30,000,000,000:00s, representing 0.4% of the total government expenditure. Of course budgets are based on programmes submitted by the various government agencies but even at that, what is that amount allocated to MOYS with its seven satellite agencies? In my opinion, that allocation isn’t enough for the day to day running of the Ministry’s activities for the year let alone having to share that with more than two dozen National Sport associations (NSA), thus putting a serious financial strain on them. Therefore, I’d suggest that in future that amount be increased and also a legislation be put in place to at least ensure that 2% of the annual national budget is allocated for sports development. Imagine that amount equivalent to D600,000,000:00 in the next budget where 50% is given to the federated sport organisations to run their programmes; 25% spent on developing sports infrastructure across the country and the remaining 25% given to school sports.
This would ensure more participation in sports and in the earlier example where football alone would guarantee more than 3000 employments for our youth which is different from other job opportunities like coaches, trainers, physiotherapists, doctors, sport psychologists, administrators and paid volunteers, your guest is as good as mine how much the entire sport sector can employ. In the context of school sports, the International Journal of Physical Education, Sport and Health state the following: Sports have a positive spin off on the vibrancy of a nation. It is a powerful media to educate the youth on the right lines in channeling their potentialities. It provides a platform for nurturing a spirit of national integration, crossing boundaries of language, tradition and region of the country. The participation in sports and physical education activities for good health a high degree of physical fitness increases an individual’s productivity. It promotes social harmony and discipline. So for all these aspects, the role of sports and physical education is a nation building in these competitive era (Kheljournal-2018). Once this is done, physical education should be made mandatory at all schools within the country not only in the theoretical aspect but in practice as well. The current format of two 35 minutes’ period per week isn’t sufficient, considering the fact that the guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services say that children and adolescents age 6 and older need at least an hour a day of physical activity or in the case of adults, at least 150–300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity, 75–150 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity. At a time when our children are lacking inspirational role models, this would go a long way in molding them to become productive and responsible citizens and there is the potential of many turning professional which can earn them millions of dollars in signing on fees and weekly wages alone. The remittances from those that were able to make the cut to play in top sports across bigger leagues also has the potential to impact positively on the economic growth of the country.

However, all this cannot be achieved without proper infrastructure. Adequate infrastructure is the lifeblood to ensuring meaningful development in any form of sport and after more than five decades of independence, our country boosting only one national stadium is indeed heart-wrenching. To think that it was built nearly four decades ago as a multipurpose sport complex with only the football ground in a state to hosting an internationally approved competition is even more exasperating considering the valuable unlimited national resources that the previous and present government are spending on unnecessary ventures. To borrow a quote from economist Momodou Sabally, it indeed tantamount to pampering the executive for political patronage at the expense of the poor tax payer.

Just imagine Gambia; 25% percent of D30billion is D150,000,000:00. If that amount alone is spent on sport infrastructural development annually, within few years, every region would have the facilities ready to ensure increased participation in sport and hosting of mega international sport events. The hosting of international sport events would contribute meaningfully to our economic growth through trade & commerce, tourism, national pride and social integration, especially for a politically divided nation like The Gambia. Where politics has failed in giving Gambia a serious standing in the international stage, sport has the potential to do that within few months. If you doubt wait until the Scorpions secure qualification to the 2021 AFCON or better still the recent memories of Gina Bass’ exploits at the All Africa Games and World Athletics Championship in Qatar. But for all her exploits and raising the Gambia’s flag to higher heights, it would beat one’s imagination to think that she has a monthly wages of USD100.

Local councils should also ensure they build public parks and recreational facilities in their communities because this would provide opportunities for active living and recreation in a safe, inclusive environment. It would also contribute to creating a positive atmosphere, thus making these facilities essential to personal health and wellness, thereby reducing reliance on healthcare and other costly social services. This in turn will boosts the local economy and can also help contribute to overall economic development.
Conclusion

Cognizant of the foregoing, it is my recommendation that for a start, the new constitution should include the establishment of a National Sport Commission that would amongst other things advise the Minister of Sport in changing and formulating sport policies and strategies where necessary; ensure guidance and leadership on sport promotion and development; at the level of governance to help and assist the NSAs in ensuring that their procedures and policies meet highly required standards; participate in sport education programmes and be responsible for developing new mechanisms (business ventures) that would generate further funds for sustainable sport development and promotion like the Korean Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO – please I recommend all to read about it); as well as to encourage private sector participation in sport development and to promote the national brand and symbols through sport.

I found this model from the Botswana National Sport Commission valuable to share with my readership: To promote sport tourism; facilitate elite sport development and participation in international Competitions in collaboration with Botswana National Olympic Committee; ensure structured talent identification and nurturing of athletes; ensure compliance with set ethics and standards, conventions and protocols; and set performance targets and design programmes aimed at facilitating to continued growth and development of sport (Botswana National Sports Commission Act).

This Commission should also engage government and ensure they abolish the current tax system for federated national sport organisations and ensure they are being exempted from all types of taxes and assessments. Our NSAs are heavily dependent on the financial patronage of their International Federations (Ifs) and the monies they are receiving from them are donor funds meant purely for sport development in The Gambia and not for profit making venture. However, unlike other donor funds in most sectors, the government’s imposition of the 10% percent withholding tax system on those funds of sport organisations like the GFF is having a serious financial strain on these associations because when their suppliers render services to them, they would bill them with the actual market value and its equivalent 10% on that amount as withholding tax, thus making national federations lose valuable resources that can be put into the other aspects of sports development.

Notwithstanding, such huge volume of investment in sport would require good governance principles like TRANSPARENCY, DEMOCRACY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AUTONOMY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that every butut of public fund is accounted for with consequences for any mismanagement. However, we should also be mindful that this shouldn’t include executive overreach aimed at poaching perceived enemies and rivals as has been recently seen in our sport (NSC vs GFF -2017 is a classic example). We need laws that must always put the interest of the country at first but shouldn’t also infringe on the rights of the NSAs and threaten the IFs noninterference on sport administration because you don’t want to have a politician who would want to be remembered for costing us participation at international championships like the Olympics, World Cups, African Cups amongst others.

Mr. Baboucarr Camara
Director of Marketing & Communications, GFF
Master Degree Candidate of Global Sport Management
Seoul National University, South Korea

Meeting the essential health needs of the people should be a priority for any serious government because a sick nation cannot have a vibrant workforce. It is no secret that healthcare is a nightmare in The Gambia, but as usual the government of the day continues to make us believe that something is being done to address this extant misery and that we just need to be a little more patient since they inherited a very bad system. Therefore, the citizens are left with no choice but to make do with the current deplorable health system until an optimal solution is found, no matter how long that might take.

The fundamental question to ask is what exactly is being done to address this dire situation? We continue to be inundated with a plethora of fundraising campaigns on Facebook and other social media platforms to help foot the medical bills of our children with some health complications that require overseas treatments. Kudos to the thousands of Gambians out there whose timely responses to these fundraising drives represent nothing but pure undiluted philanthropism on a silver platter, undoubtedly. Not being pessimistic here, but one is forced to worry about the sustainability of these fundraising campaigns as donor fatigue sets in, and you wonder if we will be able to fundraise ourselves out of this mess without government’s intervention to provide a lasting solution. There is always this argument that government cannot do it alone. I am afraid that argument is giving the government some leeway to abdicate its responsibility to cater for the needs and welfare of the citizenry. One of the things I always look forward to seeing in these fundraising drives is that accompanying letter from the hospital recommending overseas treatment and the reason for that recommendation. In one of those letters, the hospital recommended an overseas treatment for some child because they said there is no pediatric surgeon in the country. Seriously? It is my fervent belief that our hospitals are keeping this data on referrals in terms of the number of referrals, types of cases been referred, the frequency of the referrals, and the cost of the treatments. The government through the ministry of health could use that data to identify the resources and capacity that we have versus the resources and capacity that we need. Once that gap is identified, we can then work on bridging the gap, if the political will is there in the first place.

The lame excuse that governments of developing countries always put forward for not addressing the welfare needs of their citizens is the lack of pecuniary resources. A closer look at the lavish spending by the same governments in some areas makes you wonder whether we lack the pecuniary resources, or we are just not prioritizing our spending. Did The Gambia government not spend D18M on President Barrow’s charter flight to the US a couple of years ago when it didn’t have to? Did the former vice-president Madam Jallow Tambajang not inform us that her Permanent Secretary and the Accountant General wired $32,000 to the gambian mission for a two-week trip to the US, out which $15,000 to $18,000 was spent on vehicle rentals alone? Could those expenses have been sliced to reasonable minimum amounts and the balances reallocated to the health sector of the economy to address some burning issues there? The answer to that would be an emphatic yes because a quick trip down memory lane reminds us of the government’s assertion that the nation’s coffers were empty when they came to power. One would have expected austerity or frugality to be the order of the day as a means of curbing feckless spending, but what we have seen so far is the complete opposite; a spendthrift government for that matter.

Mr. President was in Farafenni last night as part his meet the people’s tour. This city houses the Farafenni General Hospital, a major hospital that was built by the AFPRC/APRC government not for ornamental purposes or to beautify the city, but to reduce if not stop referrals to the RVTH from Farafenni and surrounding communities on the north bank of the River Gambia. I hope Mr. President visited that hospital to find out for himself whether this major health facility is equipped with the necessary capacity and resources to achieve the very raison d’être of its establishment. The budget for the meet the people’s tour is in the millions we heard and do not doubt the veracity of that information. It is crystal clear that this tour has always been and continues to be a political jamboree coupled with razzmatazz that drains the nation of its meager financial resources while the very people that the tour is meant for continue to live in a state of destitution with lack of access to basic primary healthcare among other things. It is about time the government rethinks how this tour is to be conducted vis-à-vis its intended purpose to not make it look like it is talking the talk but not walking the walk.

Our health sector requires the swift attention of the government and needs to be made a huge priority or at least elevate to a higher level on the government’s scale of preference amid scarce resources. What strategies are being formulated to ensure that five, ten or fifteen years later our major public hospitals will not be recommending overseas treatments for our children with complications? Are we training our medical personnel in the various specialty areas as a way of building capacity? Do we plan on acquiring the required equipment for our hospitals? Are we even trying to find out the acquisition cost of these equipment to see if we could reallocate our meager pecuniary resources to get the equipment soonest possible? We ought to remind ourselves that there is no invisible hand that would intervene to fix our deplorable healthcare, nor is the problem going to fade away just like that. We must have the political will and exemplary leadership to take on this issue with a meticulous and pragmatic approach.

Finally, it is without a jot of doubt that we have come a long way. The past and present governments have achieved somethings that we can build on. What we must not do is rest on our laurels and be complacent with the status quo for there is always room for improvement. It is indeed frustrating that we are moving at a chameleon pace when we have the means to accelerate this movement. Let’s continue to push our government to its elastic limits to improve our health and social wellbeing, instead of having a penchant for anything that is coming from the government.

The writer, Dibba Chaku, lives in the United States

For real, Diaspora Gambians are good enough to DIE or be INCARCERATED to liberate Gambia but yet not good enough to vote or be voted in as MP.

Gambia constitution 2019-2020: Time to put up or shut up. Diaspora Gambian should take a pause, reflect on the proposed draft scenario, ultimately the ball of national cohesive responsibility is in the court of our current Gambian Government, emphasis on GAMBIAN GOVERNMENT! Not just Adama barrow, the usual characters at constitution review board members, or members of parliament, but the government in its entirety.

These questions listed are for consideration by all Gambia to ask ourselves. Naturally, all the answers to these questions would be extrapolated from the ultimate and final degree of integration of the Diaspora and indigenous Gambians encouraged by our sitting Government.

1. Is our Gambian government truly interested in the concept of infusing new blood, fresh minds into our national political dynamic.

2. Is Gambian Government interest more in the preservation of status quo to the determent of advancing our national cause and predicament .

3.Should diaspora Gambians , along with their newly found plethora of skills and technical know how, read between the lines, take the cue from these Gambian government bodies, thus reverting back into the usual customary and easy position. THAT IS PRESERVATION OF SELF AND SELF INTEREST.

Ultimately, failure of our Government to make the decision to integrate all Gambian would be considered as a decision made to exclude and leave Gambians diaspora out in the cold.

Ball in the court of our Government . Time will tell.

Dr. Samuel . B. Artley . DMD. FAGD.

I have never been a great fan of the Secretary General and Party Leader of the UDP, but neither have I ever been dismissive of his towering relevance and undeniable political clout in this country for the past quarter of a century.

Yet despite his clear role as the catalyst of the 2016 political tsunami that saw pummelled Jammeh out of power, some people still try to project a false image of this colossus in our political arena.

Indeed there are some honest opponents sharing their views about Darboe but there is a loud minority trumpeting a false paradigm about Lawyer Darboe and his role in Gambian politics. What is offensive about this minority is their outright hatred of this man motivated by nothing but his dominance in the political scene. When I recently blogged about this hatred of the man and it’s futility some people asked me to drop the word hate because those going after him are mere opponents and not haters.

My response was quick: I know there are opponents but the reality of hatred in our politics can never be masked with euphemism. I will call their attitude what it is because I am not afraid of what others think about my statements so long as they represent the facts. Here’s the exact statement I posted on my public figure page on Facebook that provoked a day-long heated debate:

I believe Lawyer Darboe is human and thus, imperfect…

But your hatred of this man will not in any way dwindle his support base and his relevance as the most important political figure in our these trying times…

#KanaSong #CantCageHim

Meanwhile the prognosticators are predicting the outcomes of our political benchmarks as December stares us in the face and 2021 creeps in. Most of the so-called analysts are painting pictures to suit their own aspirations and plans. But the reality is that Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, the game/changer in 2016 is likely to be the #decider in the next milestones whether we admit it or not.

The good thing about this situation is that, Darboe, the leader of the biggest, most energized, and most determined political party in this country is also a patriot, a man of law, and a peaceful man at the core of his being.

Observers and players in our political game keep preaching the narrative of our so-called New Gambia to suit their own tastes and constituencies but the reality of the matters is that, the much-touted and globally embraced change is all about democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights. We have relapsed a bit in these cardinal principles under President Adama Barrow and the drive to restore the balance is unstoppable.

The fact is that none of the big players in the political arena (backed by adequate voter-power) can match Lawyer Darboe’s credentials in the matter of the cardinal principles that primed our quest for change in 2016. For those who may interpret my thesis here as a shift of political position due to recent optics, here’s a reminder of what I said about Darboe in a news report published by Gunjur News Online back in 2018 when I was most critical of the government he was then serving as minister-cum-godfather: “Gambia’s Foreign Minister and Head of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Lawyer Ousainou Darboe, is a gentleman who actually believes in the principles of democracy and human rights just as he preaches it.”

As the crunch moments approach, some are jittery, others bitter for their own lack of weight in the optical arena. At least one major player is having sleepless nights without admitting it. The reality is that Lawyer Ousainou Darboe is in pole position with his yellow Ferrari in top-notch condition.

My favourite musician, Jaliba Kuyateh, has never sang lyrics more inspiring than the following; and he was (or better still, he is) singing for the majority of Gambians. He is singing about the most important commodity in the scheme of things right now, #Hope. In pristine Mandinka, Jaliba, or the masses, are singing: ‘ngan-jikoe sembeh Lawyer Darboe wolla; Nying Gambia Lawyer baa…’

May peace and harmony prevail in this our little piece of paradise, on planet earth, our motherland, The Gambia. We hope to see a peaceful and democratic change of government soon. Until, then, the writing is on the wall and I captured it in one hashtag #YellowNation

Momodou Sabally

The Gambia’s Pen

The leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP) Lawyer Ousainou has made a major U-turn by urging President Adama Barrow to honor the three-year transition plan reached by the 2016 Coalition.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Lawyer Darboe unequivocally called on President Barrow to step down in December, in line with the Coalition Agreement. The announcement is at variance with Mr. Darboe’s initial stance that the President should be allowed to serve out his five-year constitutional term and went as far as threatening to take to court anyone who forces Barrow to prematurely cede power, citing the Constitution.

Since the party’s relationship with Barrow soured, the UDP has been in a dilemma as far as the three-year controversy is concerned. Certain members of the Party have publicly called on Barrow to honour the transition plan and have been adamant that Mr. Darboe’s statement did not reflect the official position of the UDP. Until Darboe had stood his ground on the issue.

In light of the increasingly murky and frosty relationship between the UDP and Barrow, particularly after the dismissal of the party’s top officials from Cabinet, it seems Mr. Darboe came to a realization that it’d be prudent to further isolate President Barrow and accordingly scupper his bid to extend his rule. Darboe’s critics have described him as a flop-flopper.

With UDP officially announcing its support for the three-year plan, President Barrow finds himself in a tight corner as all major parties including the UDP, GDC, PDOIS and APRC are collectively against his plan to remain in power until 2021. Mai Fatty’s GMC has recently distanced itself from a pronouncement by former VP Fatoumata Jallow Tambajang that the Coalition has decided to extend Barrow’s social legitimacy until 2021. Mr. Fatty has resigned from his post as Special Advisor to the President.

With this latest development Mr. Barrow can only count on minor parties such as NRP, PPP, GPDP and NCP which are expected for form a Coalition with the Gambian leader. President Barrow has signalled in a rally over the weekend that he would form his own party.
President Barrow has since declared his intention to serve his constitutionally mandated five-year term citing unfinished business. According to the President his reforms are in progress and that he’s determined to see them through.

It’s obvious that December will represent a major milestone in Gambia’s political landscape. The 3yrs Jotna Movement has been equally ratcheting up pressure on the President to step down in December so the decision of all major parties to subtly support the cause could only turn up the heat on President Barrow.

The writer, Basidia M Drammeh, is based in Canada.