Baba,
SOS Sambou's grand explanation can only suggest one of two things. Either:
1. Mr Sambou cannot perform as desired by his boss thus the 
"confession"  that HE should take over his Department or
2. Gambian  President has nothing better to do than tend to LOCAL 
government adminstration.
In either case I wonder how President Jammeh sees himself among his 
peers. A village alkalo or head of state? Is it that the Gambia is not 
fit to be a state that institutions of state such as Secretarie of State 
are not necessary?  As you said, we should not be surprised to hear 
another one of his SoS call upon him to take over the Alkaloship of Sare 
Mankamang Kunda. Since thats what they have come to expect of him.

To tell you the truth I sincerely do not know who is taking who for the 
ride. The President or his men?


Malanding



Baba Galleh Jallow wrote:

> Right right Dr. Jaiteh. Bon appetite to His All Powerful Lordship. 
> Next step would be takling over all Alkaloships, Borom Dekaships, 
> Jomsaareships and Kabiloheadships and even riverships, roadships and 
> streetships! Just a reminder that he who controls everything loses 
> everything. But of course paranoia demands all-holding, all-seeing, 
> all-monitoring lest something somewhere goes unnoticed and therefore 
> proves potentially power-seizing. Thanks for sharing.
>
> Baba
>
>
>> From: Malanding Jaiteh <[log in to unmask]>
>> Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list              
>> <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Is this real love for the President?
>> Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 10:26:09 -0400
>>
>> As they say in Mandinka- now that the President has in his custody of 
>> both the knife and the meat, he can indulge in whichever part he 
>> choses! Lets wish him bon apetit!
>>
>> Courtesy of the Daily Observer.
>>
>>
>>  President given executive power over Councils
>>
>> Africa <http://www.observer.gm/africa/news> » Gambia 
>> <http://www.observer.gm/africa/gambia/news>
>> Thursday, November 01, 2007
>>
>> It has finally been considered and approved for the President of the 
>> Republic of The Gambia to take over the affairs of all Area Councils 
>> and Municipalities, with effect from November 1, 2007.
>>
>> This was considered and approved by NAMs yesterday, at an 
>> Extra-ordinary session of the National Assembly in the 2007 
>> Legislative Year.
>>
>> Presenting the motion for approval, Ismaila Sambou, Secretary of 
>> State for Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs, said Section 
>> 152 of the Local Government Act 2002, provides that the President may 
>> with the approval of a simple majority of the votes of all members of 
>> the National Assembly, assume the executive powers of any Local 
>> Government Area, in circumstance where the Council so request and it 
>> is in the public interest to do so and where it has become extremely 
>> difficult or impossible for a Council to function.
>>
>> According to SoS Sambou, there has been constant power conflict 
>> between the Office of the Regional Governors and the office of the 
>> Chairman of Area Councils, the latter claiming being elected by 
>> universal adult suffrage of all eligible voters in the Local 
>> Government Area, thus creating functional difficulties.
>>
>> "This power struggle in many instances do not yield positive impact. 
>> As a result, this constitutional provision has recently been amended 
>> to pave the way for the amendment of Section 13(1) of the Local 
>> Government Act 2002, among other things. For a good transition and to 
>> achieve the desired results, therefore, it will be desirable for the 
>> President to take over the administration of Local Government 
>> Councils for them to be well-prepared for the forthcoming Council 
>> Elections," he said.
>>
>> He added that there has been a series of complaints from the general 
>> public and other stakeholders in Local Government Administration 
>> about the poor performance of the Local Area Councils, which in some 
>> cases led to public outcry and great confusion. It is for such 
>> reasons, according to him, that, the Department of State for  Local 
>> Government and Lands had to come up with a press release in 2006 to 
>> reduce rates across the country. "Also, because of the unsatisfactory 
>> method of car park fees collection by Councils, the Department of 
>> State in collaboration with the Department of State for Finance and 
>> Economic Affairs and the Interior had to shift the collection of car 
>> park fees from Councils to The Gambia Police Force," he noted.
>>
>> SoS Sambou then noted that, these and many other cases are result of 
>> both financial and administrative malfunctions, leading to 
>> unsatisfactory performances by all Councils. He added that to arrest 
>> this undesirable situation and considering that Local Government 
>> Elections are scheduled for January 2008, the need to better prepare 
>> new Councils to take up their financial and administrative 
>> responsibilities as expected by the citizens they are supposed to 
>> serve, cannot be over-emphasised.
>>
>> He then observed that in the light of the above and under the present 
>> circumstances, it is only proper for the President to invoke Section 
>> 152(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 2002 to remedy the current 
>> situation and prepare good grounds for a more vibrant and 
>> result-oriented Local Government Councils in The Gambia to achieve 
>> the aspirations of the MDGs and our Decentralisation and Good 
>> Governance Strategies.
>>
>> Supporting the motion, Hon.Netty Baldeh, NAM for Tumana, said the 
>> motion is timely for the fact that the Local Government elections are 
>> just in the pipeline. He said this will help to create a level 
>> playing ground field for all participants and also indicates 
>> government's commitment to ensure a fair play in the election process.
>>
>> He urged the NAMs to ratify the motion so that the President of the 
>> Republic of The Gambia can take actions to remedy the current poor 
>> situations of Councils and Municipalities.
>>
>> Hon. Sellu Bah, NAM for Basse, also supported the motion for the 
>> President to take over the affairs of the Councils and 
>> Municipalities. He urged for the proper scrutiny of the 
>> administrative actions of the Councils and Municipalities.
>>
>> Hon. Sedia Jatta, NAM for Wuli West urged the authorities to create 
>> an interim management structures to run Councils until the election 
>> are over.
>>
>> by Alhagie Jobe
>>
>>
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