Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues

Issue No. 36/2005, 9-11 May 2005



Editorial

THE ECO AND THE DALASI

Foroyaa recommended for the Central Bank to set up a special monetary committee to monitor the economic indicators against the standards set for membership of the second monetary zone known as the ECO which is often referred to as the convergence criteria. The first problem is one of size. Most of the countries involved apart from Nigeria are among the least developed countries in the world with fluctuating macro economic indicators. The purpose of establishing convergence criteria is to gauge the standards of economic health of each country. Such a yardstick needs to be assessed over a period of time to truly determine whether a country has attained macro economic stability or not. Foroyaa will make a comprehensive report on the macro economic environment of the ECO countries since the inception of the idea to show how adherence to the indicators has shifted over the years. Eventually, what the experts were doing is simply to push for the establishment of the ECO zone by few
 countries on the basis of a year’s performance and allow the rest to join later.

At a conference held at Kairaba, experts were asked to shift from the rigid position of creating a second monetary zone by establishing convergence criteria that may be difficult to attain by July 2005 and consider the viability of attaining the same end through other means.

They were told that the establishment of a second monetary zone cannot be separated from the ECOWAS objective of creating a common currency for the region. They were told that the CFA zone was established without any convergence criteria; that they should be open minded to conduct research into different avenues of establishing a monetary zone for ECOWAS for review. They considered the view that the convergence criteria may not be met as pessimistic. They refused to answer the question: What next if they are not met? Today the question what next has emerged. Foroyaa hopes that this time around, The Central Bank of the Gambia will strengthen its own unit and charge it with the responsibility of keeping track of what is happening in the CFA zone and come up with scientific analysis of what would happen if Gambia in particular and the other ECO parties were to join the existing monetary zones or rely on the experience of the existing monetary zone to create an ECOWAS monetary zone and
 currency without having to go through the establishment of a second monetary zone. The Central Bank of the Gambia should play a proactive role in these matters by building expertise on the subject.



NJAU BY-ELECTION

Who Is Right or Wrong? Halifa Clarifies

Foroyaa: According to the Daily Observer, the publicity secretary of the NRP, Mr. Mambanyick Njie has said that the IEC is right to hold by-election in Njau ward and that the NRP is prepared to take part in the By election. Does this mean that there are differing views in the NADD Alliance?

Halifa: There is no debate in the executive committee of NADD on whether IEC is right or wrong. It is the anonymous Lawyer of the Daily Observer who claimed that the Njau Council seat is vacant because of defection. It is the unanimous view of the members of the executive committee of NADD that defection is not a basis for losing a seat in the Municipal or Area Council. I am glad that this view has not been refuted by any one. Even our learned lawyer is silent. Mambanyick is simply confirming that the by election is due to the resignation of the councillor from his seat.

Foroyaa: Is this information new to NADD?

Halifa: Mambanyick is the Publicity Secretary of the NRP and not of NADD. He is entitled to make comments on behalf of his party. It is my duty as spokesperson of NADD to coordinate activities with other party agents. I have already spoken to Mr. Njie and we have reached an understanding.

Foroyaa: Can you tell us where NADD stands on the claims made by Mr. Njie that the councillor has resigned and that NRP will contest the elections.

Halifa: My mandate is to write to the IEC to seek clarification on the grounds for the by-election. The letter published by the Observer is not sufficient. The IEC is not the competent authority to write to, to resign from a council seat. I have already quoted the relevant section of the Local Government Act to indicate the basis of the cessation of office of members of council. These are technical issues and enough consultation has been done to reach an understanding with Mambanyick. He is doing some investigation and the IEC will further give clarification.

Foroyaa: Can you help our readers to know what is required to resign from the council?

Halifa: Section 19 subsection 1(c) of the Local Government Act states: “a person shall cease to be a member of the council if by writing, addressed to the Chairperson of the Council, he or she resigns as a member.” The intention of the councillor is clear. We simply want the IEC to act in accordance with the provision of law. This is why we have written to them for clarification.

Foroyaa: Since NADD is now registered, are the opposition members going to contest under the umbrella of NADD or under their individual party tickets.
Halifa: All parties have agreed to contest elections under NADD.

Foroyaa: Njau included?

Halifa: If the legal foundation of the by election is established NADD will contest.

Foroyaa: If not?

Halifa: We have our options. The seat will not go unopposed.

Foroyaa: How are you to prevent different views of members of NADD?

Halifa: It is my duty as Coordinator. I spoke to the Observer based on the comments of Observer’s anonymous Lawyer. I am sure that there will be better co-ordinations from now onwards.
The Executive of NADD operates in union. My task now is to organise workshops for our party operatives so that they understand the essence of the MOU, NADD’s constitution, code of conduct and method of work. We have made a good start. The way we have handled all preliminary attacks confirms that NADD is invincible.



“FREEDOM OF _EXPRESSION IS FUNDAMENTAL,” SAYS HALIFA



By Bubacarr K. Sowe

The Minority Leader and National Assembly Member for Serrekunda Central, Halifa Sallah, has disclosed that the freedom of _expression and association and the press are fundamental rights of the human being. Halifa made this statement at a symposium marking International Press Freedom Day which took place at the Alliance Franco-Gambienne on the 3rd May 2005.

“One cannot know the value of one’s right until one knows the worth of the human being. If you know the worth of the human being, you will know that rights are an embodiment of the very whole of the human being. Food is not only for the stomach, but also for the mind, for the heart, for the conscience and for the personality,” he noted.

He emphasized that if the human being is robbed of these, then truth, justice and dignity of the personality become disregarded.

“And that is why freedom of _expression is so fundamental. We cannot separate it from personal security. In fact, it is the absence of personal security which gives rise to the struggle for freedom of _expression,” he said.

He added that Deyda was not there but was speaking to them through the voice of silence.

“That is why some call them the voiceless. A human being becomes voiceless only when he is oppressed and deprived of his or her right to freedom of _expression,” he opined.

He also said that we need to eradicate the culture of silence as it does not belong to the 21st century. “This is the era of the people and not of tyrants,” he concluded.

The Editor of the Gambia News and Report, Mr. Swaebou Conateh, said that for the past several years, our main channels of _expression, i.e. our private radios and the print media, have been subjected to an unprecedented onslaught.

“The situation is not helped by the presidential utterances against the press. Apart from the famous “six feet deep” statement, there were the exhortations to the public to stop buying newspapers and the cancellation of all subscriptions by government offices. The president was on record for calling journalists, freedom fighters and human rights activists, illegitimate sons of Africa and of course we still can recall his directive to journalists to sign up the Media Commission or go to hell. We in the media were particularly upset when the day after Deyda Hydara’s murder; the president held a send off parade to soldiers going to Darfur and the second day after, there was the rally of students at Arch 22, followed by a beach party. He neither mentioned nor gave a word of sympathy to the Hydara family,” he said.

He added that journalists and all of us in the society have a birth right to both freedom of _expression and security of our person and property.

The President of the Gambia Press Union (GPU), Mr. Madi Ceesay, who delivered the vote of thanks, decried the draconian laws hanging over the heads of journalists.

See next issue for a further report on the Symposium





ECO NOW SCHEDULED FOR 2009



By Bubacarr K. Sowe

The Authority of Heads of States and governments of the West African Monetary Zone last Friday declared at the Kairaba Hotel that the commencement of the monetary union should be rescheduled to 1st December 2009 to give the member states time for the attainment of the convergence criteria, the implementation of the structural benchmarks and an action plan based on a work programme on critical deliverables.

This declaration (Banjul Declaration) was signed by the Presidents of the Republic of The Gambia and Sierra Leone, Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh and Ahmed Tijan Kabbah respectively, the Prime Minister of Guinea, Alpha Diallo, the Nigerian Minister of Regional Cooperation and the Ghanaian Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, who deputized on behalf of their heads of states.

The basics of the declaration created the 17th meeting of the convergence council of ministers and governors of central banks of the WAMZ. Prior to the ministers and governors meetings of the 5th – 6th of May 2005, there was the 20th meeting of the technical committee and that of the 14th meeting of the committee of governors of the central banks.

This would require the restructuring of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) to effectively implement the re-designed action plan. The new WAMI would be task-based and accountable on the deliverables under a new work programme. Monitoring and evaluation will also be undertaken by WAMI as part of its surveillance activities.

However, the Heads of States and Governments should sustain the momentum of the union by announcing the commencement of the implementation of the currency convertibility or trading in regional currencies, full capital accounts liberalization, cross-border listing in the stock markets, removal of all barriers to free movement of persons and goods within the zone, introduction of common external tariffs by the member countries and the establishment of a customs union.

Speaking at the summit, the Deputy Executive Secretary of Policy Harmonization of ECOWAS, Mr. Mame Cor Sene, recognised that monetary integration is a complex and difficult undertaking which calls for very close cooperation among sovereign states on political, legal, economic, financial, technical and institutional issues.

“It is evident that the WAMI programme has witnessed some progress both in terms of improvement in quality of the macro-economic policies of individual member states, and in designing the requisite structure of the WAMZ monetary union. It is equally evident that not enough has been achieved for the introduction of the ECO on 1st July 2005. There has not been sufficient macro-economic convergence on a sustainable basis, to assure us of the degree of stability required by a convertible regional currency,” he remarked.

The President of the Republic of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, said that the principal challenge before the WAMZ member states today is to find a positive direction for WAMZ programmes and to continue the pursuance of the objectives that member states have set for WAMZ. “The most significant challenge facing the WAMZ programme is that of achieving and maintaining a high level of macro-economic development. Significant slippages occurred in 2003 and most countries moved down on the convergence,” Jammeh said.

The Sierra Leonean President, Ahmed Tijan Kabbah, highlighted that the study has made a great effort in identifying the state of the preparedness of the WAMZ countries for monetary union on 1st July 2005, noting that while member countries have made commendable progress towards meeting the convergence criteria for achieving monetary union, external factors, including the volatile oil prices, unfavourable trade conditions and the debt burden as well as difficult internal political conditions in some of our countries have continued to retard our progress towards the realization of our goal.



LANG CONTEH’S COUNSEL GETS THE GREEN LIGHT



By Surakata Danso

The former foreign exchange manager of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Mr. Lang Conteh can now see his counsel in private.  This is as a result of a court order made by the presiding Judge, Justice Tahir during the proceedings of the ongoing D224 Million criminal case on Wednesday, 4th May 2005.

When called the leading defence lawyer, Mr. Musa Bittaye, stood up to apply for a short adjournment. According to Mr. Bittaye they were unable to have consultations with their client because the prison officers refused them consultation with their client in private. The leading defence counsel applied to the court to make an order for the prison authorities to enable them have a private consultation with their client.

This move of the defence was not objected to by the DPP. The trial judge then made the order accordingly and adjourned the case to the 9th May 2005.



AT THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

DoSE UNDER THE MICROSCOPE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

Part 9

FOROYAA has been publishing the report of the National Assembly Select Committee on Education and Training submitted to the Assembly for approval. In this issue, FOROYAA publish the revelations of the report on Gambia College.



44.   Late payment of salaries and the centralized nature of payment within the regions that requires some teachers to travel. This is both expensive on cost and at times of teachers

45. No Board at Nyakoi Senior Secondary School but a school committee, the school is not recognised by WAEC as an examination centre. As a result, there is high demand for transfers among the students

46. Lack of proper handing over of schools from one head teacher to another, consequently, new heads do not have records to refer to when necessary.



On Good Practices And Initiatives

The report reveals that the following are the good practices and initiatives in regions 5 and 6:

a) Salaries paid on time in subvented schools despite the location of the schools and almost all members of their SMT are substantive holders of their respective positions

b) A standby generator at St. George’s Upper Basic to ensure uninterrupted electric supply

c) Regular social security contribution for ancillary staff in the above school

d) Soft loans made available to teachers in some schools

e) Nasir Ahmadiya Senior Secondary School Board approval of a 10 % salary increment was motivating to teachers

f) PTA actively involved in school activities

g) Responsibility allowances paid to SMT

h) Each of the satellite villages of Jimbala Basic Cycle School has a garden for the school. The produce is brought to the school for sale to supplement the needs of the kitchen. In addition, parents help in the school orchard

i) Some schools have well kept records and key information is sometimes put on the wall of the Principal’s office for visitors to see

j) A village horticultural garden for Julangel Skills Centre

k) The cashew farm in Koli Kunda Lower Basic School where the community was found fencing the school

l) Nyakoi Senior Secondary School is clean, well kept, beautiful and fenced



On Gambia College

With regard to the Gambia College, the report reveals that “Gambia College has four schools namely: the School of Education, the School of Agriculture, the School of Public Health, and the School of Nursing and Midwifery. The college is fully funded by government covering stipend, accommodation, food for students and staff salary. The report reveals that the college is the only teacher training institution in the country.



On Staff

With regard to staff, the report states that the college’s main constraint is “inadequate resources,” particularly human. The report indicates that Lecturers are inadequate, particularly in the School of Education, which has the highest number of students. As examples, the report reveals that there is only one lecturer for Guidance and Counselling and five for Education and Professional Studies (EPS). The table below shows the college’s human and material resources:



On Leadership

The report states that there is a head for each of the four constituent schools; however, two of these heads are in acting capacities.  The report reveals that a lecturer similarly has been acting as Principal Lecturer for four and a half years. The report further revealed that the college has a governing council where the teaching staff is not represented but the Principal and Registrar are members of the council and that the college is not autonomous and as a result decisions are not taken independently. The report further states that some staff members feel that the College Act needs to be revisited so that respective terms of reference would be revised to suit current situations and developments in the college.  He indicated that a code of conduct document to ensure and maintain discipline has just been finalized and awaits printing.



On Courses

The report indicates that the School of Education offers two courses: PTC and HTC to be completed within three years and that both courses have a campus-based component (one year for PTC and two years for HTC) and a distance learning/teacher practicum component (two years for PTC and one year for HTC).  It states that the latter is divided into two parts: two years on campus and one year of distance learning them before they are sent out to the schools. The report reveals that there is a private in-service course for ECD. With regard to the School of Agriculture, the report indicates that it offers four main courses and other tailor-made courses. As for the School of Public Health, the report states that it offers a three-year HND on Public and Environmental Health, while the School of Nursing and Midwifery offers SRN on Midwifery for three years and that the nursing course is done in Banjul at the School of Nursing.



On Facilities

With regard to facilities at the college, the report reveals that classrooms are inadequate considering the roll of the college, particularly the School of Education which has up to 76 students in a class for the Primary Teachers’ Certificate.  It goes on to state that although other schools are not affected, it is apparent that classes are overcrowded at the School of Education. With regard to laboratories (Science and Computer), the report reveals that each of the constituent schools has at least one science lab except the School of Agriculture. The report indicates also that two of the schools have computer labs but that the other two use the general lab for the whole college and that computers are not enough and maintenance is a problem. With regard to library / resource centre, the report reveals that “there is only one centre for the whole college.  It goes on to state that the library is below standard because of inadequate financing. On learning and teaching materials, the
 report reveals that there are no course books for almost all the courses and that, lecturers provide their own materials by preparing handouts for the students.  The report also reveals that there are modules for the Primary Teachers’ Certificate course and none for the Higher Teachers’ Certificate. The report further states that other modules ought to be prepared, but that for lack of resources this is not done. The report indicates that there is no overhead projector in the college. With regard to toilets, the report reveals that the toilet facilities are inadequate and the sanitary conditions are poor, particularly for those of the dormitories. The report further states that even the staff toilets are not in good condition. With regard to transportation, the report indicates that it s very inadequate and that mobility is a major constraint.  It states that no fuel is given to lecturers nor a are they reimbursed for transport for official duties. The report reveals that “fuel
 allocation of D500 per month is quite insufficient to undertake the required visits to schools for observation as such student observation is seriously hampered.



1991 – 99 AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SUBMITTED



By Surakata Danso

An official of the State Department for Finance and Economic Affairs has informed this reporter that the National Audit Office on Friday the 29th of April 2005 submitted the audited financial statements of government from the years 1991 – 1999 to the SoS for Finance for onward transmission to the National Assembly. The official termed the achievement as very crucial in the governance programme of the country. He asserted that the submission of audited accounts of government has been the top priorities of the country’s donor partners since the 2005 round table conference of the partners which was attended by the Vice President.

The informant further opined that he only hoped that the government would continue to give the office of the Auditor General the enabling environment to complete the rest of the back-log of statements from the years 2000 – 2004. He called for closer cooperation between the offices of the Auditor General and the Accountant General’s Department, which he said had been lacking since the beginning of the second republic in 1997. The officer thanked the office of the Auditor General and staff for enabling the country fulfill this very important constitutional requirement to the citizens and donor community.



ADC JAMMEH AND STAFF SGT BALDEH IN POLICE NET



By Surakata Danso

The presidential ADC, Musa Jammeh and State Guard, Staff Sgt Baldeh, are currently under detention at the fraud squad of the police headquarters. Our police source confirmed that Messer. Jammeh and Baldeh who were in detention at the Fajara Barracks for months now were handed over to the police on the 4th of May 2005 for further investigation and possible trial.

The source further indicated that the two were dismissed from the Army on the same day (4th day of May 2005) before they were handed over to the police. Messer. Jammeh and Baldeh are alleged to be helping the police on some missing amounts of money and other items from the State House and the President’s home in Kanilai Village and Kanilai Farm.





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