GPU Elects New Executive Committee
The Gambia Press Union held its triennial congress this morning, 26th March
2005 and the following new executive committee was elected to serve for the
next three years:

              President:            Mr. Madi Ceesay   - News & Report
              First V/President:    Mr. Musa Saidykhan- The Independent
              Second V/President:   Ms. Aisha Dabo    - The Independent
              Secretary General:    Ms. Ndey Tapha Sosseh- Freelance
              Assistant Secretary:  Mr. Omar Bah      - Daily Obserever
              Assistant Secretary:  Mr. Emil Touray   - Foroyaa
              Treasurer:            Mrs. Alimatou Jallow-The Independent
              Co-opted Member:      Ms. Sarjo Camara  - Foroyaa
              Co-opted Member:      Mr. Alex Dacosta  - Freelance

Below is the report to the congress presented by the out-going president
Demba Jawo:

GPU TRIENNIAL CONGRESS - 26th MRACH 2005
OUT-GOING PRESIDENT'S REPORT

The period since the last congress in 2001 had been by all accounts quite
interesting and eventful. Indeed I would dare say that it had been the most
eventful period in the 27 year history of the Union.
While it had been a period of modest successes, it was also marked by
several trials and tribulations. Even though the successes were few and far
between, but the very fact that we succeeded in sustaining the union under
such strenuous circumstances, is at least one achievement that we should
all be proud of. It is certainly not a mean achievement. Another important
achievement had no doubt been the steady growth in membership. During the
last congress in 2001, our membership was not more than 100, while today we
can boast of a membership list of about 200. However, one would ask where
all those people are, particularly when during our monthly meetings, we
hardly get more than 15 people. Sometimes we do not even get a quorum to
hold a meeting. Where are all the members? The answer could be quite
varied. While almost a quarter of our original members are abroad, some as
students and others in various other engagements, but the vast majority are
right here in the country. However, for one reason or the other, they do
not attend meetings.
For those of our members in the Diaspora, apart from a few dedicated ones
amongst them, a majority of them have not been keeping in touch. I am
however pleased to announce that some of our colleagues in the UK recently
formed a GPU branch in the UK, with the objective of helping to raise funds
for the parent body. We are also grateful to some of our members who have
been making some financial contributions to the union. They include our
former treasurer S. B. Danso, Baba Galleh Jallow, Gheran Senghore and Fatou
Jaw Manneh, all in the United States, and Alieu Badara Sowe and Mercy Eze
in the UK. 
Yet another notable achievement has been the slow but steady increase in
membership from our colleagues in the public media. In 2001, the only
active member amongst them was our sister, Aja Maimuna Bah, who
conscientiously served as first vice president. Today we have a handful of
members from the GRTS, even though most of them are yet to become regular
at meetings, but we are still happy that they have seen it fit to become
members. It is apparently an acceptance by them that the GPU is a
professional body with the sole objective of promoting and protecting the
rights of journalists and also concerned with their welfare. We are
certainly not the opposition mouthpiece as some of our detractors label us,
but our main concern is the safety and welfare of all media practitioners,
regardless of their employer or status.
Another of our achievements is no doubt our legal battle and eventual
defeat of the National Media Commission Act, which was recently repealed by
the government, apparently when they realized that they could not enforce
it on us. However, while in view of the introduction of two other even more
draconian media laws, some people describe the repeal of the Media
Commission as a Pyrrhic victory as it still does not save us from bad media
laws. However, the fact that the government had to repeal the Media
Commission Act because of our refusal to participate in it was itself an
achievement.
Another important achievement was no doubt the setting up of the Media
Training Centre, in collaboration with the GRTS, University of the Gambia
and the GTTI, under the auspices of the National Commission for UNESCO. It
was quite a modest beginning of a training facility in this country which
was conceived by the GPU. However, while some people have criticized the
decision to involve the other collaborators rather than the GPU going it
alone in the establishment of the training centre, but the reality was that
we neither had the capacity nor the human resources in the GPU to go it
alone. Therefore, I had the feeling that the only way we could have done it
was through collaboration with the other institutions. Indeed, the ultimate
objective is to get the University and the GTTI, the two institutions with
the mandate and the resources to undertake such professional training to
eventually take over the training of journalists and therefore, it made
quite a lot of sense to involve them in the whole process from the very
beginning. We understand that the Americans are looking into the
possibility of helping the University set up a journalism training school
in the very near future. While we say hallelujah to them for such a noble
intention, but all that we want is for the GPU to be involved in the
process rather than them doing everything in consultation with the
Department of State for Communication, Information and Technology while
ignoring us as the most important stakeholders. That is definitely likely
to spell doom for the project. 
We should also not fail to mention the annual training that we receive from
Egypt which is organized by the Union of African Journalists and sponsored
by the government of Egypt. I believe at least three of the beneficiaries
of that course are here with us this morning. We take this opportunity to
thank both the UAJ and the government of Egypt for extending such an
opportunity to us.
In addition to the Egyptian training, we have also benefited from numerous
seminars and workshops sponsored by our friends and collaborators. For
instance, in February 2004, we held a workshop on news reporting sponsored
by the Commonwealth Press Union. In August 2004, UNESCO/Breda in Dakar
sponsored a course on ethics for editors. This is of course in addition to
the assistance that we received from UNESCO for the setting up of the Media
Training Centre and numerous other assistants we received from them.
Therefore, on behalf of everyone, I wish to thank everyone that helped to
facilitate the training of journalists, which remains our number one
priority. 
The above and no doubt many others were the achievements that we registered
during the period. However, those achievements and successes were
accompanied by several challenges and failures. The biggest of the
challenges was no doubt the brutal murder of our colleague Deyda Hydara on
December 16, 2004 while he and his colleagues at The Point were then busy
celebrating its 13th anniversary. That was indeed the most heinous act ever
committed against a journalist in this country since the shooting to death
of Omar Barrow during the students' demonstrations in April 2000. However,
while those who carried out that dastardly act have succeeded in snatching
away our colleague and friend from us as well as from his dear family, but
they have also succeeded in creating a martyr. Indeed I wish to take this
opportunity to express gratitude to all media practitioners, members of the
civil society and indeed all other well wishers for the solidarity that was
manifested during the procession we held in memory of his death.
I also wish to take this opportunity to announce that the GPU, in
collaboration with other members of civil society are currently working on
plans to keep Deyda's memory ever alive in this country and beyond. We have
set up a steering committee which is working closely with civil society to
not only carry out certain commemorative activities, but we also intend to
set up a Deyda Hydara Foundation, which would carry on his legacy of
fighting for press freedom in this country and the sub-region. We also
intend to erect a plaque at the spot where he was shot as well as organize
a seminar and an international conference to discuss security of
journalists as well the maintenance of press freedom that Deyda had lived
and died for.
Another challenge facing the union is the maintenance of its secretariat.
As you are aware, it presently consists of three permanent staff, the
administrator, the secretary and the office assistant, whose wages and
salaries should be paid on a regular basis. There are also the other
financial obligations such as the rent and the settlement of bills.
However, all these obligations are constrained by the shortage of cash.
Indeed it is now 10 months the administrator has not received his allowance
and the rent is also now due while there is no idea where we are going to
get the money for it. 
However, for the fact that the GPU has no other means of income apart from
membership subscriptions, makes the situation even more precarious. This is
because those subscriptions are not usually forthcoming, which makes
sustainability a major problem. Therefore, that is exactly where membership
commitment comes in. It is one thing to call oneself a GPU member, but it
is a completely different thing to actually behave like one. Therefore, in
view of that, we need to devise other alternative means to help finance the
secretariat. While we have unsuccessfully tried our hands in fundraising,
there is still the need to discuss other possibilities of fundraising, at
least to help keep the secretariat afloat; otherwise, we risk being evicted
for failure to pay our rent.
At one stage, we tried to engage the media houses in the running of the
secretariat. After a meeting with some of them, it was agreed that they
would contribute towards the running of the secretariat. Indeed some of
them started making some generous monthly financial contributions towards
the running of the secretariat. However, after a few months, it stopped,
for whatever reason, I do not know. I would however, wish to take this
opportunity to thank the proprietors of The Independent, Daily Observer,
News and report and of course The Point, particularly the late Deyda
Hydara, who was the very one who proposed the idea. 
As I said earlier, our membership list has grown, but what has not grown
with it is the level of participation. Almost at every meeting, we admit
new members, but hardly anyone of them comes to subsequent meetings or even
meet their financial obligations to the union. There is usually always a
small group of committed members who turn up for meetings, and even a
smaller group that regularly meet their financial obligations. Obviously,
it is the members that make the union whatever it is and if we fail to
fully assume our responsibilities as members, then it would be quite hard
to see how the union can meet its own obligations to us and the society.
Therefore, unless we do so, then we should not blame anyone for the
shortcomings of the union. 
Another area that the GPU has failed is its failure to still acquire a plot
of land for a permanent secretariat. While all efforts have been made,
particularly by Cherno Jallow while he was administrator, but it has always
eluded us. Indeed at one time, we almost succeeded as a piece of land was
even identified for us and Mr. Jallow even visited the place, however, in
the process, there were changes at the Department of State for Local
Government and Lands and the new Secretary of State seem to have had a
different idea. As a result, after a series of correspondence and personal
visits, we gave up when we realized that the chances were quite slim. We
were convinced that someone somewhere had decided that the GPU did not
deserve such a facility. We however hope and pray that the situation would
one day change and our right to a piece of the national asset would be
honoured.
I cannot however end this report without expressing gratitude to some of
our friends and collaborators who helped us quite a lot during the period
under review. As I mentioned earlier, UNESCO was no doubt one of them. We
have also had some assistance from some other UN agencies such as UNICEF
and UNDP. 
We have also received a lot of assistance from the International Federation
of Journalists (IFJ) who, through their Media For Democracy Project gave us
a three-year assistance which ended in 2003. Through that project, they
paid our rent, as well as met our other financial obligations such as the
wages of the staff, together with the cost of stationery and communication
costs. They also bought three computers and a printer for the secretariat.
We cannot also forget the American Embassy, who also gave us substantial
assistance in the form of payment of our rent and the provisions of a
library and several reference books. 
We also wish to thank the Open Society Justice Initiative, which is a
branch of the Open Society Institute, a human rights NGO with headquarters
in New York who paid for our legal services during our court case against
the National Media Commission. 
We also received some financial assistance from the Media Foundation for
West Africa towards our legal battle against the Media Commission.
We also thank our numerous friends and sympathizers both at home and
abroad. We are particularly grateful to some of them for constantly giving
us both moral and financial assistance during our times of great need.
While some of them wished to remain anonymous, I would like to mention in
particular our sister and colleague Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay and Mr.
Mamanding Kuyateh for their generous financial assistance.
Of course we cannot forget Mrs. Hawa Sisay Sabally, a private legal
practitioner who volunteered to come to our assistance when almost every
other lawyer we approached refused to take our case against the Media
Commission, apparently because we did not have money to pay them. She did
it and never asked for a butut. We are definitely grateful to her.
During the run up to this congress, we wrote to all media houses soliciting
financial assistance, and we are grateful to those who positively responded
to our plea. These include The Independent and News and Report. The
Independent donated D4000 and News and report donated D1000. We are indeed
quite grateful to them.
We also received D3000 towards the holding of the congress from Baba Galleh
Jallow of The independent, who is presently in the USA.
We would of course wish to thank all the other media houses as well as all
institutions and individuals who at one time or the other helped the GPU
morally or financially. I would however use this opportunity to further
appeal to all media houses to continue to support the GPU as it is here to
serve the cause of press freedom and unless we help to empower it, then it
cannot perform effectively.  




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