Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues

Issue No. 16/2005, 28 Feb- 2 March 2005



Editorial

JAMMEH, THE SECURITY SITUATION AND THE PRESS

The development in the country confirms that if all sectors of society take ownership of the country it will go in the direction that people want and all those who go in the opposite direction will be left behind by events.

When Deyda was murdered the press did not consider itself small and weak. It boldly took the initiative to safeguard its place and space in the democratic process. It was conscious of the fact that the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, the unions and all other associations have their places and spaces in a sovereign nation. It therefore held a procession and made its demands. The demands were threefold:

First, they wanted to know how far the police had gone with their investigation into the allegation that some security forces were responsible for the arson attack of the Independent printing press. What is the state of the demand?

At least, for the first time the journalists were informed that the accused were called for questioning. The Gambia Press Union is yet to declare whether the answers to these enquiries are satisfactory to them or not.

Secondly, the journalists demanded an end to the use of vehicles without number plates. The representative of the police force had a long interview with GRTS to condemn such a practice. This means that the demands of the journalists are not based on anti-government sentiments but were reasonable and just.

Thirdly, the journalists called for the establishment of a mobile patrol with a number for emergency calls. The Ex-Inspector General of Police had given a number and cautioned against abuse of the number.

There is no doubt that with mobile phones everywhere the type of hit and run tactic that Deyda was subjected to can be nipped in the bud if there is an efficient mobile police patrol twenty four hours a day in high density areas.

Instead of praising the responsible initiative of the journalists and criticize the action of his government for failing to show solidarity by restricting the process to journalists, continuing his students party on the day Deyda was buried, he continued to be  out of tune with the demands of the moment by defending draconian press laws which impose imprisonment without an option of a fine or upper limits to term of  imprisonment.

This is what is being criticized. Nobody has blamed the government for killing Deyda. People are suspicious of the shooting of Ousman Sillah, the burning of machines of the Independent, the arson attacks against Radio One FM. What government should always do is to speak to the occasion to allay fears rather than use such sensitive moments to spit fire on journalists.

What President Jammeh should come to terms with is that he is in full control of GRTS and has been using this powerful tool which is state property established through a loan by Libya which Gambians are still paying for to insult tribes and individuals which deserves charges of libel but he is above the law on  libel and would not be impeached by his own National Assembly for violations of the constitution.

In FOROYAA’s view, the Gambian press is unique in the world in that they even try to prolong debates between opponents by approaching the other side for comments whenever something is said by one side. Hence if the APRC or President Jammeh fails to get his ideas published then they have themselves to blame. We are hundred percent sure that if the president wishes to respond to anything said in the press he will have free access. May be he does not need the non-government press because he has the state media at his disposal. May be the opposition who have no access to the state media to respond to his attacks need the non-government press.

Instead of alleging that the journalists are opponents of the government he should open up the state media like in Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, etc to divergent views. In this regard The Gambia is far behind and this is what should preoccupy the president, respect section 207 of the constitution and allow Neneh Macdoll and Kebba Dibba not only to interview him but also to interview the opposition to enable them to respond to his allegations. If he does not do this then he should know that the Gambian non-government media which allow divergent views to be expressed is more principled than he wants to give them credit for.



WATER PROBLEM AT THE AIRPORT



By Abdoulie Dibba

On Tuesday 22nd February 2005, the water supply of the Airport failed to function. When this reporter made enquiry as to whether there was  a breakdown, he was informed that there was none.

The lack of water is a characteristic feature of the famous utility company, NAWEC. Tuesdays, according to the workers at the Airport, are one of the busiest days. On this particular day, six flights were to land and others to take off with their passengers. The water shortage however posed a problem to passengers and workers alike. The affected areas were the toilets. Due to the lack of water supply the toilets stink or smell badly since they could not be flushed.

This reporter talked to some of the workers after visiting the toilets and they revealed that the lack of water supply was common at the Airport. They called on the authorities at the Airport to remedy the situation by having a reserve tank which could be filled and used when there is failure of water supply.

When contacted for comments, the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) PRO indicated that such situations do happen sometimes especially when there is power failure from NAWEC; that they have reserve tanks but their capacities cannot go beyond 24 hours; that in the short term, they will remedy the situation by constructing some more reserve tanks in anticipation of their own borehole as a long term measure.



BRIKAMA HAS A HIGH COURT

The Chief Justice calls for Access to Justice for All



By Pateh Baldeh

On Friday, the 25th February 2005, witnessed another historic day for the people of Western Division. This was the day the first divisional High Court was inaugurated in The Gambia.

In declaring the opening on behalf of the President, the SoS for Trade and Employment, Mr. Edward Singhateh said that this was a part of government’s effort for the decentralization process. He also said that this new High Court will help the people of Western Division and Gambians to have access to the courts. He also used the occasion to call on the judiciary to work hard to help the people meet their needs.

On his part, the SoS for Justice, Mr. Sheikh Tijan Hydara said that there are plans to build other divisional High Courts in Mansakonko and Basse.

In delivering his speech, the Chief Justice of The Gambia, Mr. S. A. Brobbey said that the opening of the High Court is a further manifestation of the democratic dispensation that prevails in this country; that democracy is reflected in good governance and that good governance is rooted in the rule of law. He went on to say that there can be no rule of law without an efficient court system; that the notion of an efficient court system itself entails access to justice. The Chief Justice went on to say that accessibility to justice implies that people should easily be able to obtain legal services whenever and wherever they need them; that this means among other things that the services of lawyers should be available to all citizens equally. “It means even more strongly that those who cannot afford to pay for the services of lawyers should be provided with uninhibited and unimpeded access to justice at all times,” the CJ underscored.

The Chief Justice mentioned that no one can deny that when the courts are situated and indeed clustered in areas where litigants have to travel long distances in order to obtain legal services, access to justice is defeated by the involvement in the travelling. The cost, he said, does not merely frustrate their search for legal services. They sometimes result in denying them justice altogether when, for economic reasons, they are induced or compelled to abandon the fight for justice. He said that the opening of the Brikama court will effectively put an end to all these. It will put an end to all these. It will give real meaning to the express access to justice by ensuring that the people of Western Division can now have their cases settled in their own locality without having to bear the extra cost involved in traveling long distances in the search for justice which is their constitutional right.

The Chief Justice noted that the opening of the court promotes good governance which he said is one of the strong bedrocks of democracy; that it can be safely said that projects like the Brikama High Court will contribute to ensuring meaningful democracy to our people knowing the benefits that accrue to our people in operating courts outside the city. The Chief Justice said that they will endeavour to ensure that decentralization does not end with the opening of the Brikama High Court but will appropriately be extended to other areas countrywide.

Other speakers included the Commissioner of Western Division, Mr. Momodou Lamin Jobarteh and the occasion was attended by a cross section of the community.



GPA PAYS RIDERS OVER D400, 000 MONTHLY



By Surakata Danso

The Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) Communication Officer and PRO, Mr. Ebrima Kujabi has confirmed to FOROYAA Newspaper that the GPA pays to Riders for Health, the newly set up transport management institution over D400, 000 monthly. Mr. Kujabi also confirmed that the GPA purchased a fleet of six staff buses for over D7 million; that even though at the time of contracting the management and repairs of the buses to Riders, little or nothing was known to most people of the management as the Transport Manager was out of the country at the time. Mr. Kujabi opined that payment to Riders started in July 2004; that most people wondered why the need for the contract. The PRO further confirmed that the current management is in the process of reviewing a lot of issues at the GPA including the said contract; that any issue which is not in the interest of the state would be reversed.

Mr. Kujabi made these remarks last week in his office at the GPA when contacted by this reporter following receipt of queries by some officers of the GPA. The officers, some of whom claimed that they have been working with the GPA since its establishment, questioned why they contracted Riders with the management of the buses when the rest of the vehicles were left out. Moreover GPA has its own mechanics since its establishment in 1972.

Our sources have called on the authorities to review the contract, the operational nature of the traffic department which is fundamental in the GPA, the ferries, security, contracts, cleansing, rents and the issue of river containers.

When FOROYAA contacted the management of Riders for Health they too confirmed that it is true that Riders in 2004, signed a contract for the management of staff buses with the GPA; that the contract includes the repairs, providing and payment of drivers and other aspects of managing and caring of the buses. The management of Riders claimed that in managing the buses they took consideration of the urgency of the attitudes of workers looking at the importance of the GPA.

The Riders boss who spoke to this reporter indicated that Riders is a non-profit charitable organization that does not only deal with transport management but also deals with other community support interventions in the areas of providing ambulances and community cleansing services through the introduction of the Uhuru Transport System. This, the management asserted, will be introduced in the communities soon. The group of managers however emphasized the importance of sustainable and effective transport system to support the delivery of either medical or personal aid in the vast areas of health and poverty alleviation. They maintained that the Uhuru Transport System can also be useful in the areas of commercial transportation linking small communities to towns and cities where means of transport is difficult; that Riders are operating in so many countries in Africa e.g. Nigeria, Uganda, Zimbabwe, etc.

Finally, the group of managers opined that the idea of Riders as an effective means of communication started in The Gambia under Save The Children, UK. They however declined to say how much GPA pays to them monthly, but referred our reporter to the GPA.



BAR PLEDGES NEUTRALITY

While Urging Government  to Save The Country’s Good Image



By Surakata Danso

The Gambia Bar Association in a press briefing on Thursday 24th day of February 2005 called on the government to save the good image of the Gambian nation by bringing to justice those culprits responsible for the attempted murder on Lawyer Ousman Sillah in 2003 and other high profile crimes committed.

The Bar made these remarks to the press after the postponement of the opening of the 2005 legal year celebration that should have taken place on 20th February 2005. The members of the Bar, however, said that despite the postponement of the legal year’s normal opening, the Bar and Bench have gone ahead with their professional conferences; that due to the above reasons the Bar once again wish to reach out and share its observations and plans on the legal profession with the other arms of the state and the public at large. The members of the Bar went further to say that as lawyers, the profession is called ‘honourable’ because of the exalted moral character or excellence attached to the strict code of conduct and ethics of the profession’s integrity, fair play and dignity; that a lawyer earns these attributes only where he or she rightly follows the code and ethics.

In describing the job of lawyers, the Bar quoted Professor ANTONIO CASSESSE who is claimed to have said that in trying to make gentle life in this world, lawyers in the performance of their profession are expected to remain impartial. The Bar also opined that lawyers as human beings may sometimes find it difficult to defend a murder culprit, or any other criminal offender be it economic or whatever but because of the code of conduct and ethics lawyers are bound to abide by the principle that an accused person must be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of law; that a lawyer is also expected to have respect for the due process of the rule of law and constitutionality which are tools of lawyers.

The Bar therefore called on government to exercise due diligence and bring all suspected criminals to justice with all the legal requirement without which the court would have no choice but to find such an accused offender not guilty. In order to encourage and prove to the executive especially its investigation and prosecution department the neutrality of the profession, the Bar as a body made the following pledges:

1.         That the member will refrain from partisan politics during the exercise of their duties but this does not mean that individual members may not engage in politics so long as roles are separated.

2.         To use the courts as the proper forum for the determination of issues of constitutionality and other violations of the law, including human rights and nowhere else.

3.         That in this way the Bar and the Media practitioners and Press which is the fourth arm should show understanding when the Bar or its individual members decline to comment on legislations or on cases before the courts; that reporters should show patience and follow such cases in court and report on them or comment on the proceedings and arguments bearing in mind or having regards for the laws on libel and slander.

4.         That the Bar will work tirelessly towards promoting dialogue; that in this way the Bar Association plans to procure funds for seminars and workshops where lawyers and media practitioners and the security services can educate each other for their common ground and the nation in general; that in the same vein, the security forces and agencies must understand and appreciate the roles and functions of lawyers and other professional institutions should the need arise.

On the relationship between the Bar and the Bench the members endorsed what they termed as inspired injunctions of the AG and SoS for Justice, Sheikh Tijan Hydara during his welcoming speech of the Chief Justice that the proper forum for the Bar and the Bench is and should only be in the four walls of the courtrooms. The members indicated again that both the Bench and Bar have the duty to maintain the dignity of the courts at all times. The Bar finally asserted that members have placed all their trust in CJ Brobbey in exercising effectively his supervisory jurisdiction over all judges, magistrates and any other person having a judicial function. While calling on the executive to improve on the respect it showed over the past year for court orders there is still room for improvement. Lastly, on the question of delay in trial of cases, the Bar proposes to carry out a thorough and case-by-case study to identify the causes with a view to making recommendations to the CJ.





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