X-Apparently-To: [log in to unmask] via web1201.mail.yahoo.com
X-Track: 1-1: 40
Received: from out5.prserv.net (EHLO prserv.net) (32.97.166.35)
by mta522.mail.yahoo.com with SMTP; 28 Nov 2000 20:38:03 -0800 (PST)
Received: from banet.net ([32.100.253.129]) by prserv.net (out5) with SMTP
id <2000112904325720505rg2qpe>; Wed, 29 Nov 2000 04:32:58 +0000
Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 23:17:53 -0500
From: Jamila Allston <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Organization: JAMILEON INTERNATIONAL
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.72 [en] (Win95; I)
X-Accept-Language: en
MIME-Version: 1.0
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Observer
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="------------90790F93AD2DF8A7B56E1271"
Content-Length: 30337
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
--------------90790F93AD2DF8A7B56E1271
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
http://www.qanet.gm/Observer/body_observer.html
--------------90790F93AD2DF8A7B56E1271
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii;
name="body_observer.html"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline;
filename="body_observer.html"
Content-Base: "http://www.qanet.gm/Observer/body_obse
rver.html"
Content-Location: "http://www.qanet.gm/Observer/body_obse
rver.html"
<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<meta name="Author" content="Adam Al-Ahmary">
<meta name="Generator" content="NetObjects Fusion 4.0 for Windows">
<meta name="GENERATOR" content="Mozilla/4.7 [en] (Win98; I) [Netscape]">
<!-- #BeginEditable "doctitle" -->
<title>Observer</title>
<!-- #EndEditable -->
<Bass target="_parent">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080" TOPMARGIN="0" LEFTMARGIN="0" MARGINWIDTH="0" MARGINHEIGHT="0">
<table BORDER=0 CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 WIDTH="353" NOF="LY" >
<tr ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP>
<td WIDTH="175" HEIGHT="18"></td>
<td WIDTH="178" height="18"></td>
</tr>
<tr ALIGN=LEFT VALIGN=TOP>
<td></td>
<td WIDTH="178">
<center><font size=-2>Copyright 2000 QuantumNET</font></center>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="653" height="2497" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td height="2514" width="130" >
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="130" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 nof="LY" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td width="118">
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="118" id="Table1" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 nof="LY" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td width="118">
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="118" id="Table1" >
<tr>
<td width="118" height="10" bgcolor="#99CCFF"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" height="19" bgcolor="#FF0000">
<center>
<b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT"><font color="#FFFFFF">QuantumNET</font></font></b>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" height="39" bgcolor="#98D0FF"><font size="-3">
</font>
<center>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/index.html">Home</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/Contacts/contacts.html">Contacts</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/Services/services.html">Services</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://gainde.qanet.gm/password/index.html">Change
password</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="117" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="1" bgcolor="#99CCFF"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#0000FF">
<center>
<b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT"><font color="#FFFFFF">Newspapers</font></font></b>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#99CCFF">
<center>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/Observer/observer.html">Observer</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/point/point.html">Point</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/Independent/independent.html">Independent</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td height="1" bgcolor="#99CCFF"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#006600">
<center>
<b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT"><font color="#FFFFFF">Miscellaneous</font></font></b>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#99CCFF">
<center>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/NoticeBoard/noticeboard.html">Notice
Board</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic" target="body">Daily
Exchange</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="113" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/Links/body_links.html" target="body">Links</a></font></font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<div align="left"><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font size=-2><a href="http://www.qanet.gm/Tourism/body_tourism.html" target="body">Tourism</a></font></font></b>
</div>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#99CCFF">
<center>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#99CCFF" background="/Observer/LightninF.gif"><b><font face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#FFFFFF"><font size=-2>During
the Rainy Season</font></font></font></b>
<br>
<font face="Arial,Helvetica,Univers,Zurich BT"><font color="#FFFFFF"><font size=-2>Please
ensure that your modem/phone jack is always
unplugged during storms, to avoid costly lightning
damage.</font></font></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="118" bgcolor="#99CDFF">
<center>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="50" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.qanet.gm"><img src="/Observer/FinishedUleadQanetSbF.gif" alt="QuantumNET Logo" border=0 id="Picture93" height=55 width=50></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="118" nof="LY" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td align=LEFT valign=TOP width="118" height="18"><img src="/Observer/CornerBlueEndGif1.gif" border=0 id="Picture201" height=18 width=118></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="12" nof="LY" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td align=LEFT valign=TOP width="12" height="12"><img src="/Observer/CornerInnerBlueLeft.gif" border=0 id="Picture225" height=12 width=12></td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td height="2514" width="413" >
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="357" nof="LY" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td width="3" height="1"></td>
<td width="1"></td>
<td></td>
<td width="3"></td>
<td width="2"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td colspan="2" height="85"></td>
<td align=LEFT valign=TOP width="348"><img src="/Observer/ObserverBanner.GIF" border=0 id="Picture2" height=85 width=348></td>
<td colspan="2"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td colspan="5" height="4"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td colspan="2" height="22"></td>
<td colspan="2" width="351" height="22"><!-- #BeginDate format:fcAm1 -->Tuesday, November 28, 2000<!-- #EndDate --></td>
<td height="22"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td colspan="5" height="10"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td height="2266"> </td>
<td colspan="4" width="354" height="2266">
<div align="center">
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="center"><font size="2"><b> <font size="5">BUBA BALDEH
IS NEW OBSERVER MD <font size="4"><br>
- <i>VOWS TO UPHOLD EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE</i></font></font></b></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"><b>The former PPP minister for Youths,
Sports and Culture, now deputy national mobiliser of the APRC,
Buba Baldeh, has been appointed managing director of the Observer
Company with effect from November 24. </b></font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Mr Baldeh, who called at the Daily
Observer officers yesterday afternoon to announce his new appointment,
replaces Sarriang Ceesay. Mr Ceesay has been on vacation in the
United States for the past two months. Unconfirmed sources said
Mr Ceesay, who is expected in Banjul early next week, may land
a job in the Gambia civil service. </font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Sarriang Ceesay was the director
general of Customs and Excise and later ran a private consultancy
before heading the Observer Company in May 1999 following the
acquisition of the company by tycoon, Amadou Samba. In an interview
shortly after he visited various departments of the company yesterday
afternoon, Mr Baldeh affirmed his allegiance to Amadou Samba and
said he will "live up to expectations".</font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"> Mr Baldeh denied his appointment
was a calculated move to blunt the objective edge of the newspaper
by some interested groups in the APRC party. "I am not aware of
any APRC clique in the first instance and the paper does not belong
to the APRC. </font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2">This paper belongs to Mr Amadou Samba,
who is my employer and therefore, I can only say my allegiance
is to the company, to the paper and to the proprietor." The proprietor
of Observer Company, Amadou Samba, is viewed in many quarters
as a close associate of President Yahya Jammeh. </font></p>
<p align="left">Editorial independence <br>
<font size="2">Mr Baldeh promised that he will not interfere with
the editorial independence of the Daily Observer. "That is absolutely
vital if we are to march forward. My new appointment is a big
challenge, but I promise to live up to expectations. </font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Certainly, I have no journalistic
experience as such, but in my capacity as managing director, I
do not have to be a journalist as such. I have been an administrator
all my life. I have headed several government and other institutions
in this country. My job here as managing director is, far different
from that of editor-in-chief or other journalists. My business
will purely be that of management and facilitating and creating
the right environment for all the various departments in this
company function to the satisfaction of all Gambians, and certainly,
the proprietor." Mr Baldeh recalled that when Amadou Samba bought
the Observer in 1999, "there were a lot speculations. </font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Mr Samba is a friend to the APRC,
et cetera, et cetera. But this speculation will be laid to rest
very soon. Daily Observer will continue with its balance reporting
without fear or favour. My connections with the APRC, which is
as a result of my own political convictions, has got nothing to
do with the independence of the Observer, particularly the editorial
section of the paper. It is a newspaper and therefore all the
stories will be carried in it like any newspaper in this country.
The foundation of good work that has been done by my predecessor,
Sarriang Ceesay, will be built upon.</font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"> I am a supporter of President Yahya
Jammeh but I have no intention, let me repeat this, I have no
intention whatsoever, of interfering in the editorial set-up of
this company. In the event that there are complaints from the
public or from anybody over articles, over stories, I am sure
those complaints will be looked into.</font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2"> I can say that the policy that has
been here since Mr Samba took over, that policy has to stay."
Mr Baldeh added, "Despite the speculations and criticisms, the
Observer still has the largest circulation. It is the biggest
newspaper company. It's well organised and both the permanent
staff and those on freelance are doing an excellent job."</font></p>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Priorities <br>
Commenting on his new priorities, Mr Baldeh said he would maintain
the credibility of the paper and that he would embark on an aggressive
marketing campaign so that the paper can generate revenue. He
promised to promote the staff based on merits, especially those
staff who are hard-working. </font></p>
</div>
<div align="left">
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="center"><font size="5"><b>Jammeh congratulates 'President-Elect'
George Bush</b></font></p>
<p><font size="2"> A few hours after the Florida secretary of state
certified the Florida recount votes and Republican candidate,
George W Bush, declared himself winner of the US presidential
election, the Gambian president, Yahya Jammeh, sent a congratulatory
message to the new US 'president-elect'. </font></p>
<p><font size="2">The message reads: "Mr President-Elect, Following
your election and victory in the just concluded elections to the
exalted positions of president of your great country, it gives
me much pleasure and deep honour to warmly congratulate you and
convey very cordial greetings on my own behalf and on behalf of
the Government and people of The Gambia. "It is my strong conviction
and resolve that together we can make United States/Gambia friendship
and cooperation more fruitful and prosperous.</font></p>
<p><font size="2">I therefore look forward to working closely with
you to further strengthen international peace and consolidate
our bilateral relations in the mutual best interests of our two
countries and peoples as well as humankind. May I also take this
opportunity to wish you a very successful tenure of office. <br>
Please accept, Mr President, the assurances of my highest consideration
</font></p>
<p><font size="2">signed Yahya AJJ Jammeh <br>
President of the Republic of The Gambia." However, Mr Bush's Democratic
opponent, Al Gore, has filed fresh new legal challenges in court
contesting the results. </font></p>
</div>
<center>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="207" nof="TE" >
<tr>
<td><img src="/Observer/FinishedQnetBannerAdvert.gif" border=0 id="Picture34" height=58 width=207></td>
</tr>
</table>
</center>
<p align="center"><font size="2"><b><img src="/Observer/a_ArrowLine_24.gif" border=0 id="Line38" height=4 width=348 align=TOP></b></font>
<p align="center"><font size="5">Absence of state counsels delay commission's
work </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">The chairman of the commission of inquiry
into the Auditor General's Report, Justice Gelega King, has lamented
the numerous absence of state counsels attached to the commission
which he said has delayed the proceedings of the commission. Because
of the absence of state counsels, the commission could not hear
the evidence of the chairman of the Kanifing Municipal Council,
Abdoulai Conteh, and Ms Ramatoulie Othman, manager of Trust Bank,
Bakau branch. </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">The KMC chairman is being investigated
in connection with per diem allowances he allegedly received. The
Auditor General's Report discovered that D65,359.40 "appeared to
have been overspent" on per diem allowances of KMC officials on
official missions abroad. The council was said to have failed to
obtain the required approval for overseas travel from the department
of state for Local Government. </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">The purpose of the overseas trips were
often not stated, the report stated. In a brief statement, Justice
Gelega King said, "Senior state counsel Savage, I am informed, returned
from abroad yesterday and wishes to take today (Monday) off to recover
from the effect of his travels. Counsel Jawara, we are told is indisposed.
We have not succeeded in obtaining the services of any other official
to deputise these two officials and inevitably we have to adjourn.</font>
<p align="left"><font size="2"> I think it is timely to state that
the commission's work is being slowed down by these absence and
we trust that all possible steps will be taken to ensure that counsel
is available at all times to conduct the work of the commission,
so that we can conclude proceedings as quickly as possible, within
the shortest possible time." The commission resumes sittings today.
</font>
<p align="center">
<p align="center"><font size="5"><b>Carousel berths again</b></font>
<p align="left"><b><font size="2">Carousel, a Sun Cruises (an Airtours
subsidiary) owned four-star cruise ship, berthed again yesterday
morning at the Banjul ports, carrying about 1200 mainly English
tourists in 525 cabins. </font></b>
<p align="left"><font size="2">The cruise ship which has an outdoor
pool and gymnasium and 400 crew members had earlier berthed at the
ports on November 14, carrying the same number of tourists. Speaking
at a cocktail reception hosted in the ship yesterday, Tourism secretary,
Yankuba Touray, expressed satisfaction with the quality of the cruise
ship, saying its clients are the type of up-market tourists that
the destination needs. SoS Touray informed the gathering mainly
made up of tourism stakeholders, that the government has been improving
the country's tourism infrastructure to meet the needs of such clients.
</font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">He later presented the ship captain,
John Brocklehurst, with a kora described by Tourism director, Momodou
MBO Cham, as one of the oldest musical instruments in West Africa
and a very important tool for oral tradition. Responding, Captain
Brocklehurst said Sun Cruises is happy to bring tourists to The
Gambia, extolling it as a good destination loved by Sun Cruises
clients for its good weather and friendly people.</font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">He also, in turn, presented SoS Touray
with a plaque, which, he said, is a tradition at Sun Cruises. Captain
Brocklehurst who has been cruising for five years, prior to which
he was sailing cross-channel ferries in the UK, told Daily Observer
that another thing that will attract similar cruise ships to the
destination is "the very good dock at Banjul ports. </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Besides, the immigration formalities
are quick." He said Sun Cruises take pride in the fact that their
clients always have good value for their money in their two-week
trip. For his part, Clive Ramshaw, the hotel director, said he is
looking forward to a time when some Gambians will be waiters in
the cruise ship "since Gambians are genuinely helpful and friendly"
to the admiration of visitors. </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">Carousel passengers, he explained,
enjoy first class food in the Camelot Restaurant as well as entertainment
in the Carousel Lounge, the Show Beat Lounge, the Midsummer's Night
Lounge and the Casino. Rachel Ainshie, cruise director, remarked
that their clients have experienced less hassles in The Gambia unlike
in some other destinations in Africa. "If this friendly attitude
continues, then The Gambia will be seeing more of Carousel," she
promised. </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">The tourists set out for the holiday
of a lifetime in Tenerife, Spain; sailed from there to Gran Canaria,
also in Spain, and from there to Porto Grande in Cape Verde and
then to Banjul for a day stop. >From Banjul, they will sail to Dakar,
Senegal and back to Gran Canaria from where they will sail to Madeira,
La Palma and finally to Tenerife for disembarkation. </font>
<p align="left"><font size="2">About 600 of them went on excursions
"to discover what makes Gambia the Smiling Coast". Farma Njie, manager
of the Cape Point-based destination management company, said they
took the tourists to Juffureh and James Island, Abuko Nature Reserve
and on a bush and beach safari, among others. "It is a very positive
development," she opined, stressing Discovery Tours' preparedness
to meet the excursion needs of Carousel tourists. The cruise ship
will come again on March 27 and April 10, 2001. </font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td height="2514" width="110">
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width="164" nof="LY" >
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td width="164" height="119"></td>
</tr>
<tr align=LEFT valign=TOP>
<td width="164">
<center>
<b><u><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Times NewRoman"><font size=+1><a href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Email </a></font></font></u></b>
<br>
<b><font face="Times New Roman,Times,Times NewRoman"><a href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask] </a></font></b>
</center>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</body>
</html>
--------------90790F93AD2DF8A7B56E1271--