Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue

Issue No. 61/2005, 4-7 August, 2005


Editorial

Lessons `of Guinea Bissau

It is frequently asked in the Gambia what will happen if the opposition were
to win an election and the ousted President refuses to go. This question is
no longer relevant. Guinea Bissau has provided us with an answer. When Kumba
Yala occupied the state house to reclaim the presidency he eventually bowed
down to common sense before he learnt his lesson the hardway. When Nino won
against the wishes of forces which now control power, they had to bow to the
wishes of the people.

Today, a coup d’etat is taking shape in Mauritania despite the provision in
the AU Constitutive Act that No government through coup d’etat will be
recognised they are are still happening.

What is necessary on the continent is to develop governments derived from
the sovereign will of the people. This comes when societies become open for
free contest for the undiluted support of the people. This is the only
guarantee to stability.

Governments which do not obstruct the will of the people to remove them by
the ballot will never fear being removed by the ballot. Such heads of state
end up like Nelson Mandela. They become honoured for life.



HALIFA ON TOPICAL ISSUES

FATOUMATTA’S ALLEGATIONS ABOUT THE AU

PARLIAMENT, SINCHU MEETING AND OTHER ISSUES

Foroyaa: Some people have indicated that you should say something about
Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay’s remarks that your colleagues in the Pan African
parliament are happy that you have lost your seat?

Halifa: The Jammeh regime has transformed many people into slaves. They
speak only to please him. However, Jammeh does not have respect for those
who speak just to please him. He knows very well that once the power
structure changes those will be the first people to denounce him for
behaving like a lord above them. I don’t think I will earn any respect by
calling Fatoumatta a liar. In fact, when I come face to face with her she
will not be able to prevent herself from shivering with shame. The report I
presented to the Pan African Parliament is now a classic. It is circulating
all over the world. Needless to say, the Darfur mission was the first
mission of the Parliament and the report the first one I have earned the
high esteem of my colleagues. It is unfortunate that Fatoumatta is putting
her name on the historical record to say things that are mere figments of
her imagination. As a woman I will not treat her like the president. For the
sake of womankind, I will leave her to be judged by her own husband and
children. I hope they will call her and tell her to guard her integrity as
an African woman. The African women will never be respected unless they stop
behaving like tools in politics.

I hope Fatoumatta will learn from Malcolm X’s analysis of the House Nigger
and Field Nigger. According to Malcolm, the house nigger is always close to
the master. She receives all the leftovers from the table and derives
benefits from the master. To gain more benefits the house nigger must show
that she loves the master more than the master loves himself. She therefore
thinks what the master wants before he even thinks about it. In that way she
earns the trust of the master and maintains her privileges in the house. I
hope that all sovereign Gambian citizens will see themselves as equal to all
others. That they will be too dignified to be anyone’s tool. In fact, that
is why NADD emerged. Its aim is to empower people. All members of the APRC
who are made fun of by the president will gain liberation when NADD takes
over. They will all earn the respect due. One thing that Fatoumatta tells
everyone is that despite her antagonistic remarks, I always treat her with
courtesy when I see her. Hence she should not fear change and should be
careful in her remarks. Change is inevitable.

Foroyaa: many people are questioning whether the defections from the NRP
will not undermine the chances of Hon. Bah from winning his seat?

Halifa: First and foremost they started the rumours that Hon. Bah was going
to defect to the APRC. Secondly, they provided transport for people to be
collected to attend the Sinchu meeting. They did everything but the only
person I heard who came from Saloum is the former councillor of Njau Ward
who defected to the APRC. His speech was an indictment of the APRC. He said
that he resigned because the APRC majoprity in the council could not promote
any development in his area./ this confirms that the tax money paid by the
people in his ward did not return to bring about development. Secondly, he
indicated that Hamat has been telling people that the government is
insensitive to the needs of the farmers for being unable to purchase their
nuts. He said that Hamat should buy the nuts instead of questioning what
Hamat said. It is therefore clear that a government which expects the
opposition to do its job while it handles all the tax money of the people is
no longer fit to govern. Such a government should hand over the public purse
to the opposition in the 2006 elections. The councillor from Saloum must
have also frightened his APRC leaders when he said that Hamat had taken
machines to Saloum and that is the APRC is to have impact they should take
machines to Saloum. In my view, the meeting in Sinchu was a waste of time.
In June we had a by election in Njau Ward. He was a polling agent of the
APRC candidate. He collaborated with Mr. Amulia Janneh a former MP to
mobilize people for the APRC to take over the Njau seat. They failed
miserably. The prospects of the APRC in Saloum cannot be determined by the
rally in Sinchu. In fact, the promise by the people who are not voters in
Saloum that they will make Hamat to lose the seat is likely to anger people
in Saloum. The rally is counter productive.

Foroyaa: Some of the people said that they are leaving NRP because of wrong
things in the party?

Halifa: Why ten are they joining a party like the APRC whose dirty linen has
already been sown in public. I don’t think they can convince anyone that
they are leaving something bad for something better. They cannot use moral
justification for their defection. People cannot claim to join the APRC for
moral reasons.

Foroyaa: President Jammeh said that Hamat is a cockroach and should not be
voted for?

Halifa: That is what is most amazing to me. Jammeh does hold people in utter
contempt. You can read from his remarks utter hatred. Just imagine his words
against the IEC. This is neither…  the attitude of a national leader or
someone who claims to be devoted to religious principles. How can any decent
human being call your fellow citizen a cockroach? This is why I continue to
insists that the people should remove him and replace him with a person that
can behave with magnanimity and state personship.  The issue of the oil was
being handled like the private affairs of the president rather than a state
issue which would have required a policy statement and discussion at the
level of the parliament. Up to today not much is known by the public.

Where is the transparency and accountability? On the other hand when people
speculate he gets offended. He made many promises regarding the oil but
progress report is not forthcoming after all the promises.

Foroyaa: Jammeh said that NADD means guinea fowl and that this belongs to
the bush not to people. What do you have to say to this?

Halifa: This again shows that Jammeh belongs to the old brand of politics of
insults, character assassination and derogating remarks. He is more
comfortable heaping insults rather tan debating issues. I am sure when we
start our public meeting the people will force him to abandon his dirty
politics if he would want to be listened to. I promise you that by the end
of August 2005, the politics of deception will no longer have sympathetic
audience in the Gambia.

Foroyaa: What do you have to say to the people of Saloum?

Halifa: What is needed in the National Assembly are people who can analyse
documents and speeches and give fitting responses. Recently Hamat made
allegations of impropriety by those who sold land seized from people in the
name of fighting corruption and sold it at cheap prices to people who sold
it at higher prices to make profit. The National Assembly members on the
side of the APRC investigated the matter and find the allegations to be
correct. Hamat has therefore shown the people of Saloum that he can speak on
their behalf and be heard. What president Jammeh wants are people he can
manipulate as National Assembly members. What the people want are those who
can keep close watch on the government. If the Gambian people make the
mistake of not having any opposition in the National Assembly we will live
under a regime worse than an absolute monarchy. To ensure that all four
seats are returned as opposition seats is a national issue. One may not like
the personality of an MP but one should not disregard his/her ability to
perform his/her duty. In my view, the people of Saloum should insist that
the APRC bring maximum benefit for this election. However, they should also
bear in mind that the bigger one is in 2006. They should make the APRC feel
so threatened by losing the National Assembly elections that they will even
pay a heavier price for the 2006 presidential elections. The people can now
see that they are the owners of power. They should humble leaders by making
them lose elections they will then be sensitive to their needs. It is based
on laws and facts presented to the court and how the judges interpret the
laws and facts.  The people of Saloum should prove to Jammeh that they know
their rights and are not for sale by people who are thinking of their own
selfish interest. If any person in Saloum has anything against Hamat, he
will find the worst in the APRC. The APRC is not an alternative to Hamat in
terms of morality and good conduct.



LETTER TO SOS BALA JAHUMPA

Deception is no longer possible

When Fatoumatta made the ridiculous remark that members of the Pan African
Parliament jubilated when the Supreme Court declared my seat vacant, I chose
not to say anything to her because of my deep respect for women.

I have always emphasised that men who try to prove their superiority over
women are extremely short-sighted; that those who remember their birth and
development can never forget the mother who could speak to them with the
voice of silence and who could understand their every need despite their
inability to speak. This remarkable intelligence and diligence can never be
rivalled. For the sake of womanhood I could give Fatoumatta a long rope.

However, you have decided to attack me in my personal capacity. In that
regard I reserve the right of self defence and maximum retaliation.

Mr. Jahumpa, I remember making a declaration at the National Assembly that I
will contribute D60,000 dalasis to any initiative to rehabilitate the
environment near the “Sandika” a market in Serrekunda. I came to your office
in pursuit of the plan of your administration to deal with the terrible
environmental catastrophy surrounding the Sandika. I was a bit impressed
that you decided to visit the site to see what could be done. I thought then
that you were building the image of the APRC.

I remember telling you that during the rainy season the place looks like a
pig sty. The offensive smell compels passers by to hold their nostrils. You
saw the dust bin at the heart of the Sandika. The smell and creeping pests
protruding from the rotten things could make a person vomit. People had
fruits right on the ground facing the environmental health hazard.

Only a person with a conscience of stone could go to sleep if one is charge
with a National responsibility to address such a problem. I emphasised to
you that the Sandika area was a breeding ground for swamps of flies which
deafen the ears of the inhabitants of the area during the early hours of the
morning.

I thought that inside the APRC, there are some people who are not
demagogues. People who are ready to attempt to tidy up the dirty image of
the APRC.

Unfortunately, Mr. Action man has failed to pass the test of honesty and
commitment to the National Interest. Interestingly enough, in your comments
you claim that the APRC is action oriented. How then is it possible for the
Sandika area to be the way it is when people are paying their duties on a
daily basis?

The National government is also receiving taxes. Let us look at the roads
that you claim has been built in the KMC area between 2002 and 2005. The
cost is about 45 million. In 2005 the government anticipates revenue of 3.2
billion. Mr. Jahumpa, the amount of money spent on the 10th anniversary
celebration of the July 22nd Movement was put at 10 million dalasis and
rising.

You were wasting such monies while you have places like the Sandika in the
heart of the urban area. Do I collect revenue from the people? Am I a duty
or tax collector? I am not.Yet because of the irresponsibility of your
government I have to shoulder the responsibility of making little
contribution to improve the community as an example of what an alternative
government can do. In short, if those who are entrusted with the
responsibility of collecting tax from the people can utilise their funds to
help the community, if they are entrusted with the responsibility of
managing the funds owned by the people they are not likely to steal or
mismanage it. Apparently, you did not go on a political platform to tell the
people what your government is going to do to redress the environmental
disaster near the Sandika which is producing mice, flies, cockroaches and
other pests by the millions and transporting them to the near by hospital
where T.B patients and other people with respiratory tract infection go for
treatment as well as the neighbourhood in general. Yet you still claim to be
an action man. I am not impressed Mr. Jahumpa. I invite President Jammeh to
visit the Sandika area. I invite all the ambassadors in the country to visit
the Sandika area. They will conclude that you are a first class demagogue.

However, allow me to emphasise with the emphasis at my command that
deception is no longer possible. Unlike you, I will go to prove to the
public that I back words with deeds. Since you have reneged on your promise
to do something about the Sandika area I will renew my promise by calling on
the youths in the area and the committee at the Sandika to organise
themselves into a task force and meet me at the peoples centre. They should
go and see the people in the CSE or other road construction companies to
tell them that I have D60,000 dalasis to contribute to the rehabilitation of
the area. They should urge the road construction companies to carryout their
social responsibilities in adding their quota to rehabilitate the area until
the Bala Jahumpa’s are ready to abandon demagogy and do what they are paid
for. Mr. SOS. I know why most of you must be demagogues to keep your
positions. While qualified teachers receive D21,740 annually, while nurses
receive D21,548 annually, you Mr. SOS receive 170,000 annually as your
salary. You drive an official car and enjoy all the privileges of office.
Obviously, you will hold a person like Halifa Sallah in contempt who is
exposing that your regime depend on debts to provide infrastructure rather
than proper management of the tax money of the people. Your little
experiment in managing the budget of your department of state to have
surplus to build some roads confirms that with financial discipline, there
could have been more development. You rob yourself of credit by
communicating on the political stage like a bootlicker. This is not the type
of sovereign minded technocrats that 21st century Gambia needs.

To conclude let me now take you on your allegation, the following allegation
published by the Observer. According to them, you said that “since they have
been proven to be wrong, they should come back to their electorate and
apologise instead of blaming others. They now face the option of resigning
from either their individual parties or from NADD in order to qualify to
contest the September 29 by elections.”

You claimed that I read the constitution upside down. History has trapped
you Mr. Jahumpa. According to you, we are still members of our individual
parties and NADD. If you know the content of section 91 1 (d), how then can
we lose our seats? It is very easy for a person to pretend not to run away
from debates. One thing about you, Yankuba, Jammeh and all those who wish to
show that I lack knowledge is that you do not quote the constitution and
explain to the electorate where we went wrong. This is why you are losing
the battle for the hearts and minds of the people. Section 91 (1) d states
that a person ceases to be a member of the party to which he or she was a
member when he or she was elected, provided that one does not use one’s seat
in the case of a merger approved by the constitution of one’s party. You
claim that I am still a member of the party to which I was a member when I
was elected and should resign from that party to be qualified to stand for
election. If your position holds, then you are actually indicting the
supreme court. You should go back to the court’s ruling before you confuse
the public all the more. We do not need to apologise to our electorates we
are already explaining to them what actually happened. We have explained to
them that after facing a regime which has mismanaged our central bank and
revenue earning departments and driven our country to 22,000 million dalasis
debt trap characterised by scapegoating by the elites to cover up their
political and moral bankruptcy, we further discovered that it had amended
the constitution to ensure that it could easily maintain power through the
division of the opposition. To prevent such a division, we saw the need to
avoid the APRC/NCP type of Alliance where all the parties and potential
presidential candidates help one party and presidential candidate to win
only for that party and presidential candidate to claim that it is its own
popularity that puts it ahead and reject any influence from its partners in
struggle. Today the NCP holds no post in the cabinet or local government.



VENDORS CRY OUT



By Pateh Baldeh

As the Brikama car park has now been moved to their new sight, vendors have
been left at the old garage due to lack of facilities for them. This has
seriously affected their daily sales. According to many canteen owners at
the old car park, they have not been making sales since the transfer of
vehicles and passengers to the new car park; that they are now relying only
on passers-by and some passengers who buy from them. According to one of the
complainants, the people of Brikama and the drivers seem to have taken a
hasty move with regard to the new car park which, according to him, is not
up to standard as there is no shade built for even passengers. He described
the former car park as a place he admired because of its environment. He
said that the new garage is a difficult place for both drivers and
passengers especially when it rains. According to one Sering Bah, who is the
president of the milk sellers, their work has been difficult before due to
transport cost and now the transfer has added to their trouble ; that the
milk they sell comes from outside Brikama. He said that if taken to the new
car park, they will pay transport to take it to the old car park where he
has his canteen and in turn his clients from Serrekunda and elsewhere have
to come to his canteen and after buying the milk transport it back to the
new car park again to go to their different destinations. He therefore
called on the area council to come to their aid by providing them a place in
the new car park.

Other complainants included Muctar Jallow and Samba Bah, both cola nut
sellers, and Fatou Fofana, a restaurant owner, who all expressed similar
sentiments.

Our reporter also talked to some drivers many of who expressed their
satisfaction with the new car park as a wide area where they are not getting
much competition among themselves in getting passengers. I also talked to
the wheel barrow pushers who transport goods and other items for people in
the car park and they also expressed their satisfaction of the new car park
saying that there is enough space for them to manoeuvre, unlike the old one
where they always have problems with both drivers and passengers alike.

Foroyaa will talk to the Brikama Area Council to explain the problems of the
many canteen owners and other vendors who are affected.



DETAILED REPORT ON GUINEA BISSAU ELECTION



By Sarjo M. Camara (Election Observer)

The people of Guinea Bissau went to the polls on Sunday the 24th of July
2005 as early as 7:00am to vote for their choice between Joao Bernardo Nino
Vierra and Malan Bacai Sanha, the two outstanding candidates from the first
round which consisted of fourteen presidential candidates.

On the 28th of July 2005, the Comissao Nacional de Elecicoes (CNE) (The
National Electoral Commission) of Guinea Bissau, declared the much awaited
results of the two candidates. By 10.30 am on September 24th, the hotel was
surrounded with tight security with army officials and military police.  The
chairman of the electoral commission addressed both parties to keep the
peace and respect the views of people. He maintained that parties should
uphold political tolerance in the country. The chairman declared Joao
Bernardo Viera as having the majority of the votes against his opponent by a
margin of 17, 735 votes.

General Viera once ruled Bissau for about 18 years six months and was
forcefully removed by a coup d’etat by the late General Ansumana Manneh. At
the time of our departure, the flag bearer of (PAIGC) Malam Bacia Sanha,
expressed his dismay over the results of the two major regions, Gabu and
Bissau, and appealed for a recounting of the two regions. He also stated
that the results took a long time before announcement, and the electoral law
of Bissau allows for two days to elapse to declare the results. He also said
that none of the observers confirmed the results before it was declared.

Malam Bacia Sanyang called on his people to stay calm and obey the laws of
the country, but vowed to take legal action against the CNE.

The final results will be declared by the supreme court of Bissau, the
institution that will make the final calculations.

Last day of campaign

Meanwhile, the executive secretary of the Economic Community of West African
States, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, on Monday the 25th of July 2005, during an
audience with the ECOWAS election observers, expressed his impression over
the manner the Guinea Bissau citizenry exercised their political maturity
during the last day of campaign.

He indicated that in the history of African politics, he has only witnessed
in Bissau, two major political parties campaigning on the same street
without clash. Dr. Ibn Chambas said that when they came with the ECOWAS
ministers, they were able to meet Nino and the Prime Minister, but that
Malam Bacia Sanha was not in by then. He congratulated the election
observers for accepting their invitations and their respective countries and
the trouble the observers took to travel throughout Guinea Bissau.

He finally urged the political leaders to accept the results.

Observer missions

On Tuesday 26th July 2005, at the 24th September Hotel, about 9 observer
groups came together to issue a communiqué on the overall elections. The
groups consist of African Union, ECOWAS. The Economic and Monitory Union of
West Africa, the International Organisation of French Speaking Countries,
the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, The U.S Government, and many
other organisations. The groups informed the public that the election was
free, fair and transparent and they further stated that the campaign was
free from intimidation; that the participation of the public was democratic
and thereby extended their profound gratitude to the (UNOABIS) the United
Nations office in Guinea Bissau.

The results of the second round of voting are as follows;



The Paradox Of A Revolution



By: A Patriot [[log in to unmask]]

Many are worried, confused and unhappy because of the actions of one man –
Yaya Jammeh – who is abetted by some pseudo-intellectuals and sycophants.
Consequently they have inflicted the most humiliating and difficult
conditions on the lives of Gambians in just a decade!

Since 1994, Gambians have witnessed more atrocities, embezzlement,
self-aggrandizement and mismanagement than ever before in our history.
Underneath these treachery and carnage lie stinking incompetence, dishonesty
and indecency. It baffles one to see how a group of individuals who claim to
love their country and people at the same time are willing and ready to rob
and torment the same people they claim to love. This is the paradox of the
revolution of Yaya Jammeh, and the sooner the majority of Gambians are aware
of this, the better and quicker should they therefore vote him out.

In an attempt to hoodwink the people into believing that he has the country
at heart as he wants to trumpet at every opportunity and occasion, Yaya has
embarked on creating commissions of enquiry, sacking and hiring at random,
and making high-sounding slogans and catch words as a cover up to enrich
himself beyond any legitimate means.

The very act of hiring and firing undermines our state, the viability of
institutions and the efficient delivery of services. No wonder no sector of
the government is delivering, as they should. The civil service needs
stability in order to deliver. In any country you go with a very good
delivery system, it is because the civil service is not only stable but also
highly motivated, trained and appreciated. This is what is lacking in the
Gambia, and all of this is because Yaya Jammeh, who does not understand how
a State functions, much more to manage such a vehicle has to cover up his
incompetence by being a terror on the people. This is the typical style of
all dictators since time immemorial.

An unstable civil service breeds corruption because as long as one is not
sure of the future the tendency is to take short-term measures in order to
overcome present uncertainties. This consequently leads to self-serving
attitudes than to serve the country and her people. No one in the civil
service is safe and naturally everyone is inclined towards protecting
oneself first than others.

Secondly because Yaya has neutralized the State and replaced it with
himself, he therefore lays the foundation for personality worship and cult.
This again leads to an environment that is conducive for the flourishing of
corruption as individuals pay allegiance to the man, and not the people.

Thirdly, because of Yaya Jammeh’s total disregard for the Constitution, the
human rights of Gambians, good governance principles and practices, and
morality (be they religious, cultural or common sense), he has thus created
the tendency for impunity to flourish, while at the same time undermining
the authority of State institutions and procedures. This is why State
institutions have failed to perform according to the Constitution.

Yaya Jammeh claims he has one million Gambians to choose from, but this is
false and again it shows his level of dullness! This is because surely Yaya
Jammeh cannot choose a Grade 6 student to be SOS for Education, neither can
he choose a farmer from Kanilai to be SOS for Agriculture, nor an accounts
clerk to be SOS Finance! So he does not have one million Gambians to choose
from. He has a very limited number of Gambians to choose from if he really
wants to see development. He needs experts and professionals and not every
Gambian is an expert or professional.

A revolution in its most basic sense and from the study of revolutions
around the world aims to achieve one main thing. That is, to create a new
society by overhauling the old which has degenerated. All revolutionaries
have defined revolution as the creation of a new man and a new woman. A
revolutionary is “an intense lover of the people.” A revolution aims to
usher in decency in the lives of the people. It aims to end corruption and
bring order and democracy to a people. A revolution brings humility and
civilization.

The ‘revolution’ in the Gambia however has produced a ‘leader’ who takes
pride in insulting fellow citizens and behaves in a manner even absolute
monarchs dare not do in these modern times. One really wonders what Yaya
Jammeh thinks of himself and the Gambia. Does he think that he is Allah, or
does he think that he owns Gambia and all things in it; or does he think he
is a divine emperor? His behaviour – words and actions – are extremely
inimical to what a revolution that is worth its name connotes. The July 22
Revolution is the only “revolution” that is unique in its remarkable style
in encouraging and rewarding corruption, promoting impunity, and toying with
the lives of the people. It is a revolution of deception per excellence!

The paradox of our ‘revolution’ is the level of falsity and deception it
promotes in the face of overwhelming knowledge in modern times. Whoever told
Yaya Jammeh that the British colonized the Gambia for 400 years has indeed
seriously miseducated him. British colonialism began in the Gambia in 1902
and ended in 1970. This is only 68 years! The enslavement of the entire
African continent began around the late 1400s, and formally in the early
1500s (between 1503 and 1511). A revolution is knowledge, truth and justice.
Let the ‘revolutionary’ Yaya Jammeh speak the truth, promote justice and
encourage knowledge, and not mystification and deception.

Why does Yaya Jammeh fight with the British or Jawara? Does it matter if the
British spend four million years here, and Jawara 400 years! Should they
serve as the gauge for our development or our actions? We fought for
independence because we realized that colonialism was a negation of our
humanity and licence for our backwardness in all senses. The first republic
was then ushered in. In 1994, Yaya Jammeh and fellow soldiers toppled the
government on the argument that it was a corrupt, inefficient and a backward
administration. That really being the case, why therefore should that same
government which you have branded as filthy serve as the benchmark for
yours? Yaya, you should judge yourself based on your own terms, times and
circumstances vis-à-vis your objectives and targets. It is a paradox for
your government to use the British and Jawara as the yardstick for your
success because you said they are useless, corrupt and unpatriotic. A
responsible and progressive person always uses similar progressives or his
or her equals to measure himself and herself.

The paradox of the revolution is the imminent hardship it brings for the
Gambia. No nation, in fact no family and individual can hope to build his or
her life on loans and charity. Let Yaya speak the truth that all his
projects are loans and charity, which is why we are so indebted and poor.
About 45 percent of our budget goes to service the loans. How in the world
can we avoid economic difficulties when we do not produce or manufacture
anything of significance and yet still we pay back all that we have? His
projects are not economically viable and will definitely bring long-term
difficulties. The hunger for roads, schools and hospitals should not be
satisfied blindly. We cannot build roads, schools and hospitals all over the
country in just a decade and relax. This is a continuous process because
those same projects will wear and tear and they need maintenance and the
construction of new ones as well. Therefore the approach should be realistic
and scientific. But in his quest to gain cheap popularity, his revolution is
mortgaging our lives forever.

The paradoxes of the revolution are endless and very tragic. The apex of the
tragedy really is to see men and women – elderly Gambians in all fields -
who are considered educated, respected and heads of communities praise and
defend Yaya Jammeh as if they owe their lives to Jammeh. I am talking about
imams and priests who are ready at anytime to bless him and his ungodly
government when they know very well that the Bible and the Qur’an despise
despots whose major preoccupation is fanfare and vanity. I am talking about
elders of the communities who defy all circumstances to childishly follow
and sing for Yaya as if they are not Gambians. I am talking about the youths
– young men and women – who are ready to abuse and misuse themselves by
serving Yaya on the blind pretext that they are patriotic. When a community
reaches that level of blindness based on purely greed and ignorance, surely
doom and hardship shall characterize that society. History has proven that
in all countries that have broken down – Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast,
Liberia, Congo, etc, etc.

In conclusion, let Gambians realize that we have a president, surrounded by
elites who are destroying the future of the Gambia. Yaya Jammeh has to cover
up his incompetence by doing the things he is doing – terror, wild
statements, sackings, firings, creating commissions but excluding himself,
outrageous and meaningless activities, etc, etc. However he continues to get
richer and richer day by day, and the people get poorer and poorer day by
day.



CAN THERE BE PEACE IN HUNGER



BY PA MODOU FAAL (S/G ‘GWC’)

‘Democracy as a goal needs freedom to be its motive force, and requires
development for it to become substantive.

The choice is not between bread and butter or freedom, the ideal to expand
the frontiers of human freedom on a full stomach.

“Freedom, democracy and development,” to defend it, to promote it, to
realize it, these are what we intend to do as trade unions/civil society.

Startling events have so marked human affairs in the last four years, that a
totally new landscape for politics has come to fore. This being so, it makes
the on-going economic and social crisis all the more complicated to resolve.

Old concepts are being swept away, but new ones, because they are now only
emerging from the ruins of the old, are still hazy, and thus often are
fearsome.

Consider for example the demise of the former USSR, and the birth pangs that
the new commonwealth of independent states are going through. A similar
transformation is happening in Eastern Europe. In both cases, it is not so
much that communism may have died but, that even the whole philosophical and
ethical foundations of socialism are being challenged, if not to oblivion
then at least to obsolescence or even perdition.

One author has dared to call this the” collapse of the revolutionary
illusion”

But, so also is the demise of many authoritarian regimes, organized and
sustained under the illusion of the” free enterprise” unbridled in their
pursuit of profit, but like all totalitarian regimes unrestrained in their
shackling of human freedom. The same may be said of the decrepit insistence
of NEO- LIBERALISM to return to the magic of the “INVISIBLE HAND” that is
supposed to guide the destiny of men and nations.

Even old democracies are not spared.

The rise of terroristic violence all over these countries, the assertion for
self determination by Cultural Minorities and the use of Communal violence
and ethnic warfare that often accompany this assertion; the increasing
density of autonomous non-governmental organization and networks in pursuit
of sectoral rights and interest, these are symptoms, not necessarily of a
sick society, but a society in a’ process of transition or renewal from old
to new.

All these astounding developments have given democracy a new lease of life,
in the African continent, whether newly industrialized or developing “PEOPLE
POWER” has asserted itself over all form of totalitarianism or
authoritarianism in any country so identified.

People vote with ballots, or failing which, they VOTE with their feet, as
during massive protest actions or demonstrations staged by movements for
democratization, pressuring all types of Non-Democratic Regimes to open up
and to provide greater Democratic space.

People seem to have learned their lessons, and learned them well.

They now know, as one Editorial has to put it, that the “worst Democracies
are none-the- less better than the best Autocracies” that democracies have
better chances to improve; and that Africa is the richest continent where
Political and Economic Power has been made increasingly accessible” (poverty
in the midst of plenty). Even then, the Theory and Practice of Liberal
Democracy is being questioned as much as those of Social Democracy, both of
which may also be in the twilight of their conceptual dominance.



FREEDOM IS NOT AN ABSTACT BUT REAL.

We must therefore ask the question: what kind of Democracy is in the offing,
and why? What Role does Freedom play in this quest? And what type of
Development suits best our aspirations for a Democratic way of Life?

Here is where the inevitable impact of progress, Technological or otherwise
creeps its way into Human thought. We are now supposed to be emerging into
Post Industrial Society, where, because of Technological Progress;
Production is being transformed from simple to complex,

Consequently, Social Relations in Production or even Human Relations in
Society are taking on new shapes and meanings.

Previously tested Economic formulations are becoming irrelevant, Social
Institutions that ordered our Lives in the past are passing through the
crucible of painful transformation and their basic in Social Philosophy are
in danger of becoming obsolete. A rich diversity of here-to-fore Minority
Cultures are challenging the dominance of ruling civilization.

Underlining it all, even the concept of Human Freedom is passing through a
stage of Redefinition and Refocusing, adapting to the complex changes that
are happening all around our environment to assert the Right of the
Individual over the Collective and to stress the Right of choice higher up
into the Hierarchy of Human freedom.

We can not take apart Freedom, Democracy and Development as though they were
separate Objectives to be achieved, one after the other, with Leaders given
the choice of which first achieve at expense of the others.

That is too simple a solution for a far more complex problem. It complicates
the resolution more than it simplifies the answer.

There are those who say that one can not have his cake and eat it too.

We dare to state otherwise.

Democracy is a goal needs Freedom to be its motive force, and requires
development for it to become sustentative. The choice is not between Bread
and Butter or Freedom, the ideal is to expand the frontiers of Human Freedom
on a full stomach.

It can be done, the challenge is now best to do it in a most demonsratic
manner, That is, how best to harmonies differences and conflicts in a
Society increasingly characterized by Pluralism and Diversity of interests
and Lifestyles.

Stated another way, we seek for a Democracy that arbitrates conflicts
between dissimilar tendencies between conflicting demands and between
modernity and identity Democracy thus means more than majority Government,
it is Pluralism understood, accepted and respected as a way of Life.

The idea alone that Freedom is the motive force of Democracy is incomplete.
The quest for greater Freedom as do the promotion of greater democratic
space needs to be substantiated by Prosperity and Progress.

This latter is the function of Development, forming as they do the
inseparable trial in Humanity’s march to greater height of dignity.

Look at, for example, the experience in this country. We can all learn
important lessons from them.

Indeed, the colorful tapestry of Social fabric now only emerging from the
nearly chaotic experiences of Human Civilization in the immediate past poses
to us a challenge that only our own dynamism and creativity will allow us to
meet.

Therein lies the challenge also to our Trade unions, to our Social Movement,
as we continue to pursue our Mission to Defend and Promote the Economic and
Social interest of workers and to build our vision of a new Society in the
coming years.

I feel confident that we shall prove equal to the signs of the times.

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