Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues

Issue No. 17/2005, 3-6 March 2005



Editorial

THE PRESIDENT ADDRESSES PARLIAMENT TODAY

The President is to address Parliament today on the state of the nation. The 1997 constitution states that, "The President shall at least once in each year attend a sitting of the National Assembly and address a session on the condition of The Gambia, the policies of the government and the administration of the state."

The constitution is very clear on what it expects the President to do. The President is expected to speak on three subjects, that is, the condition of The Gambia, the policies of the government and the administration of the state.

If the President wants to be listened to he must adhere to the dictates of the constitution rather than say what pleases him. A private person is free to say what he desires but as representative of his / her electorate such a representative would not utter any word that would be prejudicial to the rights and legitimate interest of any person or group.

The nation hopes that with a new Alliance promising to put an end to the politics of slander, character assassination, patronage and intimidation and its replacement with the politics based on enlightenment, principles, policies and programmes a new President would be born, a President who would elaborate on the principles, policies and programmes of the government and avail himself and respond to the criticism of those who are opposed to them and leave the masses to decide which opinion to accept.

Take the issue of the amendment of the Criminal Code regarding sedition and libel. The President keeps on arguing that journalists do not want laws designed to deter seditious and libelous publication. The fact of the matter is that such laws already exist and newspapers have grappled with libel cases. What the whole world disagrees with is to impose penalties such as custodial sentences without upper limits and without the option of a fine. This is not acceptable in any civilized society. No civilized and democratic minded person will ever accept such draconian provisions.

Leaders who defy common sense must be pushed by one’s unacceptable conduct to accept the dictates of common sense. Look at Tony Blair in Britain. He has to become very apologetic to the British people in order to seek public approval of his candidature. Leaders who cannot humble themselves to the people cannot be heads in a republic. A republic is fundamentally different from a monarchy because leadership is derived from popular consent. The problem of the present regime is due to its birth. It came through the barrel of a gun and cannot acknowledge that such a regime could not have survived even a day in present day Africa.

Africa has changed forever as Eyadema’s son has just learnt. The regime should also forget its past and live in accordance with the principles of governance of present day Africa. It must accept diversity and exercise tolerance. It must seek to adhere to the principles of best practice. In this way, even if it is no longer there it would have left a foundation to build upon rather than a hole to fill or dustbin to clear.

All of us must wait what 2005 will bring. The next issue will bring it out in full.

Amadou Samba Claims He Owns ‘Ladulaba’

As Shell Company Clarifies



By Yahya Dampha

In Issue No. 14/2005, Foroyaa published the allocation of land situated in Mandinary, called ‘Ladulaba’ to Shell Oil Company, in their bid to relocate their storage tanks outside the city of Banjul. It was reported among other things in the article that the said land is where the community of Mandinary and its surrounding villages cultivate rice and do some fishing; that Shell Oil Company were to pay the villagers an amount of D7 million; that an initial amount of D1 million was brought to the villagers who shared it among themselves which caused some rift among villagers as some claimed that the sharing was not done fairly.

At the time of going to press, all efforts to contact Shell Company proved futile. After the publication of Issue No. 14/2005 of Foroyaa, we got in touch with Shell Oil Company to seek more clarification. This was what the country representative of Shell Mr. Tsegaye Degefu had to say to our reporter. "We are very happy about such positive development and welcomed such initiative by people to diversify the service delivery of oil products in the country. But however, we want to bring this to the notice of your paper in particular and the general public at large that my company is not part of any group of people who want to operate Mandinary and we have absolutely no business there." The same message was reiterated by the marketing manager Mr. Lang Conteh. Foroyaa decided to mount a vigorous investigative campaign in order to shed more light on the whole story.

First and foremost, our reporter came to understand that the people of the village were unable to differentiate the various oil companies, Total, Elf, Elton etc and branded all the companies as "SHELL".

However, there were those who were able to identify the company as "The Gambia Petroleum Company;" that the said company were represented during the whole transaction by Mr. Edrissa Mass Jobe of Elton, Mr. Amadou Samba of Gacem, the Director of NEA, a representative from the office of the president and the directors of ports and the livestock department; that the persons named, acted as the negotiating team between the villagers and the Gambia Petroleum Company; that they were able to persuade the villagers from disagreeing amongst themselves and unite for the development of the project, in the interest of the country.

When contacted by Foroyaa, Mr. Fah Ceesay, the eldest son of the Alkalo of Mandinary confirmed and indicated to our reporter that it was Mr. Amadou Samba who came to request for the land to be allocated to them and not Shell Oil Company; that Mr. Samba came with Mr. Edrissa Mass Jobe of Elton and the Director of NEA; that these people told them that an oil company called "Gambia Petroleum Company" is coming to establish a storage facility in their village; that before Mr. Samba and his team, it was Mr. Boto Sonko who first came to the village with someone of Middle Eastern origin, who also claimed that he was going to build a power station on the said land.

Our reporter was also shown a letter signed by the director general of NEA requesting the villagers to facilitate the work of a survey team on the said land which was brought by one Mr. Jombo; that they’ve witnessed the coming and going of several survey teams who all claim to be sent by "The Gambia Petroleum Company; that even the Secretary of State for Local Government and Lands, Mr. Manlafi Jarjue attended some of these meetings between them and the negotiating team that they were also asked to form a committee and that it was at the formation of this committee that the issue of compensation was mentioned.

Mr. Ceesay however indicated to our reporter that the SoS for Local Government and Lands told them that the village will be compensated but advised them to be mindful of selling all their land; that a lot of development was expected to come to Mandinary Village; that on their part, the villagers also requested the building of roads, street taps, a hospital and school for them.

Mr. Ceesay said that afterwards, they received information from the SoS for Local Government that a high powered delegation from all the ministries concerned were to visit the village; that they gathered to welcome this delegation only for them to come and pass them to go to the site of the said land; that a delegate from this high powered mission later come to inform them that the mission of the team was to survey the area only.

Mr. Ceesay told Foroyaa that the D1 million that was given to the villagers was brought by Mr. Pa M.A. Ceesay, former director of Audit, a representative from the office of the president, the director of NEA, directors of Ports and Livestock and a representative of the European Commission; that the money was provided by Amadou Samba. Mr. Ceesay said that the Commissioner and Chief of the area attended this presentation of D1 million.

Mr. Ceesay said that during the sharing, the Ceesay family, who are the owners of the said land received D500,000 and the balance was shared among the rest of the kabilos and settlers of the village.

Mr. Ceesay also confirmed FOROYAA’s earlier report of dissatisfaction among the villagers in the sharing process.

When Foroyaa contacted Mr. Samba, he confirmed ownership of the said company that is to be established in Mandinary; that he did not buy the land but gave the D1 million to compensate the villagers. Mr. Samba however claimed to forget the name of the company and promised to furnish our reporter with the name in due course. Efforts will be made to talk to Mr. Edrissa Mass Jobe, the NEA director and the Department of Local Government.

Meanwhile, road construction work is visibly going on at the site and it has been indicated by the villagers that they also agreed that the company gives the contract to qualified skilled workers of the village.

Was D7 Million Paid To Kombo East NAM before Supply?

By Surakata Danso

Unconfirmed sources from the Gamtel have disclosed that Gamcel a subsidiary institution of Gamtel have paid the sum of D7 million, to the National Assembly Member of Kombo East, Kebba Touray for the supply of various materials for the mobile company. Foroyaa also confirmed from the National Assembly that the Speaker, last Thursday, 24th February 2005, granted NAM Touray permission to be away for the opening and sittings of the 2005 legislative sessions.

At Gamtel, Foroyaa was informed that as a result of the said procurement contract Gamtel’s management have warned the Gamcel management that any contract on procurement of more than D350, 000 must pass through Gamtel, the parent institution.

When this reporter contacted the acting managing director of Gamcel to give a break down of material items and whether the said contract was tendered, he declined to comment saying that he does not know anything about the said contract. He finally added that the general manager is out of town and is expected back by the weekend.

Know The Structure Of The Armed Forces

In a bid to sensitise the general public about the organization of the Armed Forces and its Command Structure, The Gambia Armed Forces issued a press release noting that section 186 of the constitution, the Armed Forces of The Gambia constitute the Army, the National Guards and the Air Forces. By this provision, therefore, the Gambia Armed Forces currently comprises of three services, which are the Army, the Navy and the National Guards.

The release goes on to say that the Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces is the President who is vested with the powers of the general direction of the Armed Forces; the Armed Forces Chief of Defence Staff is the Officer appointed by the Commander-In-Chief and he is responsible for the day-to-day operational Command, Control and Administration of the Armed Forces; that presently, the Chief of Defence Staff is Navy Captain Assan Sarr (a rank equivalent to Colonel in the Army).

The release also states that the Armed Forces Chief of Staff who is appointed by the President and Commander-In-Chief is Lieutenant Colonel Lang Tombong Tamba; that he is the most Senior Officer serving under the office of the Chief of Defence Staff and among his responsibilities are the management of the military staff and advising the Chief of Defence Staff.

The release points out that each of the services under the umbrella of the Gambia Armed Forces has a commander who is an officer appointed by the Commander-In-Chief and charged with the responsibility of the day to day control and administration of their respective Services.

The Commander of the Gambia National Army is Major Masanneh Kinteh and the Gambia National Guards Commander is Lieutenant Colonel Ndure Cham. The Navy is currently being overseen by the Gambia Armed Forces Headquarters pending the appointment of a Navy Commander.





INSPECTOR KEITA AND OTHERS DISCHARGED

An impeccable source has informed this paper that Inspector Musa Keita and Sergeant Demba Touray who were incarcerated for a period of about one week at the Maximum Security Wing of the Mile Two Central Prisons following the escape of two inmates have been discharged from the prison services. Sergeant Ebrima Bojang who was part of the quintet that headed the shift that was responsible for supervising the fugitives was also discharged from the Prison services. The sources have it that orders were given for him to be arrested, but the order was not executed due to the intervention of a Superior Officer.

The prison wardens were arrested and detained on the orders of the prison high command. Following their release last week, the duo were given the marching orders. According to the source, the livid Director General of Prisons, David Colley, saw red following the escape of the inmates. Inspector Keita and Sergeant Touray were purported to be the heads of the said shift that was responsible for supervising the inmates. However, the escape of the inmates and the detention of Inspector Keita and Sergeant Touray was greeted with mixed feelings by prison wardens. While the prison wardens expressed disapproval over the escape of the inmates, they bore rancour over the detention of their colleagues at the Maximum Security Wing without a court order. They accused David Colley of being notorious for putting their colleagues behind bars without court orders. The sources have it that the inmates allegedly escaped by breaking the window of their cell and sneaking outside. The sources have it that
 the inmates used the swamps close to the cell as an escape route. The escape of the convicts was discovered on Friday morning. A source informed this paper that the sacking of the trio has a dent in the chains of command. Two other Sergeants were fined in respect of the palaver

PEOPLE’S VIEW ON THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

In this issue, Foroyaa got in touch with Adama Njie to hear her views on the National Assembly.

Foroyaa: Can you tell our readers your educational background?

Adama: I am not a literate in Western education but I attended a local Quranic school (dara). I can say that I am part of those women in the provinces who were not sent to school to acquire western education, but I went to dara and got married at the age of 19 years.

Foroyaa: Are you a registered voter?

Adama: Yes I am. I have been a registered voter since the 70s.

Foroyaa: Did you vote in the last National Assembly elections?

Adama: I did not only stop at voting in the last National Assembly elections but also canvassed for votes for our party’s candidate.

Foroyaa: You canvassed for votes for your party’s candidate and he is not at the National Assembly. Are you conversant with developments at the National Assembly?

Adama: Yes I am conversant with developments at the National Assembly.

Foroyaa: What is your view on the performance of your National Assembly Member whom you assisted to win in particular and the National Assembly in general?

Adama: Well, he is doing very well like his colleagues in the National Assembly. But I would want everybody to realise that the MPs of the first Republic are different from the present Republic MPs. This is so because the MPs of the First Republic were made ministers and in that way they were able to help many people, particularly the youths to get jobs in their ministries or parastatals and the present MPs cannot do that. But nevertheless, they are helping their people in their own way. This is their difference but they are doing very well because they do not forget us and whatever we tell them (NAMs), they will go up to the president and tell him. And the NAMs are also doing very well in helping the president to develop the country. The president has the country at heart and has good wishes for the country and the National Assembly is helping him to take the country where he wants the country to reach.

Foroyaa: What is your message to the electorate?

Adama: My message to the electorate is simple. And that is we should come together as one people and love our country and help our young president. He is the youngest president in the world. The Gambian people should know that the president has come to develop the country for us and therefore if we (the people) need development in our areas, then we should elect National Assembly members who are in the same party with the president. Those who can see eye to eye with the president and the secretaries of state are the ones who can bring development in their areas. The people should understand that if they elect National Assembly members who are not in the same party with the president and they lack development, they should not blame the government but instead they should blame themselves for failing to elect the right one. Let me give you an example: If you have D10 and you are giving it away, before you give it to your enemy, you will give it to your friend. That is what our president
 is doing.

Foroyaa: Thank you Madam Adama for sharing your views with our readers.

Adama Thank you too.





MURDER SUSPECT ESCAPES FROM POLICE CUSTODY



By Pateh Baldeh

One Fabakary Kolley, a native of Kiang Bureng and resident of Brikama Nyambai is a driver who plies the Brikama/Serrekunda route. Mr. Kolley was said to have been killed by an apprentice of another vehicle. The accident was said to have taken place on the 22nd February 2005 on the Westfield/Tabokoto highway.

According to family sources who spoke to this reporter at his Nyambai residence Mr. Kolley (the deceased) was driving from Westfield to Brikama in his commercial van when one driver driving a ‘gele-gele’ vehicle knocked on his vehicle and broke his side mirror. It is alleged that after the accident, the ‘gele-gele’ driver failed to stop or even apologise to the deceased; that while they were both heading towards Tabokoto the deceased caught up with the ‘gele-gele’ to confront him on his broken side mirror.

It is alleged that the deceased exchanged bitter words with the driver, during which time, the apprentice from the ‘gele-gele’ vehicle rushed to pull out an iron rod from the vehicle only to hit the deceased who fell and was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

One Mr. Jadama, a relative of the deceased, said that the apprentice was alleged to have killed his brother; that the deceased was just taken to the Brikama Police Station from where he was rushed to the hospital, where he was confirmed dead.

He said that the report they later got from the Police was that the apprentice whose name is Ebrima Sanneh has absconded from Police custody while he was undergoing treatment.

Our reporter visited the Bundung Police to confirm the story but was referred to the Police PRO. When contacted for comments he said he was on a meeting at the National Environment Agency and was not in a position to answer questions. Meanwhile FOROYAA has information that the Police PRO, Aziz Bojang is among the Officers recently sent in a Peacekeeping Mission to Darfur, Sudan.

ARMED ROBBERY INVOLVING A TETRAX VEHICLE IN BRIKAMA



By Yaya Dampha

Armed robbery is becoming very rampant in our communities nowadays. Many robberies are reported without the culprits being apprehended either by the Police or the communities.

On Tuesday 22nd February armed robbers broke into the shop of Abubacarr Kuyateh in Brikama, Kombo Central District. The shop is located in the Brikama Market between the Magistrates Court and the fire service station.

According to Mr. Kuyateh, he heard about the incident whilst on his way to the market the following day, Wednesday. According to the watchman it was around 3.00 am when four men came with a white single cabin Toyota Pickup and then grabbed him at gunpoint; that they then tied his hands on his back and placed him on the ground. The watchman explained that when they realized that he was still gazing at them, he was ordered to close his eyes or be shot at; that the four men who were all along speaking in the Wollof language had already loaded half of his shop in their vehicle when the main gate of the Fire Service Station suddenly clanked open; that this was what frightened them to rush to their Pickup and with the loaded stolen goods.

Mr. Kuyateh said that while at the Police at the station, a young Immigration Officer also arrived and reported about a white Pickup van which was found somersaulted along the Gunjur – Brikama highway; that it was the same vehicle that was used as a get-away car in the robbery and that some goods were even found scattered around at the scene of the accident.

The Police later confirmed that the vehicle belonged to the Tetrax Construction Company. It was revealed that when the Police informed Tetrax, they confirmed that the vehicle was allocated to one of their senior engineers.

According to the engineer he took one lady to his house the previous night, but could not remember when the woman left; that the woman is a resident of Brikama.

According to the version of the watchman at the residence of this Tetrax engineer he was woken up by the woman who begged him to convey her home in the night since his boss was not willing to take her home; that the woman told him that the key to the house of his boss was hanging in front of the window; that when they arrived at the woman’s home, she borrowed his torchlight and went into the compound and she returned later and gave him both the torchlight and a key of the vehicle. The watchman said that whilst he was going back he then saw the vehicle of his boss speeding towards the direction of the market.

The Police revealed that the woman who is by the name Fatou Babou was later arrested and is detained at the Brikama Police Station. The Police further said that the Tetrax boss had told them that his vehicle had only one key and that the vehicle was started by a key.

No one was found inside the vehicle where it somersaulted along the highway. However, many of the stolen goods have been carried away. Mr. Kuyateh, the shop owner, said that he has lost over one hundred thousand dalasis worth of goods in this robbery.



---------------------------------
Celebrate Yahoo!'s 10th Birthday!
 Yahoo! Netrospective: 100 Moments of the Web

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤