Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues 
Issue No. 28/2008 6-7 March  2008

Editorial
ICE In Turmoil
Urgent Action  Needed

Bad news has struck from the Institute of Continuing  Education (ICE) Senior 
Secondary School. The flowers of our future nation are  languishing at home at 
a time when they should be blossoming.
What has  happened in ICE is too ghastly to contemplate - teachers and 
students engaged in  a brawl. Teachers impart knowledge on students and offer them 
leadership by  guiding them as they grow from childhood to adulthood. They are 
expected to be  of exemplary character, to be seen as a role model by the 
students; one who  serves as a source of inspiration.
A good teacher should be proud of his/her  profession and should show love 
and concern for the wellbeing of his/her  students. The attributes of a teacher 
outlined above paves the way for students  to love, respect and honour their 
teachers.
Students are generally proud of  their teachers, even where they feel such 
teachers have been too strict.
Thus  what has occurred at ICE is a disaster and calls for urgent action.
Any  solution, temporary or otherwise, cannot lose sight of the continuation 
of the  education of the students who are now staying at home. We are now at 
the middle  of the academic year and prolongation of their stay at home can 
cause harm,  especially as the WASSCE exams are fast approaching.
The issue is not merely  how to pre-empt a clash but rather how to ensure the 
continuation of the  education of the flowers of the future Gambia. 

Serrekunda  Health Centre In Deplorable State

By Saikou Ceesay 
After  Foroyaa’s editorial of issue number 25, on the state of Serrekunda 
Health  Centre. this reporter confirmed that the situation at the Serrekunda 
health  centre leaves much to be desired.
The officer in charge of the health centre,  Mrs. Haddy Sanyang has indicated 
that the battery of their standby generator was  stolen and this has a 
negative impact on their work. According to her, whenever  light goes off at the 
health centre, they should operate a generator, but they  are yet to get a 
battery. She said the incident was reported to the authorities  at Kaning who 
promised to provide them with a battery.
She therefore urged  the authorities to provide the health centre with 
security personnel. She  further stated that whenever light goes off, darkness 
envelops the entire health  centre and people escorting patients have to put on 
candles to provide light.  She added that the nurses sometimes find it hard to 
perform clear X-rays and  sterilization. 
Mrs. Sanyang appealed to the staff of the National Water and  Electricity 
Company (NAWEC) to address the intermittent power shortage that  sometimes hit 
the health facility. She further stated that the health centre is  faced with 
acute shortage of water supply as people accompanying their patients  have to go 
out and fetch water for themselves. She confirmed that the health  centre was 
faced with lack of toilets for five months. 
Mrs. Sanyang  explained that during the five months closure of the toilets at 
the ward; she  contacted Kanifing Municipal Council for their vehicles to 
empty the toilets;  that the response from the council was that their vehicles 
were  engaged.
Speaking to this reporter, a patient told Foroyaa that they are  faced with 
acute shortage of water and electricity which make them unable to  flush their 
toilets. Another patient described the situation as  horrible. 

Multiple Cases Against Lt. Camara, Supt.  Sanyang

By Bubacarr K Sowe

Multiple cases of stealing  against two senior personnel of the military and 
the police are before the  Banjul Magistrates’ Court as the prosecution 
pressed more charges on  Wednesday.
Lieutenant Bakary Camara, body guard to President Jammeh, has two  cases of 
stealing to answer, while his co-accused, Superintendent Manlafi  Sanyang, 
controller of government vehicles is involved in three cases of  stealing before 
the same Magistrate. 
Both men alongside Momodou Lamin Sonko,  proprietor of Boto Construction were 
first charged with conspiracy, stealing and  economic crime. Lt. Camara was 
later charged with stealing and giving false  information. All the two cases 
involving Lt. Camara are in respect of a  government vehicle he allegedly stole. 
He had pleaded not guilty to all  charges.
Meanwhile, his co-accused was on Wednesday, March 5, arraigned  before 
Magistrate Kayode Olajubutu on a charge of stealing a government vehicle  which he 
pleaded not guilty to.
While Supt Sanyang was in the dock, another  case of stealing was called 
against him and Lt. Camara, but the charge against  Lt. Camara in this particular 
case was struck out by the Magistrate. The  squashing of the charge against 
Lt. Camara followed an objection by his lawyer,  Lamin Camara who argued that it 
is exactly the same charge he is facing in a  separate case on the same 
subject matter.
The prosecutor, Inspector Yaya  Touray disagreed and said that the objection 
is premature.
Supt Sanyang who  was detained despite a million dalasis bail granted to him 
on his initial case  was again granted bail for these two new cases. The 
conditions of this latest  bail are a 200,000 dalasis bond and a surety who should 
be a senior civil  servant not less than the rank of a permanent secretary in 
any Department of  State.
However, Lamin Camara who is representing both Sanyang and Camara  harped on 
the continuous detention of the accused persons when they had been  previously 
given bail over two weeks ago.
All cases against the two senior  security officers were adjourned till 
Monday, March  10. 

Italian Theft Trial Hears Police  Testimony

Bubacarr K. Sowe

A police officer in charge  of vehicle number plates on Thursday testified in 
the trial for stealing of  Domenico Fideli, an Italian national. Mr. Fideli 
is accused of stealing a motor  vehicle, marked Ssangyong Korando 290 SR with 
registration number BJL 4063 B.  The particulars of the offence alleged that 
the said act happened on January 10,  2008 at the Licensing Department of the 
Gambia Police Force in Banjul.  
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Fansu Fabureh told the court that  
while at his office on January 10, he received a phone call from Superintendent 
 Manlafi Sanyang, telling him that President Jammeh has given out a motor 
vehicle  (BJL 4063 B) to the accused person, Domenico Fideli.
ASP Fabureh testified  that, Supt Sanyang told him to effect an ownership 
transfer of the vehicle, and  he told him that ownership can only be transferred 
with a letter from state  house authorising such.
According to ASP Fabureh, all of a sudden he saw a  police intervention unit 
officer came with a transfer letter to his  office.
He added that the letter was from Supt Sanyang, who used to head the  
government transport unit. 
ASP Fabureh adduced that after cross checking the  letter with the records in 
his office, he discovered that they tallied.
“I  then effected the transfer to Mr. Fideli,” the prosecution witness said. 
 According to him, he issued a certificate of transfer in favour of the 
accused  person, which he said he stamped.
The certificate of transfer of ownership,  certificate of registration of 
vehicle number plate and ownership title admitted  in evidence.
ASP Fabureh said that few days after the transfer, he was called  by 
Inspector Yaya Touray of the prosecution to make a statement about the  transfer of 
the said motor vehicle.
The case was adjourned till March 12, for  continuation of the trial at the 
Banjul Magistrates  Court. 

Ugly Scene At ICE

By Fabakary B.  Ceesay

Reports have it that on Wednesday 5 March students in grades  10 and 12 at 
the Institute for Continuing Education, known as ICE were involved  in a brawl 
with their teachers and administrators. The said incident has  prompted an 
abrupt closure of the school till further notice. According to our  source, the 
pandemonium ensued when the school authorities insisted that the  students pay 
their second term exams fees warning that those that fail to do so  would not 
be allowed to seat to the exams. Our source stated that the move did  not go 
down well with the students who insisted that they would seat to their  exams 
even without paying.
It is also reported that students also put it to  the authorities that they 
are yet to receive their first term exam results which  they have paid for. The 
reports added that the students questioned the  authorities on the reasons 
for paying terminal exam fees when they are paying  school fees.
According to some students, the exchanges soon intensified and  the acrimony 
soon transformed into a brawl. The same source said that what  subsequently 
happened was too unpleasant to witness.
Teachers and the  students could be seen exchanging blows on each other. 
However, our sources  could not confirm any casualties during the brawl. This 
reporter visited the  school campus yesterday but neither the teachers nor the 
students could be seen  as classes were suspended. I am yet to have the 
opportunity to speak to an  administrator or a teacher.
Foroyaa made several phone calls to the regional  education office to seek 
for their comments on the matter but to no avail. Both  the director and the 
chief executive officer were said to be engaged in a  programme in Banjul.

Bank Manager Under Fraud  Investigation

By Bubacarr K. Sowe

The Human  Resource Manager of Guaranty Trust Bank is currently detained at 
the Kairaba  Police Station for fraud investigation. William Jarju, according 
to police  sources has been at the station since Wednesday, but an anonymous 
source has  revealed to Foroyaa that he has been there since Tuesday.
Police spokesman,  Inspector Sulayman Secka, said the matter is still under 
investigation as more  details are emerging from the bank.

Carnegie Minerals Trespass  Trial
Accused Acquitted And Discharged

By Modou  Jonga

Magistrate Ayub Johnny Njie of the Brikama Magistrate court  on Tuesday 4 
March, 2008 acquitted and discharged Willem Wincker and Momodou  Jallow. The duo 
who pleaded not guilty were arraigned in court on 3 March, 2008  and jointly 
charged for entering the restricted site of Carnegie Minerals Mining  Site at 
Sanyang Kombo South without authority and causing  annoyance to  officers on 
duty on the 27 February, 2008, at the said site.
In delivering  his verdict, the magistrate in brief noted that the court is 
of the view that  the evidence adduced by the prosecution witnesses is weak. He 
accordingly  acquitted and discharged the duo.
Readers could recall that two officers of  the police Intervention unit on 
duty at the said date at the said site, Alieu  Kurubally and Amadou Sanyang have 
testified. The third accused person Willem  Tako Battema, a Senior Diplomat 
of the United Nation was acquitted on the  preferred charge by the court due to 
his Diplomatic  Status. 

STGDP Calls For Liberty Of Fatou Jaw  Manneh

The Save The Gambia Democracy Project has called for the  liberty of Gambian 
Journalist Fatou Manneh who was arrested a year ago upon her  arrival at the 
airport from the USA where she resides.  She is still on  bail while her trial 
lingers on.
According to the release, every Gambian  within and outside the country is an 
involuntary witness to the violations of  civil and fundamental liberties; 
the hiring and firing of civil servants and the  personalization of power by the 
president.
The release goes on to say that  one year has passed since Fatou’s dutiful 
trip to mourn the death of her father  was cut short at Banjul International 
Airport by agents of the regime who  whisked her away into what has since become 
a clownish circus of trial for  treason. Fatou’s intended and short visit with 
her family has turned into a  nightmare of a juridical circus. The release 
asserts that in Fatou’s case, the  Government of the Gambia has a message to all 
Diaspora Gambians - that you can  exercise your democratic rights as long as 
you are not on Gambian soil, to  remind us that those rights will not be 
protected in the Gambia.
STGDP  continues to join Fatou in her fitting struggle to fight for her 
freedom from  the injustice going on in The Gambia. The release has urged the 
government of  President Jammeh to recognize Fatou’s inalienable rights and 
immediately halt  what it calls these kinds of judicial embarrassments.
The STGDP is an  organisation of Gambians in the USA
Last July before the completion of the  trial of Fatou Jaw Manneh at the 
Kanifing Magistrates Court, the case was  transferred to the Banjul Magistrates 
Court. This court then held that it should  be transferred to Brikama 
Magistrates Court. In the interim, the state appealed.  Upon appeal, the High Court 
returned the case to the Kanifing Magistrates Court  in December 2008. But since 
that time the case has not  proceeded.

Purported Alkalo Detained
For Alleged Cattle  Deal

By Fabakary B. Ceesay

One Alkali Jallow of  Bantanding Wollof, who was said to be verbally 
appointed as Alkalo of the said  village by Chief Jim Fatma Jobe, was on Sunday 24 
February arrested by the  police at Ndungu Kebbeh Police Station for involving in 
cattle business without  proper authority. According to sources, Mr. Jallow 
was arrested at his house and  taken to the police station for interrogation. 
Sources alleged that Mr. Jallow  was said to have sold two cattle and was in 
possession of another one which had  been reported missing for months. Sources 
added that Mr. Jallow never reported  the missing cattle to the legitimate 
Alkalo of the village and also failed to  report the matter to the police for 
identification purposes.
The police  spokesperson, Inspector Sulayman Secka confirmed the arrest and 
subsequent  release of Mr. Alkali Jallow. Inspector Secka stated that their 
officers  received a complaint from one Alieu Badou of Munyagen village that his 
cattle  are missing and that he learnt that Mr. Alkali Jallow of Bantanding 
Wollof had  sold two cattle to one Alieu Jallow of Samba Chargen Village. Mr. 
Secka noted  that Mr. Alkali Jallow was then arrested. Inspector Secka pointed 
out that Mr.  Alkali Jallow was later released and urged to assist the police 
in their  investigations to locate the cattle owners and to report any missing 
or lost  cattle he might have come across to the police or to the village 
Alkalo.
Mr.  Alkali Jallow, has recently been verbally appointed as the Alkalo of 
Bantanding  Wollof in Jokadu district by Chief Jim Fatma Jobe, without following 
the proper  procedures. His eldest cousin brother who is the Alkalo, of 
Bantanding was said  to be verbally removed by the same chief, Jim Fatma Jobe.

P.S.  Harps On Integration of Tertiary Institutions

By Gibairu  Janneh

“The current plans by my department to integrate the public  tertiary schools 
namely Gambia College, (GC), Gambia Technical Training  Institute (GTTI) and M
anagement Development Institute (MDI) under the University  of the Gambia 
(UTG) is designed to promote and improve the education quality of  the country.” 
These were the words of the permanent secretary, department of  state for 
higher education, research, science and technology, Dr. Saidou Jallow.  Dr. Jallow 
made this remark recently while delivering a lecture on the  integration of 
tertiary schools at the National Union of Gambia Students (NUGS)  congress held 
at the Friendship Hotel in Bakau. He said the integration process  which is 
contained in the 2004-2015 education policy document is designed to  promote 
the university of the Gambia to build and establish a working  relationship with 
the existing tertiary institutions so as to strengthen its  infrastructure.  
He said his department has set up a task force on  integration and the 
membership of this task force include all the tertiary  institutions, adding that the 
task force has already conducted internal  consultations, workshops, and 
seminars in all the affected institutions and have  submitted their reports which 
is in support of the integration process and they  have used the task force 
report to draft a cabinet paper which is sent to  cabinet for approval. Dr. 
Jallow said the process if accomplished will promote  the quality of education as 
an integrated UTG will provide standardize  programmes for tertiary and higher 
education, expose students to academic  disciplines and programmes that have 
international recognition, ensure quality  and relevance, set a recognized 
standard for accrediting and validating  qualifications, alignment of 
professional and academic programmes and prevent  the unnecessary duplication of the same 
or similar programmes in the various  schools. He concluded that if the 
proposal is realized, it will not only improve  the country’s education system, but 
it will also aid the country in the  realisation of its vision 2020 dream 
since it will increase capacity to provide  quality and sustainable tertiary 
education, promote research that will support  the human resource needs for 
national development and empower students to  realise their potentials in the 
society. 

Immigration Dept  Warns Non-Gambians

The office of the Director General of  Immigration has announced in a press 
release that all Non-Gambians who need to  be in possession of an up-to-date 
Alien Identity Card and a Residential or Work  Permit should by now complete all 
the transactions. The release goes on warn  that any person not being in 
possession of the requirements is in contravention  of the Gambia Immigration Act 
and as a result has urged all to regularize their  status as soon as possible.

The release further notified the public  that from Monday 10 of March 2008, 
Immigration officers will be patrolling all  areas country wide to this effect.

Many Vehicles  Impounded
Drivers, Owners Risk Prosecution

By Bubacarr K.  Sowe

A great number of vehicles have been impounded by the police  across the 
country. This decision by the police followed the failure of the  vehicle owners 
or drivers to renew their licenses and pay road and income tax  for the year 
2008.
Police Spokesman, Inspector Sulayman Secka told Foroyaa  that their operation 
has been successful with “more than a thousand vehicles  impounded country 
wide”. Inspector Secka said both drives and vehicle owners  risk possible 
prosecution after meeting the police demands.
He urged drivers  to abide by the law to avoid such things in the future. 
According to the police  spokesman, every divisional police headquarters now has 
a testing officer and  licences issuing officers, which he said is done to 
ease the congestion of  people demanding licence at the main police headquarters, 
Banjul.
Inspector  Secka said that the Motor Traffic Act requires licenses to be 
renewed on the not  later than 15 January each year and drivers had enough time 
since then.
He  apologised to commuters who are being affected by the shortage of 
vehicles in  the traffic. 

Fisheries Employees Trained On Negotiating  Agreements

By Annia B. Gaye

A two day national  training workshop on strengthening the negotiation 
capacity for fishing  agreements was opened on Thursday 28 February 2 at Palm Grove 
Hotel in Banjul.  The Permanent Secretary, Department of State for Fisheries, 
Water Resources and  National Assembly Matters, Mr. Lamin Nyabally, in 
deputising for the Secretary  of State stated at the opening that the training is 
important as it will enhance  negotiation skills and techniques which he said 
could serve as a catalyst for  better conservation of the marine resources.
He noted that the fisheries  sector has continued to play an important role 
in national development efforts.  He underscored his department’s resolve and 
commitment in achieving the  Millennium Development Goals by ensuring 
significant reduction in poverty,  increased food security, increased employment 
opportunities and increased  foreign exchange earnings by way of sustainable 
management, exploitation and  utilisation of fisheries resources.
He noted that they need to uphold the  principle of protection of the 
biological diversity of species and the  preservation of the environment. He further 
noted that, The Gambia is among the  members of the international and 
sub-regional organisations such as the  Fisheries Committee for the Eastern and 
Central Atlantic (CECAF) and the Sub  Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC). 
“It is therefore prudent that given  our common interest for sustainable 
management of the fisheries resources and  the protection of marine environment we 
develop our negotiation skills for  fishing agreements,” he said. This, he 
said, will no doubt make it possible for  them to ensure rational exploitation 
and utilisation of this scare resource and  prevent over fishing among others. “
Given the migratory nature of our fish  stocks within the sub-region, 
countries are bound to share this common heritage  and thus agreements have to be in 
the spirit of good neighbourliness, inter and  intra regional cooperation, 
especially now that the high value demarsals stock  are reported to be dwindling,”
 he said.
Ardiatou Njie, Director of Fisheries,  noted that negotiating fishing 
agreements whether reciprocal or compensatory  agreements is always a complex 
exercise that requires proper planning,  strategising and team building with strong 
emphasis on conservation. He said the  training is pertinent to our situation 
in the sub-region and The Gambia in  particular. 

FOCUS ON POLITICS
REMOVAL OF COMMISSIONER  
JUWARA CREATES HUE AND CRY IN L.R.D
Were The Politicians  Threatened?

We have been focusing on politics in general and  Gambian politics in 
particular. This is what motivates us to follow the  narration of events from 
pre-colonial to post independence era.
In the last  issue, we reported on the talks between the NCP and PPP as to 
whether they were  going to form a coalition, alliance or merger. This was at a 
time when the  country was experiencing the effects of the ERP.
We have stopped where we  said Foroyaa wrote that Mr. Dibba had a lot of 
explaining to do to reassert the  integrity of his party; that anyone who does not 
tell Mr. Dibba that was guilty  of dishonesty.
Let us continue from where we stopped.
Mr. Lamin Waa Juwara  has been a long serving commissioner. He has served in 
that portfolio for quite  sometime and has been posted to different 
administrative areas in the  country.
Mr. Juwara was also at one time or another drifted to the  opposition for one 
reason or another. He was one time an independent candidate  for the Sabach 
Sanjal constituency and also became a member of the NCP at  another time. It 
was said that politicians were always uncomfortable with Mr.  Juwara if he was 
posted in their areas, because of his shared ambition to hold  political office.
So by late May, 1990, Mr. Juwara was removed from his post  as commissioner 
of the Lower River Division, but his removal this time resulted  to a hue and 
cry in the area.

Why Was He Removed?
Foroyaa who  was compelled to investigate the reason behind his removal sent 
this columnist  to the region to find. According to the investigations, many 
people were  impressed by the fact that the money they paid as taxes was 
utilized to  construct the Soma market and to build a road between Mansakonko and 
Soma. The  people complained to Foroya that their tax money has not been 
properly utilized  before the arrival of Mr. Juwara. Many alleged that there was a 
conspiracy to  remove Mr. Juwara from the area because many politicians became 
threatened and  were motivated to campaign for Mr. Juwara’s removal; that many 
objected to the  development projects he initiated as commissioner. Foroyaa’s 
investigation  further revealed that when Mr. Juwara became commissioner. LRD, 
there was only  D500 in the coffers of the area council; that the first year 
after he took over,  the area council had a record collection; that he 
activated the divisional  planning committee and insisted that the tax payers should 
be the beneficiaries  of their payments.
It was also revealed to the Foroyaa reporter that despite  the fact that 
there was opposition to his suggestion for permanent structures to  be built at 
the market in Soma, he Juwara insisted that the work should  continue; that this 
led to exchanges of letters between Mr. Juwara and the  ministry of Local 
Government and Lands.
Since the reason behind Juwara’s  removal was still not known, the paper 
decided to reach the permanent secretary  and informed him of the letters received 
from concerned citizens concerning the  removal of Mr. Juwara.
According to Foroyaa, the permanent secretary at the  time said he was not 
ware of the letters but what he was aware of was that Mr.  Juwara’s contract had 
expired and has not been renewed; that it was the  president who appointed 
commissioners and that he was not in a position to  explain why the president 
removed him.

Foroyaa’s Comment
Foroyaa  commented among other things that the Gambian people should bear in 
mind that  the president does not have to give any reasons when he decides to 
remove a  commissioner from office. Needless to say, a commissioner was a 
magistrate and  section 3 subsection 2 paragraph (b) of the elections Act states 
that “Every  commissioner in charge of a division shall be virtute officie,, a 
registering  officer and returning officer for each and every administrative 
area. “With all  these roles, administrative structures should have been 
created which would free  a commissioner from any threat to his or her job security 
by making it a  permanent post where someone could be removed from office only 
for  maladministration which would be exposed and known to all.
This was the  reason why Foroyaa wrote, the PDOIS insist that the executive 
presidency enables  a president to reign like a monarch who can remove people 
in position of  authority without giving any reasons to the populace. “Where is 
the democracy?  “they asked. 
The question that remained to be answered was what Lamin Juwara  would do 
from here. Would he go back to the PPP for another job or would he go  to another 
party like he has once done or what?
By about the same time, the  PDOIS went on a tour of the Wuli and Sandu which 
they dubbed “Giving voice to  the voiceless.”
At this stage, people were beginning to notice a difference  between the 
PDOIS and other political parties. They have not seen much emphasis  laid on the 
party leader like the PPP or NCPwere doing. And the PDOIS must have  known this 
because they could not fail to hear such misplaced criticisms such as  “PDOIS 
has no leader”.
The PDOIS gave long speeches and dwelt into as many  national issues as 
possible, thereby clarifying and expanding information to the  peasantry at a time 
when only the national radio which was entirely at the grip  of the 
Government. So opposition parties were compelled to physically reach the  people and 
give their messages or risk not being noticed. They would do this  irrespective 
of whether it was a hamlet town or city. They would then allow the  people to 
either criticize them or ask any questions on issues relating to the  nation.
One question that was asked in many villages in Wuli and Sandu on  that tour 
was on the issue of leadership. So how did the PDOIS deal with this  issue?

PDOIS’ RESPONSE
According to the Foroyaa, the PDOIS  clarified to the people that they teach 
not by words but by actions; that the  type of society they envisage tomorrow 
is not one where leaders would be like  lords over the people; that on the 
contrary, they would want them to be humble  servants of the people; that in 
order to build such a society, the relationship  between the leadership and the 
led would not be like that of the Shepard and his  flock of sheep; that in order 
to prevent such a relationship they  must  enlighten the people to be 
conscious of what is wrong in the country and what  should be done tto correct itso 
that they would fully understand the role of  their political leaders; that 
once this is understood they would be able to  support a leader when he or she 
serves their interest and abandon him or her  when he or she fails to serve 
their interest.
The emphasis went further to  show that this is why PDOIS has been active in 
promoting the views and  programmes of the party rather than this person or 
that person; they should  alert their minds to the programmes of the party and 
their views on what  constitutes a genuine political leadership; that once this 
is understood then  when they put up presidential and parliamentary 
candidates they would be able to  gauge for themselves whether they have the qualities 
they have been telling  them; that the primary preoccupation of PDOIS is to 
enable the people to have  critical minds so that no one would be able to fool 
them any more; that they  don’t them to follow personalities any more, but the 
best dictates of their  critical minds.
Furthermore, the people were told that the fundamental  difference exists 
between PDOIS and the other parties; that other parties are  just interested in 
positions, hence they would want to promote one personality  and create a lot 
of myths around that personality so that the masses would  follow the person 
unreasonably; that this is why they could neither enlighten  the masses nor did 
they have the desire to do so.
According to the Foroyaa  which covered the tour, they emphasized that to the 
people that this is the  reason why such parties are known through the names 
of their leaders; that the  only important figure in such parties is the 
leader whom everyone sings praise  to and bow down to; that once those leaders 
disappear such parties die with  them. It was also emphasized to them that such 
parties simply disappeared just  because their leaders decide to quit. Examples 
of such parties in the earlier  phase of independence were cited such as the 
Democratic Party, the Muslim  Congress, and the PPA.They asserted that in all 
such parties including the PPP  are no exception; that the leaders constitute 
the big tree on top of which like  birds, all the rest nest; and once the big 
tree falls all the birds must fly  away.

The people were told just as they don’t want to be lords  above the people 
tomorrow but to be their servants, in their party they have no  lords; that they 
have a group of dignified and knowledgeable people who have  voluntarily come 
together to combine their knowledge and efforts to serve the  interests of 
the people; that a leader in their party is not a privilege but a  role which 
anybody in the leadership would be in a position to perform; that  whoever is 
considered appropriate becomes the party leader; that none hungers  for this 
role and that there can never be any competition for it since no role  is 
privileged role in the party. 
By May 28th, 1990, the Economic Community  of West African States (ECOWAS) 
met in Banjul. The PPP government did not take  this occasion lightly. They did 
everything to show that all these heads of  states were coming to the Gambia 
because of Jawara’s respect for human rights  and democracy and for the respect 
they have of the man himself.
So what did  the government do to create an illusion? Months before the 
occasion, message  spread that the Gambia was to witness its largest gathering of 
heads of states.  Intensive efforts were made to rehabilitate the VIP lounge at 
the Banjul  international Airport. A new five star hotel, (the Kairaba beach 
hotel) which  was constructed for D135 million dalasis built to accommodate 
the guests. A  committee was set up headed by a minister to mobilize mass 
support in welcoming  the visitors. Buses were provided, food was available and even 
cloths were  provided to people to encourage them to participate.
According to reports,  very few people came out to welcome the presidents. It 
was also observed that  most of those who even stood near the main road were 
children drawn to those  places out of curiosity because of the bleeping noise 
that accompanied the  presidential motorcade.
Foroyaa attributed this poor reception from the  masses as a lesson to the 
Jawara regime one indisputable fact and that was, it  was losing the confidence 
of the people. The paper also said it was clear that  the people do not 
necessarily have to go out in the streets to demonstrate or to  show their 
dissatisfaction to the government.
It appeared that the ECOWAS was  more concerned with the economies of the 
region. According to the Executive  Secretary of ECOWAS who reviewed the 
performance of the West African economy  during the 1980s, “It is quite obvious that 
the period was a lost decade for the  sub-region and for the rest of Africa.
The Executive Secretary lamented  that,” inspite of the tremendous and 
sustained efforts of all member states at  economic reform to halt the economic 
decline, the standard of living of our  people was still well below the pre-crisis 
level. The different structural  adjustment and economic recovery programmes 
notwithstanding; the prognosis for  the 1990s is a very gloomy period indeed 
for the West African Economy, unless  dramatic changes are engineered and some 
fundamental rethinking of our  strategies is inaugurated.”
The chairman of ECOWAS also asserted that “The  aid allocated by the Western 
countries to Eastern Europe is on a dramatic  increase, to the detriment of 
aid in developing countries; that multinational  enterprises operating in our 
countries are abandoning the sub-region and  relocating in the North, with an 
eye on the prospect of the 1992 single European  market. This trend is 
dangerously compromising the increase of capital flow to  developing countries and 
needs to be reversed”
Foroyaa claims that the  statements constituted an indictment of all 
governments in the sub-region and  the ECOWAS in general; that it confirms that no 
meaningful achievements have  been made by the individual nations in particular 
and the community of nations  they had established in general; that despite the 
fact that opinions on  reinforcing political will to revitalize sub-regional 
integration, some member  states considered it so insignificant that they do 
not even pay their  contributions.
Foroyaa maintained that the ECOWAS summits were in fact  becoming occasions 
for heads of states to go on holidays in one African country  just to talk 
about their intentions and why they have not  materialized.
Foroyaa then asked, since ECOWAS could not rely on the  industrialized 
countries to promote economic development, what was their  solution?
Quoting the executive Secretary of ECOWAS “One obvious avenue that  holds 
much promise for our member states is regional integration.”Foroyaa  however 
asserted that anybody who believes that African countries would make  headway by 
integrating the current economies under their present parasitic  systems of 
government would qualify to be called an idle dreamer.
Foroyaa  maintained that the unity of present day African economies would be 
a unity of  debtor countries. The paper quoted the ECOWAS chairman as thus; “
Efforts to  resolve the debt problem have still not yielded anticipated 
results; that there  were several plans, proposals and measures for temporary debt 
relief but these  unfortunately did not cover all countries and the debts we owe.
”Foroyaa  maintained that only six heads of state excluding the host, 
participated in this  summit, this it wrote, indicated how much importance such 
countries attached to  sub regional integration.
Foroyaa agreed with the Executive Secretary among  other things that the 
economies were “Characterized by conditionalities” and  that confirmed that it 
was an illusion to expect the gloomy situation to be  changed by relying on the “
International environment.” The paper finally  maintained that the only 
solution was to build self reliant  economies. 

HEALTH AND NUTRITION BANTABA    
Nuha Ceesay On Awareness  Raising On World AIDS Day 2007

By Yaya Bajo

In this  edition of Health and Nutrition Bantaba, Mr. Nuha Ceesay, UNAIDS 
Country Officer  presented a paper on awareness raising on World AIDS Day 2007, 
at a civil  society organisation training workshop from the 4th to 6th March, 
2008 at TANGO  Conference Hall in Bakau. The three day forum which was funded 
by UNAIDS was  about civil society organisations intensifying HIV prevention 
programmes and  their role in prevention towards meeting universal access to 
care, treatment,  support and prevention.
Excerpts 
In the face of the overwhelming  complexity and rampant stigma that surrounds 
AIDS; failed promises have become  the norm. The change that is desperately 
needed is radical, but also simple.  
“Accountability-the theme of World AIDS Day required every president and  
prime minister, every parliamentarian and politician, to decide and declare that  
“AIDS Stop With Me”. (Kofi Annan, Former Secretary-General at the United  
Nations).
“AIDS is the biggest challenge humanity has had to deal with,” Says  Van 
Soest, More than the technical problem of developing drugs and making sure  they 
are delivered, “AIDS is related to all the taboos and vulnerabilities that  
urges us more than  any other infections diseases”.
Around 95% of people  with HIV/AIDS live in developing nations, that HIV is a 
threat to men, women and  children around the world; and there is need to 
raise awareness about the  disease and get the leadership to renew their 
commitments and pledge. World AIDS  Day was first declared by the World Health Org
anisation and the United Nations  General Assembly (Resolution 43/15) in 1988. On 
December 1988, the WAD was  commemorated. The first year- World AIDS Campaign 
was launched by UNAIDS in  1997. The objective of the campaign was to 
substantially extend the impact of  WAD by improving more partners and translate 
increased global awareness of AIDS  into a more sustainable programmatic response. 
Since then, it has progressively  become one of the most successful 
international day for raising awareness on a  global issue. After consultation with 
partners began in 2003, the World AIDS  campaign became an independent 
organisation in 2004 to strengthen and enhance  collaboration among various national 
advocacy efforts. The World AIDS Campaigns  Supports, Strengthens and connects 
campaigns that hold leaders accountable for  their promises in HIV and AIDS and 
has its secretariat based in  Amsterdam.
World AIDS Day is not just about raising money but also increasing  
awareness, fight prejudice, stigma and discrimination and improve education.  Remember 
that there are still many things to be done.
Challenges
v Stigma  and Discrimination
v Cultural barriers
v Refocus political commitment
v  Universal Access to prevention, treatment, care and support
v Shifting from  purely sensitisation to combining IEC with BCC
v Employment of women, young  people and children
v Strengthening quality service delivery 
v Poverty  and under development
v Scaling up access to ART especially in rural  areas
v Knowing the epidemic (what is driving the  epidemic)
Agenda For Action
v  Strengthen the institution al capacity
v Enhance support to Orphan and  Vulnerable Children (OVCs)
v Implement the Three ones
v Target women and  children
v Accelerate up take for VCT and provide services
v Advocacy,  individual, national, community
v Greater involvement of people living with  HIV (PLHIV)
v Community mobilisation-ownership
v Gender, racial and sexual  equalities
v Promotion of life skills education and counselling especially  for CABA/OVCS
v Comprehensive care and support packages
v Prevention of  parent to child transmission of HIV/AIDS
v Policy development, national
v  Legal protection for PLHIV
v Greater involvement of religious/ traditional  and opinion leaders
v Integrate HIV education-primary, secondary  tertiary
v Strengthen partnership.
“Leadership can imply the power and  authority to make a difference, to lead 
by action and example. In many faith  contexts, though, a leader is a 
servant-and shy someone who responds to the  needs of the community, supports others 
in their planning and action, and  empowers people by both words and resources. 
By taking on the global theme of  leadership for World AIDS Day, faith 
leaders and the communities they are a part  of can help articulate a vision, build 
relationships and take concrete action in  solidarity with all people 
committed to reaching universal access for HIV  prevention, treatment and care”. 
(Linda Hartke, Coordinator, Ecumenical Advocacy  Alliance).
“We are still dying! Leadership requires that we face this  reality. While 
leadership is a strong call and can easily be embraced, I have  been very 
disappointed with our leaders. While scaling up of HIV care is  prioritised, it is 
under funded and poorly implemented. Faith leaders continue  to deny the 
existence of HIV/AIDS in the communities and congregations they  serve. Governments 
are complacent, and have not provided the leadership needed  to end the 
epidemic”. (Deloris Dockery, Chairman, Global Network of people  living with 
HIV/AIDS and representative for international community of women  living with 
HIV/AIDS).
“Young people are the worst hit by HIV/AIDS but they  also have a vital role 
to play in the fight against the pandemic. Youth  leadership is essential to 
an effective international response to HIV/AIDS and  young people must be 
empowered with the knowledge, skills and resources they  need in order to achieve 
the goal of universal access by 2010”. (Prateek Suman,  Youth Coalition).
Despite progress made towards the acceleration of HIV  prevention, access to 
HIV testing and counselling and prevention of  mother-to-child transmission is 
low .We estimate that only twelve percent of  adults know their HIV status. 
In 2005, only 11% of pregnant women infected with  HIV received antiretroviral 
therapy. Access to treatment and care increased  significantly in the last 
four years in the Africa Region, from an average of 1%  in 2003 to 30% in 2007.
However, it is important to highlight that today 70%  of people in need do 
not have access to these services. Efforts to scale up  access to these life 
prolonging medicines are hampered by important challenges  such as low adherence 
to treatment regimens and the development of  antiretroviral resistance 
strains. Although the prices of antiretroviral drugs  are decreasing, they are still 
unaffordable for most people in our region.  Furthermore, for every patient 
that was treated with antiretroviral medicines  last year, six new infections 
occurred worldwide. Therefore, the combination of  intensification of HIV 
prevention efforts with the scaling up of treatment and  care remains the only 
realistic and effective strategy to stem the spread of HIV  infection in 
sub-Saharan Africa.
There is still a serious shortfall in  resources for AIDS and stigma and 
discrimination around AIDS. As a result, two  thirds of those who require 
antiretroviral treatment are unable to access  it..
Sustaining leadership and accelerating action on AIDS isn’t something  just 
for politicians. It involves religious, community, youths, council s, chief  
executives and union leaders. It involves people living with HIV, and their  
families and friends. It involves you, me-each and every one of us-taking the  
lead to eliminate stigma and discrimination, to advocate for more resources to  
tackle AIDS. And it requires us all to focus on AIDS every day of the year. 
Only  then can we hope t o achieve the global goal of universal access to HIV  
prevention, treatment, care and support. 

MARRIAGE AND  FAMILY
Is She A Fortunate Woman?
Part 1

By Amie  Sillah
Maria and George were lovers since High School days. They continued  their 
romance into university. Their mutual love was so strong that they decided  to 
marry as undergraduates with no money. The couple have to do odd jobs here  and 
there to make ends meet. Then came their graduation. George graduated as a  
civil engineer and Maria has a BSC in political science and international  
relations. After graduation, no job was in sight for the couple. They had an  
idea! They took a loan and opened up a classic restaurant, selling local and  
continental dishes. The good, healthy, delicious dishes became talk of the town.  
Lovers, couples and singles came to dine in their restaurant. They started to  
develop their family. Their first child was a boy named after father George. 
He  is nicknamed Junior. Within a year Beatrice was born. It became too much 
for  Maria. George stood beside her. He proved to be the best of husbands. 
George  dotted on his wife and gave her one hundred percent support. Something 
happened?  Was George tempted? What happened to their positive relationship? Read 
to find  out.

At The Hospital
Maria was expecting her first baby. She is  a small sized person. Her gynic 
doctor announced that her baby is over weight.  Maria was admitted earlier. Her 
doctor could not take chances. She wanted her to  go through a normal child 
birth. George literally stayed at the hospital. When  she was in labour, George 
paced up and down the corridor in anxiety about his  wife. He prayed for her 
to have a successful delivery. Maria did not deliver  that day. George went 
home to prepare a soup for her. 

A Successful  Delivery 
George is a good cook. He prepared a healthy tomato, meat,  vegetable and took
 it to his wife. The nurse talked about him. “He is a devoted  husband. Let 
us pray to marry such a man. He is handsome, well mannered and  caring. Madam 
Johnson is lucky woman. She has to hold her husband with tight  arms before the 
vultures pluck him out of her hands”. They kept quiet as George  approached 
them. He politely greeted them and asked after his wife. “How? How is  she? How 
is Maria? Has she delivered?” He bombarded them with repeated questions  
pacing up and down. Nurse Rose laughed at him. “Cool down Mr. Johnson. Your wife  
has safely delivered a bouncing baby boy. Congratulations!” “You are welcome! 
 Can I see her?! “Yes! You can. But let me check with her doctor”. “Okay! 
But be  quick about it”. Nurse Rose was amused by Mr. Johnson’s anxiety.
Nurse Rose  told Maria that George was downstairs waiting to see her. “But 
she needs some  rest. No visitors!” Maria protested. “Doctor! Please can I see 
my husband? He is  downstairs all this while. He is an anxious person. If you 
don’t let him in he  will think that I am in danger and you are trying to hide 
something from him”.  “No problem Maria! You can have him in”, said Doc 
John. “Thank you doctor”. “You  are welcome”. Nurse Rose went to escort George. 
He walked past her and opened  the door. He rushed to hug his wife in bed. “
How are you darling? I feared for  you. I prayed for you. God has answered my 
prayers”. He raised his hands and  thanked God. Nurse Rose smiled and left. “
Where is he?” He asked his wife. “She!  Who told you it is a he?” Maria teased 
him. “I don’t care whether it’s a he or  she. Where is my child?” Maria 
pointed to the cradle. George went to examine his  child. “He/she is beautiful. 
He/she is just like me”, he said mockingly. “He is  handsome”, Maria corrected 
him. They had fun and were very relaxed. The nurses  were amused. “They love 
themselves. Aren’t they Johnson lucky?” the nurses on  duty asked each other. 
George showed great concern and care for Maria. He  congratulated her. “Thank 
you my dear wife. You are a great woman. You have  brought forth a life on 
earth. Let me go now. I’ll cook you a delicious fillet  vegetable soup. You need 
it after your great job”. He kissed her forehead gave  her a bunch of fresh 
beautiful flowers and a congratulations card. He left to  cook her soup. Maria 
smiled. She is a contented, fulfilled woman. “We have no  money but we have 
enough to give us a decent living. What more do I need from a  husband? He is 
handsome, caring, loving and well mannered. Above all, he loves  and dotes on me”
. Maria smiled. Nurse Rose entered to give her iron tablets.  “You are amused 
Maria, Is it about your husband?” Maria nodded her head. “You  are lucky. Aren
’t you?” Maria agreed. “Take care of your husband. He is  innocent. He is 
nice. Beware of the vultures. They might want to take advantage  of him. Be 
warned!” “Thanks! I’ll take care”. Maria replied. Before George left  Maria 
asked him to contact their parents. “Don’t be overwhelmed by the  restaurant 
work. Contact our parents immediately and tell them the good new.”  “Am I crazy? 
That’s the first thing I’ll do”. George promised.

At  The Restaurant
A customer sat for a while without being served. He got  frustrated and left. 
He met up with George. He enquired and he protested. “I sat  for 15 mins 
without any service. I am a regular customer to your restaurant but  I cannot 
stand the neglect. I am going elsewhere.” “George pleaded with him”.  No! Don’t 
say that I apologize for them. Let us go. I’ll serve you”. “No! Its  okay. I’
ll go else where”. He left dissatisfied.

George Is Angry  
George came and shouted his wife’s name. “Maria! Renben! Where are you  
people? Why are you not serving the customers? Look at that regular customer! We  
have lost him. What is it? Can’t you do anything if I am not around? What is 
it?  Do you want to frustrate my efforts?” He was angry and emotional. The 
other  customers looked on as George went into tantrums. Maria was dissatisfied. “
Can’t  you listen for once? Am I two persons?” “Where is Renben?” George 
posited. “Have  you asked before you exploded?” 
To be  contd. 

OPINION
The G.C.C.I. Business Talk

The  Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s talk on Sunday 10‘“ February, 
2008 was  most interesting as it was an evaluation of the recent annual 
dinner and awards  which took place at the Sheraton Hotel.
About two to three years ago, civil  society did not seem to know much about 
the Chamber’s functions and activities.  As a journalist, I wanted to know 
more about the G.C.C.I and was gratified to  have been given the opportunity to 
go and interview Mr. Jallow the young  Director of this Business Enterprise. 
Since then it appears that the association  has been put on the map and there 
have been articles published in the Daily  Observer from time to time to inform 
the public about the G.C.C.I  activities.

Every year, a gala dinner is organized at one of our  prestigious hotels. It 
is an auspicious and elaborate event. This annual event  usually a grand and 
exclusive one and in recent years awards have been given to  various 
individuals in the business sector, who have excelled in their services  given to the 
community. This awards programme is a noteworthy innovation, as it  focuses on 
and selects all those whose efforts in the business sector have been  
recognized and appreciated by the G.C.C.I.

I regard this social  event as exclusive when I discover how much is charged 
for an individual or a  couple to attend this annual gala extravaganza. From 
The Gambia’s perspective,  the cost of more than D 1, 000 for a social evening 
of this nature is exorbitant  which not many individuals .or couples can 
really afford. The business community  are the people in the country who have money 
on the whole to afford such  grandiose social events. Most people I have 
spoken to about these exorbitant  rates for some of these dinners at the various 
hotels during the festive season  agree that D1, 000 for a dinner or a night 
out, is expensive for a poor country  like The Gambia at a time when most people 
are grumbling about the high costs of  living pertaining at the present time 
and we know that many families are unable  to provide good, nourishing meals 
each day for the family.
There are those  Gambians who want to be included among the elite and 
affluent and will go  through no end of expenditure to be numbered among these 
affluent groups of the  society and will even borrow or beg just to be able to 
attend such prestigious  ‘dos’, the name given to these social events.

This attitude is  recognized as a Gambian failing and is very sad indeed. 
They must attend these  functions at any cost.

I for one cannot afford to spend over D1,000  for a night out no matter how 
prestigious the event. It is folly to spend so  much money on dinners when we 
know that the majority of our people are  struggling to feed their families 
daily and those of us who entertain in our  homes obviously don’t spend D1, 000 
plus for lunch or dinner. This is what makes  the G.C.C.I gala dinner expensive 
and unaffordable for the average Gambian. I  hope it will not be misconstrued 
that I am opposed to these grandeuse social  activities, on the contrary, The 
Gambia is rated a poor country, the cost of  living has escalated in recent 
years and we must live within our means by  cutting our coats according to the 
material available for our various  circumstances and not indulge in luxuries 
we cannot afford or which leave a huge  hole in the family budget or resulting 
in large debt burdens within the  family.

Finally, kudos to the two ladies who are members of the  G.C.C.I, namely 
Beatrice Prom, media consultant and communications officer and  Sarata, it is 
impressive that they displayed much knowledge about the  organization, they were 
up to the task assigned to them and were eloquent in the  way they responded to 
the questions put to them by Peter Gomez the proprietor of  West Coast radio 
and a journalist. They are all commended for their performance  and a job well 
done on behalf of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and  Industry.

Congratulations are meted out to the GCCI and entire  staff in spite of the 
expensive nature of their annual celebrations.
By Bijou  Peters

FOROYAA SPORTS
Armed Forces Blank Nine-man  Hawks

By Isatou Bittaye

Armed Forces defeated Hawks by  two goals to nil yesterday at the Serrekunda 
East ground.
Ken Malamin Jammeh  was the culprit when he played the ball to his opponent 
under no pressure,  allowing Buba Darboe to easily slot home Armed Forces 
opener in the 34th  minute.  The military club piled pressure on Hawks from the 
start and  Hawks’ reduction to nine-men in the early part of the second half, 
proved their  final undoing. The frustration was clearly visible on Hawks and 
Omar Koroma  received his marching orders compounding matters for the 2006 FA Cup 
 winners.
And in the 43rd minute, Armed Forces nearly doubled the score when  Abdou 
Darboe setup his brother Buba, but the header flew narrowly over the bar.  With 
only a minute to the end of the first period Hawks almost leveled the  score, 
but Omar Sarr shot weakly towards goal giving little trouble to the  keeper.
Hawks returned to the field in the second half ready to make fight  their way 
back to the game. Coach Sang Ndong made a double substitution bringing  in 
Mustapha Jatta and Dawda Ceesay in place of Arthur Sengore and Omar Sarr.  
Armed Forces decided to go for the kill in the first minute of the half with  
playmaker Sarjo Janko’s volley going inches over the bar. And it was time for 
 Hawks to also reap their share of the goal gifting blunders when Armed 
Forces  goal keeper played the ball to the Hawks number 8, but he hurriedly fired 
and  the ball flew off out of play. 
But Hawks struggled to maintain their stand  to pull an equaliser, they were 
reduced to nine and a penalty awarded to Armed  Forces. The ever-present Buba 
Darboe was freed by a defence splitting pass from  midfield. Ken Malamin 
Jammeh raced to the rescue just before Darboe released his  shot and caught him off 
the ball. 
The referee called for a penalty. But  Jammeh reacted angrily and he was 
shown a straight red card. Abdou Darboe  stepped to fire home the spot killing all 
chances of Hawks getting back to the  game. It was almost oneway traffic now. 
Armed Forces pressured further for more  goals but stood firm at the back 
making some determined  counterattacks.

Wallidan Share Spoils with B/United
By Lamin A.  Darboe
Sainey Touray’s 69th minute close range goal saved the day for  Wallidan as 
they trailed Bakau United from the first half. Bakau United were  leading at 
the start of the second period from Demba Sarr’s 42nd minute goal.  But Touray’
s introduction in the second half resulted to a tactical masterpiece  from the 
Wallidan bench, as ensured the 2005 league champions avoid defeat. The  
Gambia youth international was an instant hit as he rose and fired a low header  in 
the United net.  A keenly contested affair ensued with either side  fighting 
for the killer goal. In the 43rd minute Ebrima Kanteh could have  delivered 
the full results for Wallidan but his effort went high. And in the  dying 
moments of the game Alagie Janneh also had an opportunity from close range  only to 
shoot high.
Elsewhere in another match of the day, Gambia Ports  Authority opened their 
2008 season’s account with a 1-1 draw with Steve Biko.  Ports returned to town 
after being knocked out of the CAF Confederations Cup by  Ivorian side ES 
Bingerville last weekend. The FA Cup holders went three goals  down in Abidjan 
ending the doubled legged contest 4-0 on aggregate. Bingerville  earlier won the 
first leg 1-0 at the Independence Stadium.  
However,  Ports has proved to be formidable side in the local scene having 
only  surrendered their league crown last season at the match. They won the 2008 
 league curtain raiser – the Super Cup, against Real de Banjul.
 



**************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & 
Finance.      (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001)

����������������������������������������������������������
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
����������������������������������������������������������