Thanks Coach Jow for speaking your mind. We respect your views and we expect
you to reciprocate our stance. We have set the pace for sound, sincere and
honest debate about the Union that never was. GPU USA's failure should not
be buried under the carpet. We should talk about it. We don't mind to be
damned  for exposing agents of "failures." Our only perceived crime is,
speaking  out against people who are claiming to be representing Gambian
journalists, when in actual fact, there is no serious organization put in
place to carry out such a task. What Jow and co failed to realize is that
it's healthy to have dissenting views within the rank and file of GPU USA.
Exposing GPU USA'S "dirty leans" in public don't make one  to be an enemy of
the Organization. GPU USA, is not making any serious "progress." It has been
reduced as a " talk show" organization with or no serious long term plans
designed to keep the organization running. The real GPU USA is yet to be
born. This is not the type of organization we want for our journalists. An
organization where its President can dictate who should succeed him without
allowing the electoral process to take its cause. An organization, where
there is no accountability and transparency. Since the inception of GPU USA,
there is no information available about monetary transactions reached in the
name of the organization to its general  membership. Here we need brother
Joe Sambou to come up with progress report about the Union's latest
financial records. This paper's editor Pa Nderry M'Bai once mailed a Bank of
America Check of $50 Dollars to Sambou. M'Bai extended the financial help to
GPU Gambia. This was the time when we received an appeal from  GPU Madi
Ceesay to help the Gambia Press Union to pay its rent arrears. There are
other Gambian journalists who mailed Checks to Joe Sambou. It's hypocritical
and dishonest for anyone to suggest that Gambian journalists abroad are
insensitive to the plight of their suffering colleagues in the Gambia. What
has Coach Jow contributed to bail out our Colleagues in the Gambia? We are
curious to know. Perhaps, if Joe Sambo should hand over his records to media
houses, the truth would prevail at last.

We are not alleging any financial impropriety at this hour, but for the sake
of transparency, we want GPU USA to be accountable to its membership. This
would win the confidence of donors. Monies collected in the name of the
Organization should be made public. As members of the Union, we cannot  tell
if the Organization had a bank account and  where the collected funds are
remitted to. This might sound weird, but the truth be told there is no
transparency at GPU USA.

Joe Sambou needs to clear himself from this mess, because as a Chartered
accountant, he ought to know better. GPU USA should be in the position to
open a Bank account in its name, but there is no account in the name of  the
organization as far as we know. This exposes  how "weak and dormant"  its
Executive is. There are banks in the US, which provides free  Bank accounts
to interested customers. But GPU USA took the " back door route" by allowing
Sambou to collect monies on its behalf. Joe would do a great justice to
himself, GPU USA and Gambians  by surrendering financial records he reached,
negotiated, collected or acted on behalf of the Union to its general
membership for scrutiny.

We can vividly recall when Fatou Jow Manneh wrote to Joe Sambou expressing
the need for him to expedite the process to wire the collected funds to Madi
Ceesay. Madi privately wrote to Fatou enquiring the status of the
fund-raising. Close $1000 dollars was collected. But up to this hour, there
is no acknowledgement from GPU Gambia, as to how much money was wired by GPU
USA. There was also no news item published by Gambian papers, regarding the
said funds extended to the parent body in the Gambia by Gambian journalists
abroad. Jow cannot tell us that he is a "caretaker" President who allows Joe
Sambou to receive monies in the name of the union without his signature or
blessing. By the way, who audits Joe Sambou? Joe reports to who?
Under the circumstances, the best thing Jow, Sambou and whoever is involved
in this mess to do,  is to submit themselves to "an independent probe." We
at the Freedom Newspaper are prepared to help in terms of monetary and
material needs to coordinate the said probe. There is absolute need to
investigate GPU USA. We are interested to know the activities of these
individuals since the formation of GPU USA. As journalists, we must practice
what we preach.

We want to inform our good friend Pa Samba Jow that we don't need his
permission to write about GPU USA. Our Editorial is the opinion of the paper
and we do not  need a third party to decide the content of our paper. As the
saying goes "Journalist Doumboka." Being our friend, don't make you immune
from being criticize by Freedom. We tell the Gambian story as it unfolds.

As intimated to you during our phone conversation, your press release came
as a spam mail. Our server for some reasons could not allow it in. Thanks to
other sister papers, we read your "wild and unsubstantiated" allegations
against our fine men and women of the press. This paper had in the past
published your pieces and would continue to publish your pieces despite our
dissenting views on issues. We hope our explanation would help in this
regard.

Finally, we want to reaffirm our call for Coach and co to steep down. It
tantamount to doing disservice to one's community, when there is no serious
leadership put in place to run GPU USA. Winning an election is a good thing,
but having the ability to deliver the goods is another thing. Since the
current executive is not accountable to its membership,  it should step down
for now and allow investigators to probe their past activities. We hope our
piece would be read in the sprit of unionism , transparency and
accountability. We look for the day, when GPU USA would be accountable to
its membership, donors and well wishers. We thank you for your attention.
Peace.
Posted on Saturday, June 23, 2007 (Archive on Monday, July 23, 2007)
Posted by PNMBAI  Contributed by PNMBAI
Return <http://www.freedomnewspaper.com/Homepage/tabid/36/Default.aspx>

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