ZIGUINCHOR, Senegal (Reuters) – Senegal’s President Macky Sall pledged on Thursday to build a $500 million railway linking the capital, Dakar, to the southern Casamance region, cut off for years by insecurity and underinvestment. Currently visiting Casamance, Sall said he planned to offer incentives including tax breaks to tourist operators who invest in the zone, which was once a popular French holiday destination but has endured years of neglect and low-level rebellion. Casamance is a fertile, beach-fringed chunk of Senegal wedged between Gambia to the north and Guinea-Bissau to the south. Mediators have failed to end a separatist rebellion…
Author: Gainako
By Momodou Ndow The idea of fighting for Independence, gaining it, and self-rule sounds pretty romantic, right? But as Gambia celebrates 50 years of Independence, I’m not looking at the “romantic” aspect, but the “reality” aspect instead. Where are we after 50 years? That is the question. Some argue that we should all be patriotic and celebrate Gambia for her beauty and culture in her 50th year of nationhood, and not ask questions or utter unfavorable comments. But is that what celebrating our Independence means? First, let’s look at what Independence means. Independence is a condition of a nation,…
18 February 1965 saw the Union Jack lowered and the Gambian flag raised. We became a nation that is called The Gambia. Britain did not believe that Gambia will survive as a nation. For some 18 February 1965 is only significant as a day marking “the birth of an improbable nation”. But here we are today celebrating fifty years of nationhood. As we celebrate fifty years of nationhood we must congratulate and pay tribute to those who led us to independence, those men and women who with dedication and determination laid a solid foundation for nation building. Let us…
Will The Minnesota Federal Courts Deliver Justice? Part 5 By Yero Jallow “If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected–those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most!–and listens to their testimony” –JAMES BALDWIN, The Price of the Ticket. After I ran part 1 to 4 on whether the Minnesota Federal Courts will deliver justice in the trial of the trio (Papa Faal, Cherno Njie, and Alhagie Saidy Barrow), I wanted make the…
PDOIS STATEMENT AFTER NATIONAL REFLECTIONS ON THE 30TH DECEMBER INSURGENCY 15TH FEBRUARY 2015 ISSUED BY HALIFA SALLAH ON BEHALF OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE The Central Committee of PDOIS has had a briefing on all the shades of opinion expressed by the sovereign Gambian people and members of the international community on the 30th December armed insurrection and has seen the need to put its appraisal across with the hope of influencing national and international public opinion on the way forward for the Gambian people. History teaches us that people have their diverse interests and aspirations but each situation…
By Mathew K Jallow In the short space of little over two and half decades, the clamor for political independence had become a continent-wide movement that significantly altered global politics and the political dynamics between the colonized and colonizers. For post-colonial Africa, it was a revolutionary era that ushered in hopeful signs, which quickly degenerated into the tyrannical recolonization of a continent. On a February 18thday, in 1965, I was one of many students who witnessed the lowering of Great Britain’s Union Jack for the very last time, and the ascension, in its place, of a newly independent Gambian flag.…
By Abdul Savage FIRST and FOREMOST, let me make a disclaimer here that this author is aware and tracking that currently emotions and sentiments are high, given recent developments. In this background, it will be extremely difficult to set aside emotions and use professional judgment. As such, this piece is presented in the context of professional viewpoint and you, the readers, are likewise urged to set aside emotions and use professional judgment. FURTHER, allow this author to add to the disclaimer here, from a professional and personal point of view, given the current high tempo surrounding recent events, of…
Preview of December 30th, Failed Coup: An investigative reporting It would be an understatement for any Gambian with a sound mind to take the events of December 30th, 2014 lightly. Not only does the event have significant political implications on the nation, but it has cost lives of Gambian citizens and thousands of innocent families have been subjected to arrest, torture and detention for several weeks and months including minors. The trauma and wounds caused by that incident will forever remain unhealed especially for those who lost love ones. It is the duty of every Gambian who wants nothing but…
Will The Minnesota Federal Courts Deliver Justice? Part 4 By Yero Jallow “The invincibility of our cause and the certainty of our final victory are the impenetrable armor of those who consistently uphold their faith in freedom and justice in spite of political persecution” (Nelson Mandela. Culled from the web https://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/i-am-prepared-to-die on 2/15/2015). Part 4 of the series will focus on Alhagie Saidy Barrow. Perhaps Mandela’s legacy never fails to represent. What crime has Barrow committed? What will be considered true justice for him? What is his personality? What evidence does the U.S Government have against Barrow? These questions no…
Vision 2016 or Delusion 2016 – Anti-Rice Importation Policy. By: PPP Media. Dictator Yaya Jammeh is attempting to re-invent the Economic wheel… You are all hereby forewarned! The rob Peter and pay Paul, monkey work and baboon chop economic policies have failed for all to see now. In the last budget speech of 2014, even the finance minister had admitted as much, but that has not stopped Jammeh from throwing more parties to celebrate illusionary or delusional achievements. The recent Economist article on The Gambia authoritatively confirms that, it’s bad management of the economy, directly tied to the policies of…