Author: Gainako

All Praise is for Allah, the Lord of the Universe. The Most Gracious, the most Merciful, Master of the Day of Judgement. You *alone* we worship, from You *alone* we seek help. Guide us to the straight path. The path of those whom You have favoured, not of those who earned Your anger nor of those who went astray *or who are misguided*”. Ameen. I intend to take this great and wonderful opportunity to ask for forgiveness to all those that I have wronged or may have wronged on our short journey here on earth, be it intentionally or unintentionally,…

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By Momodou Ndow Watch the mic! It is hot sensitive and intoxicating Covered by cumulonimbus clouds the airwaves hang low Ten feet from the ground and twenty thousand feet high So dark so heavy and so full of moisture Voices pouring down like monsoon rain with clapping thunder Watch the mic! It is hot sensitive and intoxicating. Thunder loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss Full of misinformation false accusations and blah blah blah Houses flooded parents and other family members get washed away Down the river Gambia they go leaving dirty laundry behind Watch the mic! It is…

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Report on CORDEG: May 2014 It is vital in the life of all organizations, including CORDEG, to take stock or assess its initial objectives against accomplishments to chart future directions. Given that a year has elapsed since Raleigh’s historic May 2013 Convention, it is only fitting that a preliminary assessment, tentative as it is, be undertaken. This report briefly discusses: (a) CORDEG’s Electoral Process leading to the elections of its Executive Committee, as well as accusations of election-engineering, which putatively resulted in a Wolof-dominated-organization; (b) CORDEG’s Strengths; (c) CORDEG’s problems and challenges, and the way forward, and (d) Summary.…

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Abuja, Nigeria, July 1, 2014-Gambian police should stop harassing a journalist over a story highlighting human trafficking in the country, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Sanna Camara, a journalist with The Standard , was today summoned to police headquarters in the capital Banjul over a June 27 story titled “Police admit ‘problems’ with human trafficking,” Camara told CPJ. The story was based on an interview with police spokesman David Kujabi, in reaction to the U.S. State Department’s 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report which cited the Gambia as “a source and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.”…

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Reports reaching Gainako this evening has it that Momodou Sabally Secretary General and Minister for Presidential Affairs has been removed as Secretary General and Minister for Presidential Affairs with immediate effect. Mr.  Sabally who has little or no experience in the Civil Service. He served at the Central Bank as an economic analyst and was briefly appointed as Director of Budgets at the ministry of finance before his appointment as Secretary General and head of the Civil Service. He has since been deployed to the ministry of Higher Education. Mr.  Sabally has reportedly been replaced by Abdoulie Sallah former Secretary…

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By Mathew K Jallow The shocking resignation from CORDEG, of GDAG, the principal organizer of the historic Raleigh Conference, under the leadership of Alkali Conteh, followed soon by more resignations of three senior CORDEG executives; Jaineba Bah, Lamin Tunkara and Demba Dem, is significant in many ways. It is significant not so much for the existence any sense of irreconcilable differences, but because the protagonists reflect strategically and perhaps even deep philosophical differences, which CORDEG was unable or unwilling to reconcile in a timely manner. No matter how it got to this point, it is, at this juncture,…

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  By Abubacarr Saidykhan Confirmed information’s reaching us, have it, that the Government of the Republic of the Gambia under the leadership of President Jammeh, has recently in March 2014, extended a formal invitation to two UN Special Rapporteurs on the question of torture and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit the country for a fact- finding mission. This eight day country visit to the Gambia has been proposed to take place from the 11-18 of August 2014 this year. The primordial objective of this fact-finding country…

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BY Abdul Savage THIS Article, like with all my articles, and public pronouncements, are considered public domain. So, please feel free to share with any and all audience, in any and all settings or medium, Facebook, Twitter, etc, in order to provoke and stimulate discussions, which I hope will lead to fruitful action. Please note that I do not qualify the “fruitful action” here, and so I intentionally leave that open. And this is why I titled this piece like that: All kinds and varieties of dishes are being served, and by all kinds of “cooks”, from self-proclaimed experts…

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Excitement is indeed building around the upcoming first White House African Heads of State Summit, which will take place in Washington between  August 4 – 6th.  President Barack Obama will be welcoming about 50 African leaders to Washington for a series of discussions and meetings around ideas to increase US trade and investment on the continent.  The Constituency for Africa proposed the idea for the Summit to President Obama at the on-set of his presidency in early 2009. While much of the Washington Africa policy community is now operating in high gear lobbying for agenda items, and staking out opportunities to engage African…

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Re: Betrayal of Trust By Yero Jallow Matt, I just wanted to stretch your response to my piece. While appreciating your rejoinder and for reading me, I wanted to state that you missed the point of my argument. Nonetheless, I still welcome some of your points and the mild way you constructed the piece, even though this is just the start of a lengthy debate. Overall, healthy debate and feel free to rebut on any point you disagree with, as and when time permits you. You referenced the word “temperamental” from my piece and claim not to know its…

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