How many political parties have an up to date manifesto clearly articulating their intended governance philosophy and priority programs to improve the nation’s quality of life? I don’t know the answer but if I have to bet I would say only PDOIS. Isn’t that in itself very telling?. Where’re the program brochures/documents of any Gambian Civil Society Organization (CSO) showing what problem(s) they exist for, their intended solutions and processes to achieve their goals? All I hear people say is we’re going to coordinate. What are you to coordinate? I have so far not seen any plan of action of…
Author: Gainako
I want to speak for my rights, but I was threaten to be jailed, if what I say is not liked by the government. “Just keep quiet and mind your business,” as if what I am saying is not my business. So I keep my quiet. I want to speak to the Member of Parliament and ask him not to be a scarecrow in the millions-of-dollar Assembly building and speak the truth about his people, their conditions and needs. But he said I do not understand that he is constitutionally compelled to agree. So I keep my quiet.…
With the appointment of Pakistan’s Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan as Chief Justice of the Gambia, President Jammeh appears to be onto something. He has exhausted the list of Nigerian Judges who are willing to carry out his injustices in the Gambia. Most Ghanian Judges appears to be not comfortable serving another dictator in Africa. The last Chief Justice, the first female ever to serve as Chief Justice in Gambia barely lasted six months reportedly because of her background and possible pressure from the Commonwealth which sent her to Gambia as technical aid in the first place. Now after…
If you have an idea on why Yaya Jammeh and the APRC are continually targeting the UDP supporters for torture, humiliation and persecution and what can be done at national and international level to stop it, please join in by calling 425-312-1800. Topic: Stopping the Arrest & persecution of UDP Supporters!! Date: Sunday March 9th 2014 Time: 3.00pm CST/4.00pm EST Guests: Karamba Touray & Demba Baldeh. We are yet to confirm on some other expected guests. Note: It is entirely open to the general public. Remember Martin Niemoller’s common quote below. “First they came for the communists, and I did not…
BANJUL: The Gambia has appointed a Pakistani legal expert Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan as the country’s next chief justice, replacing the Ghanaian Mabel Agyemang who was sacked after a short spell in charge. According to media reports on Friday, Internationally renowned Justice Ali Nawaz Chowhan took the oath of office in the presence of Gambian President Dr. Yahya Jammeh on Thursday after he was confirmed to the position. Speaking at the occasion, the president thanked the new judiciary boss and the two judges for accepting the challenge, assuring of his government’s commitment to ensuring quality dispensation of justice.…
By Yero Jallow As we follow court cases in the Gambia, it is quite saddening to see the open persecution of UDP supporters, especially the many active ones participating in active politics. One is tempted to ask: Why the open arrests, tortures and persecution of UDP members continually with similar patterns? In my view, the answer is not farfetched. In this piece, I relied on some of UDP’s many cases, which in my view are politically motivated and a direct target on the UDP. The then 64-year old UDP strongman Femi Peters Senior was arrested in March 2010; charged for…
‘A National Democracy’ Agenda for The Republic of citizen activists without direct/special alliances with some groups would have served our cause better. It would disentangle us from the vices of Gambia’s undeveloped party politicking. Over time it would appeal to all citizens equally as a people cause and not an agenda for someone/group to be propel to power. At an instant it may appear as the opposition parties are the natural allies of our struggle. Considering government is the source of our problems it’s logical to reason so. Flipping that same coin would mean if the opposition become government…
By Sidi Sanneh The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Resident Representative in The Gambia, Mr. Kagabo Gaston Mpatswe lamented at the deterioration of the Gambian economy, especially in the second half of last year. He reiterated the Fund’s November 2013 mission findings and recommendations. Despite persistent IMF warnings, the fiscal and current account deficits continue to widen which the IMF Resident Representative seem to attribute to “spending pressures” that led to the “large fiscal slippages.” Interest rates continue to climb because of government domestic borrowing habit which the IMF seem to be helpless in reining in, causing the private…
By Mathew K Jallow I had a dream. Not a Martin Luther King Jr. dream. A Mathew Kali Jallow dream! I was home in Gambia and everything looked strange. I was out of my depth. Yet naivety did not take me back. My dream did. Home had turned into a whole new world of conflict and contradictions. And I was caught in its crossfire. I was a sitting duck in the crosshairs in an invisible war that lent pungency to the fear marked on peoples’ faces. Sere kunda was bustling. But not how you think. It was a…