By Edrissa Jallow This is the maiden edition of the Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter (GPN), a monthly newsletter on the activities of the Gambia’s National Assembly. It aims to increase awareness and understanding of Parliamentary proceedings and engagements through publications from journalists that report directly from Parliament. The first edition is written and produced by three journalists; one from Foroyaa in the person of Kebba AF Touray and two from Gainako Online News in the persons of Edrissa Jallow and Yusef Taylor. The newsletter is designed by Alieu Bobb and printed with support from R&A Designs. It is the intention of…
Author: Edrissa Jallow
Edrissa Jallow
Edrissa Jallow is a journalist with over three years of experience working for two online media platforms. Mr Jallow joined Gainako News during the Nomination process for the December 2021 Presidential Elections. Since joining Gainako, Mr Jallow has published over 50 stories in less than a year. He is currently a final year student at the Media Academy for Journalism and Communications (MAJaC), a leading journalism training institution in The Gambia. Mr Jallow is currently the Project Manager of The Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter and reports extensively on Parliamentary proceedings.
By Edrissa Jallow On Saturday 23rd April 2022 the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) alongside media personnel patrolled some fourteen (14) settlements affected by the Foni Crisis. The Office of the Vice President and the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) released a Rapid Assessment Report on 18th March 2022 indicating that some 10 thousand people were affected after attacks between Senegalese soldiers and MFDC Separatists in the southern Gambia Senegal border next to Casamance. Lieutenant Colonel Omar Bojang, the commander of the GAF QRF 1 Patrol Team told the media that the GAF conducts patrols at least five times a week…
By Edrissa Jallow Newly-elected Deputy Minority Leader, Hon Madi Ceesay of Serrekunda West has urged Gambian Parliamentarians to rescue the Gambia from President Adama Barrow and corrupt individuals. Speaking shortly after being sworn in for his second term, Hon Ceesay told Gainako in an exclusive interview that “Parliament has to save Gambians because [President] Barrow cannot save this country. [President] Barrow is ruining this country, so the Sixth legislature, it is incumbent on us to make sure that we save this country from the people who have taken our money left, right and centre. This has to stop”. One way…
By Edrissa Jallow, @EdrissaJallow10 Gender-based Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Fantanka, commemorated the April 10th and 11th 2000 Students Massacre at Brikamaba Upper and Senior Basic Secondary school where two victims recounted the traumatic experiences they faced when 15 people were killed including two at Brikamaba. The theme for the commemoration was “Remembering Victims and Survivors” of Human Rights Violations. The event which took place at Brikamaba Upper and Senior Secondary School in Central River Region was the first time Binta Manneh appeared in public to narrate her traumatic ordeal which triggered the student’s protest and eventual killings. After Binta was…
By Edrissa Jallow The Center for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass) has released its latest opinion poll titled ‘post-election opinion survey 2022’ to journalists for the upcoming National Assembly Elections scheduled for Saturday 9th April 2022. According to the CepRass Parliamentary Poll, 50% of respondents intend to cast their votes for President Adama Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP). Launching the poll at the National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) CepRass on Wednesday 6th March 2022, Senior Consultant Dr Mustapha Jobarteh revealed that a large proportion of respondents haven’t shown an intention to vote. The report presented three scenarios that could occur…
By Edrissa Jallow Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in partnership with West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) conducted its second stakeholder dialogue series with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) at SeneGambia Beach Hotel on 5th April 2022. The first engagement was conducted in Senegal Dakar. The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre was established as an institution of the Ghana Armed Forces in 1998 and commissioned in 2004 by the government of Ghana. The dialogue focused on promoting peace and security in West Africa through the implementation of the ECOWAS Conflict Prevention Framework (ECPF) in an attempt to…
By Edrissa Jallow Two independent candidates vying for the Foni Bondali seat on 9th April urged the Government to relocate Senegalese Forces located in the Foni Region to avert any future clashes with MFDC Separatists. The statements were made by two National Assembly candidates at the Commission on Political Debates final Parliamentary Elections debate at Mayork Basic Secondary School Hall on Thursday 31st March 2022. Although four candidates vying for the Foni Bondali seat confirmed their participation, only two independent candidates in Ousman Jallow and Ousman Marcus Nyassi faced each other at the town hall debate. The two candidates who confirmed…
By Edrissa Jallow The Commission on Political Debates (CPD) with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) held its second debate ahead of the Parliamentary Elections scheduled for 9th April 2022 at Ndow’s Comprehensive School Hall on Saturday 26th March 2022. The debate provided an opportunity for candidates contesting for the Serekunda West Parliamentary seat to present their ideas on how to strengthen Parliament’s oversight functions and combat corruption. Attendance was a tale of two halves with three out of six candidates attending the debate and three candidates failing to grace the podium. The candidates that honoured the invitation…
By Edrissa Jallow, @EdrissaJallow10 The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) issued a set of Media Rules for election coverage restricting Political Advertisement to a maximum of 10 minutes per candidate per day during Election Campaign Periods. According to the Commission, Section 94 and 95 of the Elections Act mandates that only Radio Stations approved by the Commission can air political advertisements. The media rules were shared with members of the media and civil society organisations on 2nd March 2022. The IEC’s Chief Electoral Officer, Samboujang Njie highlighted that the media should respect the cooling-off period and gave two examples where TV Stations…
By Edrissa Jallow On the final sitting of the National Assembly’s Fifth Legislature, the Speaker of the House Hon Mariama Jack Denton opened the floor for National Assembly Members (NAMs) to participate in the Adjournment debate on 28th February 2022. Various NAMs seized the opportunity to urge government institutions to take responsibility for the issues hindering the development of their constituencies. NAM for Banjul North, Hon Ousman Sillah of the PDOIS noted some of the challenges in his constituency and called on the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Environment and the Office of the Vice President to address the…