By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT The first part of the 2023 Local Government Elections was concluded on Saturday 15th April 2023 where some 120 Councillors were elected across Eight Administrative Regions. This article compares the 2018 local government elections results with the latest results to assess the parties that have gained and lost grounds ahead of the Mayoral and Chairperson Elections set for 20th May 2023. Many have indicated that the recent Councillors’ elections are an indication of voters’ preference for the Mayoral and Chairperson Elections. Biggest Winners Looking at the table above which uses data from the Independent Electoral Commission…
Author: Yusef Taylor
Yusef Taylor
Yusef Taylor, commonly known as Flex Dan is an editor and practising journalist based in the Gambia with a keen interest in human rights, the economy and good governance among many others. He continues to break news on the economy, human rights violations and is highly engaged in security sector reforms, constitutional reform and the transition of the Gambia from dictatorship to a democracy, the NewGambia. Yusef has been working with Gainako as a media practitioner from 2015 to date. He has a degree in Civil Engineering with 5 years of Design Consultancy experience.
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Just months after winning his second five-year mandate, President Adama Barrow promised Banjul Muslim Elders a whole raft of reforms set for the Civil Service. In the same month, President Barrow established the new Ministry of Public Service, Administrative Reforms and Policy. The speech was overshadowed by the President’s thinly veiled threat to civil society advocate, Madi Jobarteh whom he castigated in his speech. However, during his speech delivered on 2nd May 2022 on Eid Al Fitr, President Barrow promised to establish an Inspectorate Team that he says will visit “every Ministry every day to monitor…
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT The National Assembly Member for Kombo South, Hon Kebba K Barrow has informed the Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter on how he spent his 2022 Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and his plans for 2023. The CDF is a central government annual allocation of D300,000 to all 53 elected parliamentarians to implement projects in their community. First introduced in Parliament in 2021, National Assembly members (NAMs) access the funds by agreeing on the project to implement with their constituents and identify contractors to do the job. The Clerk then proceeds to handle all the financial payments with the contractor…
“You have no qualifications to be Speaker” Busumbala NAM Berates Speaker Jatta By Arret Jatta and Yusef Taylor During the adjournment debate of the First Ordinary Session of the 2023 Legislative Year, held on 30th March 2023, the Member for Busumbala Constituency, Hon Muhammed Kanteh berated the Speaker of the Sixth Legislature, Hon Fabakary Tombong Jatta, who he says “has no qualifications to obtain” the position of Speaker. Instead, Hon Kanteh noted that Speaker Jatta’s “only qualification — is [a] PTC” and was rewarded with the Speaker position after he masterminded “forming an alliance with the ruling party,” National People’s Party…
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Two new deaths have occurred in 2023 from Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) increasing the number of children dead from 70 in 2022 to 72 by 22nd March 2023. Health Minister Hon Dr Lamin Samateh made an appearance to respond to Parliament’s AKI Report approved with amendments in December 2022. During the Health Minister’s submission, the Member for Janjanbureh Hon Omar Jammeh asked a question on the death of two more children in January and March 2023. However, Deputy Speaker Hon Seedy S. K. Njie who was the acting Speaker of the day interjected to stop the…
GPN AKI Edition Chronicles Parliament and Government’s Response to the Death of 72 Children By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT The National Assembly conducted an investigation of the Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) Outbreak which claimed the lives of some 72 Children in late 2022 and early 2023. The latest Gambia Parliamentary Newsletter (GPN) highlights that the Minister of Health Dr Lamin Samateh is expected to appear before the Parliament tomorrow 28th March 2023 to report on his Ministry’s implementation of their Parliamentary Report. Download the GPN AKI Special Edition on this link 2023-03-27 GPN 7th Edition So far two deaths have occurred…
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan-YT World Football’s Governing Institution FIFA, has announced the re-election of Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino on Thursday 16th March 2023. The election which was confirmed on the Official FIFA website announced that “Gianni Infantino receives mandate to begin second term as FIFA President during the 73rd FIFA Congress”. However, prominent news media France 24 noted that Infantino was first elected in 2016 after succeeding the disgraced Sepp Blatter and has now been elected for his third term. This article looks at the terms of the FIFA President and why he may serve for “four terms” including one three-year…
By Yusef Taylor and Edward Francis Dalliah UNESCO Representative Ms Ojoma Ochai revealed to stakeholders in the arts, culture and creative sector that The Gambia was the first country to submit its 2019 Quadrennial Periodic Report in the new format. The UNESCO Rep made this revelation during a whole-day engagement with stakeholders from the arts, culture and creative sector including organisations such as the Music Union, the Writers Association of The Gambia, the Film Makers Association, Civil Society Organisations like Team Gom Sa Bopa, creatives and much more. Held on 14th March 2023 at The Gambia’s National Museum in Banjul…
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT On the surface, the 2023 Budget approved by the Sixth Legislature and the Draft 2023 Budget submitted by the Minister of Finance appear similar but upon close inspection, some significant changes can be detected. Our comparison of the Draft and Approved 2023 Budget shows an increase of over D3.7 billion in grants in the Approved 2023 Budget. Every year Gainako publishes a comparison of The Gambia’s Draft Budget laid in Parliament by the Minister of Finance and the Approved Budget passed by Parliament. This exercise highlights the Institutions where Parliamentarians sanctioned cuts and additions. Our first…
By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT With just over a month to the upcoming Local Government Elections, Gambian President Adama Barrow has sworn in a “Commission of Inquiry into the Conduct of Local Councils” much to the dismay of the seven opposition-led Councils. Our findings reveal that at least two of the Commissioners sworn in on Friday 24th February 2023 are members of President Barrow’s National People’s Party (NPP) which has been at loggerheads with his former United Democratic Party (UDP). Seven out of the eight Councils are under the leadership of the UDP with only one belonging to the NPP after…