Author: Yusef Taylor

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Every year the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for African Governance Report ranks African countries in various categories and hands out prizes to African leaders in an effort to promote and monitor good governance in Africa. The last winner of the Mo Ibrahim Prize was Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who last won it in 2017, since then no African leader won the prize last year, sparking deep reflection across the African continent on Good Governance. This is what the Mo Ibrahim Foundation said about their 2017 Laureate “in very difficult circumstances, she helped guide her nation towards…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Earlier in May 2019 Gainako’s Flex Dan published an article in which the Justice Minister Hon. Ababacarr Tambedu laid out plans for Electoral Reforms with Political Parties set to conclude in August 2019. The timeline below was extracted from his detailed plan on Electoral Reforms. The Justice Ministry has its workload cut out as it continues to spearhead the Government’s numerous reform efforts. In December 2019 the draft Constitution will be submitted to the Executive which will also keep his Ministry occupied. Not to mention other areas of reform including Security Sector Reforms, the Truth Reconciliation and…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Two staff from Banjul City Council (BCC) have written a report detailing their trip to China focusing on “Human Resources Development for The Gambia”. BCC Public Relations Officer, Modou Lamin B Bah and Acting License Manager, Pa Modou Ndow have co-authored a report summarizing lessons learned and recommendations developed after their three-week trip to Nanchang China. The training was organised by Jiangxi College of Foreign studies and sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. Rationale and Methodology According to the report the rationale for the trip is for knowledge sharing and…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT What are the chances that the very premises which now serves as the center for The Gambia’s Truth Commission into human rights violations during former President Yahya Jammeh’s 22 year rule was actually stolen by the same man and used by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA)? A Janneh Commission Report details how Jammeh fraudulently used a bank account owned by the Gambia National Petroleum Company (GNPC) to purchase Dunes Hotel Resort back in 2014. According to the Janneh Commission “investigations have revealed that the property was used by the NIA for their operations”. Just last week…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT The earliest mention of any Gambian Constitution in the National Archives and National Museum detected by Gainako was in 1947. This came hot off the heels of the 1945 Fifth Pan African Congress. As far back as 1920 Edward Francis Small embarked on a journey to Ghana that would initiate the struggle towards an Independent Gambia. Pa Small as he was commonly known attended and represented The Gambia at the 1920 National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA). The main resolution of that Congress was the famous slogan “no taxation without representation”, which Pa Small took…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT In September 2019, both Petrol and Diesel prices dropped by one Gambian Dalasis from August 2019. In October, Petrol prices declined by 75 bututs per liter while Diesel prices increased by one Dalasis. The latest prices for fuel per liter in October 2019 are D52.06 for Petrol and D53.38 for Diesel. These price fluctuations highlight the fact that Diesel has been more expensive that Petrol for most of the year. Even though Petrol has been more expensive than Diesel for 5 months and the remaining 5 months has witnessed the reverse the yearly average price to…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Three year old Daniel Appiah abducted yesterday afternoon, 30th September 2019, has now been reunited with his family. Daniel was found yesterday in a gutter in Ebo-Town. At time of reporting his return he was with Police and is set to receive medical attention at the Hospital soon after. According to concerned family members a lady heard a scream and went to his aid where she found the little boy in a gutter with bruises on his neck, ears and nose. The lady then took him to the Police Station where Officers advised her to take…

By Cecile Jatta and Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT Irregular Migration has been a persistent “thorn on the side” of African countries and The Gambia is no exception. Besides being the smallest mainland country in Africa, in 2016 The Gambia was one of the highest contributors of irregular migrants through North Africa’s Sahara Dessert, across the Mediterranean Sea and into Europe. Locally known as the “backway”, this is the route of choice for most migrants imbued with reckless courage to brave the harsh terrain and resist dangerous rebels. At the end of the journey it’s estimated that only half of the migrants…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT A three year old boy named Daniel Appiah has been reported missing at Serrekunda, near garage Barthez. Family members say little Daniel pictured in the photo was wearing a blue shirt with white text and is suspected to have been abducted. According to eyewitnesses he went missing between the hours of 13:00hrs and 15:00hrs on 30th September 2019 in afternoon while playing with his friends. His family are deeply concerned as his friends, all small children, say that he was taken away after a tall man approached him and walked away with him. This happened near…

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT On 10th September 2019, Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadeu filed a “nolle prosecui,” dropping all charges against 30 of the 37 youths who had been held in Mile II since August 27th. The 37 were arrested in August for their alleged involvement in July arson attacks on the house of Gorgi Mboob, deputy police commissioner of the Anti-Crime Unit (ACU), and the Bakoteh Police Station. Interestingly enough Officers from Gorgi Mboob’s ACU conducted mass arrests of some 40 people, suspected to have burnt down his house. As head of the ACU it would have been prudent for…