*Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue*
**

*Issue No. 31/2006, 24-26 April, 2006*

* *
*Editorial*
**
THE RELEASES CONTINUE


FOROYAA welcomes the releases of Mr. Madi Ceesay, President, Gambia Press
Union (GPU), Mr. Musa Saidykhan, Vice President of the GPU and the rest. As
a newspaper, we are also very concerned with the continued detention of
Lamin Fatty of The Independent Newspaper. The occupation of the premise of
the Independent Newspaper has also been very detrimental to the normal
operations of the paper. The journalists who used to earn their daily bread
from writing have been undergoing tremendous hardship. The government and
the security agents should always bear in mind that Newspapers are both
instruments for the amplification of the voices of the people as well as a
source of income for many young Gambian journalists. Closing a press down
without any court action is a tragedy. A government which aims to preserve
its national and international integrity must not do anything that makes
life difficult for its citizenry. It will always rely on the courts after 72
hours of detention to ensure accountability.

We therefore hope that the government will recognize the letter and spirit
of section 207 of the constitution which states that "the press and other
information media shall at all times be free to uphold principles,
provisions and objectives of the constitution and the responsibility and
accountability of the government to the people of the Gambia."

The people of the Gambia maintains through the principle of the constitution
that:

a.         Every person shall have the right to liberty and security of
person;

b.         That no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention;

c.         That within three hours a detainee should know the cause of
his/her arrest and be granted the right to consult a legal practitioner;

d.         That a person who is arrested and is not released should be
brought before a court without undue delay and, in any event, within
seventy-two hours;

e.         That a person charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed
innocent until proven guilty; and

f.          That property of any description shall not be occupied
compulsorily without relying on conditions stipulated by law.

We hope the government that is elected to safeguard the general welfare of
the people will do its utmost to get its agents to act in accordance with
the laws designed to protect fundamental rights and freedoms. This is the
way to promote peace, stability and development.


MAYOR JENG CHARGED

The State law office has instituted legal action against the Mayor of
Banjul, Pa Sallah Jeng. According to the indictment, Mayor Jeng is charged
with various counts of criminal offences ranging from illegal acquisition of
public property to intentional act or omission that is detrimental to the
economy of The Gambia. Below are the charges preferred against Mayor Jeng.

*Count: 1*

Corrupt or dishonest abuse of office by a public officer for private benefit
contrary to section 5 (g) of the Economic Crimes Decree 1994, Decree No. 16
and punishable under section 6 of the same decree.

*Particulars of Offence*

Pa Sallah Jeng as Mayor of Banjul on or about the 19th day of August 2005,
corruptly or dishonestly abused his office by directing the council's Chief
Executive officer to pay the sum of D10, 000 (ten thousand dalasis) to EAP
Printing Press for printing, 1000 (one thousand) copies of his booklets
entitled "In my Time" for his Printing press benefit.

*Count 2*

The statement of offence for count 2 reads: Illegal or dishonest acquisition
of the property of a public body by a public officer contrary to section 5
(d) of the Economic Crimes Decree 1994, Decree No. 16 and punishable under
Section 6 of the same decree.

*Particular of Offence*

Pa Sallah Jeng, being a public officer at the Banjul City Council between
2002 and 2005, illegally or dishonestly received per diem payments at the
rate of £130 ( one hundred and thirty pounds) per day over and above the
official allowance of £100 (one hundred pounds) per day and thereby caused
financial loss to Banjul City Council.

*Count 3 *

In count 3, Mayor Jeng is charged for intentional act or omission
detrimental to the economy of The Gambia contrary to section 5 (f) of the
Economic Crimes Decree 1994, Decree No. 16 and punishable under section 6 of
the same decree.

*Particular of Offence*

Pa Sallah Jeng as Mayor of Banjul City Council between the months of January
and February 2005, in breach of section 45 of The Gambia Public Procurement
Act and regulation 12 of The Gambia Public Procurement Regulations,
intentionally single sourced and directed the purchase of a second hand
towing ambulance for a sum of D340, 000 (Three hundred and forty thousand
dalasis) to the detriment of the economy of The Gambia.

*Count 4*

Count 4 charges the offence, international act or omission detrimental to
the economy of The Gambia contrary to section 5 (f) of the Economic Crimes
Decree 1994, Decree No. 16 and punishable under section 6 of the same
decree.

*Particulars of Offence*

Pa Sallah Jeng, as Mayor of Banjul City Council between the months of
September and November 2003 intentionally single sourced and directed the
purchase of three compactors for the sum of D1, 500, 000 (one million five
hundred thousand dalasis) in violation of section 45 of The Gambia Public
Procurement Act and section 12 of The Gambia Public Procurement Regulations
to the detriment of the economy of The Gambia.

*Count 5*

Count 5 states that Mayor Jeng is charged with "abuse of office by a public
officer contrary of section 90 of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume III Laws
of The Gambia 1990.

*Particulars of Offence         *

Pa Sallah Jeng as Mayor of Banjul City Council between the months of October
and December 2004, in abuse of the authority of his office, personally
singled source and forcefully directed the Banjul City Council to pay the
sum of D50, 000 for a second hand 25 KVA generator already installed at
Banjul City Council Premises without the required approval. The case is
scheduled for 27 th April 2005.


COALITIONS, 2ND LEGS OF COUPS

*By Yaya Dampha and Annia B. Gaye*

In an exclusive interview with Mr. Henry Gomez, the leader of The Gambia
people's Democratic Party at his headquarters in West Field area. The leader
of the newly formed political party said that coalitions are second legs of
coups d'etat? He said his visit to the President recently was to work with
him together, for the development of The Gambia. He said that The Gambia
does not belong to anybody and that it belongs to all of us, Gambians. Mr.
Gomez said as a leader it is always good to have influence in politics. He
said every leader of a political party has the right to visit the President
and talk about how the country should be run. He said that his party has
signed no document with the ruling APRC party yet. But he was quick to state
that he does not mean saying "No" or "Yes" to both APRC and NADD. He said
his visit to the President was to introduce himself as a leader of a
democratic party, ready to work for the development of the country. He said
the GPDP, working with the APRC, shall never be melted by the APRC. He said
GPDP will always stand as a party to congratulate Jammeh when he does good
or castigate him when he does wrong or bad. He said the APRC should always
be ready to face punishment from GPDP when they do bad as he will not accept
anything bad in this country from both the opposition and APRC.

On whether he intends to form an alliance with APRC, Mr. Gomez said that if
one looks closely at both the GPDP and APRC manifestos one would realise
that they have a lot of similarities when it comes to developing the nation.
In that case the two can form an alliance, as long as both of them respect
the two manifestos, saying "We are ready to work together." The GPDP leader,
however, said this does not mean that they are actually forming an alliance
or a coalition because that needs to be documented and signed which is yet
to be done. Gomez said that elections are far away and it is now time for
development which his party is ready for. When we asked whether there was
need for him to form a political party in the country, when his party's
manifesto was similar to that of the APRC, Mr. Gomez indicated that since
the inter-party MOU was signed, all parties accepted to work with the APRC.
He told our reporters to ask other oppositions parties why they signed that
MOU. He said the GPDP is not a wolf in sheep's clothing. He called on other
opposition leaders to emulate him by showing their love for the country and
its development projects.

He said the NADD leadership should ask themselves where they have seen such
types of coalitions succeeding in this world. He said wherever they succeed,
they end up in chaos. Mr. Gomez took Kenya as his example by saying that
their coalition government cannot even develop a constitution. He said a
coalition is a second name for coups d'etat "because a coalition means
forcing a government to come down. The GPDP leader warned against forming or
joining a coalition party. He further described coalitions as a nickname to
coups d'etat. Mr. Gomez said this is why his party is saying no to all
coalitions and alliances.

On the ten thousand man/woman march, which he attended last Saturday, Mr.
Gomez said he was there to condemn the idea of plotting coups in The Gambia
and Africa. He said the GPDP will die to stop coups. He warned soldiers not
to think that they can become Presidents through plotting coups d'etat.
Henry Gomez said President Jammeh's taking of the country in 1994 was not a
coup d'etat because no one died in the process. He said the July 22nd coup
d'etat was designed by God.

The GPDP leader called on the APRC government to bring the detainees to
court to face justice rather than keeping them. He said they belong to
families and that we are all closely related. He said since every one in The
Gambia boasts of having justice and human rights, the President should
follow suit and show this and be tolerant. He called for a fair trial as a
right of the detainees.

He finally predicted victory at the 2006 election for GPDP.




G/NUT TRADE SEASON IN LIMBO As Farmers Go Unpaid *By Yaya Dampha*

It is months now since the groundnut trade season started, without farmers
being paid their monies.  As always, before the start of the season, farmers
were assured by the state that this year's season would be a different one,
as there would be no credit buying of nuts.  However, credit buying has been
taking place since the start of the trade season.  The farmers, who wished
to sell their produce, have taken them to the seccos and were given
promissory notes. Farmers interviewed by (Foroyaa) all over the country,
complain that it was only once that cash was brought to the seccos for
payment.  This according to a farmer in Salikeni Baddibu has caused many to
lose the confidence of the neighbours who loaned them money to buy ram and
clothes for their families, during the Tobaski feast.

Mr. Saikou Dampha, a farmer in Jappineh said he had taken part of his nuts
to the Secco since January but he still could not get his money.  He said
this had caused him to pile the rest of his groundnuts and carry them to the
Serrekunda market.  When I visited the GGC Depot, in Barra, I discovered
that all the stores there are full with nuts of last year's trade season and
that of this year, transported from the NBD, for onward transportation to
the depot at.  However, these nuts at the GGC depot in Barra started
decomposing due to lengthy storage at the depot.  When I asked the depot
manager he said all their trucks have broken down and now they are relying
on private truck owners who would only come when they are paid.

Efforts to obtain comments from the Secretary of State for Agriculture and
the Managing Director of GGC before going to press have been unsuccessful.
We hope to get their comments this week.



*SOS TOURAY DEFENDS THE JULY 22**nd** COUP D'ETAT*

*By Fabakary B. Ceesay***

The APRC National Mobilizer and Secretary of State for Agriculture, Yankuba
Touray, has defended the July 22nd coup d'etat the Armed Forces in 1994.
According to Mr Touray, before July 22nd 1994, the soldiers received D206 as
their monthly salaries out of which they used D150 to buy a bag of rice and
the remaining D56 could not solve their family problem at home. He noted
that most of these soldiers were bread winners of their families and the
family expected them to contribute a lot, especially in the education of
their brothers and sisters. He said after July 22 1994, the ordinary Gambian
soldier receives D1500, which can solve a lot for them, even though they now
buy a bag of rice for D550. "I want the people to evaluate D1500 and D206
and they will see the answers themselves," he said. SoS Touray also defended
the "10,000 man (woman) March" as a non partisan event, noting that those
who came to the March with the APRC party banner and slogans did so in
support of the party and the President. He further indicated that he is not
surprised by the large turn out of the people to show their maturity for
democracy, their support for the head of state and also their commitment for
a democratic change instead of a violent regime charge. He said that
Gambians have also showed to the world that they are ready to host the
African Union Summit, which is not only for Gambia, but African as a whole.
Mr. Touray asserted that the AU and ECOWAS had passed a lot of resolutions
condemning coups d'etat Africa. "Because we are hosting the AU Summit, so it
is our duty and responsibility to demonstrate to the world that Gambia is
standing by these resolutions." Going further, he called the 10, 000 man
(woman) march as the "voice of the people to denounce any regime change by
any military means." SoS Touray also politicized the march by saying that
"this is the nomination of the APRC Presidential candidate, come October
pools and it clearly shows our victory."


At The National Assembly HALIFA'S REACTION TO THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS

*By Abdoulie G. Dibba*

In reacting to the address delivered by the president on Friday, 31st March
2006, at the National Assembly, the Minority Leader and Member for
Serrekunda Central, Hon. Halifa Sallah, begins his reaction as thus:

 "Hon. Speaker, this is the beginning of the end of our five year term. It
is likely that if there is going to be another presidential address some of
us may be here and some of us may not be here. But what is significant is to
draw the right lessons. I would want to emphasize again that this National
Assembly must register what is dictated by the constitution. The president
has emphasized at page 1 in the last sentence that National Assembly Members
must be more emphatic, critical and objective. If you look at page 56 of the
president's speech, he stated thus: "*It now gives me the greatest pleasure
to declare this session of the National Assembly officially open.*" I want
to emphasize Hon. Speaker that what is often called state opening of
parliament is not rooted in law or the constitution. The notion that the
president officially opens this National Assembly is not rooted in law or
the constitution. Section 97 of the constitution provides for the president
by proclamation, to state the place for the first sitting of the National
Assembly after a general election and to request the speaker to summon a
session of the National Assembly in the event of a declaration of a public
emergency. But section 97 subsection 3 states categorically that: *"Subject
to subsection 1 and 2, the National Assembly shall determine the times of
its sessions.*" So essentially, the dictating of our sessions lies in us.
The president has authority in section 77(1) to address the National
Assembly. Section 77(1) states that *"The president shall at least once in
each year attend a sitting of the National Assembly and address a session on
the condition of the Gambia, the policies of the government, and the
administration of the state."* Essentially, this is a state of the nation
address. I hope that this context, which is a Republican context, will be
differentiated from the constitutional monarchical context, where the
executive remains sovereign. Under a Republic, sovereignty resides with the
people. Hon. Speaker, the president has emphasized that the unity of the
nation must become the cornerstone of our stability and development. He
emphasised that we must put less emphasis on words and more commitment to
practice. He is saying; let actions speak louder than words. So in this
National Assembly, we must make actions speak louder than words. I would go
straight away to allow action to speak louder than words by taking note of
the need to be critical, objective and emphatic. On pages 4 and 5 of the
president's address Hon. Speaker, he spoke of the economy. He said
thus: *"Turning
to the outlook for the Gambian economy, this year is quiet encouraging. A
GDP growth rate of 5 percent was registered in 2005 and 2006. Inflation has
significantly dropped to about 1 percent as of end December 2005 from 4
percent this time last year. The Dalasi has strengthened against major
international currencies and the gross official reserves of the Central Bank
of the Gambia stands at about four months of import cover. This performance
attests to the Gambia's consistent strong commitment to sound and prudent
macro-economic management to ensure growth.*" But Hon. Speaker, if we look
at the budget speech of 2006, page 3 paragraph 9, the Secretary of State for
Finance and Economic Affairs indicated that " *Real growth rate of the
economy is expected to reach 5 percent in 2005, due primarily to a good
rainy season*." Growth in GDP is mainly due to increases in value added in
agriculture. My emphasis is mainly due to increase in value added in
agriculture. Hon. Speaker, if we go straight to agriculture at page 13, the
president said that out of the total estimates production of groundnuts this
year, the commercial crop is estimated to be 30, 000 metric tonnes. In
seasonal paper No.1 of 2005 at page 4, the president indicated that in
consonance with the recommendations of the study, the Gambia Agricultural
Marketing Company (GAMCO) was established and as at 24th February 2005, this
company has disbursed D250 million as crop finance to the cooperative
societies and marketing agents. In this connection so far, about 32, 000
metric tons of groundnuts have been purchased. Hon. Speaker, we are been
told that GDP has increased because of the increases in groundnut production
and here, we are told that we bought more groundnuts last year than what is
available this year. That is really a concern! How can there be an increase
in GDP because of the increase in groundnut production if we could purchase
30, 000 tonnes this year while last year we purchase 32, 000 tonnes? Hon.
Speaker, it is important for us to see that there is statistical jugglery
and we need to become critical of the figures we receive in this National
Assembly. Hon. Speaker, we are told that GAMCO has all the capacity to
purchase the groundnuts of the farmers, but here we are told by the
president that "*overall, more than 10, 000 metric tons representing 33
percent of groundnuts have already been purchased by GAMCO and GGC.
Arrangements for the complete financing of the remaining tonnage are far
advanced and it is expected that by the end of the trade season all the nuts
will be purchased."* So it means that they do not have capacity to purchase
the groundnuts of the farmers. This is what we have been told! What is also
very evident Hon. Speaker is that we have been told in this National
Assembly that GAMCO has to get loan from Guarantee Trust Bank to the tune of
D120 million, guaranteed by the Social Security and Housing Finance
Corporation (SSHFC) and that public corporations have invested in GAMCO as
shares amounting to D57 million. That was last year! So how can this company
at this very stage, this year, lack the capacity to purchase the groundnuts
of the farmers? What happened last year with the profits gained? Where is
the money that was meant for crop financing? But Hon. Speaker we are still
being told that funds for crop financing is being sought, to help these
companies to purchase the groundnuts of the farmers. I think we need to look
into this very critically. We expect companies to really carry on what is
expected of them. Hon. Speaker, we have seen the stage of the economy. We
have been told that because of proper macro-economic management we are
envisaging more grants and more benefits from the Millennium Challenge
Account (MCA). But Hon. Speaker, we have been told clearly by the Secretary
of State for Finance and Economic Affairs in his budget speech that we have
not managed well. At page 10, paragraph 52 of the budget speech, the
Secretary of State indicated that " *the end of 2005 marks the completion of
the Gambia's first Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), implementation
cycle of 3 years. The implementation process has been hindered by a number
of setbacks that has made the overall PRSP process less successful. The most
serious setback was the suspension of the PRGF program by the IMF in 2003
and because of the program suspension; the Gambia could not reach HIPC
completion point as planned in June 2003, as reaching completion point is
conditional on satisfactory implementation of a PRGF. The second setback
which was a direct result of the PRGF suspension was that US$115 million
funds pledged by donors during the 2002 Geneva Round Table Conference on the
Gambia was not disbursed.*" The Secretary of State is emphasizing here and
we must bear that in mind that implementation of PRSP programmes was
undertaken with a lower than anticipated budgetary resources envelop.
Consequently, less than 40 percent of the PRSP programme has been
implemented. So we must bear in mind Hon. Speaker that we must engage in
proper financial management. To improve agriculture Hon. Speaker, it is
mentioned that NARI is doing well. But Hon. Speaker, if you look at the
estimates, and you look at the allocation to NARI, especially on the area of
field study, you would discover that the allocation on field study has been
reduced from D100, 000 (one hundred thousand dalasis) to D60, 000 (sixty
thousand dalasis). So how can anybody say that there is commitment to the
development of agriculture! The same D12, 500, 000.00 (twelve million five
thousand dalasis) that was allocated to NARI in 2005, is the same this year.
So where is the commitment to improve agriculture?

*On Trade*

Hon. Speaker, if we look at the issue of trade it is mentioned *"with the
training and incorporation of the common external tariff programmes, the
Gambia will benefit like many ECOWAS countries to a wider market of 250
million people and with that wider market, we would be able to benefit in
terms of development and employment. *" But the reality is that Hon.
Speaker, the Gambia is depending entirely on the re-export trade to survive.


*To be contd. *


THE BAR EXPRESSES CONCERN

After and outright condemnation of coups d'etat, the Gambia Bar Association
expressed concern that the due process of law must be observed by the
authorities in dealing with detainees. Below is the full text of their press
release.

*The Gambia Bar Association considers the present time the appropriate
moment to express its views on the recent attempted coup d'etat, now that
the dust has largely settled to allow dispassionate, clear, unbiased and
constructive opinions. A coup d'etat is necessarily an attack on legality.*

*As lawyers we condemn without reservation all coups or coup attempts as
among the gravest violations of law with the potential to bring about
mayhem, death, destruction and economic and social decline.*

*Coups constitute an assault on the Constitution of The Republic, which can
result in serious harm to or even cause the demise of democracy and the rule
of law, since coup makers have a tendency to impose dictatorship on the
populace. Any threat to the peace loving people of our beloved country must
be resolutely overcome.*

*The first step is to remind all concerned that coups can be cruel and
divisive, condemned by all Africans and disdained by thoughtful humanity
throughout the world.*

*The Gambia Bar Association reiterates its condemnation of the attempt to
overthrow the Government by illegal means.*

*However, it should always be remembered in dealing with those accused of
attempting a coup that the constitutional provisions should be complied
with. Principally, we emphasise that in The Gambia an accused person under
the law has always been presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of
law.*

*Since, currently no state of emergency has been declared, no one ought to
be detained for more than 72 hours without being taken before the courts for
them to determine whether any particular accused person is entitled to bail
or not, under the circumstances.*

*We strongly believe that it is in the interest of all sections of society
to ensure that detentions conform to law and regulations and those detainees
are treated justly, charged without much delay and where prosecution is
desired tried fairly before a court of law.*

*The Gambia Bar Association urges the authorities to adhere to the rule of
law in all stages of arrest, detention and trial of the accused persons.*


GAMBIA TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION

*MEMBERS CLASH*

The security forces on Friday, the 14th April, put under control a brawl
involving members of the Gambia Transport Control Association and the
latter's executive members. The members went to the office of the
Association and demanded for the affairs of the Association to be handed to
an interim committee pending the auditing of the accounts of the
Association.

The members claimed that the five year term of the executive, which started
on the 14th April 2006, expired on 14th April 2006. Confrontation ensued
amongst the members.

During the fracas at the Associations headquarters on Friday the 14th April
2006, the police were called after the members exchanged blows and hit each
other with sticks.  The police later put the situation under control.

At the police station, the members were asked to let sleeping dogs lye until
after the ten thousand man (woman) March against the allege coup.  The
police had also asked them to follow the legal process of writing to the
authorities concerned to take up the issue of auditing the Association,
otherwise their hands would be tied which will make it difficult for them to
act.

The members under the leadership of Daddy Sowe, the Secretary General of the
Transport Union, and some elderly drivers advised the members to go home and
give peace a chance until after the ten thousand man march.



*LAWMAKERS GIVE PRESIDENT** POWERS TO*
 DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT

Lawmakers on Thursday amended section 96 of the second Republican
Constitution, giving powers to the President to dissolve Parliament and call
for snap elections anytime he/she thinks it is in the best interest of the
country. The bill was supported by twenty nine APRC Parliamentarians and
opposed by the three NADD deputies, namely Halifa Sallah, Kemeseng Jammeh
and Sidia Jatta. The APRC National Assembly Member for Sami, Edrisa Samba
Sallah decided to abstain. Some of the APRC deputies left the assembly few
minutes before the casting of votes. The bill was brought to the National
Assembly by the Secretary of State for Justice Sheikh Tijan Hydara. The bill
makes it clear that the President cannot dissolve Parliament eighteen months
before the general elections.

The minority leader, Halifa Sallah cited chapter one, subsection (2) of the
constitution and averred that power is derived from the people. He went
further to say that he is opposed to the bill because it nullifies the check
and balance system.

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