Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 56/2006, 24-26 July, 2006
Editorial
NO EXERCISE OF PREROGATIVE OF MERCY!!
July 22nd CELEBRATION WITHOUT DIFFERENCE!!
Many young able bodied people are incarcerated in our prison system. Some
have been detained without speedy justice for many years. Others are serving
long prison sentences. FOROYAA has called upon the secretary of state for
interior to visit the prisons and identify the problems of the prisoners. We have
been asked by some family members of many prisoners what could be done to
release some prisoners who had been incarcerated since the first Republic such
as Lamin Darboe. We have always explained that section 82 of the constitution
has empowered the president to appoint three persons to constitute a
committee along with the Attorney General to advise him on how to exercise his
prerogative of mercy to free many prisoners from long detention. Under a genuine
democratic society, once the press mention some of these things, the President
would immediately constitute the committee and grant amnesty or mercy as
expected. Is that the case in the Gambia? We give an answer.
However, what we can say is that after 12 years of rule, one expected that
President Jammeh will commemorate his July 22nd coup d’etat with a difference.
We expected that he will promote a spirit of reconciliation; that as he goes
into election, general amnesty would have been given to many, prerogative of
mercy exercised to release many prisoners.
Furthermore, the Attorney general and Chief Justice could have co-operated
to look into the cases of those who are denied speedy trial. If this happened
during the 22nd July anniversary some people may have felt a difference even
though coup d’etat should never be commemorated in a 21st Century Africa. The
July 22nd anniversary is now history; no prerogative of mercy was
exercised.
During the opening prayers, one expected the religions leaders to remind the
President of those things he needs to do to promote liberty and tranquility
in the country.
Unfortunately some of them were taking a partisan position. This will not
help the country. Religious leaders have multi partisan following. Their
legitimate role is to give the people who administer the country and their
opponents the heart to feel the suffering of the people and encourage them to become
resolved in doing what is good. It is not enough for us to talk about peace,
we must nurture it will our words and deeds. Hence as the President
commemorates his 12 years in office, he could have only made a little difference if he
gave general amnesty, visit the prisons to see the number of young people
behind bars, soften his heart, exercise prerogative of mercy and promote the
spirit of reconciliation rather than the spirit of revenge. Even though the
July 22nd anniversary was his best outlet it is not, too late to display a
spirit of reconciliation.
THE CASE OF PA SALLAH JENG
By Surakata Danso
Continuing his evidence in the on going six count criminal trial of the
elected Mayor of Banjul, the former CEO who is currently on indefinite leave,
informed the court that it is a normal practice in the BCC for the Mayor, CEO
and the Treasurer, to meet and discuss matters affecting the day to day affairs
of the council. He indicated that the Mayor, Mr. Jeng, showed them photos of
a towing ambulance and a truck, which were second hand materials. He
indicated further that the Mayor told them that they were ordered by a friend, one
Mr Ndure, for the council. He opined that he reminded him of the council’s
request for a brand new “pickup” but that he advised him to take the matter to
the council. He said that two weeks later the Mayor came back to him with the
shipping in documents of the vehicles and then ordered for council to
endorse it. He said he then ordered him to apply for a duty waiver from the
Ministry and an approval from the GPPA. Mr. Othman went on to say that after two
weeks the mayor wrote a follow up letter to his previous letter to GPPA. He said
the Mayor then requested him to make an advance part payment of D340, 000
which he said he did. He went on to say that up to the time he proceeded on
leave, the request for the duty waiver was not addressed. On the application for
approval from the GPPA, he said he was replied to and advised to buy from
the local market. When further asked if the council approved the part payment,
the witness replied in the negative. He also went on to identify the cheque
for the payment, with the shipping documents and all other correspondence
attached. They were tendered and exhibited.
On how council addresses the issue of per diem Mr Othman said when
invitations are received for officials to travel, they first proceed to seek approval
from the Ministry after which they prepare the per diems. When asked the
amounts, he said $130 for the Mayor and $90 for all other officials. He said that
it is the procedure he found at the council. He explained that it was the
same $130, which was paid to all other Mayors. When asked if he knows whether
the accused had been receiving $130, the witness said he would not know
since payments are done at the Council’s Finance Unit. On whether per diem paid
to the officials are returned when trips are cancelled, he answered that there
was a trip cancelled to Guinea Bissau in which the accused, Mr. Jeng,
returned his per diem. On the issue of the generator that was in use at the council
during his time, Mr Othman said the Mayor had informed him that it was
borrowed from a friend. He indicated that the council was just fueling it up to
the time he left. However, he could not say who the friend was. The case was
adjourned till today, 24th July, 2006.
Halifa On Hamat’s Comments
In this edition we continue with the interview with Halifa Sallah, NADD’s
flag bearer, on comments made in the United States by Mr Hamat Bah of the
UDP/NRP Alliance.
FOROYAA: Why the need for Confidentiality when your own supporters were
demanding to know what was going on in the midst of the widespread notion that an
agreement has been reached
HALIFA: It is true that many NADD supporters at home and abroad felt
disarmed. They contacted me to ask about developments and I could not explain
anything to them. The reason for this is simple. None of the sides requested for
the talks. Interlocutors having sympathy for either side respectively
intervened in good faith to promote Consultation between Mr. Darboe and myself without
any conditionality or agenda. We had the option to chat and depart or create
an agenda for further consultation. The only request made by the inter
locator from the other side is confidentiality. I had to respect that wish and
requested for a mandate from the NADD Executive to enter into talks without
having to report to them until something conclusive is reached. I respected the
request for confidentiality because of the fact that this was the first
opportunity to build trust between the two sides. I am sure all keen observers of
Gambian polities would notice that during the period of the talks no
derogatory remarks against the UDP/NRP Alliance and its leaders could be attributed to
the NADD leadership.
FOROYAA: What axe do you have to grind with Mr. Hamat Bah?
HALIFA: I have no axe to grind with Mr. Bah. He simply put me in a tight
corner and compelled me to explain what was happening to every one and thus
nullified the very confidentiality sought by the other side for the two sides to
engage in a consultation exercise.
FOROYAA: How?
HALIFA: Mr. Hamat Bah said that there were people in NADD who wanted to use
others as their ladder, some who never launched their parties some whose
party never had a single meeting and others who had been in politics for 20 years
but never got more than 2% of the votes. He then went on to state that these
are the people who wanted equal share with those who had 36% and 8%. He was
emphatic in saying that this was not possible. He said that they (UDP and
NRP) made a serious mistake in accepting the principle of sovereign equality of
parties in NADD. He emphasized that they should not have accepted equal
representation, noting that it was this mistake that led to the fall out of NADD
Mr. Bah then went further to deal a blow on our consultative process by
asserting that he will not disclose the discussions going on at the moment
between the two alliances that we will agree on a flag bearer. He added that what
complicated the negotiation is that NADD wanted positions; they wanted the
cake that is not yet baked. He concluded that they are not going to make any
agreement as to who will occupy which position. The president will do that. This
is what Mr. Bah said in the U.S.
FOROYAA: What do you have to say?
HALIFA: Mr. Bah’s claim that negotiations were on between the two alliances
could only be attributed to two things. He was either referring to my talks
with Mr. Darboe which had nothing to do with the sharing of positions or that
he was referring to negotiation that did not exist. In either case the
statements were at least inaccurate and at best misleading. The people in the
Diaspora still have access to Mr. Bah. Could he be asked to explain which talks
were on where NADD was asking for position? I repeat NO such talks are taking
place. My consultative exercise with Mr. Darboe had no agenda. Nothing about
position was discussed. It was also being done under a climate of perfect
equality. This is the first point.
FOROYAA: Would NADD agree to the view that treating all parties as equals
led to the fall out of NADD?
HALIFA: That is the second misleading notion that Mr. Bah sold in the U.S.
Of course if one relies on common sense logic what he said would appear to be
true. However if one analyses the reality one would consider his state to be
unfortunate since others would also exercise their right to reply.
FOROYAA: What do you mean?
HALIFA: First and foremost, an alliance is not a ladder for just one party
but for all parties constituting it. He can be equally accused of using an
alliance as a ladder. Such negative way of looking at things will not take us
anywhere. Secondly if flag bearers of alliances are determined by records of
previous election then Mr. Darboe would have never been the presidential
candidate in 1996. Prior to that he never participated as a candidate in elections.
Thirdly, the leader of one of the parties he mentioned had won an election
as an independent candidate during the first Republic and was unseated only by
a coup d’etat.
Suffice it to say that the PDOIS that he was trying to trivialise by
referring to 2% had put up five candidates in the 2002 parliamentary elections and
earned two seats while having over 20% in all the other three constituencies
while NRP put up 15 candidates only to earn one seat, which he Mr. Bah had
lost in a by election. It is therefore difficult for me to understand Mr. Bah’s
logic. What he has conveyed is that there in no spirit of negotiation in the
UDP/NRP camp and that they are coming up with a sprit of imposing their will.
This is at least haughty in approach to negotiation, which can never
succeed.
FOROYAA: Mr Bah said that the policy of treating parties as equals was a
mistake. What is your view on this?
HALIFA: It is unfortunate that I am being dragged into such a discussion at
the moment when we should be engaged in the process of dislodging the APRC
regime. Leadership requires hindsight. Let me ask every Gambian this simple
question. When we met in the US after delivering our speeches in Atlanta in 2003
and were asked whether any party could dislodge the APRC why didn’t the UDP
assert then that it had the potential to do so and simply called on the other
political parties to give it solidarity? Of course, if this was said there
would not have been any need to select a Coordinator. The UDP would have been
asked to send envoys to the various political parties to seek their support
.The parties, which felt that UDP could lead them to victory, would have
joined them.
In retrospect, when we met in the US the UDP had boycotted the parliamentary
elections and had no seat in the National Assembly. NRP had lost one seat
and had only one seat. Only PDOIS had two parliamentary seats. The case of the
UDP leader was still in court. There was immense hostility in the camp of the
opposition.
In my view, the parties were right to state at the time that none of them
could present itself as the leader of the fold. No party could take the posture
of being superior to the other to the point of playing a big brother role on
the basis of its individual strength and credibility.
I am one hundred percent sure that if the UDP had taken the posture that Mr
Bah is asking it to take now when we first met, all the representatives of
the other parties would have left the hall to go about their business. I stand
to be corrected.
We therefore created NADD as an umbrella party to create unity in the midst
of diversity among the opposition parties because no single party had the
strength and credibility to serve as a rallying ground for other parties. This
is the simple and elementary truth. This umbrella party was designed to
address the individual weaknesses of the member parties and further galvanize their
collective strength and integrity.
In order to ensure that the equality of the parties is reserved as a
tactical instrument to consolidate the strength of the opposition in order to ensure
victory the existence of NADD was limited to five years after the assumption
of office by the flag bearer. During the five years all political parties
will be able to retain their individual political support and still claim
ownership of their collective achievements under NADD. The restriction of the
mandate of the flag bearer to one term was to eradicate the advantages of
incumbency so that any political leader who failed to contest in 2006 would have
equal opportunity to seek the mandate of the people in the next following
election by relying on a party’s numerical strength. The principle of creating an
umbrella party under which collective leadership is exercised was designed not
only to harness the numerical strength of the parties but to build up the
potential to harness voters who are either non committed to individual parties
or are supporters of the ruling party. The collective leadership also serve
as an insurance against any allegation of tribalism or sectionalism. Equality
and collective leadership in NADD offered each voter the personality one
could love and trust to justify one’s trust for the opposition.
Herein lies the viability of NADD. Mr Bah says this was a mistake what he is
offering is imposition of dominance by the UDP. Clearly his proposition
would not have created unity among the opposition from the very beginning.
FOROYAA: But has an alliance like NADD ever happened?
HALIFA: NADD is a united front. In some cases countries are fortunate to
have an opposition party, which is capable of winning an election on the basis
of its own numerical strength, but can better do so by co-opting other
opposition parties in an alliance, which it leads. On the other hand, countries may
be faced with a situation where the people are not sentimental about parties
and are very willing to put party affiliation aside to form a united front to
achieve an aim.
A clear example of this is Gambia in 1996 and 2001 when the UDP operated as
an umbrella party for the parties which were banned. I have also pointed out
the cases of Tumani Toure and in Mali and even Nino Vieira in Guinea Bissau,
where the people disregarded both the ruling party and the opposition. NADD
could have been another example.
FOROYAA: What is the way forward?
HALIFA: I have said that people are calling for an alliance. We should
explain what the two alliances are offering the people and ask them to make their
choice as to which form of alliance should be the basis of unity. As far as I
am concerned, I have made it clear that I have accepted to be flag bearer
because of my conviction that I could be accepted by all political
constituencies in The Gambia. However, I am also willing to hand over to anyone who can
be better promoted among all political constituencies in the country.
FOROYAA: Some are asking why you accepted to be flag bearer.
HALIFA: Let me also ask why did, I accept to be Coordinator when I was
Secretary General of PDOIS? It is duty that called and I had to answer. I would
like to remind people that I did not apply to be a Coordinator nor did I want
to be one. When I appeared in Atlanta I was the Minority Leader of the
National Assembly of The Gambia and I accepted to be Coordinator not to become an
apolitical civil servant but to facilitate a process. My mandate ended with
the signing of the MOU. However all the parties agreed to elect me as
Coordinator again? That is trust.
Needless to say, I did not apply to be flag bearer. Just I was unanimously
selected as Coordinator I was again unanimously selected as flag bearer of
NADD. I accepted because duty called on me to do so. If duty again calls on me
to hand over the responsibility to someone who can better lead us to success I
am again willing to do so. I am willing to do whatever duty is imposed on
me.
FOROYAA: Mr Bah alluded to a party, which for twenty years could only get
two percent of the votes.
HALIFA: I am the flag bearer of NADD. Since NRP and UDP cam into being I
stood in three elections. In 1997 I stood with a UDP candidate in Serrekunda
East. I had 8500 votes. He had 8000 votes. The APRC candidate had 9500 votes.
This is not what is called 2% of the votes. In 2002 those who boycotted
elections campaigned against me but I won. In 2005 I stood for NADD and won. The
picture Mr Bah has been insinuating regarding the flag bearer has no affinity to
what is on the ground. This is the chapter and verse of the whole story.
FOROYAA: What is NADD doing at the moment?
HALIFA: We are not convinced that a one party led alliance can be promoted
successfully. Hence Sidia and his team are in the URD; Waa and his team have
covered LRD and they are now in CRD and will come down to Baddibu. Landing
Jallow Sonko and his team will cover Nuimi, Jokadu and CRD North. As flag bearer
we will engage in debriefing when they come back to know the way forward.
FOROYAA: You must have a lot of money.
HALIFA: That is what we do not have. We have changed our strategy. We used
to rely on established organisations like Movement for the Restoration of
Democracy in the Gambia in UK or Save The Gambia Democracy Project in the USA.
Now we have opened up new strategies to receive solidarity from any individual
Gambian who wishes to give cash or kind. Our partners can continue to do
their best while we explore new avenues for funding. We need paper, ink,
cassettes, T-shirts, caps, etc. The response is encouraging. We can only be as
effective as Gambians want us to be.
FOROYAA: Any last words?
HALIFA: I hear some people saying that if the opposition is not united they
will not provide funds or vote. My view is that whether one casts one’s vote
or not others will vote for the APRC. What Gambians should do is to give
their maximum, be ready to vote and then encourage the opposition to be united.
The hands-off policy is a fatalist policy. It will only lead to the
retention of the status quo. In our view people should insist that the two alliances
come together. However if that fails people must learn to judge where the
fault lies. I can assure every one that I will be able to explain my point of
view with clarity and history will never indict me for not taking the right
decision at the right time to defeat impunity and poverty which are dual factors
that fetter the liberty and prosperity of the Gambian people.
MARIAM DENTON’S APPLICATION
By Surakata Danso
In the last issue we published the case of Mariam Denton as presented by
Lawyer Ida Drammeh. In this issue we publish the case of the state as presented
by the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Emmanuel Fagbenleh, on
the 19th July 2006. He attempted to justify the continued detention of Mariam
Denton. He informed the court that the respondent had filed an application
in opposition to the one filed by the applicant, (Mrs. Denton) on the 10th of
July, 2006. He further informed the court that the affidavit is sworn to by
one Demba Sowe who he claimed, is an officer at the Serious Crimes Unit of
The Gambia Police Force. The Ag. DPP added that the said Demba Sowe is a member
of the team that is in charge of investigating the applicant’s case, noting
that investigations are in progress. He therefore warned that releasing the
applicant will affect the progress of the investigation. In moving further
with his submission, he told the court that it is improper to say that the
arrest of the applicant is unlawful. He cited the Acts, which established the
Police, the Army and the NIA and opined that the laws give the security personnel
power to arrest and investigate anyone on anything. He went further to say
that because of the nature of the issues surrounding the 21st of March 2006
foiled coup, anybody suspected to have connection to the event is liable to
arrest going by section 6(2) of the constitution. He then questioned how such an
arrest could be termed unlawful especially when the course of arrest is
giving as under Section 6 of the constitution along side Sections 23,26 35 (1)
(A) and 36 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). He argued that those in charge
of the investigation are equally empowered by law to release an arrestee
unconditionally when they are satisfied that the arrestee is not involved. The
Ag. DPP at this point cited section 99 of the CPC as amended, and indicated
that the Police have no right to either grant her bail or release her.
To buttress his points, the Ag. DPP further stressed that it is not only the
applicant who has been arrested and detained. He cited exhibits MD3 and MD4,
which are all lists of arrestees and said they are neither granted bail nor
released. He was however quick to say that even though the applicant’s,
(Mariam Denton’s) name does not exist on neither of the lists, she was a suspect.
On the issue of the applicant relying on section 19 of the constitution, Mr.
Fagbenleh said the court needs to look into the interpretation of section 19
sub-sections (3), (4), (5), section17 (2), and section (6) of the
constitution against section 99 of the (CPC). He further cited section 37 of the
constitution and called on the court to transfer the case to the Supreme Court for
interpretation of Sections 6, and17 (2) of the constitution in line with the
relevant section of the CPC. He finally asked the court to refuse the orders
in the application, after stating that the laws cited by Madam Ida Drammeh are
irrelevant. Ida Drammeh is of the view that the high court has powers to
deal with the application filed by Miriam Denton. Madam Drammeh made this
statement when responding to the submissions made by the learned Director of
public prosecutions, Emmanuel Fagbenleh.
Madam Drammeh told the court that the case falls within the provisions of
the constitution, which deals with fundamental rights. She said the high court
has exclusive jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Judgment will be delivered today. Responding to the submissions
HIGH VOLTAGE ALLEGEDLY CAUSES FIRE
By Modou Jonga
A fire accident alleged to have been caused by high voltage has on Wednesday
12th July 2006 around 1:00 am, burnt six Canteens (shops/ stores) at the
Brikama Market, belonging to different individuals.
According to a victim Alieu Ndow, he has lost Commodities valued at over
forty thousand (D40,000) dalasis. Expressing their ordeal, Alhagie Ceesay and
Saikou Saidy said they have lost all their sewing machines and cloths belonging
to their customers amounting to twenty-five thousand dalasis.
Buto Sowe, also a victim of the fire incident, said he cannot estimate the
extent of the damage the fire has caused him, but informed this reporter that
it is tremendous.
AU COMMISSION CHAIRPERSON ADDRESSES SUMMIT
We publish below the Address of H.E Alpha Oumar Konare, Chairman of the
African Union on the occasion of the opening of the seventh Ordinary session of
Member States of the African Union in Banjul from 1st to 2nd July, 2006.
Excellency the Current Chairperson of the African Union,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellences, Heads of State and Government,
Excellence the President of Trinidad and Tobago and Chairman of Caricom,
Excellency, the Secretary General of the United Nations,
Honourable Madam the Speaker of the Pan-African Parliament,
Excellency, Madam Chairperson of the Economic, Social and Cultural
Commission
Excellency, Madam Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples
’
Rights,
Distinguished Guests, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The terrible, tragic, shocking, appalling and, yet, real images of thousands
of African Youth assailing European coasts present us with a challenge and
compel us to focus our attention on this issue.
These images illustrate the despair driving the Youth of Africa. They
reflect the determination of our youth to reject the status quo and their will to
fight on.
We should be careful; these violent images are harbingers of violence.
Indeed, the situation is fraught with all manner of violence.
It challenges us to combat the structural causes of poverty, to implement
programmes to create wealth and promote employment as recommended by the
Extraordinary Summit on Employment and Poverty Reduction which was held in
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in September 2004; a Summit consistent with the hopes and
expectations of our youth; a Summit held in fulfilment of the promises we
have made to our youth.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The images we have described further challenge us to engage in a genuine
debate with the host countries, an open and frank debate without pre-conditions;
a debate unmistakably anchored not only on the imperatives of security, but
also, and above all, on our vital need for solidarity and development.
But, of what use is this call to debate when each country engages in
unilateral action before anything else? We the African countries of origin and
transit countries, have to be more coherent and more logical in our approach by
applying to ourselves what we cannot accept from others. We must not accept the
logic imposed by selective immigration, which will irretrievably result in “
brain drain”, another pillaging of our countries.
These images, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, further challenge us to,
all said and done, implement our decisions on the free movement of persons,
goods and services, so that at the end of the day, an African will no longer be
considered a stranger in Africa or in any African country.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Our nationals, students, sports men and women, artists, workers, tourists,
and even our diplomats have been victims of escalating racist attacks. This is
disconcerting and unacceptable.
We hereby solemnly appeal to all the countries and all sporting associations
concerned to take energetic measures to curb these undignified behaviours.
The treatment meted out to Africans abroad should serve as a tool for us to
assess the quality of our bilateral relations. No one should claim to be a
friend of Africa while at the same time maltreating African citizens.
Your Excellencies Presidents,
Your Majesty,
Brother leader,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This whole situation should also serve to refresh our memories:
Refresh our memories so that the truth about historical events, particularly
colonial events can be told;
- Refresh our memories so that the crimes of colonialism will be recognized
as one of the imperatives of the New Partnership, just as, slavery was
recognized as a crime against humanity;
- We should indeed refresh our memories so that our educational and
communication programmes may occupy the place they deserve in our common prehistory,
our history of slavery, our history of national liberation struggle, and our
history of Pan-Africanism. Our programmes should also incorporate shared
modules of Civic Education, Environmental Education, and Health Education among
others.
Finally, we should refresh our memories so as to truly and genuinely
celebrate 25 May: Africa Day. 9 September: African Union Day, 1 August: Emancipation
Day, and 7
April: Commemoration of the Rwanda Genocide. This is to ensure that those
sad events are not trivialized and the lessons of yesterday will help us to
avoid recurrence of these events in the future.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Clearly, the conflict situation in our continent is largely responsible for
its backwardness or for the poverty of our people.
Today, we are compelled more than ever before to take urgent and resolute
action to address the situation in Darfur-Sudan and in Somalia.
With regard to Darfur, the Abuja Agreement (for which we commend the
signatories, notably the Government of Sudan and the SLM, and all our partners)
should be implemented without delay.
We have to provide ourselves the means while counting on the support of our
partners, particularly the United Nations. We also have to do everything to
improve relations between Chad and Sudan. The improvement in the situation in
Darfur largely depends on stability in Chad. In this respect, we should do
everything in our power as a matter of urgency to implement the Tripoli
Agreements.
In Somalia we should waste no time to massively support the transitional
Government; to encourage dialogue with the Islamic Movements and all other
Somalis, based on our principles of tolerance, justice, respect for freedom,
respect for human rights and non-violence.
With regard to the Somali dossier, our organization needs to work in
cooperation with GAD and the League of Arab States.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe we also have to lend support to the on-going initiatives in Côte d’
Ivoire alongside the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, not
forgetting the entire political leadership.
We should also support the electoral process in the DRC to prevent the
country from becoming mired in a protracted and serious crisis by calling upon all
the stakeholders to show a greater sense of compromise, considering the
situation in the country.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Conflicts in our Continent lead us to a number of issues:
1. The first is the urgent need to exercise our right to use the principle
of non indifference” for timely intervention, to prevent conflicts (we can
anticipate all the conflicts in Africa and we end up enduring them!). We should
differentiate between African Forces and international forces.
2. The second is the need to accurately evaluate our peace and security
keeping capacities, namely, our material, financial and human resources.
We should expedite the establishment of regional brigades as part of the
Standby Forces so as to have real integrated African Forces required by the
nature of today’s conflicts, timely and expeditiously.
We call on all States to adhere to the Convention Establishing the Peace and
Security
Council and support the African Centre for the Study and Research on
Terrorism in
Algiers.
3. The third is the need to monitor and support countries in the aftermath
of conflicts. We welcome the take-off of the activities of the United Nations
Commission responsible for countries in post-conflict situations.
4. The fourth is to resolve, through dialogue, any disputes between
countries, so that no act of aggression is committed by one African country against
another African country.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Many of these issues could be conveniently resolved once you have exhausted
the central themes of this Assembly, namely, the relationship between the
government of the Union and the harmonization and rationalization of Regional
Economic Communities. The two issues are intrinsically linked.
The issue of the management of RECs can only be appropriately addressed
within the framework of the Union’s strategy.
In 2005. in Abuja and in Sirte, you clearly indicated that the objective of
the African Union is to move towards the United States of Africa, although of
course, gradually, through phases which are yet to be defined.
It is essential that we reach a consensus or common understanding of these
issues in order to transcend the long-standing debate on the AU as an
International Cooperation Organ, and the AU as a Regional Integration Organ, and also
the other debate on the need for a Secretariat or a real executive to
coordinate the African Union.
Our structures, many of our comportments and some of our decisions would
then need to be adjusted. We can only establish an integration organization if
the principle of areas of sovereignty to be conceded and areas to be shared is
accepted.
The current Regional Economic Communities are more market-oriented than
integration-oriented, although integration provides the only possible spaces for
equitable and sustainable development.
Owing to their proliferation, their inconsistency with geographical
criteria, the overlapping they create or even the cacophony of geographical criteria,
they are neither in keeping with the spirit of the Lagos Plan of Action nor
that of the Abuja Treaty, now reinforced and superseded since Sirte 1999 by
the Constitutive Act of our Organization.
It is essential that integration spaces should be defined at regional level
where it could be possible to transfer sovereignty. These spaces should be
managed by clear rules, for it should be impossible in this case that one
country belongs to several integration communities, although it could be accepted
that one country belongs to several customs unions, commercial unions and
economic unions.
In this case, the Secretariats of Regional Communities should develop
towards Executive Commissions.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies, Ladies arid Gentlemen,
In the event that we are unable to find a proper definition for the Regional
Integration Communities, which presupposes transfer of sovereignty and that
we have to continue with the RECs and the existing Unions, should we not then
admit that the transfer of sovereignty should be done at the continental
level?
These debates are not superfluous. They must nurture our action and give
more coherence to our instruments. They will also enable us to better determine
a proper place for NEPAD a major, innovative and promising project, which
enables us to assume our responsibility.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As you did in Sirte in 1999, in Lorne in 2000, in Lusaka in 2001, in Durban
in 2002, in Maputo in 2003, in Addis Ababa in 2004, in Abuja and Sirte in
2005, I have no doubt that here in Banjul, on the banks of The Gambia River, you
will give a fresh impetus to our Organization, a new direction, indeed the
appropriate direction to the African Union
The Union will be our salvation if firmly anchored on Africanism, that is,
Negritude and Arabism, foundations of the African Union.
The African Renaissance will be the sure guarantee for Africa’s future, when
we resolutely embark on the battle to build the African Nation, our only
true Nation, the basis of the United States of Africa.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have no doubt that you will ensure that our Organization is an
Organization in which the rule of law prevails. Indeed, too many protocols and
conventions are adopted but have yet to be ratified and signed. These include:
- The Non-Aggression and Common Defence Pact adopted in Abuja on 31 January
2005 and ratified so far, by only two countries;
- The Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention and Combating
of Terrorism adopted in Addis Ababa on 2 July 2004 and ratified by only one
country;
- The Protocol on the Amendments to the Constitutive Act of the African
Union adopted n Maputo on 11 July 2003 and ratified by only 11 countries;
- The African Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption adopted in
Maputo on 11 July 2003 and ratified by only 14 countries;
- The Additional Protocol to the African Charter and Human and Peoples’
Rights relating to the rights of women in Africa adopted in Maputo on 11 July
2003 and which entered into force on 25 November 2005. To date, only 15
countries have signed this Protocol;
- The Convention on the Establishment of the African Energy Commission
adopted on 11 July 2001 in Lusaka, Zambia, and ratified by only 12 countries:
- The Pelindaba Treaty declaring Africa a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone adopted
in July 2005, in Cairo, Egypt, and ratified by 20 countries. For the treaty to
become effective, however, 26 countries have to ratify it;
- The Protocol on the Pan-African Parliament, adopted in Sirte, Libya, on 2
March 2001, entered into force on 14 December 2003. Seven countries are yet
to ratify this Protocol;
- The Protocol on the Establishment of the African Court on Human and Peoples
’ Rights adopted in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 9 June 1998, came into
effect on 25 January 2004. To date, only 23 countries have ratified this
Protocol;
- The Protocol on the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the
African Union adopted on 9 July 2002, in Durban, South Africa, entered into
force on 26 December 2003. 12 countries are yet to ratify this Protocol;
- The OAU Convention on the Prevention and Combating of Terrorism adopted on
14 July 1999, in Algiers, entered into force on 8 December 2002. 17
countries are yet to ratify the Convention;
- The Convention on the establishment of the African Centre for Fertilizers
Development, adopted on February 1981, ratified by only 3 countries and
signed by 27 countries.
On another note, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, we deem it expedient to
sound an urgent appeal for the unreserved and full implementation of the
Yamoussoukro Declaration of November 1999. The decision relating to the
Yamoussoukro Declaration of 1988, adopted by the Lome Summit of July 2000, is deemed
to have entered into force as of August 2002 in all State parties without
exception.
This liberalization of African States in the interest of African airlines
has proven to be the perfect solution for enhancing services within the
continent, promoting competition, uplifting the quality of resources and reducing
air fares among countries.
It is equally important that African countries adhere to and ratify without
delay the International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of
Diversity in Cultural Expressions.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have no doubt in my mind that you will afford the Organization additional
resources to implement programmes geared towards achieving true integration
and greater commitment to our common positions.
Many countries are yet to pay up their contributions. Only 12 countries have
paid their 2006 contributions, while 11 others are still under sanctions.
Unfortunately, the arrears of contributions are still quite significant;
amounting to US$ 93189,331.27 (this figure includes US$53,615,294.39 arrears as
the 31 December and outstanding statutory contributions of US$39, 574, 31688 for
the period under review).
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The preparation of African Common positions is of vital importance if we do
not want to miss the opportunity to develop genuine strategic development
partnerships during the major rendezvous that were announced, if we want to
ensure that our countries do not become mere markets or only a reservoir of raw
materials.
Among these rendezvous, mention can be made of:
- The Non-Aligned Summit in Havana, Cuba, from 15 to 16 September 2006;
- The China/Africa Forum in Beijing from 4 to 5 November 2006;
- The African/South American Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, from 30 November to I
December 2006;
- The Africa/Caribbean Meeting in South Africa in 2007.
The India/Africa Summit, the 2 Afro-Arab Summit and the 2 Africa /EU Summit
should be envisaged; it seems to us, in 2007.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;
I have no doubt that you will leave no stone unturned to strengthen the
popular basis of the African Union, to help project African public opinion,
ensure respect for our freedom especially the freedom, of expression, particularly
this year when we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the African Charter on
Human and Peoples’ Rights, to give our civil society and our women their
rightful place. Already only 19 countries have ratified the Additional Protocol
on the Rights of Women in Africa. Women are still under- represented in
numerous sectors. The Policy Organs of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs)
should adopt gender parity, as we have done in the African Union Commission.
Our official delegations, even those attending our Summit, do not yet
provide enough places for women.
Mr. Chairperson,
Your Majesty,
Brother Leader,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
For that which concerns us, I have no doubt that together we will ensure
that those who will be serving our organization as workers of the African Union
and the RECs, Ambassadors in the PRC, Ministers in the Executive Council act
as real Pan-Africanists driven by true Pan-African nationalism rather than by
micro-nationalism or national- regionalism that is currently developing as
evidenced in the deliberations and attitudes; national-regionalism being a
dangerous and harmful trend.
We must amend all rules that would make the workers of the African Union
feel they are serving their countries instead of the Union. Service of regional
organizations must be executed by true Pan-Africanists.
I am convinced that the desired reforms, transformations to be made
especially at the level of the Commission, the Parliament, among others, and lastly
the functioning of Ministerial Technical Committees and the establishment of
financial institutions will improve the quality of work and will help us
achieve the on-going indispensable institutional transformation and rapidly put in
place a culture of good governance.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Unless this transformation is realized, our organization will continue to
resist change and will remain a body incapable of taking timely action,
incapable of telling its members the truth or just simply telling the truth and
taking real and effective action on African realities.
AMBULANCE PROBLEM AT BANJULUNDING HEALTH CENTRE
By Sarjo Camara Singhateh
An old aged man (name withheld) stormed into the offices of FOROYAA
newspaper to express the unpleasant attitude meted out on him by the staff of
Banjulunding Health Centre, on Saturday 8th July 2006.
According to the aggrieved man, during the early hours of Saturday morning,
between the hours of 7 and 8 am, he took his pregnant wife to the said Health
Centre. He said that upon arrival, he was told by the medical officer that
his wife was to be referred for delivery to the Royal Victoria Teaching
Hospital in Banjul. He stated that he told the medical officer on duty to help
them with an ambulance, but the medical officer said there was no ambulance,
which resulted in a bitter quarrel between them. He said he told the officer
that he had seen two ambulances parked at the health centre.
The man stated that he had to appeal to another man for assistance to take
his wife to Banjul. He said that he bought D350 worth of fuel for the man’s
vehicle.
When FOROYAA contacted the officer in charge at the Banjulunding Health
Centre to shed light on this allegation, he said he was never informed of it. He
said the two ambulances that were there were donated to the Health Centre by
a Philanthropist, but they were still not road worthy. He stated that the
only ambulance that was available was the official ambulance, which requires
fuel because the vehicle receives only 40 litres of fuel supply per week.
Issue No. 57/2006, 26- 27 July, 2006
Editorial
THE IEC AND THE REGISTRATION OF VOTERS
The 2006 supplementary registration of voters constitutes the greatest
disservice to the sovereign Gambian people. The Independent Electoral Commission
has as its motto “fairplay, integrity and transparency.” Displaying
fairplay simply means that the IEC will not afford different treatment to different
persons attributable wholly or mainly to their political allegiances.
Display of integrity means that the commission and staff shall perform their
duties without fear or favour, affection or ill will.
Transparency means that no restriction shall be placed to access information
in order to ensure that the undiluted choice of the Gambian people is
produced during elections.
On the 5th of June the IEC wrote to the political parties to indicate that
supplementary registration of voters will take place for a period of two weeks
commencing 19th June and run up to 2nd July.
The IEC needed to sensitize the Gambian people to know what the requirements
for registration were. They should have made it clear that political
parties are not responsible for giving attestations and had no business in
establishing tables and mobilising village heads or community members to sign
attestation forms for Tom, Dick and Harry.
Two weeks notice was too short for campaign to be done to educate the masses
to know how registration of voters is to be conducted under law. This lack
of adequate information undermined the spirit of transparency. To make
matters worse the leadership of the IEC informed their personnel not to question
people with documents.
Consequently, many party operatives decided to prepare Attestation Forms,
photocopy the samples and issued them at random. It even became a trade for
some as they received from D5 to D25 for the forms. Many people who were
unqualified to be registered exploited the loop hole to be registered.
Many Gambians who are qualified to be registered became late comers. The
IEC extended the registration of voters twice. However the exercise was just
in name. In actual fact many registration centres either did not see the
registration teams or had teams, which informed the people that their films were
exhausted. The IEC was allocated 120 million dalasis in this year’s budget
for electoral purposes. How can it be short of electoral materials and still
expect to defend its integrity? What was more disgusting is the selective
presence of the registration teams during the extension; for example, the
registration team was kept in Sinchu Alagie until they finish their work without
shortage of films because of the influence of one Aziz Tamba. In Kombo
Central the team abandoned Kembuje where people were protesting and concentrated on
Darsilami.
In many places people joined the queues to no avail. Many people have
desire to replace their lost cards. If films are not available how can the IEC
be considered to have respect for fairplay? The commission needs to have a
meeting with its field staff and the political parties to map out a way to
address their problems with immediacy.
The faith people have in the commission has dropped and only genuine and
visible rectification of wrongs can elevate it. We hope the commission will
not be found wanting in this regard.
CAPTAIN BUNJA DARBOE AND CO TREASON TRIAL
By Surakata Danso
Justice Agim on Monday deferred the ruling on the treason trial involving
Captain Bunja Darboe, Captain Yaya Darboe, Alieu Jobe, Lieutenant Pharing
Sanyang, Tamsirr Jasseh and others.
The trial judge was supposed to deliver a verdict on whether the case could
proceed in Court without six of the accused persons being represented by a
legal practitioner. Justice Agim on Monday informed the Court that he was
unable to lay his hands on the materials that would enable him to conclude his
ruling. Justice Agim later decided to adjourn the matter.
Readers would recall that the following lawyers; Lamin Camara, Lamin
Jobarteh, and Lamin Mboge withdrew from the case.
LAWYER DENTON RE-ARRESTED/RELEASED
By Surakata Danso
Mrs. Mariam Denton, a senior member of the bar, was released by the high
court on Monday after spending 103 days in detention. Many felt this was the end
of her ordeal. However while she was at her family home in Banjul rumours
were rife that some of her relatives including her son were arrested. They were
not released until she (Mrs. Denton) got to the police headquarters where
she was rearrested.
At the time of going to press we gathered information that she has been
released from custody by the security agents.
MARIAM DENTON’S APPLICATION GRANTED
Justice Monagen has released Mariam Denton on Monday (the 24th of July
2006).
In handing down judgment before a crowded Court room, Justice Monagen said
the arrest and detention of the applicant (Mariam Denton) is unlawful and
unconstitutional, since she was detained beyond 72 hours. Justice Monagen
further indicated that section 19 of the constitution has made it categorically
clear that when a person is arrested, he or she must be brought before a Court
of competent jurisdiction within 72 hours of his arrest and detention.
Going through the arguments of the plaintiff’s counsel and the response of
the State, Justice Monagen mentioned that all the competent governments must
abide by International instruments such as . the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
African Charter. She said the aforesaid instruments are for the protection of
the Liberty of individuals. She also upheld that the Armed Force Act, the
NIA Decree and exhibit MD3, and MD4 are not an issue before the Court. She
also opined that her court has jurisdiction to hear the prayers sought by the
applicant (Mariam Denton), and therefore the issue of referring section 6 of
the constitution to the Supreme Court does not arise and is not an issue
before the court. She said sections 23, 26, 35, 36 and 99 of the Criminal
Procedure Code are not issues before the Court.
Justice Monagen concluded her ruling by thanking the two sides. She then
granted the prayers sought by the applicant. Shortly after the ruling, the
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Emmanuel Fagbenleh, stood up and informed
the Court that the State has preferred charges against Mariam Denton. Asked
when the case was filed, Fagbenleh said, “Today,’’ (the 24th day of July
2006). He then applied for the charges to be read to her.
In response, Ida Drammeh opined that the court must not entertain the
application sought by Fagbenleh, noting if it is entertained, it will encourage the
flouting of the orders of the court. She went on to indicate that
throughout the process of the hearing of the application, the State has not expressed
its intention to charge the applicant. The judge however over ruled the
application sought by Emmanuel Fagbenleh.
HALIFA HARPS ON ACCOUNTABILITY
By Abdoulie Dibba
The Minority Leader of the National Assembly Hon. Halifa Sallah indicated
that development must speak the “language of priority”. Hon Sallah made
these remarks at the National Assembly. Hon Sallah indicated that it is
important for NAMs to look at the problems that are related to public expenditure.
He indicated that people are complaining that their groundnuts are not
bought, and if one asks the Executive, they would reply that it is not Government’
s responsibility to purchase groundnut. Halifa however noted that it is the
Government that guaranteed Companies to buy groundnuts from public monies.
Sallah pointed out that the executive has taken D345 million from the Social
Security and Housing Finance Corporation and invested it on a hotel. He
asserted that they were told by the Secretary of State for Finance and the
Secretary of State for Agriculture that Government has been giving guarantee to
companies to be able to purchase groundnuts. He pointed out that if one looks
at the budget estimates of 2006, one would discover under settlement of
confirmed debt, an amount of D15 million in 2005 and D10 million as debt for
vehicle and D11 million as Trust Bank guarantee. Halifa challenged his colleagues
to continue to find out which companies are being guaranteed and who
authorize the expenditure on vehicle. “You go and take a debt to get a vehicle.” “
Who authorized these expenditures”? “We need to find out since we are
allocating public resources for these”. Regarding Assets Management and Recovery
Corporation (AMRC), Hon Sallah indicated that it is generating a lot of wealth
from the sale of land, lands which some people would tell you D25,000 and
others would say D125,000. He said at the end one won’t know what is the actual
cost of a particular land “where is all this money going? Where is it being
strategically invested? Is it not addressing the needs and aspirations of a
people? Is it not identifying priority? Development must speak the language of
priority? Is the income of our farmers our priority? If it is our priority,
then where should we put the money? “Hon Sallah asked. Halifa further
stressed, “my view is that we have not set our national priorities right and that is
why we cannot pay the income of our farmers.”
UDP STALWART REFUTES CLAIM
By Yaya Dampha
Rumour is rife in town that Mr. Alhagie Momodou Sanneh, a UDP/NRP executive
member is in consultations with Secretaries of state Kaba Bajo and Yankuba
Touray for possible defection to the ruling APRC.
This reporter contacted Mr. Sanneh and asked him to throw light on the
information. Mr. Sanneh responded by saying that the rumour is false. He said he
has never met the Secretaries of State, much more to discuss about joining the
APRC.
He swaggered that he and his party are ready to unseat the Jammeh government
this year. Alhagie Sanneh further said that he is just from touring the
whole of the LRD and that there is no need for him to join the APRC. He described
the APRC Government as a failed regime. He said the rumour is baseless and
unfounded. Mr. Sanneh finally called on Gambians to join hands and vote out
Jammeh.
SOS FAYE ON LOCAL LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTIONS IN SCHOOLS
By Abdoulie Dibba
Responding to a question raised by Sidia Jatta the National Assembly Member
for Wuli West, regarding the Governments Policy on the teaching of local
languages in Schools. has been scientifically proven that a child learns a second
language more quickly and with much ease after he/ she has been formally
ground in his/ her mother’s tongue; considering the general declined of
standards in the school in which English languages the first casualty. SOS Fatou
Lamin Faye indicated that the Department of state for Education has taken
cognisance of research finding, indicating that a child learns a second language
more quickly and with much ease after formal grounding in the mother tongue. In
view of the this, SOS Faye said that one policy objective is to introduce the
teaching of the five most commonly used languages- Wollof, Pulaar, Mandinka,
Jola and Sarahule at the basic, senior secondary, tertiary and higher
education levels as subjects. She said it would be immensely difficult to teach
every child in his/her mother tongue. She said the education policy states that
during the first three years of basic Education (grade1-3), the medium of
instruction will be in the dominant Language of the area in which the child
lives. English she said will be taught as subjects from grade 4 SOS Fatou Lamin
Faye Pointed out that she is pleased to report “the implementations of these
policy pronouncements have already began. She said the Department of state for
Education has over the past years developed primers and readers for four
national language; namely Mandinka Pularr Wollof and Jola. She said the
materials have been piloted in all the educational regions and selected teachers have
been trained in the pilot school”. SOS Faye went further to say that plans
are now afoot to finalise the draft materials and train all teachers in the
use of National Languages as medium of instruction in the early years of
schooling
WHAT IS DEAFNESS
Deafness is being unable to hear ordinary sounds properly or at all.
There are different degrees of deafness. Some children can hear quite a lot
of sounds. We say they have a mild hearing loss. Some children have
difficulty hearing speech sounds and can only hear effectively with the help of a
hearing aid. We say they have a moderate hearing loss. Other children hear very
little or nothing at all and are not helped by a hearing aid. We say they have
a severe or profound hearing loss.
Hearing impairment is usually only a problem if the person has difficulty
hearing speech. The main difficulty for a child who is hearing impaired is
acquiring language. This is because we learn language by hearing people talking
and by hearing ourselves trying to talk.
Some hearing impaired children have damage to other parts of the brain and
deafness may not be their main problem. However, deafness does not mean a
child is “stupid”. Hearing-impaired children have the same range of ability as
other children.
CAUSES OF DEAFNESS.
Hearing impairment is often called the ‘invisible disability’. This is
because a hearing impaired person looks just the same as any other person. We
cannot see hearing impairment because it is caused by damage to the ears or to
the hearing part of the brain.
A person may become deaf at any time but we usually classify them in three
groups:
1. Before birth. The causes of deafness are inherited diseases, the residual
effects of drugs or defective genes inherited from the parents.
2. At birth. The causes of deafness are complications during labour, which
affect the auditory nerve or the brain.
3. After birth. The causes are mainly diseases such as measles, mumps,
meningitis, cerebral malaria and middle ear infections. This group also includes
exposure to excess loud sounds, accidents to the ear or head and hearing
impairment due to old age.
TYPES OF DEAFNESS
There are two main types of hearing loss:
1. Conductive loss.
2. Sensori-neural loss
Conductive loss is impairment to part of the ear, which conducts (carries)
sound from the outside into the inner ear. It is therefore a problem of the
outer ear or the middle ear
Examples of outer ear problems leading to conductive hearing loss.
Impacted wax: - Wax completely fills the external auditory canal.
Careful removal of the wax restores hearing to normal. The wax may have to
be softened with special ear drops before it can be removed.
Foreign object:- Beads, sand, erasers etc. may completely block the ear
canal.
Removal of these returns hearing to normal. However, if you try to remove a
foreign object, you may push it further in and damage the eardrum. It is best
for the child to be taken to the hospital to have the object removed.
Outer ear infection:- This results in infected liquid in the outer ear
which reduces transmission of sound to the eardrum. It is usually treated with
antibiotic medicine, which removes the infection. The hearing should then
return to normal.
Perforation of eardrum
Perforations (holes) can occur in the eardrum due to loud explosion, severe
ear infection or the use of cotton buds, feathers, pens etc. Small
perforations will heal themselves.
Larger ones may be repaired surgically.
Examples of middle ear problems leading to conductive deafness. Middle ear
infection (otitis media):- This results in infected liquid in the
middle ear. This
liquid reduces the effective vibration of the three little bones of the
middle ear (the ossicles). It is usually treated with antibiotic medicine, which
removes the infection.
Fluid
(not infected):
This may result from blockage of the auditory tube or Eustachian tube as a
result of severe catarrh. Liquid is unable to drain into the throat and
therefore builds up. If left, the liquid becomes thicker and eventually starts to
solidify.
Ossicular chain discontinuity.
The small bones of the middle ear (the ossicles) can become dislocated. This
prevents effective transmission of sound through the middle ear.
These are the most common outer and middle ear problems that you are likely
to see in children in school. Some others are Eustachian tube abnormalities,
tumours and congenital damage to the ear.
Inner ear problems causing sensori-neural deafness.
Infection:- Meningitis, syphilis and cerebral malaria may lead to
damage to the inner ear.
Drugs: Some very strong antibiotics may cause damage to the inner ear.
Meniere’s disease:- This is a syndrome having three symptoms,
1. Hearing loss 2. A balance problem 3. Tinnitus (ringing noise in the
ears), may be constant or intermittent.
Noise induced: Damage to hair cells due to exposure to loud noise for long
periods.
Head trauma: Damage to inner ear (and possibly other structures of the ear)
due to severe damage to the head.
Old age deafness:- The hair cells in the cochlea die due to old age.
ANATOMY OF THE EAR
HOW DO I IDENTIFY A CHILD WHO MIGHT HAVE A HEARING LOSS?
A child with a hearing loss may show several of these indicators.
· Often asks you to repeat what you have said.
· Only hears part of what you say.
· Doesn’t seem to understand instructions.
· Doesn’tcarrout instructions.
· Confuses similar sounds or words because they sound the same tohim/her.
· Looks intently at the speaker’s face.
· Poor or abnormal speech.
· Voice pitched too high or too low.
· Voice too loud or too soft.
· Difficulty hearing when there is a lot of background noise.
· Has a history of hearing loss, ear infections or frequent colds.
· Easily distracted, short attention span, daydreams.
· Difficulty with spelling and/or reading.
· Delayed language development.
· Difficulty locating sounds.
· Likes radio or TV too loud.
· Behavioral difficulties.
Of course many children will show some of the above difficulties.
If a child shows more than normal of the above indicators you may think (s )
he has a hearing loss. You should then do some assessment. Remember that
English is not your pupils’ first language so most of them will have
difficulties with language.
ASSESSMENT.
An accurate assessment of hearing can only be obtained by use of an
audiometer. You can only use an audiometer if you have been trained to do so.
However, there are some simple tests you can do which will help you to know
if a particular child has a hearing loss.
All tests must take place in a quiet environment with no external
distractions.
Testing babies and young children.
The child should sit on its mother’s lap facing the distractor. The tester
should stand behind the mother and where the child cannot see him/her. The
distractor should try to keep the child’s attention visually but without making
any sound. This can be done with a soft toy. The tester should make a soft
sound behind the child at the same time as the distraction is removed (so that
the child is not over distracted). If the child hears the sound (s) he will
turn towards it. If the child does not hear the sound, the tester should
repeat it slightly louder.
The test can be repeated using a variety of sounds. Sometimes children can
hear sounds of a certain pitch but not others; very often they can hear low
pitched sounds better than high-pitched sounds. You can use anything you like
to make a sound e.g. a rattle, bell, paper, squeaky toy, drum, voice etc. Be
careful not to test for too long at anyone time. The child will quickly become
bored and will not respond to the sounds. Your test will then be invalid.
Testing older pre-school children.
When the child is old enough to follow instructions, you can tell (or show)
him/her to put a stone in a tin every time she hears you make a sound. You
can then test him/her by making a variety of sounds.
Make sure you vary the pitch and the loudness of the sounds.
Make sure the child cannot see you making the sounds.
Testing children at school.
A child can be tested at school in the following way. Sit or stand a few
feet behind the child. Ask him/her to repeat what you say. Speaking quietly at
first, say a word in a language that the child understands. If the child is
able to hear you, move further away or speak more quietly. If the child is not
able to hear you, speak more loudly.
These tests should give you some idea about whether a child has a hearing
loss and how bad that hearing loss may be. A full audiometric test at hospital
will give a more detailed picture. However, the information you have found
out for yourself will enable you to help the hearing impaired child in your
class.
HEARING AIDS.
A hearing aid is simply an instrument that makes sounds louder. In other
words, hearing aids are signal processors: that is, they alter the signal output
in order to improve it for the wearer. Some hearing-impaired people benefit
from wearing a hearing aid, others do not. It depends on the type and degree
of deafness.
Hearing aids come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours and types. Among
the hearing aids available today are the traditional body worn, behind the ear,
in the ear, in the canal, completely in the ear eyeglass instruments,
cochlear implants and radio hearing aids. Loop systems can be used to enhance
hearing in public buildings. Most hearing aids have a switch that enables the user
to benefit from a loop system if such a system is installed in a building.
Among these only the body worn types and behind the ear types are currently
in use in The Gambia.
Body worn
· Is a small box worn in a pocket or harness on the chest.
· Cords lead from a tiny microphone to an ear mould, which fits, neatly
into the ear.
· Runs on batteries and requires regular care and maintenance.
Advantages.
· Particularly suitable for children with severe hearing
losses.
· Has a great range of adjustments.
· The controls are easy to adjust because they are relatively large.
· Easier to fit and maintain than behind the ear aids.
· More durable than behind the ear aids and not as easy to lose. . Less
expensive than behind the ear aids.
· Uses less expensive batteries than behind the ear aids.
· Disadvantages.
· Very cumbersome and noticeable when being worn, therefore many deaf
children refuse to wear them.
· Microphone is located far from the ear.
· Microphone can be easily rubbed, creating noise and
affecting ability to hear speech sounds.
· Dangling cords, which often break causing the signal to be
intermittent.
Figure 2. A body worn hearing aid.
Behind the ear / ear level type.
· Tiny plastic box worn behind the outer ear, with a small tube
attached to an ear mould, which fits neatly into the ear.
· Runs on batteries and requires regular care and maintenance.
Advantages.
· Can be used by children with mild to severe hearing losses.
· Usually has a range of adjustments.
· Very convenient to wear and not too noticeable.
· Microphone is located at ear level so picks up sounds with
less interference than a body worn aid.
· Each ear has its own microphone.
· Problems with clothing noise are eliminated.
· Difficulties of cords are ruled out.
Disadvantages.
· Usually more expensive than body worn aids.
· More fragile and less durable than body worn aids.
· More easily lost.
· Controls and batteries are small and therefore not so easy for
children to adjust.
Figure 3. A behind the ear hearing aid. A small piece of tubing joins the
hearing aid to the ear mould.
Care of the hearing aid.
A hearing aid is an expensive and valuable item. When it is not in use, keep
it in a safe place away from other children. Make sure it is protected from
food, water, dust and insects. Look after it. The ear mould should be cleaned
often. The person who fitted it will give advice on how to keep it clean. If
the mould or tube becomes full of wax, the hearing aid will not work.
Children’s ears are growing so the ear mould should be checked for size and
fit every year.
If hearing aid doesn’t seem to be working properly:
· Check that the on/off switch is ‘on’ and that the volume control is
turned up.
· Is there a battery inside?
· Is the battery the right way round?
· Is the battery good?
· Is the ear mould dirty or blocked?
· Is the chord damaged or broken?
· Is the chord properly connected to the aid?
· if the aid is making a high pitched noise, check that the ear mould
is the correct size and is fitting snugly in the ear.
If after checking all these points the hearing aid still does not work, send
the parent with the aid and the child to where it was fitted.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Language is something we all have in common. It allows us to communicate
with others, to express our thoughts, to develop our ideas and beliefs, to share
feelings, to share the idea of the past and to plan for the future.
The ability to communicate effectively is more important than the way in
which people communicate (i.e. the language they use).
The desire to communicate.
We all have the need to communicate with other people. This is true of
hearing and deaf people. Deafness does not take away the desire to communicate but
it does affect hearing and speech. All babies and young children develop a
wide range of non-verbal communication and they respond to such things as tone
of voice and facial expression.
The learning of language and communication starts at birth when a mother
first smiles at and talks to her baby.
What makes the hearing impaired child different?
The child with a hearing impairment is denied the opportunity to develop
language in the same way as his/her hearing peers. That is, by hearing it
spoken. If the hearing impairment is detected early enough and the parents are
taught to communicate with their child by visual means, then the child has the
opportunity to develop language in a way that is appropriate for him/her.
Encouraging language in young hearing impaired children.
They usually start to speak at about 12 months of age. This means they have
spent 12 months hearing and listening to speech before starting to speak. The
deaf child does not hear the speech going on all around him/her so s/he is
unable to learn language in the same way as hearing children.
If a deaf child does not receive help at an early age, it becomes more and
more difficult for him/her to acquire language.
If you know that a young child is deaf, you should start to help him/her to
develop language right away.
You should speak to him/her even if you think s/he cannot hear you. S/he may
be able to hear some sounds and anything s/he hears may help him/her to
understand. You should encourage him/her to look at your face when you speak so
that s/he begins to learn to lip-read. At the same time, use gestures or signs
(if you know any). Teach him/her what the signs mean by pointing and by
using them frequently until s/he understands them and is using them him/herself.
Encourage him/her to make sounds even if they are not speech sounds at
first. S/he needs to know what it feels like to make sounds if s/he cannot hear
him/herself.
As the child gets older and learns the meaning of more words, s/he will
continue to need extra help. New words need to be used in a variety of contexts.
Synonyms and subtleties of meaning need to be explained.
Language difficulties may also make it difficult for the child to acquire
mathematical concepts. You will need to explain, for example, that addition,
sum and total all mean the same thing.
Make sure you give him/her plenty of concrete experience and opportunities
for repetition to ensure that s/he really understands.
MANUAL COMMUNICATION.
In mainstream schools you are unlikely to be required to finger spell or to
sign. However we include some general information about signing and the
one-handed alphabet is shown in Appendix 3.
Sign language.
Sign language is a visual gestural method of communication. It is produced
in the form of gestures (movements) and is perceived by the eye. Individual
signs are the equivalent of individual words in spoken language although
sometimes one sign can represent two or more spoken words. For example, there is a
sign that means can’t be bothered i.e. one sign represents three words of
spoken English.
There are several components that make up an individual sign. The four main
ones are:
· hand shape
· position
· movement
· facial expression.
Movements of the eyes, mouth, head, shoulders and body can also be used to
convey meaning.
Hand shapes are based on those used for the one-handed finger-spelling
alphabet. The same hand shape can be used to mean different things if it is made
in different positions and accompanied by different movements or facial
expressions. For example the B hand shape is used to sign calm and settle. To sign
calm the flat right hand is rubbed down the front of the chest, making
contact with the body. To sign settle the flat right hand, palm down, is moved
downwards in front of the body but not touching the body. The signs for enough
and fed up also use the B hand shape. They differ from each other only in that
the back of the flat right hand is tapped under the chin once for fed up and
twice for enough but the facial expression for each of the two signs is
completely different.
Facial expression can be used to make a sign stronger. For example far can
be changed to very far by a change in facial expression.
Some signs involve the use of both hands, sometimes in the same shape,
sometimes making different shapes.
Some signs are pictorial i.e. they are pictures in space, they look like the
object they represent. The sign for house, for example, is like the end of a
house drawn in front of the body with both hands in the D hand shape.
It is very important to note that sign languages are languages in their own
right. They have their own syntax and grammar, which are different from those
of spoken language because of the visual nature of sign language. There is
no international sign language. Different countries have their own sign
languages, which develop and change over time as any language does.
It is hoped that this brief introduction to sign language will have
encouraged you to want to learn more. St. John’s School for the Deaf has signing
classes for staff and for parents. You should contact them if you want further
information
To sign or not to sign?
There have been many debates in deaf education all around the world about
whether it is better for deaf people to use sign language or to try to learn to
speak and to lip-read i.e. to communicate orally.
The main advantage of learning speech is that, if the hearing-impaired
person is successful in learning to speak and to lip-read, (s)he is able to
communicate with hearing people. However, very few profoundly deaf people learn to
lip-read and speak well enough to be able to communicate satisfactorily by
purely oral means. It is almost impossible to tell what a person is saying by
lip-reading alone because several sounds look the same as others on the lips.
For example, can you tell the difference between ‘pI and ‘b’ on someone’s
lips if you can’t hear them? What about ‘k’, ‘g’, ‘d’ and It’?
The main advantage of learning sign language is that it is the recognised
language of the deaf and it enables the deaf person to communicate in the most
natural way for him/her. Also some research suggests that deaf children who
learn sign language first, find it easier to learn a spoken language later.
However it can isolate the deaf person from the hearing part of the
community.
The current situation in the Gambia.
At the time of writing, the adult deaf community in the Gambia is in the
process of trying to develop a national sign language based on some signs from
other sign languages and inventing new signs where none exist for words used
frequently in the Gambian culture.
The only school for the deaf in the Gambia, St. John’s School in Kanifing,
uses signed English i.e. English is spoken and every word is signed. In other
words the grammar and syntax of the English language are used. This is to
enable the students to learn English, the language of education in the Gambia,
and thus to take examinations just as their hearing peers do.
PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DEAFNESS
· A deaf child of deaf parents usually finds it easier to adapt to
his/he deafness than a deaf child of hearing parents.
· A deaf child can become very frustrated by not knowing what is going
on around him/her.
· S/he may think that other children who are sharing a joke are
laughing at him/her.
· S/he may realise that his/her deafness is holding him/her back
academically.
· s/he may struggle to express him/herself and become angry when other
people do not understand him/her.
· It may be difficult for him/her to make friends with hearing
children.
· Hearing children may tease him/her.
· Hearing children may not take the time to help the deaf child to
understand.
· People often equate linguistic ability with intelligence; they
therefore assume that a deaf person is stupid (“deaf and dumb”).
MAINSTREAM STRATEGIES.
Speaking.
· Before you speak to the class or to the hearing impaired student,
ensure that the class is quiet and you have the student’s attention.
· Speak clearly but normally. Do not exaggerate mouth movements.
· Use gestures if you think they will help understanding.
· Check that the student has understood instructions. Don’t just ask
him/her – s/he will almost always say “yes” - check by asking him/her to
tell you what s/he is going to do.
· Use the blackboard to give visual clues. You can do drawings form
clarification or write up key words.
· When introducing new vocabulary, give plenty of examples of usage and
check that the student has understood.
· If the student relies on lip reading, s/he will not be able to write
at the same time as listening to looking at you. This makes note taking
difficult for older students. You may have to allow students to share notes.
Seating arrangements.
· Where you seat the student in the room may make a big difference to
his/her ability to hear. S/he will probably need to be at the front of the
room, near to you. It may be better for him/her to be at one side of the room if
s/he has better hearing in one ear than the other. Ask the student where
s/he can hear best.
· Some students may benefit from small group work; they may hear better
in a small group.
· Lighting.
· Make sure the light is on your face; don’t stand in front of a
window. If your face is in shadow the student will not be able to lip read to
assist his/her hearing.
Noise.
· Be aware that background noise can be very problematic for a hearing
impaired student. Too much chatting in class, people talking outside the
classroom, chairs scraping on the floor etc. can all make hearing even more
difficult.
· Some students may like to work alone in a quiet area for part of the
day.
Hearing aids.
· If the student has a hearing aid, make sure that s/he is wearing it,
that it is working and switched on!
Time and teacher attention.
· Some hearing impaired students may benefit from some individual help,
especially with language development, reading and writing. Shared reading,
where the student and a competent reader take it in turn to read short
passages, can be very beneficial.
· Give the student extra thinking time; s/he may take longer to process
the question and formulate an answer.
· It is very tiring to listen and to lip read; you should be aware that
a hearing impaired student may have a limited concentration span.
· Encourage the student to ask you or another student if s/he
is unsure of anything. Appointing a specific student for this purpose can be
helpful but they must not do the work for the hearing impaired student nor
must their own work be allowed to suffer.
Others.
· Encourage the student to make use of visual learning e.g.
visual patterns in spelling
· Give the hearing impaired student opportunities to experience
success.
Don’t overlook his/her strengths.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.
Information.
Parents have known their children throughout their lives. They know their
children better than anyone else knows them. Therefore they are an excellent
source of information about their children.
They may have vital medical information such as the child’s degree of
deafness. They will be able to tell you about their children’s likes and dislikes,
strengths and weaknesses and which approaches work best. Make sure that you
gather as much information as you can from parents. Pass on to your colleagues
any information that you think they need to know.
It is important that your contact with parents is sensitive. Ensure that you
know whose responsibility it is in your school to collect this kind of
information. It would be very unkind, for example, if the class teacher on one day
and the head teacher on another day were to ask for the same information
from a parent. It would also give a very bad impression of the school.
Collaboration.
All parents should encourage their deaf child to take part in normal
activities at home such as chores and play. Some parents are willing to help to
support their child by working with him/her at home. This may be in the form of a
follow up to the day’s lesson, completion of homework or preparation for the
next day’s lesson. Hearing-impaired children often benefit by some advance
preparation for a lesson even if it is just to know the basic subject matter
of the lesson. If this preparation is not done, a hearing-impaired child may
only find out part way through the lesson what it is about. By that time s/he
may have missed a lot of information.
Do not pressurise parents who feel unable to help into doing so; you will
only antagonise them. Instead wait a while, then praise the progress (however
small) that the child is making. The parent may feel motivated to help if the
child appears to be doing well.
Resource.
Parents can be a valuable resource if you are good at spotting their talents
and putting them to good use!
Some are willing to help out in the classroom where an extra pair of hands
is always useful. They must always work under your direction. You should make
clear to them what you want them to do and what you hope the child will
achieve. For example, if a parent is listening to a child read, tell the parent
whether you want the child to sound out unknown words or if you want the parent
to tell the child what unknown words are.
A hearing-impaired child may benefit from having a parent in the classroom
to make sure that s/he has heard and understood everything that has been said.
Some parents may be able to help by preparing classroom displays or mounting
children’s work. This will enable you to spend more time giving individual
help to those who need it.
Some parents may be good at advising other parents whose children also have
a hearing impairment.
Some parents may like to raise funds for the school or for special equipment
such as hearing aids.
Policy.
Where possible, parents should be given the opportunity to contribute to
policy decisions in school affecting their child. This may be done through an
official channel such as the PTA, or as a school manager or unofficially as an
individual parent.
If your school does not have a policy on special educational needs, you
should suggest this to your head teacher. For example, is there a teacher with
responsibility for special needs in the school? What criteria does the school
use when deciding which children with special needs are admitted and which are
refused admission?
Liaison.
Just as parents can give information about the child to the school, so also
the school should keep the parents informed of the child’s progress in
school. This is true of all children but especially any child with special
educational needs.
It is useful to have a system for contacting parents on a regular basis. It
may be possible for a parent to see you after school one day a week. In this
way the parent can be well informed and any difficulties can be resolved
before they become big problems.
Do not wait for something to go wrong before contacting the parents. Contact
them with good news as well as bad!
Some parents are more comfortable on their own territory and prefer you to
go their home rather than coming to school to see you. This also gives you the
opportunity to see how the child responds to the people at home.
Education.
Some parents appreciate the opportunity to learn more about their child’s
disability and ways in which they can be helped. If you have a number of
hearing-impaired children in the school you could form a group of parents to advise
them about such things as communicating with the hearing-impaired, how to
get help from other sources and so on. They could also become a support group
in which parents share their experiences.
HALIFA ON HAMAT’S COMMENTS IN THE US
Bellow is the full text of the interview with Halifa Sallah flag bearer of
the National Alliance for Democracy and Development on the comments made in
the USA by Mr Hamat Bah of the UDP/NRP Alliance.
FOROYAA: HAMAT BAH Claims that negotiation is going on between NADD and the
UDP/NRP Alliance and that within a short period of time one candidate will be
selected by the Opposition to contest the forth coming presidential
elections?
HALIFA: At the moment no arrangement is in place for the two sides to meet.
When Hamat left a consultative process had started between Mr. Darboe and
myself to explore whether any basis could be developed to serve as a foundation
for any negotiation. Confidentiality was requested and agreed upon. Hamat’s
comments in fact derailed the whole process.
FOROYAA: Why?
HALIFA: He created the impression that he had access to information
regarding negotiation which had not even commenced and further remarked that NADD was
just interested in position which completely misconstrued and trivialised
the far reaching analysis and exchanges that I had with Mr. Darboe. The NADD
executive gave me the exclusive mandate to discuss with Mr. Darboe without
informing them of any details until agreement is reached for initiating
negotiations. When Hamat made his remarks curiosity and uncertainty set in and the
whole process had to come to a stop pending further clarification on what he
was propagating in the US.
Part Two
FOROYAA: Why the need for Confidentiality when your own supporters were
demanding to know what was going on in the midst of the widespread notion that an
agreement has been reached
HALIFA: It is true that many NADD supporters at home and abroad felt
disarmed. They contacted me to ask about developments and I could not explain
anything to them. The reason for this is simple. None of the sides requested for
the talks. Interlocutors having sympathy for either side respectively
intervened in good faith to promote Consultation between Mr. Darboe and myself without
any conditionality or agenda. We had the option to chat and depart or create
an agenda for further consultation. The only request made by the inter
locator from the other side is confidentiality. I had to respect that wish and
requested for a mandate from the NADD Executive to enter into talks without
having to report to them until something conclusive is reached. I respected the
request for confidentiality because of the fact that this was the first
opportunity to build trust between the two sides. I am sure all keen observers of
Gambian polities would notice that during the period of the talks no
derogatory remarks against the UDP/NRP Alliance and its leaders could be attributed to
the NADD leadership.
FOROYAA: What axe do you have to grind with Mr. Hamat Bah?
HALIFA: I have no axe to grind with Mr. Bah. He simply put me in a tight
corner and compelled me to explain what was happening to every one and thus
nullified the very confidentiality sought by the other side for the two sides to
engage in a consultation exercise.
FOROYAA: How?
HALIFA: Mr. Hamat Bah said that there were people in NADD who wanted to use
others as their ladder, some who never launched their parties some whose
party never had a single meeting and others who had been in politics for 20 years
but never got more than 2% of the votes. He then went on to state that these
are the people who wanted equal share with those who had 36% and 8%. He was
emphatic in saying that this was not possible. He said that they (UDP and
NRP) made a serious mistake in accepting the principle of sovereign equality of
parties in NADD.He emphasized that they should not have accepted equal
representation, noting that it was this mistake that led to the fall out of NADD
Mr. Bah then went further to deal a blow on our consultative process by
asserting that he will not disclose the discussions going on at the moment
between the two alliances that we will agree on a flag bearer. He added that what
complicated the negotiation is that NADD wanted positions; they wanted the
cake that is not yet baked. He concluded that they are not going to make any
agreement as to who will occupy which position. The president will do that. This
is what Mr. Bah said in the U.S.
FOROYAA: What do you have to say?
HALIFA: Mr. Bah’s claim that negotiations were on between the two alliances
could only be attributed to two things. He was either referring to my talks
with Mr. Darboe which had nothing to do with the sharing of positions or that
he was referring to negotiation that did not exist. In either case the
statements were at least inaccurate and at best misleading. The people in the
Diaspora still have access to Mr. Bah. Could he be asked to explain which talks
were on where NADD was asking for position? I repeat NO such talks are taking
place. My consultative exercise with Mr. Darboe had no agenda. Nothing about
position was discussed. It was also being done under a climate of perfect
equality. This is the first point.
FOROYAA: Would NADD agree to the view that treating all parties as equals
led to the fall out of NADD?
HALIFA: That is the second misleading notion that Mr. Bah sold in the U.S.
Of course if one relies on common sense logic what he said would appear to be
true. However if one analyses the reality one would consider his state to be
unfortunate since others would also exercise their right to reply.
FOROYAA: What do you mean?
HALIFA: First and foremost, an alliance is not a ladder for just one party
but for all parties constituting it. He can be equally accused of using an
alliance as a ladder. Such negative way of looking at things will not take us
anywhere. Secondly if flag bearers of alliances are determined by records of
previous election then Mr. Darboe would have never been the presidential
candidate in 1996. Prior to that he never participated as a candidate in elections.
Thirdly, the leader of one of the parties he mentioned had won an election
as an independent candidate during the first Republic and was unseated only by
a coup d’etat.
Suffice it to say that the PDOIS that he was trying to trivialise by
referring to 2% had put up five candidates in the 2002 parliamentary elections and
earned two seats while having over 20% in all the other three constituencies
while NRP put up 15 candidates only to earn one seat, which he Mr. Bah had
lost in a by election. It is therefore difficult for me to understand Mr. Bah’s
logic. What he has conveyed is that there in no spirit of negotiation in the
UDP/NRP camp and that they are coming up with a sprit of imposing their will.
This is at least haughty in approach
to negotiation which can never succeed.
FOROYAA: Mr Bah said that the policy of treating parties as equals was a
mistake. What is your view on this?
HALIFA: It is unfortunate that I am being dragged into such a discussion at
the moment when we should be engaged in the process of dislodging the APRC
regime. Leadership requires hindsight. Let me ask every Gambian this simple
question. When we met in the US after delivering our speeches in Atlanta in 2003
and were asked whether any party could dislodge the APRC why didn’t the UDP
assert then that it had the potential to do so and simply called on the other
political parties to give it solidarity? Of course, if this was said there
would not have been any need to select a Coordinator. The UDP would have been
asked to send envoys to the various political parties to seek their support
.The parties which felt that UDP could lead them to victory would have joined
them.
In retrospect, when we met in the US the UDP had boycotted the parliamentary
elections and had no seat in the National Assembly. NRP had lost one seat
and had only one seat. Only PDOIS had two parliamentary seats. The case of the
UDP leader was still in court. There was immense hostility in the camp of the
opposition.
In my view, the parties were right to state at the time that none of them
could present itself as the leader of the fold. No party could take the posture
of being superior to the other to the point of playing a big brother role on
the basis of its individual strength and credibility.
I am one hundred percent sure that if the UDP had taken the posture that Mr
Bah is asking it to take now when we first met, all the representatives of
the other parties would have left the hall to go about their business. I stand
to be corrected.
We therefore created NADD as an umbrella party to create unity in the midst
of diversity among the opposition parties because no single party had the
strength and credibility to serve as a rallying ground for other parties. This
is the simple and elementary truth. This umbrella party was designed to
address the individual weaknesses of the member parties and further galvanize their
collective strength and integrity.
In order to ensure that the equality of the parties is reserved as a
tactical instrument to consolidate the strength of the opposition in order to ensure
victory the existence of NADD was limited to five years after the assumption
of office by the flag bearer. During the five years all political parties
will be able to retain their individual political support and still claim
ownership of their collective achievements under NADD. The restriction of the
mandate of the flag bearer to one term was to eradicate the advantages of
incumbency so that any political leader who failed to contest in 2006 would have
equal opportunity to seek the mandate of the people in the next following
election by relying on a party’s numerical strength. The principle of creating an
umbrella party under which collective leadership is exercised was designed not
only to harness the numerical strength of the parties but to build up the
potential to harness voters who are either non committed to individual parties
or are supporters of the ruling party. The collective leadership also serve
as an insurance against any allegation of tribalism or sectionalism. Equality
and collective leadership in NADD offered each voter the personality one
could love and trust to justify one’s trust for the opposition.
Herein lies the viability of NADD. Mr Bah says this was a mistake what he is
offering is imposition of dominance by the UDP. Clearly his proposition
would not have created unity among the opposition from the very beginning.
FOROYAA: But has an alliance like NADD ever happened?
HALIFA: NADD is a united front. In some cases countries are fortunate to
have an opposition party which is capable of winning an election on the basis of
its own numerical strength but can better do so by co-opting other
opposition parties in an alliance, which it leads. On the other hand, countries may be
faced with a situation where the people are not sentimental about parties
and are very willing to put party affiliation aside to form a united front to
achieve an aim.
A clear example of this is Gambia in 1996 and 2001 when the UDP operated as
an umbrella party for the parties, which were banned. I have also pointed out
the cases of Tumani Toure and in Mali and even Nino Vieira in Guinea Bissau,
where the people disregarded both the ruling party and the opposition. NADD
could have been another example.
FOROYAA: What is the way forward?
HALIFA: I have said that people are calling for an alliance. We should
explain what the two alliances are offering the people and ask them to make their
choice as to which form of alliance should be the basis of unity. As far as I
am concerned, I have made it clear that I have accepted to be flag bearer
because of my conviction that I could be accepted by all political
constituencies in The Gambia. However, I am also willing to hand over to anyone who can
be better promoted among all political constituencies in the country.
FOROYAA: Some are asking why you accepted to be flag bearer.
HALIFA: Let me also ask why did, I accept to be Coordinator when I was
Secretary General of PDOIS? It is duty that called and I had to answer. I would
like to remind people that I did not apply to be a Coordinator nor did I want
to be one. When I appeared in Atlanta I was the Minority Leader of the
National Assembly of The Gambia and I accepted to be Coordinator not to become an
apolitical civil servant but to facilitate a process. My mandate ended with
the signing of the MOU. However all the parties agreed to elect me as
Coordinator again? That is trust.
Needless to say, I did not apply to be flag bearer. Just I was unanimously
selected as Coordinator I was again unanimously selected as flag bearer of
NADD. I accepted because duty called on me to do so. If duty again calls on me
to hand over the responsibility to someone who can better lead us to success I
am again willing to do so. I am willing to do whatever duty is imposed on
me.
FOROYAA: Mr Bah alluded to a party, which for twenty years could only get
two percent of the votes.
HALIFA: I am the flag bearer of NADD. Since NRP and UDP cam into being I
stood in three elections. In 1997 I stood with a UDP candidate in Serrekunda
East. I had 8500 votes. He had 8000 votes. The APRC candidate had 9500 votes.
This is not what is called 2% of the votes. In 2002 those who boycotted
elections campaigned against me but I won. In 2005 I stood for NADD and won. The
picture Mr Bah has been insinuating regarding the flag bearer has no affinity to
what is on the ground. This is the chapter and verse of the whole story.
FOROYAA: What is NADD doing at the moment?
HALIFA: We are not convinced that a one party led alliance can be promoted
successfully. Hence Sidia and his team are in the URD; Waa and his team have
covered LRD and they are now in CRD and will come down to Baddibu. Landing
Jallow Sonko and his team will cover Nuimi, Jokadu and CRD North. As flag bearer
we will engage in debriefing when they come back to know the way forward.
FOROYAA: You must have a lot of money.
HALIFA: That is what we do not have. We have changed our strategy. We used
to rely on established organisations like Movement for the Restoration of
Democracy in the Gambia in UK or Save The Gambia Democracy Project in the USA.
Now we have opened up new strategies to receive solidarity from any individual
Gambian who wishes to give cash or kind. Our partners can continue to do
their best while we explore new avenues for funding. We need paper, ink,
cassettes, T-shirts, caps, etc. The response is encouraging. We can only be as
effective as Gambians want us to be.
FOROYAA: Any last words?
HALIFA: I hear some people saying that if the opposition is not united they
will not provide funds or vote. My view is that whether one casts one’s vote
or not others will vote for the APRC. What Gambians should do is to give
their maximum, be ready to vote and then encourage the opposition to be united.
The hands-off policy is a fatalist policy. It will only lead to the
retention of the status quo. In our view people should insist that the two alliances
come together. However if that fails people must learn to judge where the
fault lies. I can assure every one that I will be able to explain my point of
view with clarity and history will never indict me for not taking the right
decision at the right time to defeat impunity and poverty which are dual factors
that fetter the liberty and prosperity of the Gambian people.
ABDOULIE SONKO’S TREASON TRIAL
By Surakata Danso
The protracted treason trial involving Abdoulie Sonko and the State was
deferred on Thursday by the Banjul High Court. When the case was called, Sonko
applied to the court for him to be provided with a counsel by the State. The
accused made this application following the absence of his counsel (Mai
Fatty) in court. He said his family members had made efforts to facilitate the
appearance of Fatty in court, but they could not establish his whereabout.
Sonko is accused of taking part in the military assault on the Farafenni
Military Camp in 1996. The said attack has left some soldiers dead. Sonko was
arrested after he returned from Liberia.
DAILY EXPRESS PUBLISHERS SUSPEND WORK
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Abdulgafar Olademeji, co-publisher of the newly established Daily Express
Newspaper, has disclosed that they have resolved to stop publishing their
paper.
Mr. Olademeji who was detained at the National Intelligence Agency with his
colleague Samuel Obi, said since the aftermath of their arrest, both have
agreed to suspend the publication of the Daily Express. “We have resolved to
stop publication. No one is holding us back, it is our own decision,” Olademeji
said in an interview with FOROYAA on Thursday.
He also expressed that they might even sell the company, stressing the lack
of interest and courage in running it anymore.
According to Olademeji, they have been detained at the NIA from Friday, the
14th July up to Tuesday, the 18th of July 2006. He also indicated that the
NIA officials asked for Sulayman Makalo, the papers’ editor-in-chief who
resigned after the maiden edition.
However, recent newspaper reports have shown that Makalo is allegedly on the
run.
The Daily Express, which appeared in the newsstand for the 1st of July only,
was the latest Gambian paper to close its doors, following the closure of
the biweekly, The Independent Newspaper, a few months ago.
INSUFFICIENT BUDGETARY ALLOCATION AFFECTS DOSE
By Sarjo Camara Singateh
Presenting his research document before stakeholders at the Baobab Holiday
resort on the 19th of July 2006, Mr Ousainou Loum said one of the most
pressing challenges of Gambian Education is ‘’teacher supply.’’
Mr. Loum said there is a shortage of teachers at the Secondary School level.
He said it has been estimated that by 2015, 12,000 additional teachers
would be needed in the school system.
He pointed out that this number has taken into consideration the rate of
attrition and the effect of HIV/AIDS.
He said in a bid to produce 12,000 teachers within 9 years, Government must
improve the current training facilities at Gambia College. He said the
University must also expand its training programme for secondary school teachers.
He said this would require more spending and an increment on the education
budget.
He said in addition to teachers, Education for all would require the
construction of new classrooms, production of textbooks and the purchase of
equipment. He pointed out that there is need to increase the education budget by at
least 10%., Mr. Loum mentioned that the budget for 2005-2006 was under 350
million Dalasis.
He said in sufficient budgetary allocation has bedeviled the development
objective of DOSE for many years. He pointed out that DOSE is aware of the
relationship between low spending on Education and the quality of education that
is provided. He said the Government can either increase the budget or allow
the Private Sector to participate in the provision of Education.
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