Folks, pardon me and please disregard the below message.
Chi Jaama
Joe
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: RE: [pdoisgroup] Buharry is on top of it.
> From: "Amie Sillah" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Thu, July 1, 2004 1:59 pm
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
>
> Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
> Issue No. 52/2004, 1-03 July, 2004
> Editorial
> DIALOGUE OR DICTATION
> THE PRESIDENT AND HIS COUNTRYWIDE TOUR
> The IEC Should Take Note!
> The president of the republic has been making it very clear that he
> will not give regard to his oath to perform his executive duties
> without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. In stead, he has been
> telling the people that if they fail to vote for him he will not
> provide them with public services such as hospitals, schools,
> ambulances, boreholes, milling machines and other services. The
> president has gone very far to undermine the integrity of the
> Independent Electoral Commission by asserting that the polling stations
> are increased so that they would know how people vote. This would
> determine which communities are to receive or be deprived of benefits.
> It is outrageous for the president to make such comments, which are
> calculated to intimidate the voter. It also does not tell well on the
> independence of the I.E.C. The fact of the matter is that it has been
> observed by many voters that if polling stations are far away from
> people’s homes many tend not to vote. It has been a popular demand for
> the polling stations to be increased and to be situated in places
> closer to the voter. This speeds up the voting process and prevent long
> queues. The practice has the tendency to reveal the number of votes per
> polling station that each candidate receives. However, this should not
> be a disadvantage in a genuine democratic society with a
> democratically minded leadership that wishes to promote free and fair
> elections which produce the undiluted choice of the people. If the
> president wants to use the process to victimize those who exercise
> their freedom to choose who they want, that should lead people to bow
> down to his wishes. That would amount to blackmail. A free people can
> never allow themselves to bow down to intimidation. The people should
> therefore continue to express their will freely to vote for who they
> want. If the president fails to deliver services without fear or
> favour, affection or ill-will he should be considered unfit to preside
> over the affairs of a sovereign people and be removed. This is the only
> way to prevent a sovereign people from being subjected to the dictates
> of rulers. The president should be shown that the Gambian people will
> not accept threats from leaders they can remove from office. If the
> president does not desist from such threats the people should teach him
> the lesson that they are responsible for putting him in office and he
> is not responsible for giving them citizenship. They are citizens
> irrespective of his will while he is a president because of their will.
> If he seeks to dictate to them they should remove him to teach him who
> has power in a sovereign
> republic. CULTURAL TOURISM OR HOMECOMING
> THE CONTRADICTIONS OF THE ROOTS FESTIVAL
> Halifa Sallah Speaks to Some of the Guests
> Some of the guests who came to The Gambia in search of an African
> identity were advised to speak to Halifa Sallah. In an interview with
> FOROYAA he said that the Roots Festival has contradictory objectives.
> He said that many of those who advertised the festival see it as part
> and parcel of cultural tourism. This puts it as a part of the travel
> trade aiming to attract spenders to promote economic well-being. He
> said that the people he had spoken to had a different impression of the
> festival. They saw it as a form of homecoming, a journey in search of a
> place they can belong to and identify with as their home. Those who
> have
> commercialized the programme create activities to entertain. They
> expose the visitors to traditional practices without explaining their
> relevance to the creation of a positive African and human identity.
> Those who see the festival as homecoming often want explanation, why
> huts, bad roads, beggars and general poverty still plague the continent
> after decades of independence. They want to know why The Gambia /
> Africa they want to be proud of or belong to still harbours so many
> ills they are not proud of. Halifa explained that the current nature of
> the Roots Festival excludes this agenda of mental liberation and
> self-discovery and simply
> perpetuates a narrow cultural viewpoint. He told the visitors that in
> 2005 the People’s Centre will have its own programmes to sensitize
> those who wish for a homecoming experience on Pan Africanism and the
> legacy of those who have struggled for Africa to be homeland for people
> of African descent. Halifa told them that Africa is very rich but
> harbours 340 million poor Africans because of our own failure to create
> a united Africa immediately after attaining national liberation. He
> explained that there is need to combine the three stages of production
> for a modern economy; that there is need to produce raw materials as
> the primary stage of production. There is need to process the raw
> materials as the second stage of production and there is need to
> produce machines to support both the primary and secondary stages as
> the tertiary stage. He argued that at independence most African
> countries were at the primary stage; that they lacked the banks to
> invest in the secondary and tertiary stages; that people like Nkrumah
> spoke about a cooperative banking system where all newly independent
> African countries could make contributions to, establish an African
> Investment Bank to support the secondary and tertiary phases ! of
> development.
> The visitors were told that many of the leaders were only interested in
> occupying the mansions left by the colonialists and become rulers of a
> poor people rather than work towards unifying the continent and create
> a United States of Africa. He lamented that the end result of narrow
> materialism is that most countries are still at the primary stage
> producing mainly raw materials and importing everything else from their
> former colonial masters. He said that the huts and general poverty they
> see is not African culture but the signs of a neglected people and
> continent. He said the potential is there but could only be realized if
> we have leaders who would stop pulling money in Swiss banks and instead
> put it in an African Investment Bank to finance the projects needed on
> the continent. He told them that their own brothers and sisters at home
> think that they are coming from rich countries and should give them
> creativity. He told them not to be disturbed by the lev! el of
> ignorance and poverty but see it as a sign of the failure of African
> leadership. He argued that they should educate their brothers and
> sisters that the perceived prosperity of the US is being mystified by
> credit cards. They should explain their real situation and then help
> their brothers and sisters to see that they should unite their efforts
> to create an African leadership that will be true to their mandate to
> articulate the plans and programmes that will ensure that the total
> economic emancipation of the continent and the empowerment of the
> people to have the true architects of a destiny of liberty, dignity and
> prosperity. The visitors took videos and promised to spread the message
> far and wide. To them it was
> homecoming indeed, not commercial cultural tourism. D-DAY FOR
> JARRA WEST
> The electorate of Jarra West constituency, which became vacant after
> the conviction and imprisonment of the former Majority Leader, Baba K.
> Jobe, will be going to the polls today to determine the fate of the
> vacant seat. This shows that power lies with the people. In fact,
> section 1 of the constitution stipulates that the sovereignty of The
> Gambia resides in the people. The election in Jarra West today is more
> than just deciding who is to replace Baba K. Jobe. The electorate of
> Jarra West will decide today whether or not they will assert their
> authority or allow someone to impose his or her will upon them as the
> president has indicated.
> THE APPEALS OF BABA JOBE AND WAA JUWARA
> WHAT IS THEIR STATUS?
> As the saying goes justice delayed is justice denied. I have been
> motivated by this statement to find out the status of two important
> appeals now before the Court of Appeal, namely the appeal of the
> Secretary General of NDAM, Lamin Waa Juwara who was released on Friday
> 25th June and that of Baba K. Jobe who is still serving a term of
> imprisonment of more than nine years. My investigation has revealed
> that the legal representatives of both appellants are yet to receive
> certified copies of the records of court proceedings which are
> necessary for the appeal to proceed. When I contacted the courts and
> the legal
> representatives of both appellants I was duly informed that in fact the
> records have already been typed and the judge is now doing the
> proofreading. For the information of the reader Lamin Waa Jawara was
> tried and convicted for sedition and imprisonment for six months. He
> has already served the six months while the appeal is yet to be heard.
> For his part Baba K. Jobe was convicted and imprisoned for a term of
> more than nine years on 29th March 2004. His appeal was filed on 6th
> May 2004. UN EXTENDS MANDATE OF GAMBIAN PEACEKEEPERS
> The Chief of Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, Colonel Baboucarr Jatta
> has informed this paper that the UN has extended the mandate of the
> Gambian peacekeepers in Liberia who were due here last month. According
> to Colonel Jatta, the peacekeepers who were due to return home in June
> will instead come in September. Colonel Jatta said despite the fact
> that The Gambia did not meet the quota for UN operations, the level of
> professionalism demonstrated by its soldiers has impressed the UN to
> the extent that the mandate of its soldiers has been extended. “Others
> have met the quota for UN peacekeeping missions, but the UN is urging
> them to go. They (Gambian soldiers) have excelled in executing their
> duties which is why the Field Commander in Liberia and the UN are
> interested in them,” Colonel Jatta remarked. Colonel Jatta said that
> the UN has urged
> countries without a battalion in Liberia to leave the aforesaid
> country. He said despite the fact that The Gambia has a company (about
> 100 to 150 soldiers) in Liberia, the UN has urged her to stay. He said
> that in order for a country to meet UN standards for peacekeeping
> missions, it must be in a position to deploy a battalion and must have
> standard equipment which the Gambia Armed Forces lack at the moment. He
> posited that The Gambia government is presently leaving no stone
> unturned in order to get standard equipment for the Armed Forces. He
> posited that peacekeeping missions are a source of foreign exchange
> earnings for the country. MAI FATTY ACCUSES JUSTICE PAUL
> The treason trial involving Abdoulie Sonko and the State is never short
> of controversy. Mai Fatty, counsel for the accused, on Monday urged the
> trial judge, Justice M. A. Paul to refuse from hearing the matter.
> Fatty’s application came at a time when the defence was supposed to
> make a no case submission. “There has been a change of situation with
> regards to the defence position. We are applying to the court to refuse
> itself from hearing this matter. The court has manifested substantial
> bias towards the defence and our position is that the court cannot
> dispensate justice on this matter. There has been many instances when
> the defence has been denied proper hearing,” Fatty remarked. At this
> point, Justice Paul, urged the prosecutor, Chernor Marenah to respond
> to Fatty’s
> submission. Marenah stood up to say that he has left the matter to the
> court to decide. “I don’t know you. I only met you here as a lawyer.
> You have a problem, you don’t want to learn. If you think the court
> does not want to do justice in this case, there is a proper way of
> doing it (applying). If I am not taking insult from you, that does not
> mean I am biased,” Justice Paul remarked. Fatty posited, “It is our
> duty as
> counsels to protect the integrity of this court. The integrity of this
> court is the common interest of everybody. I will not insult any
> counsel, and I will not take insult from counsel or anybody.” Justice
> Paul at this juncture ruled that Fatty has made very serious
> allegations against him, noting that unless the latter take the correct
> steps, he will not
> withdraw from the matter. He later asked Fatty to make his no case
> submission or ask the witness to enter his defence. Fatty asked the
> court to grant him an adjournment in order for him to make a no case
> submission. Justice Paul asked Marenah to respond to Fatty’s request,
> the latter urged the court to grant Fatty an adjournment. MANSONG
> DAMBELL LOSES CASE
> The Gambia Court of Appeal headed by Justice Gibou Janneh on Thursday
> delivered judgment on the protracted legal battle involving prominent
> businessman, Mansong Dambell and the West African Examination Council.
> The Court of Appeal turned down the judgment delivered by the High
> Court in favour of Mansong Dambell. The latter was awarded D3, 636,
> 000.00 by the High Court. The appellant, WAEC later filed an appeal at
> the Court of Appeal. The appellant did enter into a business deal with
> Mansong. Two of the contracts were executed by the latter but the last
> contract was terminated by the appellant. This prompted Mansong to file
> a writ at the High Court claiming D1, 818, 000 as damages for breach of
> contract. According to Justice Janneh, after reading the relevant
> portions of the judgment, the court found out that the High Court judge
> made an error in that the correct amount representing 20 % of the
> overall contract price of D1, 818, 000.00 is D363, 600.00 and not D3,
> 636, 000.00 as read by the former judge. In delivering judgment,
> Justice Janneh stated that the Appeal Court thought it relevant to
> award D3000.00 costs at the High Court and D5000.00 in the Appeal Court
> in favour of the appellant.
>
>
> MSN 8 with e-mail virus protection service: 2 months FREE*
>
>
> --
> Chi Jaama
> Joe Sambou
--
Chi Jaama
Joe Sambou
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