Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues
Issue No. 13/2005, 17-20 February, 2005
Editorial
Gambia Belongs To The People
On The Spate Of Arrests

Gambians have been witnessing a spate of arrests and detention of various
prominent personalities these past few days. Information reaching FOROYAA
indicated that the Master of the High Court, Mr. B. Y. Camara, Mrs. Mary
Samba-Christensen, a private legal practitioner, the Inspector General of
Police, Landing Badjie, Tamsir Jassey, former Director of Immigration, OC
Ousman Jatta of the Criminal Investigation Unit, were arrested by the NIA.
At the time of going to press, Mr Landing Badgie was still held at the
Central Prisons at Mile 2.
Reports also reveal a similar wave hitting the Senegambia Beach Hotel on
Sunday in which the following were arrested: Turro Jawneh, Baba Darboe,
Modou Jaiteh, Mr. Dirk Dathe, the General Manager and his wife, Hattib
Beyai and Hendry Brockman. It was also later reported at the time of going
to press that Turro Jawneh, Baba Darboe and Hendry Brockman were still in
custody.
Reasons for the arrests and detention have not been made known to the
public, leading to rumours and speculations. At the time of going to press
the police PRO could say nothing, the NIA PRO could also say nothing, the
Deputy IG could not be reached, the Director General of NIA could also not
be reached; no statement had been issued while the public wanted to know
and they have a right to know what was happening.
Needless to say, section 19 subsection (1) of the constitution states
categorically:
"Every person shall have the right to liberty and security of person. No
one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be
deprived of his or her liberty except on such grounds and in accordance
with such procedures as are established by law."
Respect for the rule of law and the constitution demands that the due
process of law be adhered to in effecting arrests. The present executive
cannot predict their fate tomorrow and it is therefore also in their own
interest to ensure the prevalence of the rule of law and good governance.
What is dangerous is to use arrest to whip individuals or settle scores.
This can serve as a breeding ground for tyranny. But tyrants have no
future.
Furthermore, our dear nation belongs to no individual but to the Gambian
people. Hence section 1 subsection (2) of the constitution states:
"The sovereignty of The Gambia resides in the people of The Gambia from
whom all organs of government derive their authority and in whose name and
for whose welfare and prosperity the powers of government are to be
exercised in accordance with this constitution."
In short, it is obligatory for the executive to be responsible to the
people to explain its actions.

ARMY MAJOR BECOMES POLICE CHIEF
As we were preparing to go to press, the following press release was
received from the Office of the President regarding the dismissal of
Landing '13' Badjie:
This is to announce that Mr. Landing Badjie, Inspector General of Police,
has been dismissed from the service as a result of dereliction of duty and
allowing himself to be put in very serious compromising situations with
individuals under investigation for activities endangering the security
and health of people. Furthermore, many cases remain unsolved concerning
serious crimes, including armed robberies and breakages into homes,
violent crimes against individuals, currency counterfeiting and other
serious economic crimes. Instructions to have vehicles without number
plates, with tinted glasses or with foreign number plates off the road
remained largely ignored during Mr. Badjie's tenure.
As a result of this development, Major Ousman Sonko, Commanding Officer,
1st Infantry Battalion of the Gambia National Army, has been appointed as
Acting Inspector General of Police.
Comment: The release gives rise to several questions. Our information is
that Major Ousman Sonko, though he may be a Good Soldier he may not be an
experienced Police Officer. Why is an Army Major appointed to head the
Police? Is it because there is no competent Police Officer to handle the
position? This is a matter the President needs to clarify.
According to the release, "Instructions to have vehicles without number
plates, with tinted glasses or with foreign number plates off the road
remained largely ignored during Mr. Badjie's tenure." This is rather
confusing because Mr. Badjie had told FOROYAA Newspaper in an interview
that his office had written to the heads of all security outfits in the
country, on the issue of vehicles without number plates by members of the
security forces. He emphasized that the Police would not compromise on the
use of such vehicles either by members of the security forces or by any
member of civil society.


Draconian Laws Definitely Aborted
The following Bills, which were passed by the National Assembly on the
13th and 14th December 2004 cannot possibly come into operation:
(1) The Constitution 1997 (Amendment) Bill 2004 which sought to repeal
section 210 of the constitution which provides for the establishment of a
National Media Commission Act;
(2) The National Media Commission (Repeal) Bill 2004 which sought to
repeal the Media Commission Act;
(3) The Newspaper (Amendment) Bill which sought to increase the bond for
the establishment of a newspaper from D100, 000 to D500, 000; and fines
from D50,000 to D250,000.
(4) The Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill 2004, which sought to amend section
52 of the Criminal Code by making offenders liable to imprisonment without
the option of a fine.
We could not come to a definite conclusion in the last issue because some
facts were not clear yet. Now everything is clear.
The question now arises: How is a law enacted? The National Assembly must
pass a Bill
which must be assented to by the president before it could become law.
According to section 100 subsection (1) "The legislative power of The
Gambia shall be exercised by Bills passed by the National Assembly and
assented to by the president."
But there is time limit. According to section 100 subsection (3) of the
constitution, "Where a Bill passed by the National Assembly is presented
to the President for his / her assent, the President shall within thirty
days assent to the Bill or return it to the National Assembly with the
request that the National Assembly reconsider the Bill…."
Our investigation has revealed that the President did assent to the four
Bills since the 28th of December 2004. This is within the thirty days
limit. Hence one would expect it to become law in accordance with
subsection (5) of section 100 of the constitution, which states: "A Bill
which is duly passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the
President shall become law as an Act of the National Assembly…."
However, unless it is published in the Gazette such law is meant for the
shelves and is of no effect. This is spelt out in section 100 subsection
(7) which states that "No Act of the National Assembly shall come into
operation until it has been published in the Gazette…" But again there is
a time limit stipulated in section 100 subsection (6): "The President
shall cause Acts of the National Assembly to be published in the Gazette
within thirty days of assent." Well, the president assented to the Bills
on 28th December, 2004. He should have caused their publication in the
Gazette not later than 27th January, 2005 but up till 16th February 2005
this was not done. His failure to cause the publication of the new laws in
the Gazette not later than 27th January 2005 means that they will be of no
effect, that is, as if there was no amendment.
Moreover according to section 4 of the constitution, "This Constitution is
the supreme law of The Gambia and any other law found to be inconsistent
with any provision of this Constitution shall, to the extent of the
inconsistency, be void," that is, of no effect.


4900 TONNES OF JAPANESE FOOD AID FOR GAMBIA
By Surakata Danso
An official of the Department of State for Agriculture has confirmed to
this reporter that a total of 4, 900 metric tonnes of 25 kg bags of US
milled rice has been given to the government of The Gambia by Japan.
The official who went to the seaport on the 14th February 2005 where the
unloading of the rice was taking place, was told that the ship had
completed discharging the rice. On what the state is intending to do with
the said food aid to the farmers, the official indicated that the
government has not yet decided.

DOMESTIC DEBT STRATEGY
By Amie Sanneh
The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Mr. Famara Jatta said that
the domestic debt burden is weighing heavily on the fiscal budget thus
adding pressure on interest rates and also constraining resources for
poverty reduction. This situation, he said, poses a serious threat to the
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets of halving
poverty by 2015.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two weeks regional workshop on
domestic debt strategy held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, Mr. Jatta pointed
out that since the onset of debt crisis in the early 80s, the issue of
debt in Africa is of great concern to policy makers.
This, he added, made them to formulate appropriate macroeconomic policies
for sustainable growth and development.
"As you are aware, much has been done through the traditional debt relief
mechanism and later, the HIPC initiative to alleviate the debt problems of
low-income countries. Although the HIPC initiative has charted a course
toward restoring debt sustainability by providing resources for
substantial debt relief, it has neither benefited all low-income countries
nor guaranteed long-term debt sustainability due to some inherent
deficiencies in its framework," he said.
Mr. Jatta further stated that most of the countries that reached
the 'completion point' under the initiative are still grappling with
unsustainable debt burdens; that this has given rise to a strong body of
opinion in the debt literature that the HIPC initiative's debt criteria
should be reviewed.
The Central Bank Governor revealed that The Gambia reaching the decision
point in December 2000 with HIPC initiative made the International
Development Agency (IDA) and the IMF to support a debt reduction package
for the country worth US $ 67 million in net percentage value; that due to
some delay in negotiating a new poverty reduction and growth facility
programme with the IMF, the floating completion has not been reached.
The Gambia, Mr. Jatta said, has been unable to achieve the completion
point triggers and the significant proportion of the debt relief which was
agreed in 2000 was not materialized.
He added that the war against poverty is being hampered due to the
country's debt burden which remains unsustainable.
"The Gambia's external debt was estimated at about US $ 576.0 million
(D1785 billion) at the end of December. The ratio of external debt service
to the GDP stood at 18.0 % in 2003. At 41 percent, the debt service to
budget ratio was relatively high, compared to the figure of 15 percent set
by the IMF / World Bank for debt sustainability," he remarked.
The Central Bank Governor added, "The picture would have been worse than
this if the stock of domestic debt were included in the country's debt
sustainability analysis."
He indicated that in many Sub-Saharan African countries, the domestic debt
burden is often more than the external debt burden; that due to the high
domestic debt of these countries, the domestic interest is always at high
rates; that as a result of this the domestic debt service payment exceeds
external debt service payments. Mr. Jatta added, "For instance, in The
Gambia's 2005 budget, allocation for domestic interest payments exceeded
that for external interest payments by more than three times. Yet the
external debt stock was more than four times the stock of domestic debt."
From the foregoing analysis, he said that HIPCs do not have access to
international capital markets and therefore they rely on dwindling
official development assistance.
Any effort to assess the magnitude of the fiscal effort or external
assistance required by HIPCs in the post completion period to reach debt
sustainability must take due cognizance of the domestic debt.
Other speakers at the opening ceremony were the Director of WAIFEM, Dr.
Chris O. Itsede who gave the welcoming remarks and Dr. Mathew Martin, the
Director of Debt Relief International (DRI).
The workshop organized by the West Africa Institute for Financial and
Economic Management (WAIFEM) and DRI is being attended by participants
from various countries across the Africa region. The workshop is supposed
to end on the 25th February 2005.


PEOPLE'S VIEW ON THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
In this issue, FOROYAA got in touch with Foday Sumareh, a businessman to
hear his views on the National Assembly.
FOROYAA: Can you tell our readers your educational background?
Foday: I attended Barrow Kunda Primary School and then went to Basse
Junior Secondary School.
FOROYAA: Did you vote during the last National Assembly election?
Foday: Yes, I voted during the last National Assembly election.
FOROYAA: Are you conversant with developments at the National Assembly?
Foday: Of course yes! I am very conversant with National Assembly
developments because I attend National Assembly proceedings and also read
newspapers' reports on the National Assembly.
FOROYAA: What is your view on the performance of the National Assembly?
Foday: I must say that the attitude of some of the members is
disappointing, disappointing because they are not living to people's
expectation. They (NAMs) see themselves as party supporters and not
people's representatives. They show allegiance to the party on whose
ticket they contested and not to the people who voted for them. For
example, when the Secretary of State for Agriculture indicated in the
National Assembly that arrangement for groundnut trade has already been
done, and that there will be no credit buying or cross border trade, the
NAMs clapped for him when they knew very well what was on the ground
because 90 % of members are representing the farming community. Instead of
clapping, they should have explained the problem of the people they are
representing. I do not expect them to behave in such a way but to work
harder for the Gambian people they are representing.
FOROYAA: What is your advice to the electorate?
Foday: My advice to the people is that they should take politics seriously
because politics determines the life you life. They should take politics
seriously by electing mature representatives who will mortgage their …
because of position. The electorate should realise that mature electorate
should look for mature representatives and in doing so, one looks at the
quality of the person, not tribe, religion or place of origin.
FOROYAA: Thank you Foday for sharing your views with our readers.
Foday: Thank you for enabling us air our views.

FARMERS WORRIED ABOUT STATE OF GROUNDNUT TRADE
By Surakata Danso
A farmer from Galleh Manda in Upper Fulladu West Constituency has informed
FOROYAA that as farmers they are worried about the current state of the
trade season. He indicated that as a farmer who has been directly affected
they had money only once which was available at his home village
cooperative marketing society.
In expressing the problems faced by farmers, the concerned and affected
farmer indicated that since 1994 farmers have continuously been given
empty promises year after year on the state of the groundnut trade. He
indicated further that from 1994, the marketing of the only cash crop of
the nation, groundnuts has been handled by incompetent companies which has
been giving farmers a series of problems in marketing.
The concerned farmer added that the problem of this year is the worst
since money has not been available at seccos and buying points; that
farmers are intimidated and harassed should they move their nuts to
Senegal where money is available on sale.


NAWEC, PLEASE COME TO OUR AID!
By Sarjo M. Camara
Residents of Janjangbureh are faced with acute shortage of water and
electricity. For Janjangbureh they have been in this untenable situation
for more than six months now. It can be seen that between 4.00 pm to 6.00
pm people would come in groups with their containers fetching water for
drinking and cooking from the river.
Some people I spoke to in the community expressed their disappointment
saying that the island is an old settlement that used to have all the
amenities of a town; but that now things are getting worse every day. They
maintained that they have been paying their taxes to the Council and bills
to NAWEC and therefore are entitled to such basic services as water and
electricity. One of the complainants who prefers anonymity said that the
Janjangbureh Area Council owes the public an explanation. "We are tired of
drinking unhygienic water," he remarked.
Sources also revealed that since the water tank was removed and taken to
Bansang for repairs, nothing was said about it or its replacement.
Armitage Senior Secondary School, one of the oldest schools since colonial
times and also the only government boarding school has also not been
spared the trouble caused by the acute water and electricity shortage now
hitting Janjangbureh.
This situation had caused serious sanitary problems which led to the
closure of the school by the authorities. It was only the grade 12
students who were allowed to stay on campus.
Students expressed their disapproval of the decision of the authorities.
They said they have been in this situation for a long time drinking water
from the river. They said they were drinking unhygienic water for so long.
Mr. Baboucarr Suwareh, the Regional Education Officer of Region 5, when
asked to shed light on this issue confirmed that the Commissioner ordered
for the closure because the students wanted to demonstrate; that he was
out of the island when the order was passed by the Commissioner; that the
condition was deemed risky for the children to go to the river, to drink
or swim.
Mr. Suwareh said, "The authorities are making all efforts to see that we
dig a borehole or well for the school." He promised that by next week
everything will be in place.
The Principal of the school was said to have travelled to Banjul.
The Commissioner, Mr. Momodou Njie also acknowledged the situation of lack
of water and electricity when briefing the ministerial delegation that was
on its way to open a museum at Kerr Batch.
The shortage of these basic utilities has led some government officials to
spend the night at the ITC in Sololo instead of Janjangbureh. On that
Friday night the communities were only privileged to be supplied water and
electricity due to the kind intervention of one Mr. Badou Sinyan, a motel
owner, who bought and provided D3, 900.00 worth of fuel for NAWEC.


GPA PAYS MORE BY HIRING PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS
By Surakata Danso
The Customer Relations Manager of a leading private security company,
Wackenhut, on Flag 4, Madam Mariama Jagana Sarr, has denied that the cost
of the contract between her company and the GPA is D87, 400 monthly for
the 16 security officers currently serving at the GPA. However, Madam
Jagana Sarr failed to indicate to this reporter what the actual contract
agreement was, while questioning why she should disclose to any individual
or institution on earth her company's contract deals. Madam Jagana Sarr
made these remarks at her office in Fajara.
Madam Jagana Sarr was contacted following receipt of complaints by some
members of the GPA security unit who believe that:
1. the hiring of security firms is a waste of resources in that the GPA
spends a lot more in paying these firms than in paying GPA security staff.
2. the hiring of private security firms serves as a basis for the
privatization of the GPA
The officers who are today in a state of fear of losing their jobs in the
name of privatization, have told this reporter that since 1972 GPA had its
own branch of security; that since then the branch was able to properly
secure all the areas of operation of the GPA from Banjul to Farafenni
ferry crossing areas. The officers questioned why there should be the need
for such a move at a time when they had one of the best Chief Security
Managers in the name of Mr. Badjie. They called on the authorities to
check into the issue of the security contracts of the GPA with Wackenhut
Security Company. They complained that with the amount paid to the company
they are paying D5, 462.50 monthly for each security officer and an annual
turnover of D1, 048, 800 to the company.
When contacted for comment the GPA Public Relations and Communications
Officer, Mr. Ebrima J. T. Kujabi told this reporter that he could not
comment on the contract in question since there is a new management which
is in the process of reviewing the contract.


LANG CONTEH BACK IN COURT
By Surakata Danso
FOROYAA has been informed Lang Conteh, the former Foreign Exchange Manager
of the Central Bank is to appear in court today, Thursday 17th February
2005. The report indicated that since the withdrawal of the two cases
involving Lang Conteh in criminal cases No. 4 and 5 of February 2004, he
had not fulfilled the grounds of the withdrawal which is to pay to the
Central Bank the amounts.
Readers of FOROYAA would recall that a total of D407 million suits were
filed against various operators of forex bureaus on charges of economic
crimes. It could further be recalled that Lang Conteh had been involved in
criminal case No. 4 of 2004 with Baba Jobe and the Global Finance and
Assets Management for the sum of D156 million and case No. 5 of 2004 with
Begay Ceesay, Betty Saine, Bintou Conteh Nyang Joof and Wechit Faling
Forex Bureau.


BAR ASSOCIATION ELECTS NEW EXECUTIVE
By Surakata Danso
The Gambia Bar Association on Tuesday the 15th day of February 2005
elected a new executive at the end of the Association's congress as
follows:
President - Mr. Musa Bittaye
Vice President - Mrs. J. R. Sallah Njie
Secretary General - Mr. Ousman Jammeh
Asst. Secretary General - Mr. Lamin K. Mboge
Treasurer - Mrs. Ann Rivington
Auditor - Mr. Lamin Jabby
Social Secretary - Mrs. Ebironkeh Janneh Jagana
Mr. Bolla Carrol and Mr. Chernor Marena were selected as Ex-officio Members

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