Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue

Issue No.65/2005, 18-21 August, 2005

Editorial

THE IEC CHAIRMAN SHOULD CALL A PRESS CONFERENCE

One would have thought that by now, the new IEC Chairman would have invited all the political parties to a meeting to discuss the approach of his team to electoral matters followed by a press conference to promote transparency and accountability.

It is already published in the Gazette that by elections will take place in Serrekunda Central, Jarra West, Upper Saloum and Wuli West on 29th September 2005.

Many questions are being raised.

First and foremost, it is the APRC leadership who announced the date of the by elections before the IEC made public declaration on the matters.

Secondly, the president said that Gambians in the diaspora will not be registered, we need to know what the IEC has to say on this.

Thirdly, the president has been removing the members of the IEC as he desires. One needs to know from the IEC members whether they do not feel intimidated, especially when it comes to the extensive retrenchment of staff.

There are also rumours of the political affiliation of some members. The IEC therefore needs to give the journalists the opportunity to ask questions so that doubts can be clarified.

The IEC is a very important institution for the stability of the country. Guinea Bissau is stable up to today because the Electoral Commission of Bissau refused to succumb to threats. The Electoral Commission went as far as to look for security guarantees before declaring the results.

In the Gambia, the IEC lacks security of tenure. It is also not immune to visits by security forces. Many people are questioning whether the IEC can perform it’s duties with independence.

Rumours are rife that voting cards are being transferred to Upper Saloum just to ensure that the APRC takes the seat. Wishful thinking or not, the integrity of the IEC is being questioned even before the elections take place.

It is necessary for the IEC to give assurance to the public that its integrity is intact and would not be found wanting.

This should be done with speed.



HALIFA’S INTERVIEW

ON THE TRIP TO SALOUM, THE POINT EDITORIAL,

THE SERREKUNDA CENTRAL SEAT AND THE IEC

Foroyaa: You have just returned from Saloum, can you give us an update on the situation?

Halifa: I went with Honourable Bah and a former GPP candidate for Saloum Mr. Nganie Touray. The visit was very inspiring. We met representatives from all the villages in Upper Saloum and the cross section of the electorate. I am not surprised why the APRC candidate, Mr. Sainey Mbye told the Observer that he was fighting an uphill battle.

Foroyaa: Are you not blowing your own trumpet?

Halifa: I am just being very objective. It was incomprehensible for me that members of a party which claim to stand for development would mobilize a chief and an Ex-MP like Amulai Janneh to threaten the Alkalolu of villages with dismissal or deprivation or development assistance from government if they allow their villages to receive bags of cement from Honourable Bah to rehabilitate village infrastructure or accept milling machines. This has led to some villagers defying their Alkalolu to receive what is given, while protesting that a bird in hand is better than two in the bush. This is making the government very unpopular. In many places the APRC leadership is being seen as an obstacle to progress.

Foroyaa: Don’t you think people will change their minds if the government starts to give more assistance?

Halifa: In fact that will have the opposite effect. People are already conscious of the fact that the government concentrates assistance to induce voters in constituencies with opposition MPs who are utilizing their meagre resources to promote development.

In actual fact, the government had made its biggest mistake in trying to neglect such constituencies only to give the MPs free hand to provide some benefits to the people. This leaves government in a catch 22 situation. In short, if they continue to neglect the constituency people will cling to the MP and if they step in people will see it to be a by product of competition with the MP.

I sincerely do not think that any amount of inducement would make the people support the APRC candidate.

Foroyaa: What about the impact of the defection of the NRP supporters to the APRC as reported at the Sinchu meeting?

Halifa: The APRC committed political suicide by giving publicity to such a showcase of political deception. The government has really been taken for a ride. There was no sign of Alhagi Kebbeh’s influence in Saloum. Some of Hamat’s supporters showed me where he used to put up whenever he was on tour with Hamat. They claimed that they knew him through Hamat. Alhagi Kebbeh has no political base in Saloum.

Infact, some people are very angry with his claim that religious leaders like Sheikh Ahmed Bamba and Sheikh Omar Futiyu told him to give hands to President Jammeh in a dream. They claimed that the insult made by Jammeh after his comments had discredited Alhagi Kenneh’s claim; that such venerable religious leaders would not ask Alhagi Kebbeh to give hands to a President who uses foul language against others. Moreover other claim that if Alhagi Kebbeh was The Sinchu meeting did more to isolate the regime from the people of Saloum than any exposure by Hamat.

Foroyaa: What message did the delegation tell the people of Saloum?

Halifa: Hamat told them that when he was elected in 1996 President Jammeh had told the people that he would not be able to dig a pit latrine for them. He argued that it is the government which has turned out to prove its impotency by not meeting the development needs and aspiration of the villagers. He indicated that despite the fact that he does handle the government revenue almost every village has seen something he has done to assist them.

Foroyaa: The campaign is on the benefit the people have derived from Hamat?

Halifa: That is just part of it. I gave practical examples to enable the people to know the role of the executive and parliament. I told them that during the last sitting of the National Assembly, Hamat Bah had mentioned that the road being built should have been completed since last year and that the contractors have not been showing any regard for the farmlands, the possibility of erosion of roads to villages and the environment in general. I added that Hamat had raised the rationale behind giving another contract to the same company to build the Kerewan-Farafenni stretch. I informed them that Hamat even mentioned that it was being rumoured that the Mandinaba-Soma road will be given to the same company long before it was confirmed. I therefore indicated to them that the role of a National assembly member is to raise all issues of national importance. That it is left to the executive to listen to the voices of the people manifested by the National Assembly members to correct
 mistakes. I added that if the executive fails to correct the mistakes the people can then find those representatives to be insensitive to their concerns and can decide to remove them.

I emphasised to them that President Jammeh feels that Hamat is too vocal, that this means that he wants National Assembly members with pad locks on their lips.

Foroyaa: What do they say to him?

Halifa: When asked whether they want an MP who does not talk in the National Assembly they never fail to respond in the negative.

Foroyaa: Did the people have any complaint to lodge?

Halifa: The people have reported that the APRC militants have mobilised people to engage in transfers and replacement of voter cards exclusively for their supporters.

Foroyaa: Has this been confirmed?

Halifa: We have written letters to the IEC to request for explanation whether such practices are taking place. If so we would want to know why favouritism is being played.

Foroyaa: Is that all?

Halifa: No! No! We have been in this situation long before the current members of the IEC. We know exactly what to do to contain any attempt to encourage fraud in elections. We will not wait to complain after the elections. We are gathering all the facts and will invite the full weight of the law to deal with any anomaly. The IEC is on trial.

Foroyaa: It appears that all the functionaries of the IEC are been replaced.

Halifa: There is a climate of instability at the IEC. However, we already have our original list of voters which had been displayed after the supplementary registration and we will be comparing it with the current register that we have already collected. We will subject all this data to scrutiny. They can change officers but we will not allow them to rig elections.

Foroyaa: Are you going to allow President Jammeh to take full control of the electoral system by manipulating the IEC?

Halifa: The trend in the world is for elections to be supervised and directed by Independent Electoral Commissioners whose members are appointed on the basis of consultation with all stakeholders and approved by all sides of the National Assembly. If such independence cannot be asserted then the opposition must have representation in the IEC, so that no rigging can take place. At the moment the president can appoint and remove members of the IEC. The officers are removed at will. The system lacks checks and balances. The independence of the commission depends on the good will of the members. This is not good enough. We will challenge the system in due course. We are gathering all the necessary facts to be able to formulate our own demands for reform.

Foroyaa: What lessons can you draw from your trip to Saloum?

Halifa: The people are resolved. What they demand of us is to ensure that there is no rigging of the election through the manipulation of the IEC or the process by commissioners and chiefs. We have written letters to the Secretary of State for Local Government to ask him to caution the local authorities to desist from intimidating the villagers to promote political objectives.

Foroyaa: Any other lesson?

Halifa: We had to go through Niorro . It is interesting to note that the policy of the regime which is shaping the relation between Gambia and Senegal is leading to the decaying of Farafenni and the development of Kerr Ayip. The same situation is developing in the case of Barra and Karang. Barra is decaying while Karang is growing. The Gambian economy is in serious recession. The future of the regime to cushion the economy with favourable oil deals with Nigeria and Libya is making us to shoulder the full burden of the rise in oil prices. The intrusive attitude of the regime is also antagonising to the business community and is driving businesses to Guinea Bissau and even Ziguinchor.

The development of a free trade area outside the borders of the country where foreign currency is traded freely and investments of all gains made in the Senegalese economy leading to a depression of the export trade. The recent rise in tariffs of the ferries is also leading to protectionist measures at the Senegalese border which will further worsen the re-export trade. There is no doubt that the existence of a foreign currency market without growth of trade in commodities would lead to a seeming appreciation of the dalasi without an equivalent confidence that such appreciation is sustainable. Consequently, business persons maintain rise in the prices of commodities to cushion their income against an expected depreciation of the value of the dalasi. Karang and Kerr Ayip in relation to Barra and Farafenni are fair indicators of the state of the Gambian economy in relation to that of Senegal. We are clearly heading towards greater hardship for the ordinary people.

Foroyaa: Can you comment on the dead bodies found in Brufut?

Halifa: The fact that no government institution has been able to issue a press release confirms the absence of a transparent and accountable system of governance. The law is clear on what should be done. A Coroner’s inquest should have been conducted. The bodies should have been subjected to autopsy and the report of the officers, witnesses and the medical personnel given to the coroner. In this way a report could be issued for public notice. At the moment the Gambia government is being isolated in Ghana. The number of deaths is being increased in the foreign media. Eventually the outcry in international circles will put the regime in a difficult position. I have said it over and over again that the Jammeh regime is its own enemy. The President’s policy of putting arbitrary action before the law is leading to impunity everywhere. Just imagine a commissioner like Mr. Njie of the CRD going to polling stations during election to interfere with a polling agent. Such a person must be
 oblivious to the fact that change of government is inevitable.

This is why a system is necessary. If all public servants adhere to the rule of law governments will come and go but they will have security of tenure up to their attainment of pensionable age. When people do the right thing under law they can never be faced with a situation they cannot explain. In my view, all public servants should know that if they do anything wrong to please anyone they will be sacrificed at the end as culprits. The greatest security for a person is to strive to do what is right at all times.

Foroyaa: It is rumoured that the government has requested for you to hand over your diplomatic passports?

Halifa: It is interesting that the government has no secret. When the rumour started we had received no communication to that effect. We received the communication days after the rumour. I am writing a special letter to the President for posterity. I would want him to read the letter when he finds himself out of office like Rawlings. I remember listening to Rawlings being interviewed over the BBC and he was claiming how he was being deprived of basic privileges as ex-head of state. What people sow is what they reap.

Foroyaa: Finally can you comment on the view by The Point editorial that the biggest mistake NADD made is to be registered.

Halifa: The Point editor is not in the same wave length as the Executive members of NADD. The executive were faced with the option of an alliance led by a given party and its leader and one that would require all parties to surrender to a supreme party and all leaders to be subjected to the unanimous decision of all. Under Gambian law NADD could not put up candidates under its name unless it was registered. The registration is not the issue. The issue is whether we could have found another way of registering NADD without the National assembly members losing their seats. At the moment, this is an academic exercise. Instead of dwelling on this the NADD leadership is paving a way forward. It is hoped that The Point editor will consult with the coordinator for clarification on information on anonymous sources. They had indicated that NADD was going to challenge Yankuba’s appointment in court without any foundation. They had also indicated that NADD was in disarray only to write again
 that all opposition candidates will contest under a NADD ticket. These reports have not been received from proper sources. This is why the Point reports continue to contradict each other. We recognise the independence of the paper. However, we also know that people’s opinions can be diametrically opposed to the ultimate outcome of the decision of a complex organisation like NADD. We hope all those who want to know the truth about NADD will rely on the Coordinator for information.

GAMCO OIL MILLING TO START SOON

Says Spokesperson

Mr Kaba Jallow, the spokesperson of GAMCO has asserted that milling of groundnut oil will start by the end of September this year. Reports reaching Foroyaa Newspaper puts into question the possibility of GAMCO milling oil this year. According to the reports, since the installation of milling machines by GAMCO around April/May this year no move has been taken to produce oil from FAQ nuts. The reports alleged that most of the FAQ nuts will be affected by aflotoxine before they are milled. The reports go on to allege that the first rain had fallen on a store full of FAQ nuts while it was being repaired resulting to high concentration of moisture in the store. The report also allege that when GAMCO officials were contacted on the issue of milling oil they raised the issue of lack of storage containers.

When Mr. Jallow of GAMCO was contacted he noted that the mills are ready and will start operation by the end of September 2005. He added that his company lacked storage tanks to lift the oil for export. He also noted that until GAMCO is able to have an oil refinery, the company will not sell oil to the Gambian public since consumption of unrefined oil can have serious health implications.

Mr. Jallow denied that FAQ nuts can be affected by aflotoxine because of the nature of the stored at the GAMCO oil mill. He also denied that their stores have at any time been affected by rains.

Readers would recall that GAMCO officials had been advocating for the need to produce oil out of our groundnuts for home consumption and if the need arises then they will export the left over.

Needles to say, Mr. Jallow did not reveal any concrete plan to confirm that an oil refinery is in the pipeline.



GOVERNMENT URGED TO BAN IMPORTED EGGS

Below is a Press Release issued to the press by the Country’s Poultry Farmers.

Hundreds of thousands of subsidized poultry eggs are imported in to the Gambia. This has an adverse effect on the local poultry industry. The last four months have been testing times for the industry. Every poultry farmer did lose thousands of Dalasis per day. Some farmers decided to close down completely while others are seriously thinking of following suit. Marketing of poultry eggs is a nightmare, virtually impossible due to the influx of cheap imported poultry eggs. Farmers adopted desperate measures, under feeding their chickens, selling them cheap, at a credit sales at a price less cost which is less than the cost of production just to clear their backlog. There were heavy loses as well. Eggs started to go rotten because of extreme weather conditions and lack of proper storage. Poultry farmers across the country have united in calling on the government to impose an immediate ban on poultry egg into the country or to impose high import tariffs to allow farmers and importers to
 sell at the same price. Failing to take immediate action will result in 50% of all poultry farmers closing down before the end of the year. The poultry industry have grown form 10,000 laying hens in 2002 to 15,000 in 2003 to 45,000 in 2004, this is very strong evidence to demonstrate that with help from the government and the Gambian people the industry can meet 100% of the local market demand for eggs in months rather than years. If government does not come in and protect this beleaguered industry it could be severely crippled. "The importers have a very clear objective to wipe-out our face from the surface of this earth, we hope our government has its people at heart and will make sure it will not happen" said a poultry farmer. The problems of poultry farming are many: high start up capital, very difficult marketing environment, lack of proper storage and high cost of feed. This is real crisis. The domestic industry is behind any successful economy. This is not about free market
 economy, it’s an issue of DUMPING cheap EU poultry products, heavily subsidized onto our local markets.



CIVIL SOCIETY WORKSHOP ON WORLD

SOCIAL FORUM

By Ousman Sillah

The civil society steering committee and The Association of Non-Governmental Organisation (Tango) with funding from ActionAid The Gambia, held a two day workshop on the World Society Forum at the Senegambia Beach Hotel from 10th – 11th August 2005

In his welcoming remark, the chairman of the steering committee, Mr. Amadou Taal, said that the first objective of the workshop is to share the experiences and outcomes of the various social fora held at different places at the end of last year and the end of this year.

The second objective he said is to try and establish a framework for the Gambia Social Forum. He revealed that Action Aid The Gambia (AATG) and TANGO have worked very hard to ensure that The Gambia is part of the World Social Forum.

Delivering the opening statement, Mr. Ousman Yarbo, the Executive Director of TANGO said the evolving of a Civil Society grouping started way back in 2000; that the EU was invited to help them bring all stakeholders including community base organisations and groups; that EU and TANGO collaborated and engaged social and community groups, religious and professional bodies to discuss about setting up a civil society organisation. Mr. Yarbo disclosed that a survey was conducted to identify civil society groups. He said that the committee that was established, visited Senegal to develop links with ENDA and to study the situation there; that the objective of the steering committee is to get civil society groups to discuss and address grassroots issues that affect society. He said that the EU funded the initial activities.

"This workshop is to enable those who had travelled and attended other fora to report and share their experience and the knowledge they gathered," said Mr. Yarbo.

In concluding, Mr. Yarbo said "TANGO deems it necessary for a social forum to be set up so that issues that are relevant or significant to the lives of civil society members at the grassroots and national levels are discussed and addressed by the m as they arise.

Presentations of reports were made by those who went with their respective delegations to the various fora held at different places. Mr. Cherno Jallow presented a report on the West African forum helf in Conakry, Republic of Guinea with the theme "SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, CONFLICTS AND INTEGRATION IN WEST AFRICA."

Miss Yadicone Njie Eribi presented the report on the African Social forum conference held in Lusaka, Zambia.

The report on the World Social Forum held in Porto-Alegre, Brazil was presented by Mr. Alagi Kebbeh.

A presentation on the Senegalese Social Forum was made by Mr. Ebou Manneh.

Another report was also presented by Mr. Baturu Mboye of the ACDHRS, who attended the Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) held in Nairobi, Kenya.

In all these reports, the common position of the various fora spelt out the realisation of the need to organise civil society stakeholders to enable them engage in dialogue and to search for creative and alternative ways to address critical development issues and priorities that pose as challenges to groups or committees, in particular, and society in general. These civil societies represent a diverse range of stakeholders which include community based organisations, religious groups, trade unions, women and youth groups, media, development advocates and agencies.

The workshop agreed to establish a Gambia Social Forum which will serve as a platform for civil society stakeholders to engage in dialogue amongst themselves and with government on issues that affect society and are relevant to the lives of the members of the society. The Forum will be broad based, non-partisan and national in character and includes all the civil society stakeholders such as the farmers’ platform, CBOs, women and youth groups, professional bodies, media, NGOs, human rights organisations, trade unions, religious bodies etc.

A fourteen person working body was selected and charged with the task of coming up with a draft framework of a broad nature, aims and objectives of the Gambia social forum, based on the final recommendations of the workshop and also work on the modalities of preparing a congress that will establish a character of the principles and elect a national steering committee.

The Forum seeks to inform and influence policies programmes nationally and internationally that promote equity, basic human rights, justice, economic and social empowerment through dialogue, advocacy, tolerance and lobbying.



RAIN FALL SITUATION THIS YEAR

The Chief Meteorologist at the Forecast unit of the Department of Natural Resources, Lamin Mai Touray, has described this year’s rainy season to be a better season in the country.

Speaking in a recent exclusive interview at his office, Mr. Touray gave a brief account of the rainfall situation in the country. He said that their record so far shows that this year’s average rainfall, which is 456mm shows a higher record compared to last year during this period. The highest rainfall sum is 1170mm at Janjangbureh. This figure far exceeds the corresponding sum last year as well as the normal. The data show higher rainfall in the central region than in other parts of the country. He added that the rest of the season is expected to be normal.

He indicated that the interaction of two systems (the St. Helena High Pressure Cell over the South Atlantic Ocean and the Azores High Pressure Cell in the North) may result to rainfall or a dry spell. "During the dry season, it is the Azores that dominate the system, while St. Helena takes over during the rainy season," he said.

He noted that during the some parts of June, little rain is experienced because the St. Helena High Pressure Cell over the South Atlantic was yet to take control over the Azores which dominates the system. He revealed that during this period the ITD will be fluctuating. Mr. Touray said that it was towards the end of June that St. Helena was able to take control and we were able to witness some rainfall. However, he noted that lack of rainfall is a normal situation if it does not go beyond 10 days.

Regarding the function of the forecast, Mr. Touray said that their main function is to give weather warnings to the public which he noted is for our own safety. He added that their service goes beyond that; that they also give advice to companies etc provided that they have their profile. This, he noted, enables companies to know the types of products they should deal with.

Regarding challenges faced by his office he noted that there is lack of communication systems for them to be communicating with their colleagues in other parts of the country. He however advised the general public that farmers should be taking note of the warnings on the weather condition in the country.

ANOTHER SACKING AT IEC



By Amie Sanneh

Information reaching Foroyaa Newspaper, has indicated that the services Said Usuf, the Principal Electoral Director of the Independent Electoral Commission was terminated on Monday the 8th of August 2005. Speaking to Foroyaa on Tuesday, the Acting Principal Electoral Director, Kawsu Ceesay confirmed Mr. Usuf’s sacking. "Usuf’s services has been terminated last week." Ceesay acknowledged.

However, when asked what led to the sacking of the aforesaid staff, Mr. Ceesay noted that they reserve the right to confidentiality of appointment and termination of staff of the commission.

The IEC has experienced series of sackings of late. Following the decision of the Supreme Court on the vacation of the seats of the four opposition national assembly members, the President sacked the chairman of Commission and two other commissioners. Now a senior election officer has been sacked for undisclosed reasons.



BRIKAMA CRAFT MARKET VENDORS SPEAK OUT

Brikama Craft Market vendors have expressed concern about the distribution of stalls at this market. They expressed the fear that stalls will be given to new faces at the expense of those youth who have depended on the craft trade for the past 25 years. They called on the authorities "to take an objective approach to include all and sundry. These statements were contained in the following press release signed by 17 vendors:

Brikama Craft Market was commonly known as Villa Artisonal De Sanjally Bojang named after the late chief of Kombo Central. This market was opened in 1976 when there were 4 stalls, 20 carvers and about 10 people who did the finishing jobs. The late chief was very active in tourism development in the Gambia. This market has received many school leavers who never picked up employment in the Government sector or in the private sector.

The market has brought about skills development in art and craft. Many youths have the opportunity to have friends and wives and have travelled to Europe many times and back to the Gambia. Some have established businesses from the craft market and reinvested monies and do go on travelling from their savings, built houses and compounds.

The committee met Abdou Badjie the then Hon. Member for Kombo Central and explained to him their plight at the craft market, that the stalls were too small and not much space for tourists to walk around. The committee requested for a better place. Abdou accompanied them to the then S.O.S for Tourism Mr. Yankuba Touray who visited the craft market and he confirmed that there was need to relocate the market. The market was relocated next to the Forest before the College, opposite the animal market.

The President of the Republic Dr. Yahya A.I.J Jammeh commissioned the market on the 22nd July 2005, a joyful day for us and the craft trade, the major problem arose when BAC invited the committee members for the second time and the officials asked all vendors to reapply. The committee members appealed to BAC officials so that some temporal canteens could be provided for those without. They built 72 stalls instead of 80 stalls as original in the old craft market.

This does not go down well with the committee because this is one way of putting some people out of the craft trade. The committee fears that there may be a plan to have some new faces on board and kick out those youths who entirely depended on this for 25 years now. We the members of the committee want to guarantee that all of us and those in the market will all be allocated a stall before any new face.

The tourist season is about to start. We hope that the present S.O.S for tourism and culture Hon. Sussan Waffa Ogoo and the Gambia Tourism Authority will bless their weight of righteousness on us before the commencement of2005-2006 Tourist season.

In another development, The BAC revealed that the second phase of Brikama Crafts Market will be STALLS AND A SCHOOL FOR TRAINING MORE PEOPLE IN THE CRAFT TRADE. This is a fundamental question the President of Brikama craft market raised? If the young talented youths of more than 25 years experience are denied this opportunity then, how can they recruit others without placing them well into something sure and guaranteed. The youths have acquired a lot of knowledge on how to treat wood and fix problems in a professional way, please BAC, think of what problems will arise if new faces are squeezed in?

We the committee members are not opposed to development and expansion by seeing more people acquire stalls and join us in the craft trade. We are simply opposed to ejecting some experienced people who have been dependant on this trade for 30 years now and have no other alternative to hold on to. Please take an objective approach to include all and sundry.



SOS JATTA ADMONISHES POLICE OFFICERS

Yaya Dampha

The Secretary of State for the Interior, Retired Colonel Baboucarr Jatta, has admonished police officers at the Mansakonko police station to desist from corrupt practices.

SOS Jatta made this statement during his nationwide tour which took him to various police stations in the country. According to SOS Jatta, modern technology has improved to a level that people can snap police officers taking bribes with cell phones and digital cameras without them (the police) realizing it.

SOS Jatta urged police officers to use their initiatives and maintenance their stations. He told police officers that they should not wait for the government to do everything for them. Going further, SOS Jatta said during his trip to the Upper River Division, he found out that one Immigration Officer in the area had furnished their station with funds derived from donations and fundraisings. SOS Jatta said he has given directives for the Immigration Department to promote the said officer to the rank of Inspector based on merit.

SOS Jatta said the Police Officers should be faithful and dedicated to duty. He urged the officers to desist from selling confiscated drugs.



"NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HALIFA"

Says Electorate

The electorate in Serrekunda Central have strongly affirmed their support for Hon Halifa Sallah. They emphasized that Halifa’s first winning was on PDOIS ticket, which was an individual party. But that this by-election will be a record in Serrekunda Central Constituency, because the supporters of the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) will make sure that Halifa wins by a larger margin. This information was disclosed at a committee meeting of NADD supporters where members reiterated the importance of a strong opposition in our National Assembly. They also called on their fellow oppositions members in other constituencies to reinstate their candidates, as they are the eyes of Gambians. They called on every Gambian to come and join NADD, as the Alliance is not a threat to any Gambian but the Government of the day and their unprogressive policies chief among which is the policy to nature self perpetuating rule in the country.



WORMS DESTROY CROPS IN FONI

By Baboucarr K. Sowe

Reports reaching the Foroyaa have it that crops in Foni Kansala, more particularly in Santamba Village, have had serious infestation of worms in recent weeks.

A woman who cultivated rice in that area, said that all the crops that germinated in the early weeks of the rainy season were all eaten by worms.

"The rice, maize and water melon have all been destroyed by worms. We could not do anything, we have no chemical nor do we have any other means to kill or drive the worms away." The woman commented.

According to the villagers the only crop which has not been affected by the out break is groundnut.

"I have re-sown my entire field with new crops. The maize and rice we had, had all been destroyed by the worms. So we had to sow more again," said a man.

Most of the farmers who talk to this reporter expressed concern over any future outbreak when re-sowing would be too late. They have also called on the authorities to come to their aid.




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