*Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue*

*Issue No. 48/2006, 22-25 June, 2006*

*Editorial*

*IEC, THE VILLAGE HEADS AND THE *

*REGISTRATION EXERCISE*

It has now become clear to the whole nation that some chairpersons of
political parties have established rings to get attestations for people to
get voters cards. What is interesting is that when the registration exercise
started, APRC chairwomen sat with youth leaders and people representing the
Alkalolu of villages to issue attestation forms to people. It is amazing
that some people have also become professionals in issuing attestation
forms. They are preparing their own format and the IEC has not established
any standard for attestation forms.

The law left the responsibility to the IEC under section B4 (2C) which
states that "The commission may make rules generally for the better carrying
out of the provisions of this Decree and shall in particular make rules
prescribing such procedures not covered under this decree as the commission
considers necessary for the effective conduct of elections."

Registration is the first phase of conducting elections.  Why haven't the
IEC established standards for attestation so that when cases go to revising
courts, elders who sign attestation forms can be traced? At the moment some
people are beginning to transform attestation into a trade. However, sooner
or later their wrong doing will be exposed.

We have seen signs that the IEC supervisors are asking those who have
established their tables to do attestation to leave the vicinity of
registration centres. However, some registering officers are trying to
escape scrutiny by asking party agents not to take down information.

Now, they go to nearby compounds to carry out their actions. The
sensitisation that should have been done by the IEC to prepare voters has
not been done. This is what is responsible for the mess. People want to get
registered and they are being misled by those who wish to manipulate them.
The IEC is in a rush when the first election is not due constitutionally
until December. This is why it is doing a bad job. All those who witness how
the registration process started and wanted a fair process felt
disappointed. The IEC is trying to adjust but we will wait and see.
Supplementary registration is meant for the young. At the end of the day, we
will see how many elderly people registered, how many will face the revising
courts? Foroyaa calls on all youths to go and get their voters cards and
vote for anyone they support. However those who are not entitled should know
that they may face a revising court and all those who attest to their papers
may face the full force of the law.



MCC Suspends Gambia

*1. Press Release***

*2. Letter of Suspension*

*3. Grounds for Suspension*

* *

*PRESS RELEASE***



Contact: 202-521-3850

E-Mail: [log in to unmask]



For Immediate Release

June 16, 2006



Washington, D.C. —The Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge
Corporation (MCC) today agreed to suspend The Gambia's eligibility for
assistance citing a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC's selection
criteria.



The Board based its decision on documented evidence of human rights abuses
and increased restrictions on political rights, civil liberties, and press
freedom by the government, as well as worsening economic policies and
anti-corruption efforts. The Board considered reports from several
organizations to support its decision including: Freedom House, the Heritage
Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the Economist Intelligence Unit, and
the State Department.



"The Board's decision was necessary given the disturbing pattern of
deteriorating conditions in eight of the 16 policy categories used to
evaluate all candidate countries including The Gambia," said Ambassador John
Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer of MCC. "Continued participation in the
Millennium Challenge program requires our partner countries to maintain good
policies and is contingent upon adherence to fundamental principles
necessary to make progress in their own development.   MCC would welcome the
opportunity to consider The Gambia's reinstatement after the government has
taken tangible and significant actions to address the areas of decline and
embrace political and economic reforms."



The Board annually selects countries for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA)
eligibility from a pool of candidate countries based on each country's
demonstrated commitment in three broad policy categories — "ruling justly,"
"investing in people," and "promoting economic freedom"— as measured by
performance on 16 independent policy indicators within their income peer
group.  The Gambia was notified in November 2005 that it was eligible for
MCA funding, and only preliminary discussions about the program had been
undertaken prior to today's announcement.



Under MCC's policy on suspension and termination of assistance, the Board
may reinstate eligibility for a country if it determines that the country
has taken corrective action or has demonstrated a sufficient commitment to
correcting each condition for which eligibility for assistance was
suspended.



*Letter of Suspension*

June 16, 2006



We wish to inform you of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of
Directors decision to suspend The Gambia's eligibility for Millennium
Challenge Account (MCA) assistance.



Under MCC's Policy on Suspension and Termination of Assistance and/or
Eligibility for

Assistance, MCC may suspend or terminate eligibility for assistance if the
MCC Board of

Directors make a determination that one of three circumstances occurred,
including that a country has engaged in a pattern of actions inconsistent
with MCC selection criteria.



Over the past six months, MCC has witnessed a troubling pattern of policy
slippage by the Government of The Gambia that is inconsistent with the MCA
selection criteria. The third-party institutions that collect the indicator
data used in MCC's eligibility criteria have documented evidence of growing
human rights abuses, increased restrictions on political rights, civil
liberties and press freedom, as well as deteriorating economic policies and
anti-corruption efforts. This erosion of commitment and performance has
resulted in declines on two indicators already reported: Political Rights
and Trade Policy. In addition, preliminary data suggest pending degradation
of The Gambia's performance on six additional indicators in future fiscal
years: Voice and Accountability; Civil Liberties; Control of Corruption;
Regulatory Quality; Cost of Starting a Business; and Fiscal Policy. The
declines are summarized in the enclosed attachment.



As a result of this decline in overall performance on the MCA selection
criteria, the MCC Board of Directors decided to suspend The Gambia's
eligibility for MCA assistance. The Gambia was formally notified of this
suspension and the basis for it, on June 16, 2006.



Under the MCC Policy on Suspension and Termination of Assistance and/or
Eligibility for Assistance, the Board of Directors may reinstate eligibility
for a country that was subject to a suspension if it is determined that the
country has taken corrective action or has demonstrated a sufficient
commitment to correcting each condition for which led to suspension.



MCC officials are available to meet at your convenience to discuss this
suspension. If you or your staff would like to arrange a meeting, please
contact Jake Stefanik at (202) 521-3856.



Sincerely,

Frances C. McNaught

Vice President

Congressional and Public Affairs





*THE GAMBIA'S POLICY PERFORMANCE *

*AND POTENTIAL REFORMS*

The following is an overview of The Gambia's declining performance on MCA
selection criteria. This analysis is drawn from the third-party institutions
that provide the basis for the MCC indicators. To consider reinstatement,
the Board will look for concrete actions that demonstrate the Government of
The Gambia's commitment to reform in the policy areas where there have been
declines.

*Civil Liberties (Freedom House)*

The Gambia's decline in Civil Liberties is predominantly due to a documented
trend in violations of press freedoms and human rights. A 2004 law forced
media outlets to reapply for their licenses and established harsh sentences
for all press offenses, while changes in the criminal code enable the state
to confiscate any publication deemed seditious without judicial oversight.
Since then, there have been multiple documented cases of unexplained arrest
and detention of journalists, as well as threats, arson attacks, or official
raids on independent media sources. There are also increased reports of
arbitrary arrests and torture by the security forces.

*Political Rights (Freedom House)*

The Gambia's Political Rights score declined in 2006 from a 4 to a 5 (with 1
representing "most free" and 7 representing "least free"). As presidential
elections approach, the government has placed growing restrictions on the
movement and activity of opposition political parties and their leadership,
prohibiting them from holding public gatherings and arresting key opposition
leadership on charges of subversion. Legal provisions in official records
enable the National Intelligence Service to search, arrest, or detain people
without a warrant, and this practice has been repeatedly but selectively
applied to opposition figures. Freedom House and other third-party indicator
institutions are concerned that this chain of individual actions, in
conjunction with a documented deterioration of press freedom, may constitute
an effort to subvert the electoral process.

*Voice and Accountability (World Bank Institute)*

The decline of this indicator is evident in six of its sub-components and is
likely due to the cumulative result of the situations described above. The
third-party institutions which provide this data have registered significant
declines in press freedom, human rights, freedom of assembly, openness and
transparency, and political competition. Access to information also remains
problematic, as current state-security laws serve as a blanket restriction
on freedom of information.

*Control of Corruption (World Bank Institute)*

In 2005, The Gambia registered significant declines on the World Economic
Forum's "corruption in export and import permits," "corruption in
procurement," "corruption in judicial decisions," "corruption in public
utilities," and "corruption in the police force" indicators. These are all
important subcomponents of MCC's Control of Corruption index.

*Regulatory Quality (World Bank Institute)*

The Gambia's score will likely decline in future fiscal years due to the
government's lack of progress in implementing a privatization program,
increasingly centralized economic policy making, unnecessary business
licensing, and labor market inflexibility.

Cost of Starting a Business (World Bank Group/International Finance
Corporation)

Preliminary data from the IFC strongly suggest that The Gambia will fail
this indicator in Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07). It is estimated that it costs 222
percent of average per capita income to register a business in The Gambia.

*Trade Policy (Heritage Foundation)*

The Gambia's Trade Policy score declined in 2006 from 3.5 to 4.5 (with 1 as
"very low levels of protectionism and 5 as "very high levels of
protectionism") because of increasing evidence of non-tariff barriers and
fraud, and delays in customs administration.

*Fiscal Policy (International Monetary Fund)*

The Gambia is in imminent danger of failing the Fiscal Policy indicator in
FY07. The fiscal deficit will likely be somewhere between 4.5 - 7.5 percent
of Gross Domestic Product in 2006, placing The Gambia well below the median
in its income peer group. Poor performance in this area is attributable to
high levels of government expenditure, Central Bank financing of extra
budgetary expenditures, unreliable statistical reporting, and lack of fiscal
transparency.





*VOTER REGISTRATION WITHOUT **PROPER SCRUTINY*

*NADD's Flag bearer writes to IEC*

*RE: NO POSSIBILITY OF PROPER SCRUTINYOF REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BECAUSE OF
DISREGARD OF ELECTORAL LAW*

It has been conveyed to me as flag bearer of NADD and I have conducted
investigation to confirm that many Registering Officers hardly question
persons who claim to be entitled to be registered as voters. Some officials
of the Commission are said to have even questioned the taking of notes by
party agents. This is an affront to the basic principle of transparency and
accountability, to say the least.

First and foremost Section 134 subsection (2) paragraph (d) of the elections
decree states very clearly that

*         "The Commission may make rules generally for the better carrying
out of   the provisions of this Decree and shall in particular make rules
authorising individuals, local and international organisations and members
of the press and media to witness registration of voters and conduct of
elections."*

As local political organisations, political parties have been authorised to
send representatives to monitor the supplementary registration of voters.

Suffice it to say, the registration process ends after the revising courts
complete the review of objections. The registering officers are supposed to
reduce the burden of the revising courts by scrutinizing applications for
registration with overwhelming thoroughness. Registering officers who allow
applications for registration to be approved without scrutiny are simply
going to transform revising courts into platforms for the exposure of their
maladministration and incompetence.

The duty of registering officers are clearly stipulated by law. An
elementary understanding of the Elections Decree would reveal that no claim
to be registered should be approved without investigation by a registering
officer. The reason for this is simple.

Section 12(1) of the Elections Decree states:**

            *"Subject to section 13, a person shall be entitled to have his
name entered                 on a register of voters in a constituency if*

*a)         he is a citizen of The Gambia*

*b)         he has attained, or will on the date of the holding of the next
election attain, the age of eighteen years, and *

*c)         he is resident, or was born in that constituency"*

It is therefore clear that the registering officer has the duty to call for,
receive and consider such evidence as he or she may think fit to determine
whether the applicant is a citizen, has attained the age of eighteen years
or is resident or was born in that constituency.

One may now ask: Where does the issue of I.D card arise?

Section 12(2) states: **

            *"Notwithstanding subsection (1), a persons name shall not be
entered on                      *

*     a register of voters in a constituency unless he produces any one of
the following documents*

*a)         a birth certificate*

*b)         a Gambian passport*

*c)         a National Identity Card*

*d)         a document certified by five elders that the applicant is a
citizen of The Gambia or*

*e)         a document certified by the District Seyfo or an Alkalo of the
District or Village, respectively, of birth of the applicant stating that
the applicant was born in the District or Village."*

Subsection (3) states that

* "the Commission shall not reject a valid document produced under
subsection (2)." *

This simply means that the Commission should not reject a valid passport,
birth certificate, I.D card, document certified by five elders, an Alkalo or
District Seyfo.

Subsection (3) is being wrongly interpreted by the IEC to mean that
Registering Officers should not enquire into the validity of claims to be
registered. This is gross misinterpretation of the law.

Infact section 18(1) of the Elections Decree has stated in no uncertain
terms that

            *"A Registering Officer shall notwithstanding the information
contained in a *

*     registration forms examine each form and shall *

*(a)        call for, receive and consider such evidence as he may think fit
touching upon the validity of such claim, and*

*(b)        require such evidence to be given on oath or affirmation and may
for that purpose administer such oath or affirmation; and *

*(c)        investigate, as he may think fit with the assistance of a
village head, village elders, or leaders of the adult age groups present and
adjudicate upon the claim." *

*Finally subsection (2) of section 18 asserts that: *

*            "Where an election officer under subsection (1)*

*   (a)     is satisfied that a claimant possesses the required
qualifications, he shall enter the name of the claimant on the register of
voters; or *

*  (b)      determines that claimant does not possess the required
qualifications, disallow a claim. ……."*

Subsection (3) concludes that: **

            *"No action shall be taken or a claim disallowed under this
section except as *

*      may be directed by a revising court."*

Mr. Chairman, it is therefore incontrovertible that it is mandatory for
registering officers to investigate and adjudicate upon applications for
registration. This is why registration is not done in secret. To accept
attestation forms where those who append their thumb print do not put their
voters card numbers, ID Card numbers and addresses is to legitimise
fraudulent registration practices.

Suffice it to say, that the IEC has completely abdicated its responsibility
to adhere to the Elections Decree when it comes to registration of voters.

What is my proof?

Section 17 (1) of the Elections Decree makes it mandatory for a person to be
provided with a registration form if he or she presents himself or herself
to be registered. It states:

            *"A person who claims to be entitled to be registered as a voter
in a constituency shall on presenting himself at a registration centre be
supplied a registration form in such form as may be prescribed by the
Commission in conjunction with the appropriate Department of State"*

Mr. Chairman, the original Registration form which has been deleted by the
Elections Amendment Act 2001 and which should have been replaced by another
registration form was designed to ensure maximum scrutiny. It may have been
deleted precisely to escape scrutiny. Allow me to reproduce the form which
was preferred as *Form 2*

CLAIM FOR REGISTRATION AS A VOTER
Photo



……………..…..Constituency in the

……….……..… Administrative Area

1.SURNAME: ……………………

2.OTHERNAMES: ……………………

3.CURRENT ADDRESS: ………………

4.OCCUPATION: ………………………

5.DATE OF BIRTH:………………………

6.AGE AT LAST BIRTHDAY:……………

7.PLACE OF BIRTH:………………………

8.NAME <http://8.name/> AND ADDRESS OF FATHER: …

9.NATIONALITY OF FATHER……………

10.NAME <http://10.name/> AND ADDRESS OF MOTHER:…

      NATIONALITY OF MOTHER ……………

11.HAVE YOU EVER APPLIED TO BE REGISTERED AS A VOTER IN ANY CONSTITUENCY? -
YES/NO.*

12.IF ANSWER IS YES, STATE THE NAME OF THE CONSTITUENCY AND THE YEAR OF
APPLICATION

13.WAS YOUR APPLICATION SUCCESSFUL? - YES/NO.*

(a) IF ANSWER IS YES, STATE THE NUMBER OF THE VOTING CARD ISSUED TO

     YOU……………………….



(b) IF ANSWER IS NO, STATE THE REASON WHY THE APPLICATTON WAS NOT
SUCCESSFUL:………………

14.ARE YOU IN ANY WAY DISQUALIFIED OR DISENTITLED FROM BEING REGISTERED OR
FROM VOTING UNDER ANY   LAW? — YES/NO.

 IF ANSWER IS YES, SPECIFY THE LAW OR GIVE EXPLANATION

15.          BY WHAT MEANS DO YOU WISH TO PROVE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS TO BE
REGISTERED AS A VOTER?

(a)           BIRTH CERTIFICATE

(b)            NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD

   (*Cross whichever is not applicable)

   (c) GANBIAN PASSPORT

   (d) IDENTIFICATION BY TWO ELDERS

(i) Name, address and signature or thumbprint of elder:
.........................................................

Name, address and signature or thumbprint of elder:

It is very clear from this registration form that no culprit could evade
detection by filling the form. Needless to say, once the registering officer
gets all the details he or she shall be able to adjudicate upon any claim.
It goes without saying; revising courts could also perform their duties with
circumspection.

Mr. Chairman, the instructions allegedly given to your registering officers
not to interview claimants has made it possible for party chairmen, women
and youth leaders to establish tables near registration centres and are
providing attestations to every Tom, Dick and Harry which your registering
officers are relying on to issue voters cards without raising any questions.
Station B9 A, Latrikunda Sabiji Mosque is a clear example. This is
undermining the very integrity of your institution.

If you do not take immediate action to arrest the situation we will have no
option but to instruct our legal counsels to look into the possibilities of
taking legal action to discredit the whole supplementary registration
exercise. Where we cannot find any basis to do so under Gambian law we will
take the matter up with the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights.

The conducting of registration without the mandatory registration form that
is needed to enable registering officers to scrutinize claims gives clear
testimony to the lack of transparency and accountability in the process. The
deletion of the previous form which has all the details to exercise scrutiny
without replacing it with another registration form that is of a better
standard, tends to signify a deliberate attempt to leave room for
unscrupulous politicians to exploit.

I therefore hope that you will instruct your registering officers to
investigate and adjudicate upon all claims to be registered by raising all
the questions that are posed in the original registration form. This would
be an acceptable compromise pending the drafting of a new form to be
utilized in the future.

While anticipating your maximum cooperation.

I remain,

Yours in the service of the nation,

*Halifa Sallah*

*NADD Flagbearer*

* *

*TREASON CASE ADJOURNED*

*By Surakata Danso*

The eight man treason case involving Captain Bunja Darboe, Captain Yaya
Darboe, Captain  Wassa Camara, Alieu Jobe, Second Lieutenant Pharing
Sanyang, Tamsir Jasseh, Omar Keita and Hon. Demba Dem. Is adjourned to
Tuesday (the 27th June).

This announcement was made by the trial Judge, Justice Agim. Following the
application for an adjournment by the defence team to enable them engage in
consultations with their clients after their receipt of the witnesses
statements.

The matter was called before an over crowded court room filled with
relatives of the accused person including their parents, their wives
children, and sympathisers amongst others. The following lawyers announced
their appearance for the State, Mr. Fagbenleh Acting DPP, Mrs. Jones, Ms.
Ida Mboob and Mr. Sarr, while the defence team constituted Messr Lamin
Camara, Lamin Jorbateh, Borry Touray, Musa Batehilly, Lamin K. Mboge and
Mrs. Sainabou Wadda Sisay.



*DETAINEES LANGUISH IN DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL*

*Lamin Fatty*

The foiled coup has given birth to the arrest and detention of prominent
figures.  No statement has been issued or any reason given for many of the
arrests.

Some of the arrestees are still languishing in detention without trial,
amongst the detainees are two prominent women, notably senior lawyer, Mariam
Denton and former National Assembly Member Duta Kamaso. Duta Kamaso's arrest
came in the wake of the controversy involving the Freedom Newspaper and the
Daily Observer.

The other arrestees who are still in detention are Abdoulie Kujabie, a
former Director General of NIA who was hospitalised at the RVTH, Ngorr
Secka, a former Deputy Director General of NIA who was also hospitalised at
the RVTH, former Deputy Director General of NIA Alieu Singhateh, Foday
Barry, Musa Dibba and Baba Saho (NIA staff), Sergeant Buba Mendy, former
Chief of staff, Colonel Vincent Jatta, Merchelle Badjie, the Manager of St
Joseph family farm, Corporal Ebrima Joof of the Gambia Armed Forces Abdoulie
Njie a civilian and Alphusainey Jammeh, (a prison warden) who was said to be
arrested weeks before the abortive coup plot.





*DARFUR** REPORT*

*We are publishing the report of the report of the Pan-African Parliament on
Darfur in series. The head of the mission was Honourable Abdul Katuntu, from
Uganda and the rapporteur*

*Halifa Sallah the Gambia.*

*Part Nine *

*RECOMMENDATIONS*

1. This parliament therefore, mandates the Bureau to convey to the assembly
of heads of States the following recommendations:

a) That the political negotiations in Abuja which is designed to establish a
democratic culture in Darfur that can guarantee the population a fair share
of power and resources should both be accelerated and time bound;

b) That the Naivasha model be adopted to conclude the negotiation so as to
ensure  complementality in implementation of the mechanism for sharing power
and resources in Sudan;

c) That the terms of the agreement incorporate periodic consultation with
all stake holders in Sudanese Society to ensure that no group is excluded or
marginalized in the sharing of power and resources;

d) That immediate steps be taken to influence the Sudanese Government to
find ways and means of quantifying and qualifying the loses caused by the
war and lunch a Trust Fund with the support of the AU and the International
Community to finance a comprehensive resettlement programme for refugees and
internationally displaced persons;

e) That the mandate of the AU Mission be enhanced to go beyond Cease Fire
Monitoring to include protection of the population in Darfur;

f) That AMIS administrative structures be developed in line with the
proposals in the Report;

g) That the Joint Commission mentioned in the Humanitarian Cease Fire
Agreement or a similar institution be established to receive report and
address queries of violations to signatories of the agreement for response
within 45 days for review and decision;

h) That this Commission establish close relationship with the African
Commission on Human and People's Rights to review the course of action that
should be taken to address allegations of violations of human and people's
rights, war crime, genocide or crimes against humanity;

i) That particular emphasis be given to the disarming of groups which are
not parties to the Cease

    Fire Agreement, especially the Jan Jaweed, so as to bring the whole
population of Darfur on broad to negotiate for peace under a climate of
democratic discourse;

j) That the Peace and Security Council of the Union be requested to begin
urgent consultation with the UN Security Council to facilitate
complementality in approaches of promoting a final settlement of the Darfur
crises to foster dispensation of Justice at the right time and under the
right circumstance to avert any reversal of the gains made in resolving the
crisis;**

*APPENDIX 1*

*Possible Functions of Officers at AMIS' Headquarters*

The military and security officers at the headquarters should be able to
maintain information flow between all sectors of the Cease Fire Commission,
know the day to day concerns of the military observers and protectors and
keep appropriate data for sectoral policy briefings. This should enable the
Head of mission to be well equipped to exercise control and direction over
matters within his/her jurisdiction and prevent any information vacuum
between personnel, the headquarters of the mission and the other organs of
the AU.

The political Officer can keep abreast of the resolutions of the UN Security
Council, the decisions of the AU and its Peace and Security Council, the
development in the negotiations and the agreements reached, with the view,
to keep all sectors of the AU Mission in Sudan, in particular and the rest
of Sudanese Society, in general, informed of all development aimed at
achieving ultimate settlement.

The Humanitarian officer should be able to maintain link with his/her
counterparts in the sectors to monitor the quantity and quality of
humanitarian assistance and further determine whether the principles and
directives stipulated in the protocol on humanitarian assistance are being
honoured. He / She can serve as liaison with UN agencies and other
humanitarian organizations to keep them abreast of the humanitarian
situation. This will enable the world to keep track of the situation of
refugees, the internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups in
Darfur, monitor the conditions in the villages to determine their
conduciveness for the return of displaced persons.

The human rights officer should be able to maintain link with his/her
counterparts in the sectors to monitor the human rights conditions such as
the system of administration and dispensation of justice, the law
enforcement environment, the conditions of arrest and detention, the scale
and nature of violence against children and women in particular, and the
population at large. This can facilitate easy access to evidence of any
possible cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
perpetrated by any group.

     The Socio- Cultural officer should be able to liase with counter parts
in the sectors to follow the land tenure system, study the nature of the
tribes and their hierarchical characteristics, identify the harmful and
discriminatory cultural practices, document any evidence of discriminatory
practices on the basis of race, tribe, caste, gender and other
characteristics. This can provide a data base for sociological analysis of
Sudanese society with emphasis on Darfur which should precede any
determination of any allegation of genocide. In this way the AU will rely on
facts rather than opinions, to validate any claim of exclusion or
victimization on the basis of tribe or race.

.The Head of mission may receive information from all these officers by
holding periodic consultative, review and planning sessions which can be
used as raw material for policy making by the AU.

These observations are not meant to be prescriptive. The objective is to
draw the attention of the AU to the need for strategic planning on the type
of administration that is needed to shoulder the responsibility of being the
premier organization providing guidance to resolve the crisis in Darfur.





*HALIFA ON GOV'T'S FAILURE IN AGRICULTURE*

*By Abdoulie Dibba*

In his contributing to the adjournment debate on Monday, the Minority Leader
of the National Assembly, Hon. Halifa Sallah, asserted that the Government
has failed miserably In Agriculture. Hon. Sallah indicated that they were
told by the President in 2003 that they are aware of the fact that 2002/2003
witnessed an unprecedented difficult crop season for most of the farmers.
Sallah said the President is accepting the difficulties faced by the
farmers. He said the President then promised that, "in a bid to increase
Agricultural Production for Food Self-sufficiency and increased exports,
Particularly for non-traditional crops, current policy directive is to shift
away from subsistence Agriculture to a more dynamic, commercially oriented
production system that is aimed at making farming a viable business
undertaking." Hon. Sallah pointed out that the promise led to the
procurement of over 125 tractors for the sector in a bid to ensure that the
earning capacity of farmers increased. Hon Sallah stressed that we are still
complaining that the farmers are not only unable to be self-sufficient in
food production, but they are at the same time unable to sell their cash
crops. He concluded that the country has failed miserably in this sector.





*AUGUSTUS PROM TESTIFIES IN MAIMUNA TAAL'S CASE*

A professional accountant, Mr. Augustus Prom, on Tuesday, June 16, testified
in the ongoing criminal trial of the former director general of The Gambia
Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Ms. Maimuna Taal, before Justice
S.MMonagen of the High Court inBanjul.

Responding to questions from the acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr.
Emmanuel Fagbenle, Mr. Prom, who is the chairman of the GCAA board, said the
role of the board in the awarding of contracts is to approve contracts that
are above the D300, 000 limits, placed on the director general.  He
explained that if a contract is above D300, 000, the director general should
go by the procurement regulations and bring the contract to the attention of
the board for advice and to guide her according to the GPPA procurement
regulations.

Although the GCAA had its own procurement guidelines, Prom said the GPPA Act
takes precedence over it, and that the board advises according to the Act.

He said when a budget is prepared, it goes to the board for endorsement, and
the board would pass it to the Department of State for Works and
Construction for onward transmission to the Department of State for Finance,
and the latter would scrutinize the budget and forward it to the office of
the President for approval.  Prom said when approved, it would then be
communicated to the line Department of State for Works, and subsequently to
the director general of the GCAA, who would communicate it to the board.

The chairman, in response to Fagbenle's question, said: "contracts are never
brought to the board for approval with regard to the renovation of staff
quarters." Prom also told the court that if the contract is above D300, 000,
it should be brought to the board for approval, but if it's below that, she
(Taal ) could go ahead with the awarding without requiring the board's
approval.

A document was shown to him and he was referred to the sum of D747,
815.00indicated on the document. When asked whether the contract of
the said sum
would require the board's approval, Prom answered in the affirmative, saying
because the contract was above D300, 000.    He said the contract for the
renovation of the staff quarter of the director general of GCAA was not
brought to the attention of the board.  "When did it come to your notice
that the amount of D1 million was spent for the renovation of the residence
of the director general?" the DPP asked the witness.  But Prom said: "I
think it was never brought to our attention."  He opined that if the D1
Million was for renovation then the amount was excessive, adding that "one
million dalasis is not financially prudent for renovation."  According to
him, that amount could build a new house, and he also said the Airport
Improvement Project was a GCAA project under the purview of the Department
of State for Works, who were responsible for the project.

Under cross-examination from the leading defence counsel Antouman Gaye, Prom
said they were not officially informed of the recipients of allowance form
the Airport Improvement Project.  He said they know it by interactions.

The case was adjourned for continuation of Gaye's cross-examination.  Appearing
with Gaye for the defence was lawyer Salieu Taal.  The acting DPP was
assisted by state counsel Aminata Jawara.

The former GCAA boss is charged with illegal or dishonest acquisition of the
property of a public body by a public officer, contrary to Section 5 (d) of
the Economic Crimes Decree; International Act or omission shown to be
detrimental to the economy of The Gambia, contrary to Section 5(f) of the
Economic Crimes Decree, among other charges.





*STATE APPEAL AGAINST CHEYASSIN SECKA***

Information reaching Foroyaa indicates that the Office of the Attorney
General on behalf of the State, have filed an appeal against the decision of
Justice A.M. Dordzie, who had, on Wednesday 7th June 2006, ordered the
quashing of the decision of the Paul Commission's Recommendations against
Mr. Pap Cheyasin Secka. The source further indicated that the grounds of the
state's appeal  is for the Court to make an order of restraint to the
respondent Cheyasin Secka from interfering with the properties affected by
the Paul Commission.  It goes on to indicate that the case would be heard on
Thursday the 22nd June 2006.

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