I just culled this . Anyway, notice at the bottom where it says Gambia has contributed 7500 pounds over the past 5 years. My God! What a pittance? Anyway, just send those observers Culled from All Africa.com The Commonwealth secretariat has indicated it would readily send observers to monitor general elections in the Gambia if the government in Banjul so desired. Commonwealth secretary general Don Mackinnon dropped the hint Friday, at the end of a three-day visit to Gambia. Mackinnon, who described his discussions with Gambian authorities as fruitful, said he was gladdened by government assurance that all political parties would be granted equal access and opportunities on state media at the next general elections. The assurance came against the backdrop of accusations of biased and monopolised reporting levelled on the state media by the country's three main opposition parties. Mackinnon also said that President Jammeh had promised to repeal, as soon as possible, a decree that places restriction on some politicians. At the level of cooperation, an aide of Mackinnon's said that the Commonwealth was assisting Gambia in its educational, agricultural and other programmes directed at improving life in the country. It was disclosed that Gambia has contributed 7,500 pounds sterling to the Commonwealth in the last five years. In return, the country received 1.2 million pounds (£1=22dollars) in assistance and technical cooperation from the Commonwealth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------