Pamodou Jobe wrote:

"Mr Jungle Sunshine,
A question: Are you suggesting that the calling to the bar of these six is another great achievement of His Excellency, the Prrskident? You are truly ridiculous!!!"

No! Pamodou; I suggested no such thing. All that I have done is forward an article from The Independent Newspaper. My failure to mention this is purely accidental as I was in a hurry.

However, since you seem to be interested in ridicule, I will oblige you.

What is ridiculous is the fact that even though you can consult a private Doctor for anything between D30.00 to D100.00, you would be lucky to consult a lawyer for anything less than D500.00.

What is ridiculous is the fact that to prepare a mortgage for a building loan, lawyers normally charge you 10% of the amount of the loan. What makes this even more ridiculous is the fact they normally have one saved on their hard drives and all they do is fill in names of lenders and borrowers, amount of loan, place etc., etc.

What is ridiculous is the fact that if you require an additional sum because the hefty fee you paid earlier had dented your plans severely, the "further Charge" they prepare for you will again cost you 10% of the additional loan.

What is ridiculous is the fact that whereas in other countries many lawyers come together and form law firms, sharing and pooling resources and employing dozens of people, in The Gambia, this is not so. As a result, what we have are overworked lawyers trying to represent several people; consequently many people's cases are unnecessarily adjourned because a lawyer may be required to appear in more than one court at the same time.

What is ridiculous is the fact that for a lawyer to represent you in cases that may result in monetary compensation, in most cases , they would demand a percentage of whatever compensation you may get as redress from the courts.

Finally what is even more ridiculous and absurd is your failure to comprehend the significance of the event. This is the first time in the history of our country to witness the calling to the bar, of six indegenous Gambians in one year let alone one day. If this not a significant development for our peoples, I do not what is.

Have a good day, Gassa.

There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve. -Mike- Levitt-