Yus wrote:
"Thanks for the forward, Pa Samba. I assume this is what Gassa erroneously referred to as follows:
"Finally, If Jammeh asks the opposition to be meeting with his government regularly to discuss issues of national interest, it is up to the opposition to take him on his offer." "
Yus,
I do not understand how you've come to believe so. In the first place, what you've quoted from me is nothing other than my personal opinion that it would be a good idea if the President's suggestion that the opposition should be holding regular meetings with his government to discuss issues of national interest is taken up by the opposition.
Now coming back to the FOROYAA article, I do not fully understand what the gist of the writer is. As the writer concedes that:
"The government under the auspices of SPACO, NGOs/PAAG organised consultative/sensitisation workshop on poverty reduction National governance programme at the Sindola Safari Lodge from 13th to 14th March 2002. The objective of the workshop is to involve the legislature in a consultative exercise prior to the holding of a workshop at a date to be determined by the Strategy for Poverty alleviation Co-ordibnating Office (SPACO)". Emphasis, mine.
This meeting, as I understand it from the above, was not organized by the National Assembly but were merely being involved in a consultative exercise prior to the holding of a workshop at a date to be determined by SPACO.
Another thing that I do not understand is the writer's opposition to holding this consultative meeting at the Sindola Safari Lodge. Sindola camp as it is sometimes referred to is a private lodge that has been used by other organizers of workshops just like Tendaba Camp, Kairaba hotel, Senegambia hotel, Palm grove hotel etc have all been used before. What is the hulla-baloo all about? As far as I know Kanilai is as Gambian a village as Keneba or any other Gambian village and I do not understand why the writer has any problem with that.
Thirdly, I do not understand why the writer believes that this consultative meeting could or should be held in the National Assembly. Why should SPACO even consider the National Assembly as a suitable venue for such a consultative meeting? SPACO has nothing to do with the National assembly. Moreover has any organization ever held any meetings in the National Assembly before? Is the National Assembly meant to be used for meetings organized by bodies that have very little or nothing to do with the National Assembly? I don't think so.
Again the writer writes:
"It is difficult to understand why the organisers would fail to hold the meeting at the National Assembly building, the Friendship Hotel or the Rural Development
Institute at Mansakonko, if we wish to select a rural setting. The organisers would have to explain why Kanilai was considered as a suitable venue to hold the meeting. In our view, after all the rumours that Kanilai is being transformed into a seat of government, to drag all National Assembly members there for a consultative meeting could only strengthen the rumour."
From the above, which goes further to reinforce the myth about Kanilai, a place the writer has apparently never visited, otherwise he/she would not try to tell us that Kanilai hasn't got a rural setting. Why should the organizers have to explain how or why they chose the Sindola Camp and not the RDI or Friendship hostel? Does the writer have any clue as to what facilities are available at Sindola or how much it is costing them? Apparently not! Talking of a rural setting, how much more rural can Kanilai be, considering Hamat Bah's description of the place? The writer has done nothing other than strengthened the rumours about Kanilai which he/she is accusing the organizers of. He/she could have gone there, describe the place and inform us about how things went rather than just speculating.
Finally, what has a ten-day wrestling contest, an event that takes place at night in one part of a village got to do with a two-day consultative meeting about "the real thing (the workshop on 'poverty reduction National governance programme') at a date to be determined in another part of the village?
Have a good day, Gassa.