Below is the FOROYAA Burning Issues of - Issue No 37. The topics in the issue are: 1. Editorial - Crime And Punishment 2. The First Eye To Eye Contact Since 21st July 1994 - Jawara Appears Jovial And Jammeh Contemplative 3. Regional Course On Payment, Clearing And Settlement Systems 2. Focus On The Gambia's Economic Situation - CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUE --------------- NO: 37/2002 27 - 30 June, 2002 Editorial Crime And Punishment No To Imprisonment For Minor Crimes!! Newspapers have been reporting cases where people convicted of minor cases are sentenced to imprisonment instead of being fined as an alternative form of punishment. It is not an ordinary matter when a person commits an offence by violating the rights of others. It is also not an ordinary matter when a mother, father, son, breadwinner is removed from the family and kept away for months and years without means to contribute to the welfare of his/her loved ones. Hence society must come to terms with the nature or degree of offences that merit imprisonment. In our view, there is need for the criminal justice system to debate this issue. Judges and magistrates should not take the posture of tyrants to be feared. They must assume the role of protectors and enforcers of justice who should be respected. Administrators of law prove their competence and viability by ensuring that justice is done and is seen to be done. Such judges and magistrates who can be considered to be competent must reach verdict and sentences that even the offender can consider to be just. It is such magistrates and judges who can be the guardians of a just criminal justice system. In our view, it is both unjust and irrational to send offenders to prison for minor crimes. It is unjust because the courts are not exercising parental roles. They are there to administer the law. Society has separated major and minor crimes to show that offences have degrees in perpetrating harm or injustice. Punishment is the actual sentencing which either deprives the person of property or liberty. Other forms of punishment like corporal ones should be kept out of our law books because it amounts to an inhumane and degrading punishment. It goes without saying that keeping a person imprisoned for months and years for a minor offence means that the person would lose thousands of dalasis or lost opportunities. His/her trial would impose the burden of court appearances and visits to prisons on family members as well as cause them emotional strain and social stigma if society is not properly oriented. On the other hand a fine would add money to the state coffers. Just fines should therefore be an alternative to imprisonment for minor crimes. The First Eye To Eye Contact Since 21st July 1994 Jawara Appears Jovial And Jammeh Contemplative On 24th June Ex- President Jawara went to the state house to visit President Jammeh. People wondered what the cameras would reveal. There were no major surprises. However, Ex-president Jawara's comments did lend credibility to FOROYAA's advice that no one should speak for Ex-president Jawara; that he should be left to speak for himself. Contrary to all the comments that Ex-President Jawara felt dishonoured and restricted, he managed to even show some excitement during his interview after his visit to state house. He stated that the delay in his coming was due to president Jammeh's desire to modernise his residence to a standard comparable to what it was before the coup detat. Ex-president Jawara narrated this with enthusiasm to show his satisfaction. He also narrated how he was given protocol by a high powered delegation sent by president Jammeh. What is therefore visible is that Ex-President Jawara feels comfortable with the new arrangement. The relevant tent of his comments is as follows: "His Excellency the president, Yahya Jammeh made a very important statement during the inauguration after the presidential election. And he extended an unconditional amnesty to me, my family and inviting me to end my asylum and come home. This is why I came home in response to his statement. Well it has been great, I am wonderfully back, as you know I have missed so many members of my family and the Gambian people in general. That statement of president Jammeh facilitated my return. In many, many countries, ah! He renovated my house, he caused it to be renovated to a very high standard. Infact It needed a major one, and this is what had happened. I returned and found it in excellent condition it was that work that actually delayed my return because he was anxious that I should come to my own home and when I come, the home should be in excellent condition and this might have even been higher than when I left it. (Laughs) "And then he made my travel back from UK to the Gambia, he facilitated that. He sent a high powered delegation to accompany me and my family back home. So it was wonderful to meet him and to discuss with him generally. I have a feeling that this gesture of the president inviting me to come back home and facilitating my return, I think will contribute to National reconciliation and harmony and so on. And I'm back here as an elder statesman and my role will be one of an elder statesman and not getting back to active party politics but having my advice and my experience, putting them at the disposal of the president and the nation at large." President Jammeh was interviewed he also expressed that his basic concern was Ex-president Jawara's comfort. The relevant tent is as follows: "I feel that I have nothing against him and the past is a past. I feel good that he has come back to the Gambia which is unprecedented in the history of Africa, to come back home and settle as an elderly statesman. I have nothing against him really. I have nothing personally against him and as I said it does not do the country any good by him continuing to live in exile. So it is good to see him again. I remember that I last saw him on the 21st of July 1994 at the airport. Since then I did not see him, seven years now. So I also wanted to know whether he is comfortable, his living condition, etc at his home and I am happy to know that there is no problem whatsoever." In that respect, there was no course for concern. Ex-President Jawara's role in the second republic The role that ex-president Jawara is to play in the second republic has been a matter of speculation. Members of his party have been unable to tell the press what Mr. Jawara's next move was going to be. He also has not broken the silence he returned. The first visit to the state house offered the nation the opportunity to hear ex-president Jawara speak for himself. He had indicated that he will serve as an elderly statesman under the second republic to promote peace and reconciliation and offer any advice to government and the nation that could be of benefit. The relevant text of his interview is as follows: "Well, my greetings to all Gambians without exception and apart from greeting them, I am saying that I am extremely happy to be back in the Gambia after so long gone. And I hope our coming back will contribute to national reconciliation, national harmony, peace and progress." President Jammeh also indicated that Ex-President Jawara is not here to collaborate on the political front but to offer advice where he wishes to do so. The relevant section in his interview is as follows: "Well, as an elder statesman, he has a lot of experience, in so many areas, politically, in terms of leadership and so with his experience also to serve the country because that is what his intention is, to contribute to the socio-economic development of his country so why not. We will work with him where and when necessary and we will give him all the necessary support. So don't misconstrue it as working with him politically, no. but he is an old man with a lot of experience, he has been in power for 30 years. So where he can render advice he is welcome." Reflection The Jammeh/ Jawara meeting marks the end of one period and the beginning of another period in the history of the Gambia. The major parties in government and opposition during the first republic were ex-president Jawara and ex-opposition leaders, Sheriff Dibba. Mr. Dibba a has stated in no uncertain terms that he has conceded to president Jammeh's leadership as God determined. Ex-President Jawara offered his services to him as an experienced former head of state. The only political party in the first republic which maintains active and independent political leadership is PDOIS. As we move into the second five years of the existence of the second republic fundamental changes are required to shape a new political destiny for the country. During the past seven years the absence of ex-president Jawara and Mr. Sheriff Dibba been utilised to build an anti Jammeh front. The masses were given the impression that ex-president Jawara was building an array which would one day invade and bring him back; others build political support by raising sentiments regarding his manner of removal. Some utilised tribal reasoning and pin hope of ex-president Jawara or Mr. Dibba as redeemers. A party like PDOIS was accused by the supporters of the two sides as a collaborator of the regime and the ultimate beneficiary from the coup detat. Now, these same people are saying that it is good for Mr. Dibba to accept the role of speaker to promote peace in the country and for Mr. Jawara to be an elderly statesman. There is no need for political hair splitting. All Gambians must now agree. The tribe, place of origin or blood ties do not matter in shaping the future of the country. What matters is the empowerment of the people and the building of structures that will lead any government to promote their general welfare or be removed by them. Gambians should not give up all the castigations and rampling and deal soberly with issues of national significance. President Jammeh should not draw the lesson that leadership is transient and not permanent. Both Jawara and Dibba are seen to be from major language grouping. However, it avails them nothing today to promote affirmity tribe. President Jammeh should not do away with any pretence that gives him any affimity to a language grouping and promote the new nationalist politics that Africa is demanding to promote its unity. Other opposition parties should promote the strategies of an alternative government. They should avoid personalising politics and judging regimes on the basis of the tribal affimity of their leaders. They should concentrate on issues and draw the attention of the people to alternative strategies for their empowerment and development. One expect the members of the opposition to be critical, objective, constructive and convincing. Finally, the Gambian people of all political shades who have insulted each other and fought on behalf of their political patrons should now put on their thinking caps. They should not be angry and accuse patrons of abandoning them. They should know that no person is worthy of being a citizen of a sovereign republic unless he or she owns his or her mind and know what is his or her interest. Such a person can never be fooled or betrayed. This is the time to construct a new Gambian electorate who will be mindful of their enlightened interest when choosing leaders who would monitor developments all sides of the political spectrum objectively during a government's five year term, so that they will be able to make informed choices at the end of the term. This is the way forward. Welcome back ex-president Jawara. Regional Course On Payment, Clearing And Settlement Systems The West African Institute for Economic Management is currently on a five days, regional course on payment, clearing and settlement system at the TAFBEL Hotel in Kololi. The course participants are drawn from English speaking West Africa including Guinea. In his keynote address to the participants at the opening, the Honorable Governor of the Central Bank of the Gambia Momodou Clerk Bajo opened his speech with the following introductory remarks: On behalf of the president, the government of the Gambia, the Central Bank Board, the Board of WAIFEM welcomed all participants and resource persons who came to the Gambia. He thanked Dr. Chuis.O.Itsede the Director General of WAIFEM for holding three workshops here in Banjul; that the strategy has training to 23 senior officials of the Central Bank including members of the National Parliament; that the course is timely against the background of the renewed determination to integrate the financial and payment systems of ECOWAS countries. On WAIFEM Mr. Bayo said was established in 1996 July by the Central Banks of the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia Nigeria and Sierra Leone Principally to strengthen capacity for economic and financial management in the member countries. That WAIFEM in this context has targeted its training and capacity building at the middle/senior executive officials of Central banks, economic ministries and public sector agencies responsible of Macro policy formulation and implementation. Governor Bayo then went further to challenge the experts to provide indept insight and perspective on the theme at the course by providing a discussion on some of the basic elements of the course e.g. (a) What is meant by payment system? (b) Payment system and economic development (c) Role of Central Bank in payment system (d) Efficient payment systems issues for West Africa. Finally, governor Bayo outlined the objectives of the workshop as principally designed to improve the participants understanding of what is meant by payment, clearing and settlement systems,clearing and settlement systems, reform process and also strengthen their analytical capacity to evaluate and manage risks inherent in the system. He then gave the breakdown of the specific ones as follows: (1) examine, in-depth, some of the key risks and efficiency issues that have to be faced by Central Banks and trade offices that maybe necessary. (b) Strengthen analytical capacity to evaluate and manage risks inherent in these systems and to be able to efficiently perform over sight function of payment, cleaning and settlement system. (3)consider new developments and trends in payment, cleaning and settlement systems and how they are being addressed by central banks. The welcome address was given by the Director General of WAIFEM Dr.C.O Itsede and the vote of thanks by Mrs.M.S. Foon, Programme Officer Macro Economic Management WAIFEM. Focus On The Gambia's Economic Situation CONTINUED FROM LAST ISSUE We have been focusing on the economic situation with the objective of creating more awareness on economic issues, not only on the Gambia but also on global economic issues. As of now, we will be dealing with our national economy which of course cannot be completely separated from the world economy. In the last issue, we delved into the Gambia Human Development Report 2002, which has as its objective to promote good governance for Human Development and Poverty Eradication. From what the report has said so far on our economic situation, on Agriculture, Tourism, the industrial sector, and Employment. The report highlighted constraints in this sector such as over dependence on traditional implements and tools, poor technology which has implications on productivity levels. The report recommends that what is crucial is to address these problems if Gambia' development aspirations as indicated in the vision 2020 is to be achieved. Tourism On tourism, the report states that this sector is vital and continue to account for between 10 to 12 per cent of the GDP, that the introduction of the "All Inclusive Package" could act to undermine some of the potential gains from this sector in terms of direct benefit to nationals operating in the industry. It sort of applauded government for the steps it had taken to discontinue the operation. It recommended that the sector needs to forge stronger linkages with other productive sectors of the economy. On the industrial sector, the report maintains that the sector accounts for only about 11percent which is rather small. It says the sector is yet to exploit in full potential in industrial sector. It further went on to itemise products manufactured in the country such as soap, plastic products, steel products metal fabrication as well as groundnut decortication. It says the sector is constrained by a number of factors, notably, lack of skilled personnel, continuing shortages of basic utilities such as reliable electricity supply and water, an infrastructure base etc. It says the sector lacks meaningful linkages with other sectors of the economy such as agriculture and Tourism. Employment On employment which it says is an important indicator of economic welfare of a nation's people. The report say sthe formal or public sector, the parastatals and the private sector all put together employs only 11% of the labour force. It says government is the biggest employer in the formal sector when compared to the parastatals. It criticised the employment opportunities in the formal sector as bias for the men folk. In this issue,we will continue to highlight the Human Development Report 2000 which is published by the UNDP, on what it says on Eductaion, and Quality and Relevance of Education, and on the Health sector. Education The role of education in sustaining human development is becoming increasingly important more so in this millennium. Education enables individuals to enjoy fulfilling lives. In view of this, government has undertaken reforms in the education sector with the view to meeting the challenges of the new millennium. There is a renewed emphasis on providing solid foundation for life-long learning responsive to the needs of the nation, especially competencies in science and technology. Recently, there has been an upsurge of school structures, especially in the rural areas reducing the constrains of physical access mainly to middle and secondary school education. Notwithstanding, economic access remains a constraints to poor households. Attention is also being focused on functional literacy through non-formal education programmes. This is because of the positive relationship between literacy and poverty. With the framework of the National Poverty Alleviation Programme, government, supported by its development partners, has embarked on an integrated mass literacy programme. Remarkable improvements have been registered in the education sector as a result of government's commitment to giving the sector the pivotal position it deserves in the national development drive. For example, between 1983 and 1993, adult literacy rate increased from 24 percent to 37 percent. Accordingly, there has been tremendous increase in access to primary school education. Between 1990/91 and 1996/97, average annual growth rate in primary enrolment was eight percent compared with the targeted five percent and a school aged population growth rate of 4.3 percent. This resulted in an increase in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) from 59 percent in 1990 to 70 percent in 1996/97 also exceeding the policy target of 65 percent. By 1998/99 GER has risen to 71.7 percent, slightly above the sub-Saharan African average of 69 percent. This notwithstanding, there remains significant differences between enrolment of girls and boys. For instance, only 612 percent of girls of primary school going age are enrolled in primary schools against 79 percent of boys (Education Sector Public Expenditure Review, 1998). Secondary level education, despite improvements, is still below acceptable levels. In The Gambia, secondary education is at the moment divided into junior and senior each of three years duration. The first three years forms an integral part of nine year basic education. Government junior secondary schools increased from 12 to 24 accounting for an increase in transition from 30 percent in 1990/91 to 70 percent by 1996/97. The Gross Enrolment Ration rose from 22 percent to 39 percent during the period under review. The gross enrolment rate in senior secondary schools increased from 11 percent to 15 percent during this period. However, due to a large number of over aged students at this level, partly due to repetition of the previous levels and late entry into primary schools, the net enrolment ratio is a low two percent. Tertiary education is provided by four institutions - The Gambia College, Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI), the Management Development Institute (MDI), Gambia Telecommunications and Multimedia Institute (GTMI), Rural Development Institute (RDI) and the University of the Gambia. Prior to the establishment of a University in September 1999, St. Mary's University of Canada operated an extension programme in the Gambia. Unfortunately, statistics on the number of students enrolled in tertiary institutions are not available. It is, however, believed that there has been an increase in enrolment at this level over the years. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: FOROYAA (Freedom) NO: 37/2002 27 - 30 June, 2002 ISSN: 0796- 08573 Address: FOROYAA, P.O.Box 2306, Serrekunda, The Gambia, West Africa Telephone: (220) 393177 Fax: (220) 393177 Email address: [log in to unmask] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~