-------- Original Message -------- Subject: RE: [pdoisgroup] Buharry is on top of it. From: "Amie Sillah" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thu, July 1, 2004 1:59 pm To: [log in to unmask] Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue Issue No. 52/2004, 1-03 July, 2004 Editorial DIALOGUE OR DICTATION THE PRESIDENT AND HIS COUNTRYWIDE TOUR The IEC Should Take Note! The president of the republic has been making it very clear that he will not give regard to his oath to perform his executive duties without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. In stead, he has been telling the people that if they fail to vote for him he will not provide them with public services such as hospitals, schools, ambulances, boreholes, milling machines and other services. The president has gone very far to undermine the integrity of the Independent Electoral Commission by asserting that the polling stations are increased so that they would know how people vote. This would determine which communities are to receive or be deprived of benefits. It is outrageous for the president to make such comments, which are calculated to intimidate the voter. It also does not tell well on the independence of the I.E.C. The fact of the matter is that it has been observed by many voters that if polling stations are far away from people’s homes many tend not to vote. It has been a popular demand for the polling stations to be increased and to be situated in places closer to the voter. This speeds up the voting process and prevent long queues. The practice has the tendency to reveal the number of votes per polling station that each candidate receives. However, this should not be a disadvantage in a genuine democratic society with a democratically minded leadership that wishes to promote free and fair elections which produce the undiluted choice of the people. If the president wants to use the process to victimize those who exercise their freedom to choose who they want, that should lead people to bow down to his wishes. That would amount to blackmail. A free people can never allow themselves to bow down to intimidation. The people should therefore continue to express their will freely to vote for who they want. If the president fails to deliver services without fear or favour, affection or ill-will he should be considered unfit to preside over the affairs of a sovereign people and be removed. This is the only way to prevent a sovereign people from being subjected to the dictates of rulers. The president should be shown that the Gambian people will not accept threats from leaders they can remove from office. If the president does not desist from such threats the people should teach him the lesson that they are responsible for putting him in office and he is not responsible for giving them citizenship. They are citizens irrespective of his will while he is a president because of their will. If he seeks to dictate to them they should remove him to teach him who has power in a sovereign republic. CULTURAL TOURISM OR HOMECOMING THE CONTRADICTIONS OF THE ROOTS FESTIVAL Halifa Sallah Speaks to Some of the Guests Some of the guests who came to The Gambia in search of an African identity were advised to speak to Halifa Sallah. In an interview with FOROYAA he said that the Roots Festival has contradictory objectives. He said that many of those who advertised the festival see it as part and parcel of cultural tourism. This puts it as a part of the travel trade aiming to attract spenders to promote economic well-being. He said that the people he had spoken to had a different impression of the festival. They saw it as a form of homecoming, a journey in search of a place they can belong to and identify with as their home. Those who have commercialized the programme create activities to entertain. They expose the visitors to traditional practices without explaining their relevance to the creation of a positive African and human identity. Those who see the festival as homecoming often want explanation, why huts, bad roads, beggars and general poverty still plague the continent after decades of independence. They want to know why The Gambia / Africa they want to be proud of or belong to still harbours so many ills they are not proud of. Halifa explained that the current nature of the Roots Festival excludes this agenda of mental liberation and self-discovery and simply perpetuates a narrow cultural viewpoint. He told the visitors that in 2005 the People’s Centre will have its own programmes to sensitize those who wish for a homecoming experience on Pan Africanism and the legacy of those who have struggled for Africa to be homeland for people of African descent. Halifa told them that Africa is very rich but harbours 340 million poor Africans because of our own failure to create a united Africa immediately after attaining national liberation. He explained that there is need to combine the three stages of production for a modern economy; that there is need to produce raw materials as the primary stage of production. There is need to process the raw materials as the second stage of production and there is need to produce machines to support both the primary and secondary stages as the tertiary stage. He argued that at independence most African countries were at the primary stage; that they lacked the banks to invest in the secondary and tertiary stages; that people like Nkrumah spoke about a cooperative banking system where all newly independent African countries could make contributions to, establish an African Investment Bank to support the secondary and tertiary phases ! of development. The visitors were told that many of the leaders were only interested in occupying the mansions left by the colonialists and become rulers of a poor people rather than work towards unifying the continent and create a United States of Africa. He lamented that the end result of narrow materialism is that most countries are still at the primary stage producing mainly raw materials and importing everything else from their former colonial masters. He said that the huts and general poverty they see is not African culture but the signs of a neglected people and continent. He said the potential is there but could only be realized if we have leaders who would stop pulling money in Swiss banks and instead put it in an African Investment Bank to finance the projects needed on the continent. He told them that their own brothers and sisters at home think that they are coming from rich countries and should give them creativity. He told them not to be disturbed by the lev! el of ignorance and poverty but see it as a sign of the failure of African leadership. He argued that they should educate their brothers and sisters that the perceived prosperity of the US is being mystified by credit cards. They should explain their real situation and then help their brothers and sisters to see that they should unite their efforts to create an African leadership that will be true to their mandate to articulate the plans and programmes that will ensure that the total economic emancipation of the continent and the empowerment of the people to have the true architects of a destiny of liberty, dignity and prosperity. The visitors took videos and promised to spread the message far and wide. To them it was homecoming indeed, not commercial cultural tourism. D-DAY FOR JARRA WEST The electorate of Jarra West constituency, which became vacant after the conviction and imprisonment of the former Majority Leader, Baba K. Jobe, will be going to the polls today to determine the fate of the vacant seat. This shows that power lies with the people. In fact, section 1 of the constitution stipulates that the sovereignty of The Gambia resides in the people. The election in Jarra West today is more than just deciding who is to replace Baba K. Jobe. The electorate of Jarra West will decide today whether or not they will assert their authority or allow someone to impose his or her will upon them as the president has indicated. THE APPEALS OF BABA JOBE AND WAA JUWARA WHAT IS THEIR STATUS? As the saying goes justice delayed is justice denied. I have been motivated by this statement to find out the status of two important appeals now before the Court of Appeal, namely the appeal of the Secretary General of NDAM, Lamin Waa Juwara who was released on Friday 25th June and that of Baba K. Jobe who is still serving a term of imprisonment of more than nine years. My investigation has revealed that the legal representatives of both appellants are yet to receive certified copies of the records of court proceedings which are necessary for the appeal to proceed. When I contacted the courts and the legal representatives of both appellants I was duly informed that in fact the records have already been typed and the judge is now doing the proofreading. For the information of the reader Lamin Waa Jawara was tried and convicted for sedition and imprisonment for six months. He has already served the six months while the appeal is yet to be heard. For his part Baba K. Jobe was convicted and imprisoned for a term of more than nine years on 29th March 2004. His appeal was filed on 6th May 2004. UN EXTENDS MANDATE OF GAMBIAN PEACEKEEPERS The Chief of Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, Colonel Baboucarr Jatta has informed this paper that the UN has extended the mandate of the Gambian peacekeepers in Liberia who were due here last month. According to Colonel Jatta, the peacekeepers who were due to return home in June will instead come in September. Colonel Jatta said despite the fact that The Gambia did not meet the quota for UN operations, the level of professionalism demonstrated by its soldiers has impressed the UN to the extent that the mandate of its soldiers has been extended. “Others have met the quota for UN peacekeeping missions, but the UN is urging them to go. They (Gambian soldiers) have excelled in executing their duties which is why the Field Commander in Liberia and the UN are interested in them,” Colonel Jatta remarked. Colonel Jatta said that the UN has urged countries without a battalion in Liberia to leave the aforesaid country. He said despite the fact that The Gambia has a company (about 100 to 150 soldiers) in Liberia, the UN has urged her to stay. He said that in order for a country to meet UN standards for peacekeeping missions, it must be in a position to deploy a battalion and must have standard equipment which the Gambia Armed Forces lack at the moment. He posited that The Gambia government is presently leaving no stone unturned in order to get standard equipment for the Armed Forces. He posited that peacekeeping missions are a source of foreign exchange earnings for the country. MAI FATTY ACCUSES JUSTICE PAUL The treason trial involving Abdoulie Sonko and the State is never short of controversy. Mai Fatty, counsel for the accused, on Monday urged the trial judge, Justice M. A. Paul to refuse from hearing the matter. Fatty’s application came at a time when the defence was supposed to make a no case submission. “There has been a change of situation with regards to the defence position. We are applying to the court to refuse itself from hearing this matter. The court has manifested substantial bias towards the defence and our position is that the court cannot dispensate justice on this matter. There has been many instances when the defence has been denied proper hearing,” Fatty remarked. At this point, Justice Paul, urged the prosecutor, Chernor Marenah to respond to Fatty’s submission. Marenah stood up to say that he has left the matter to the court to decide. “I don’t know you. I only met you here as a lawyer. You have a problem, you don’t want to learn. If you think the court does not want to do justice in this case, there is a proper way of doing it (applying). If I am not taking insult from you, that does not mean I am biased,” Justice Paul remarked. Fatty posited, “It is our duty as counsels to protect the integrity of this court. The integrity of this court is the common interest of everybody. I will not insult any counsel, and I will not take insult from counsel or anybody.” Justice Paul at this juncture ruled that Fatty has made very serious allegations against him, noting that unless the latter take the correct steps, he will not withdraw from the matter. He later asked Fatty to make his no case submission or ask the witness to enter his defence. Fatty asked the court to grant him an adjournment in order for him to make a no case submission. Justice Paul asked Marenah to respond to Fatty’s request, the latter urged the court to grant Fatty an adjournment. MANSONG DAMBELL LOSES CASE The Gambia Court of Appeal headed by Justice Gibou Janneh on Thursday delivered judgment on the protracted legal battle involving prominent businessman, Mansong Dambell and the West African Examination Council. The Court of Appeal turned down the judgment delivered by the High Court in favour of Mansong Dambell. The latter was awarded D3, 636, 000.00 by the High Court. The appellant, WAEC later filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal. The appellant did enter into a business deal with Mansong. Two of the contracts were executed by the latter but the last contract was terminated by the appellant. This prompted Mansong to file a writ at the High Court claiming D1, 818, 000 as damages for breach of contract. According to Justice Janneh, after reading the relevant portions of the judgment, the court found out that the High Court judge made an error in that the correct amount representing 20 % of the overall contract price of D1, 818, 000.00 is D363, 600.00 and not D3, 636, 000.00 as read by the former judge. In delivering judgment, Justice Janneh stated that the Appeal Court thought it relevant to award D3000.00 costs at the High Court and D5000.00 in the Appeal Court in favour of the appellant. 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