*Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue* *Issue No. 48/2006, 22-25 June, 2006* *Editorial* *IEC, THE VILLAGE HEADS AND THE * *REGISTRATION EXERCISE* It has now become clear to the whole nation that some chairpersons of political parties have established rings to get attestations for people to get voters cards. What is interesting is that when the registration exercise started, APRC chairwomen sat with youth leaders and people representing the Alkalolu of villages to issue attestation forms to people. It is amazing that some people have also become professionals in issuing attestation forms. They are preparing their own format and the IEC has not established any standard for attestation forms. The law left the responsibility to the IEC under section B4 (2C) which states that "The commission may make rules generally for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Decree and shall in particular make rules prescribing such procedures not covered under this decree as the commission considers necessary for the effective conduct of elections." Registration is the first phase of conducting elections. Why haven't the IEC established standards for attestation so that when cases go to revising courts, elders who sign attestation forms can be traced? At the moment some people are beginning to transform attestation into a trade. However, sooner or later their wrong doing will be exposed. We have seen signs that the IEC supervisors are asking those who have established their tables to do attestation to leave the vicinity of registration centres. However, some registering officers are trying to escape scrutiny by asking party agents not to take down information. Now, they go to nearby compounds to carry out their actions. The sensitisation that should have been done by the IEC to prepare voters has not been done. This is what is responsible for the mess. People want to get registered and they are being misled by those who wish to manipulate them. The IEC is in a rush when the first election is not due constitutionally until December. This is why it is doing a bad job. All those who witness how the registration process started and wanted a fair process felt disappointed. The IEC is trying to adjust but we will wait and see. Supplementary registration is meant for the young. At the end of the day, we will see how many elderly people registered, how many will face the revising courts? Foroyaa calls on all youths to go and get their voters cards and vote for anyone they support. However those who are not entitled should know that they may face a revising court and all those who attest to their papers may face the full force of the law. MCC Suspends Gambia *1. Press Release*** *2. Letter of Suspension* *3. Grounds for Suspension* * * *PRESS RELEASE*** Contact: 202-521-3850 E-Mail: [log in to unmask] For Immediate Release June 16, 2006 Washington, D.C. The Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) today agreed to suspend The Gambia's eligibility for assistance citing a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC's selection criteria. The Board based its decision on documented evidence of human rights abuses and increased restrictions on political rights, civil liberties, and press freedom by the government, as well as worsening economic policies and anti-corruption efforts. The Board considered reports from several organizations to support its decision including: Freedom House, the Heritage Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the Economist Intelligence Unit, and the State Department. "The Board's decision was necessary given the disturbing pattern of deteriorating conditions in eight of the 16 policy categories used to evaluate all candidate countries including The Gambia," said Ambassador John Danilovich, Chief Executive Officer of MCC. "Continued participation in the Millennium Challenge program requires our partner countries to maintain good policies and is contingent upon adherence to fundamental principles necessary to make progress in their own development. MCC would welcome the opportunity to consider The Gambia's reinstatement after the government has taken tangible and significant actions to address the areas of decline and embrace political and economic reforms." The Board annually selects countries for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) eligibility from a pool of candidate countries based on each country's demonstrated commitment in three broad policy categories "ruling justly," "investing in people," and "promoting economic freedom" as measured by performance on 16 independent policy indicators within their income peer group. The Gambia was notified in November 2005 that it was eligible for MCA funding, and only preliminary discussions about the program had been undertaken prior to today's announcement. Under MCC's policy on suspension and termination of assistance, the Board may reinstate eligibility for a country if it determines that the country has taken corrective action or has demonstrated a sufficient commitment to correcting each condition for which eligibility for assistance was suspended. *Letter of Suspension* June 16, 2006 We wish to inform you of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors decision to suspend The Gambia's eligibility for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) assistance. Under MCC's Policy on Suspension and Termination of Assistance and/or Eligibility for Assistance, MCC may suspend or terminate eligibility for assistance if the MCC Board of Directors make a determination that one of three circumstances occurred, including that a country has engaged in a pattern of actions inconsistent with MCC selection criteria. Over the past six months, MCC has witnessed a troubling pattern of policy slippage by the Government of The Gambia that is inconsistent with the MCA selection criteria. The third-party institutions that collect the indicator data used in MCC's eligibility criteria have documented evidence of growing human rights abuses, increased restrictions on political rights, civil liberties and press freedom, as well as deteriorating economic policies and anti-corruption efforts. This erosion of commitment and performance has resulted in declines on two indicators already reported: Political Rights and Trade Policy. In addition, preliminary data suggest pending degradation of The Gambia's performance on six additional indicators in future fiscal years: Voice and Accountability; Civil Liberties; Control of Corruption; Regulatory Quality; Cost of Starting a Business; and Fiscal Policy. The declines are summarized in the enclosed attachment. As a result of this decline in overall performance on the MCA selection criteria, the MCC Board of Directors decided to suspend The Gambia's eligibility for MCA assistance. The Gambia was formally notified of this suspension and the basis for it, on June 16, 2006. Under the MCC Policy on Suspension and Termination of Assistance and/or Eligibility for Assistance, the Board of Directors may reinstate eligibility for a country that was subject to a suspension if it is determined that the country has taken corrective action or has demonstrated a sufficient commitment to correcting each condition for which led to suspension. MCC officials are available to meet at your convenience to discuss this suspension. If you or your staff would like to arrange a meeting, please contact Jake Stefanik at (202) 521-3856. Sincerely, Frances C. McNaught Vice President Congressional and Public Affairs *THE GAMBIA'S POLICY PERFORMANCE * *AND POTENTIAL REFORMS* The following is an overview of The Gambia's declining performance on MCA selection criteria. This analysis is drawn from the third-party institutions that provide the basis for the MCC indicators. To consider reinstatement, the Board will look for concrete actions that demonstrate the Government of The Gambia's commitment to reform in the policy areas where there have been declines. *Civil Liberties (Freedom House)* The Gambia's decline in Civil Liberties is predominantly due to a documented trend in violations of press freedoms and human rights. A 2004 law forced media outlets to reapply for their licenses and established harsh sentences for all press offenses, while changes in the criminal code enable the state to confiscate any publication deemed seditious without judicial oversight. Since then, there have been multiple documented cases of unexplained arrest and detention of journalists, as well as threats, arson attacks, or official raids on independent media sources. There are also increased reports of arbitrary arrests and torture by the security forces. *Political Rights (Freedom House)* The Gambia's Political Rights score declined in 2006 from a 4 to a 5 (with 1 representing "most free" and 7 representing "least free"). As presidential elections approach, the government has placed growing restrictions on the movement and activity of opposition political parties and their leadership, prohibiting them from holding public gatherings and arresting key opposition leadership on charges of subversion. Legal provisions in official records enable the National Intelligence Service to search, arrest, or detain people without a warrant, and this practice has been repeatedly but selectively applied to opposition figures. Freedom House and other third-party indicator institutions are concerned that this chain of individual actions, in conjunction with a documented deterioration of press freedom, may constitute an effort to subvert the electoral process. *Voice and Accountability (World Bank Institute)* The decline of this indicator is evident in six of its sub-components and is likely due to the cumulative result of the situations described above. The third-party institutions which provide this data have registered significant declines in press freedom, human rights, freedom of assembly, openness and transparency, and political competition. Access to information also remains problematic, as current state-security laws serve as a blanket restriction on freedom of information. *Control of Corruption (World Bank Institute)* In 2005, The Gambia registered significant declines on the World Economic Forum's "corruption in export and import permits," "corruption in procurement," "corruption in judicial decisions," "corruption in public utilities," and "corruption in the police force" indicators. These are all important subcomponents of MCC's Control of Corruption index. *Regulatory Quality (World Bank Institute)* The Gambia's score will likely decline in future fiscal years due to the government's lack of progress in implementing a privatization program, increasingly centralized economic policy making, unnecessary business licensing, and labor market inflexibility. Cost of Starting a Business (World Bank Group/International Finance Corporation) Preliminary data from the IFC strongly suggest that The Gambia will fail this indicator in Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07). It is estimated that it costs 222 percent of average per capita income to register a business in The Gambia. *Trade Policy (Heritage Foundation)* The Gambia's Trade Policy score declined in 2006 from 3.5 to 4.5 (with 1 as "very low levels of protectionism and 5 as "very high levels of protectionism") because of increasing evidence of non-tariff barriers and fraud, and delays in customs administration. *Fiscal Policy (International Monetary Fund)* The Gambia is in imminent danger of failing the Fiscal Policy indicator in FY07. The fiscal deficit will likely be somewhere between 4.5 - 7.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2006, placing The Gambia well below the median in its income peer group. Poor performance in this area is attributable to high levels of government expenditure, Central Bank financing of extra budgetary expenditures, unreliable statistical reporting, and lack of fiscal transparency. *VOTER REGISTRATION WITHOUT **PROPER SCRUTINY* *NADD's Flag bearer writes to IEC* *RE: NO POSSIBILITY OF PROPER SCRUTINYOF REGISTRATION OF VOTERS BECAUSE OF DISREGARD OF ELECTORAL LAW* It has been conveyed to me as flag bearer of NADD and I have conducted investigation to confirm that many Registering Officers hardly question persons who claim to be entitled to be registered as voters. Some officials of the Commission are said to have even questioned the taking of notes by party agents. This is an affront to the basic principle of transparency and accountability, to say the least. First and foremost Section 134 subsection (2) paragraph (d) of the elections decree states very clearly that * "The Commission may make rules generally for the better carrying out of the provisions of this Decree and shall in particular make rules authorising individuals, local and international organisations and members of the press and media to witness registration of voters and conduct of elections."* As local political organisations, political parties have been authorised to send representatives to monitor the supplementary registration of voters. Suffice it to say, the registration process ends after the revising courts complete the review of objections. The registering officers are supposed to reduce the burden of the revising courts by scrutinizing applications for registration with overwhelming thoroughness. Registering officers who allow applications for registration to be approved without scrutiny are simply going to transform revising courts into platforms for the exposure of their maladministration and incompetence. The duty of registering officers are clearly stipulated by law. An elementary understanding of the Elections Decree would reveal that no claim to be registered should be approved without investigation by a registering officer. The reason for this is simple. Section 12(1) of the Elections Decree states:** *"Subject to section 13, a person shall be entitled to have his name entered on a register of voters in a constituency if* *a) he is a citizen of The Gambia* *b) he has attained, or will on the date of the holding of the next election attain, the age of eighteen years, and * *c) he is resident, or was born in that constituency"* It is therefore clear that the registering officer has the duty to call for, receive and consider such evidence as he or she may think fit to determine whether the applicant is a citizen, has attained the age of eighteen years or is resident or was born in that constituency. One may now ask: Where does the issue of I.D card arise? Section 12(2) states: ** *"Notwithstanding subsection (1), a persons name shall not be entered on * * a register of voters in a constituency unless he produces any one of the following documents* *a) a birth certificate* *b) a Gambian passport* *c) a National Identity Card* *d) a document certified by five elders that the applicant is a citizen of The Gambia or* *e) a document certified by the District Seyfo or an Alkalo of the District or Village, respectively, of birth of the applicant stating that the applicant was born in the District or Village."* Subsection (3) states that * "the Commission shall not reject a valid document produced under subsection (2)." * This simply means that the Commission should not reject a valid passport, birth certificate, I.D card, document certified by five elders, an Alkalo or District Seyfo. Subsection (3) is being wrongly interpreted by the IEC to mean that Registering Officers should not enquire into the validity of claims to be registered. This is gross misinterpretation of the law. Infact section 18(1) of the Elections Decree has stated in no uncertain terms that *"A Registering Officer shall notwithstanding the information contained in a * * registration forms examine each form and shall * *(a) call for, receive and consider such evidence as he may think fit touching upon the validity of such claim, and* *(b) require such evidence to be given on oath or affirmation and may for that purpose administer such oath or affirmation; and * *(c) investigate, as he may think fit with the assistance of a village head, village elders, or leaders of the adult age groups present and adjudicate upon the claim." * *Finally subsection (2) of section 18 asserts that: * * "Where an election officer under subsection (1)* * (a) is satisfied that a claimant possesses the required qualifications, he shall enter the name of the claimant on the register of voters; or * * (b) determines that claimant does not possess the required qualifications, disallow a claim. ."* Subsection (3) concludes that: ** *"No action shall be taken or a claim disallowed under this section except as * * may be directed by a revising court."* Mr. Chairman, it is therefore incontrovertible that it is mandatory for registering officers to investigate and adjudicate upon applications for registration. This is why registration is not done in secret. To accept attestation forms where those who append their thumb print do not put their voters card numbers, ID Card numbers and addresses is to legitimise fraudulent registration practices. Suffice it to say, that the IEC has completely abdicated its responsibility to adhere to the Elections Decree when it comes to registration of voters. What is my proof? Section 17 (1) of the Elections Decree makes it mandatory for a person to be provided with a registration form if he or she presents himself or herself to be registered. It states: *"A person who claims to be entitled to be registered as a voter in a constituency shall on presenting himself at a registration centre be supplied a registration form in such form as may be prescribed by the Commission in conjunction with the appropriate Department of State"* Mr. Chairman, the original Registration form which has been deleted by the Elections Amendment Act 2001 and which should have been replaced by another registration form was designed to ensure maximum scrutiny. It may have been deleted precisely to escape scrutiny. Allow me to reproduce the form which was preferred as *Form 2* CLAIM FOR REGISTRATION AS A VOTER Photo .. ..Constituency in the . .. Administrative Area 1.SURNAME: 2.OTHERNAMES: 3.CURRENT ADDRESS: 4.OCCUPATION: 5.DATE OF BIRTH: 6.AGE AT LAST BIRTHDAY: 7.PLACE OF BIRTH: 8.NAME <http://8.name/> AND ADDRESS OF FATHER: 9.NATIONALITY OF FATHER 10.NAME <http://10.name/> AND ADDRESS OF MOTHER: NATIONALITY OF MOTHER 11.HAVE YOU EVER APPLIED TO BE REGISTERED AS A VOTER IN ANY CONSTITUENCY? - YES/NO.* 12.IF ANSWER IS YES, STATE THE NAME OF THE CONSTITUENCY AND THE YEAR OF APPLICATION 13.WAS YOUR APPLICATION SUCCESSFUL? - YES/NO.* (a) IF ANSWER IS YES, STATE THE NUMBER OF THE VOTING CARD ISSUED TO YOU . (b) IF ANSWER IS NO, STATE THE REASON WHY THE APPLICATTON WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL: 14.ARE YOU IN ANY WAY DISQUALIFIED OR DISENTITLED FROM BEING REGISTERED OR FROM VOTING UNDER ANY LAW? YES/NO. IF ANSWER IS YES, SPECIFY THE LAW OR GIVE EXPLANATION 15. BY WHAT MEANS DO YOU WISH TO PROVE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS TO BE REGISTERED AS A VOTER? (a) BIRTH CERTIFICATE (b) NATIONAL IDENTITY CARD (*Cross whichever is not applicable) (c) GANBIAN PASSPORT (d) IDENTIFICATION BY TWO ELDERS (i) Name, address and signature or thumbprint of elder: ......................................................... Name, address and signature or thumbprint of elder: It is very clear from this registration form that no culprit could evade detection by filling the form. Needless to say, once the registering officer gets all the details he or she shall be able to adjudicate upon any claim. It goes without saying; revising courts could also perform their duties with circumspection. Mr. Chairman, the instructions allegedly given to your registering officers not to interview claimants has made it possible for party chairmen, women and youth leaders to establish tables near registration centres and are providing attestations to every Tom, Dick and Harry which your registering officers are relying on to issue voters cards without raising any questions. Station B9 A, Latrikunda Sabiji Mosque is a clear example. This is undermining the very integrity of your institution. If you do not take immediate action to arrest the situation we will have no option but to instruct our legal counsels to look into the possibilities of taking legal action to discredit the whole supplementary registration exercise. Where we cannot find any basis to do so under Gambian law we will take the matter up with the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights. The conducting of registration without the mandatory registration form that is needed to enable registering officers to scrutinize claims gives clear testimony to the lack of transparency and accountability in the process. The deletion of the previous form which has all the details to exercise scrutiny without replacing it with another registration form that is of a better standard, tends to signify a deliberate attempt to leave room for unscrupulous politicians to exploit. I therefore hope that you will instruct your registering officers to investigate and adjudicate upon all claims to be registered by raising all the questions that are posed in the original registration form. This would be an acceptable compromise pending the drafting of a new form to be utilized in the future. While anticipating your maximum cooperation. I remain, Yours in the service of the nation, *Halifa Sallah* *NADD Flagbearer* * * *TREASON CASE ADJOURNED* *By Surakata Danso* The eight man treason case involving Captain Bunja Darboe, Captain Yaya Darboe, Captain Wassa Camara, Alieu Jobe, Second Lieutenant Pharing Sanyang, Tamsir Jasseh, Omar Keita and Hon. Demba Dem. Is adjourned to Tuesday (the 27th June). This announcement was made by the trial Judge, Justice Agim. Following the application for an adjournment by the defence team to enable them engage in consultations with their clients after their receipt of the witnesses statements. The matter was called before an over crowded court room filled with relatives of the accused person including their parents, their wives children, and sympathisers amongst others. The following lawyers announced their appearance for the State, Mr. Fagbenleh Acting DPP, Mrs. Jones, Ms. Ida Mboob and Mr. Sarr, while the defence team constituted Messr Lamin Camara, Lamin Jorbateh, Borry Touray, Musa Batehilly, Lamin K. Mboge and Mrs. Sainabou Wadda Sisay. *DETAINEES LANGUISH IN DETENTION WITHOUT TRIAL* *Lamin Fatty* The foiled coup has given birth to the arrest and detention of prominent figures. No statement has been issued or any reason given for many of the arrests. Some of the arrestees are still languishing in detention without trial, amongst the detainees are two prominent women, notably senior lawyer, Mariam Denton and former National Assembly Member Duta Kamaso. Duta Kamaso's arrest came in the wake of the controversy involving the Freedom Newspaper and the Daily Observer. The other arrestees who are still in detention are Abdoulie Kujabie, a former Director General of NIA who was hospitalised at the RVTH, Ngorr Secka, a former Deputy Director General of NIA who was also hospitalised at the RVTH, former Deputy Director General of NIA Alieu Singhateh, Foday Barry, Musa Dibba and Baba Saho (NIA staff), Sergeant Buba Mendy, former Chief of staff, Colonel Vincent Jatta, Merchelle Badjie, the Manager of St Joseph family farm, Corporal Ebrima Joof of the Gambia Armed Forces Abdoulie Njie a civilian and Alphusainey Jammeh, (a prison warden) who was said to be arrested weeks before the abortive coup plot. *DARFUR** REPORT* *We are publishing the report of the report of the Pan-African Parliament on Darfur in series. The head of the mission was Honourable Abdul Katuntu, from Uganda and the rapporteur* *Halifa Sallah the Gambia.* *Part Nine * *RECOMMENDATIONS* 1. This parliament therefore, mandates the Bureau to convey to the assembly of heads of States the following recommendations: a) That the political negotiations in Abuja which is designed to establish a democratic culture in Darfur that can guarantee the population a fair share of power and resources should both be accelerated and time bound; b) That the Naivasha model be adopted to conclude the negotiation so as to ensure complementality in implementation of the mechanism for sharing power and resources in Sudan; c) That the terms of the agreement incorporate periodic consultation with all stake holders in Sudanese Society to ensure that no group is excluded or marginalized in the sharing of power and resources; d) That immediate steps be taken to influence the Sudanese Government to find ways and means of quantifying and qualifying the loses caused by the war and lunch a Trust Fund with the support of the AU and the International Community to finance a comprehensive resettlement programme for refugees and internationally displaced persons; e) That the mandate of the AU Mission be enhanced to go beyond Cease Fire Monitoring to include protection of the population in Darfur; f) That AMIS administrative structures be developed in line with the proposals in the Report; g) That the Joint Commission mentioned in the Humanitarian Cease Fire Agreement or a similar institution be established to receive report and address queries of violations to signatories of the agreement for response within 45 days for review and decision; h) That this Commission establish close relationship with the African Commission on Human and People's Rights to review the course of action that should be taken to address allegations of violations of human and people's rights, war crime, genocide or crimes against humanity; i) That particular emphasis be given to the disarming of groups which are not parties to the Cease Fire Agreement, especially the Jan Jaweed, so as to bring the whole population of Darfur on broad to negotiate for peace under a climate of democratic discourse; j) That the Peace and Security Council of the Union be requested to begin urgent consultation with the UN Security Council to facilitate complementality in approaches of promoting a final settlement of the Darfur crises to foster dispensation of Justice at the right time and under the right circumstance to avert any reversal of the gains made in resolving the crisis;** *APPENDIX 1* *Possible Functions of Officers at AMIS' Headquarters* The military and security officers at the headquarters should be able to maintain information flow between all sectors of the Cease Fire Commission, know the day to day concerns of the military observers and protectors and keep appropriate data for sectoral policy briefings. This should enable the Head of mission to be well equipped to exercise control and direction over matters within his/her jurisdiction and prevent any information vacuum between personnel, the headquarters of the mission and the other organs of the AU. The political Officer can keep abreast of the resolutions of the UN Security Council, the decisions of the AU and its Peace and Security Council, the development in the negotiations and the agreements reached, with the view, to keep all sectors of the AU Mission in Sudan, in particular and the rest of Sudanese Society, in general, informed of all development aimed at achieving ultimate settlement. The Humanitarian officer should be able to maintain link with his/her counterparts in the sectors to monitor the quantity and quality of humanitarian assistance and further determine whether the principles and directives stipulated in the protocol on humanitarian assistance are being honoured. He / She can serve as liaison with UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations to keep them abreast of the humanitarian situation. This will enable the world to keep track of the situation of refugees, the internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups in Darfur, monitor the conditions in the villages to determine their conduciveness for the return of displaced persons. The human rights officer should be able to maintain link with his/her counterparts in the sectors to monitor the human rights conditions such as the system of administration and dispensation of justice, the law enforcement environment, the conditions of arrest and detention, the scale and nature of violence against children and women in particular, and the population at large. This can facilitate easy access to evidence of any possible cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by any group. The Socio- Cultural officer should be able to liase with counter parts in the sectors to follow the land tenure system, study the nature of the tribes and their hierarchical characteristics, identify the harmful and discriminatory cultural practices, document any evidence of discriminatory practices on the basis of race, tribe, caste, gender and other characteristics. This can provide a data base for sociological analysis of Sudanese society with emphasis on Darfur which should precede any determination of any allegation of genocide. In this way the AU will rely on facts rather than opinions, to validate any claim of exclusion or victimization on the basis of tribe or race. .The Head of mission may receive information from all these officers by holding periodic consultative, review and planning sessions which can be used as raw material for policy making by the AU. These observations are not meant to be prescriptive. The objective is to draw the attention of the AU to the need for strategic planning on the type of administration that is needed to shoulder the responsibility of being the premier organization providing guidance to resolve the crisis in Darfur. *HALIFA ON GOV'T'S FAILURE IN AGRICULTURE* *By Abdoulie Dibba* In his contributing to the adjournment debate on Monday, the Minority Leader of the National Assembly, Hon. Halifa Sallah, asserted that the Government has failed miserably In Agriculture. Hon. Sallah indicated that they were told by the President in 2003 that they are aware of the fact that 2002/2003 witnessed an unprecedented difficult crop season for most of the farmers. Sallah said the President is accepting the difficulties faced by the farmers. He said the President then promised that, "in a bid to increase Agricultural Production for Food Self-sufficiency and increased exports, Particularly for non-traditional crops, current policy directive is to shift away from subsistence Agriculture to a more dynamic, commercially oriented production system that is aimed at making farming a viable business undertaking." Hon. Sallah pointed out that the promise led to the procurement of over 125 tractors for the sector in a bid to ensure that the earning capacity of farmers increased. Hon Sallah stressed that we are still complaining that the farmers are not only unable to be self-sufficient in food production, but they are at the same time unable to sell their cash crops. He concluded that the country has failed miserably in this sector. *AUGUSTUS PROM TESTIFIES IN MAIMUNA TAAL'S CASE* A professional accountant, Mr. Augustus Prom, on Tuesday, June 16, testified in the ongoing criminal trial of the former director general of The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Ms. Maimuna Taal, before Justice S.MMonagen of the High Court inBanjul. Responding to questions from the acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr. Emmanuel Fagbenle, Mr. Prom, who is the chairman of the GCAA board, said the role of the board in the awarding of contracts is to approve contracts that are above the D300, 000 limits, placed on the director general. He explained that if a contract is above D300, 000, the director general should go by the procurement regulations and bring the contract to the attention of the board for advice and to guide her according to the GPPA procurement regulations. Although the GCAA had its own procurement guidelines, Prom said the GPPA Act takes precedence over it, and that the board advises according to the Act. He said when a budget is prepared, it goes to the board for endorsement, and the board would pass it to the Department of State for Works and Construction for onward transmission to the Department of State for Finance, and the latter would scrutinize the budget and forward it to the office of the President for approval. Prom said when approved, it would then be communicated to the line Department of State for Works, and subsequently to the director general of the GCAA, who would communicate it to the board. The chairman, in response to Fagbenle's question, said: "contracts are never brought to the board for approval with regard to the renovation of staff quarters." Prom also told the court that if the contract is above D300, 000, it should be brought to the board for approval, but if it's below that, she (Taal ) could go ahead with the awarding without requiring the board's approval. A document was shown to him and he was referred to the sum of D747, 815.00indicated on the document. When asked whether the contract of the said sum would require the board's approval, Prom answered in the affirmative, saying because the contract was above D300, 000. He said the contract for the renovation of the staff quarter of the director general of GCAA was not brought to the attention of the board. "When did it come to your notice that the amount of D1 million was spent for the renovation of the residence of the director general?" the DPP asked the witness. But Prom said: "I think it was never brought to our attention." He opined that if the D1 Million was for renovation then the amount was excessive, adding that "one million dalasis is not financially prudent for renovation." According to him, that amount could build a new house, and he also said the Airport Improvement Project was a GCAA project under the purview of the Department of State for Works, who were responsible for the project. Under cross-examination from the leading defence counsel Antouman Gaye, Prom said they were not officially informed of the recipients of allowance form the Airport Improvement Project. He said they know it by interactions. The case was adjourned for continuation of Gaye's cross-examination. Appearing with Gaye for the defence was lawyer Salieu Taal. The acting DPP was assisted by state counsel Aminata Jawara. The former GCAA boss is charged with illegal or dishonest acquisition of the property of a public body by a public officer, contrary to Section 5 (d) of the Economic Crimes Decree; International Act or omission shown to be detrimental to the economy of The Gambia, contrary to Section 5(f) of the Economic Crimes Decree, among other charges. *STATE APPEAL AGAINST CHEYASSIN SECKA*** Information reaching Foroyaa indicates that the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the State, have filed an appeal against the decision of Justice A.M. Dordzie, who had, on Wednesday 7th June 2006, ordered the quashing of the decision of the Paul Commission's Recommendations against Mr. Pap Cheyasin Secka. The source further indicated that the grounds of the state's appeal is for the Court to make an order of restraint to the respondent Cheyasin Secka from interfering with the properties affected by the Paul Commission. It goes on to indicate that the case would be heard on Thursday the 22nd June 2006. €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] €€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€€