Reviewing the News: Week Ending February 25th 2010

Reviewing the News: Week Ending February 25th 2010

Hello My Good Friends. It’s been a while. Too much going on and I’ve been mad busy. I’m back -well, I hope I’m back. In any case, I would really appreciate a hand to keep the blog going when I go into hibernation in future although I hope it doesn’t happen again. Please send articles, comments etc. to louisfriend4@gmail.com and I’ll be glad to publish. Now on to the news items.

THE GAMBIA ECHO
British Woman Exposes Gambia’s wanting Judicial Process

Woman goes to court to have land dispute resolved. Told that judgment could not be given because … “the new judge was unable to read the old judge’s handwriting”.
If the story is true, then yes it’s ludicrous and you have every right to be upset. However, I find it rather silly for Echo to claim that’s “exposing” our “wanting judicial process”…making a mountain out of a mole hill.

- I know of friends who lost great opportunities to work in the UK simply because Immigration LOST their paperwork and wasted months, sometimes years, before admitting they did.

- Don’t act like hiccups in judicial systems only happen only in The Gambia.
I’m in no way trying to justify or defend such a ridiculous statement from a judge but I’d like to point out land disputes happen all the time in the Gambia and it has nothing to do with that the letter writer’s nationality. If you have the right paperwork for your ownership of the land, then produce it and pursue the case. Let us know how you fare.

Millions Wasted as Jammeh orders demolition of Old Yundum Buildings: reports that government issued a “decree” to demolish buildings on Army Reserve Land in Old Yundum

- The Gambia Echo calls it land grabbing by the president but they have not verified whether it is indeed reserve land.
-I repeat my calls for you to quit the arm chair journalism and DO YOUR JOB the right way. VERIFY whether it indeed is reserve land. Where are your trusted “Kissy Kissy Mansa” and other “reliable sources” when you need them?
- If you prove it is not reserve land then you can justify your claims that it’s simply unlawful and unjust land grabbing by the government.
If, on the other hand, you find out it is reserve land, then tough luck to anyone who erected structures without getting the required permits. In any case, government needs to do a better job of monitoring what’s going on and regulating land. Better to stop people building when it was one or two structures than wait till now.

Gambians endure another embarrassment
Story reports that the Gambia Government has expelled the UN Resident Representative.

Not only would this be embarrassing to Gambia but also to the UN Systems and International Community. I haven’t verified this one but I remember the representative who was declared persona non-grata and asked to leave the Gambia immediately when she called for caution on the president’s claims of curing AIDS. These incidents only serve to give more credibility to the Lame Duck accusation levied on the United Nations.

If small Gambia cannot respect the International Community, then what hope is there for the Gambian People? Perhaps worse, what hope is there for any country in the world to respect International Organizations and laws?

Gambian Politician Calls on Military to Arrest Jammeh

This is a call by some fool on the military to overthrow the government and arrest Jammeh.
Not only is the call comical, it’s also cowardly and clearly not well-thought out. These are the punks living outside of the country and trying to stir up trouble. They’re the same cowards who never uttered a word when they were living in The Gambia and are even too scared to take a vacation.

In addition, how democratic are you if you’re calling for a military intervention? Two wrongs don’t make a right. Engage in some progressive criticism, some civic education or promote a political party. If you’re hell bent on using military action then grab a gun and head on down to Gambia… or ask Gibril Saidy for tips…lol (see story on “Man Charged with Treason” below in The Point)

FREEDOM NEWSPAPER
State to Drop Economic Crime Charges Against Lie Conteh

Former KMC Mayor Lie Conteh is in court for economic crimes. According to Freedom, the defense is now offering to pay back the monies he allegedly took and the prosecution is agreeing to dropping the charges.

- I say Bull Shit! (Yea, you heard me!) It’s a crime to steal and if you commit the crime you should do the time. Either you’re innocent and should not pay any money back or you are guilty and need to pay the money back AND face punishment for stealing from the people of the Gambia and betraying their trust. Teach our kids that it’s wrong to steal, whether you’re caught or not

- If this logic holds, then a burglar breaking into your house should be set free as long as he can go back and recover your items???

Ex Agric Minister in Court for Car Loan
Not too interesting of a story, and, as with all things from Freedom newspaper, I doubt the credibility of the story. They claim Kanja Sanneh, former Agriculture Minister, is in court for non-payment of a car loan. My point has nothing to do with the case.
All I’m saying is, if they’re right and Kanja is indeed broke after being fired as Minister, then I say he had what was coming to him. The story reports that Mr. Sanneh was a nurse in the USA before being appointed as to cabinet. Again, IF these reports are true, WHY on earth would a nurse accept an appointment as Minister of Agriculture???

Freedom vs Michael Scales: Bedfellows of Convenience

I can still remember Freedom editor Pa Nderry heaping praise Michael Scales when Scales donated money when Mr. Mbai’s child was born. Well Mr. Scales, until the next check for a naming ceremony comes along, your “bff-ship” is on shelf. The gripe is that Scales wants to donate money for an award to “Journalist of the Year”. Scales nominates Hatab Fatera of Daily Observer and Freedom “reject the nomination and Scales told to keep his money”.

Where is the FREEDOM in this? Does Hatab Fadera not have the right and freedom to support who he wants including Jammeh? As usual, it shows how Immature and hypocrite this news medium is. They despise Jammeh partly because he is intolerant to opposing views yet they’re telling us that one is disqualified from being “journalist of the year” simply because of who you work for or support regardless of how good you are at your job.

THE DAILY OBSERVER
Ansumana Jammeh is Gambia’s new Ambassador to Qatar

Well with the regime’s track record, this story should normally not have been worth mentioning. However, I can still hear those words on the radio back in 1994 from the then AFPRC…rampant corruption, flamboyant lifestyles in flashy cars, NEPOTISM… I sincerely hope Mr. Jammeh is qualified and would not give a toss if he does the job right. Just not sure how many people know that Ansumana is someone’s brother???

THE POINT
Man charged with Treason

According to the Point,” Gibril Saidy was alleged to have attempted to overthrow the government of The Gambia on 25 December 2009, by soliciting assistance from military personnel on duty at Yundum Army Barracks in the Western Region”
I say, thank God he did not succeed because the brother is clearly not the brightest.
This Genius thinks the way to stage a coup is to just walk up to some random military guys and ask them for help to overthrow the government of the day. - Great plan buddy! !! Dude must have pissed off his “marabout” to be led into believing he has some magical powers.
Even the government find him so toothless that they take him to court instead making him magically disappear like others previously accused of attempting to overthrow the government.
Well, at least he has the guts to be in the country and attempt something rather than stay abroad and write a bunch of bull.

Seriously though, whoever goes on to defend Mr. Saidy in court has a strong case of Insanity defence.

NYAMATOO Says: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. Louis Friend needs to either continue writing the blog or hand it over to someone else. Enough of the start-stop attitude”

WHO KILLED DEYDA HYDARA

Deyda's last article

Something Positive

Nothing good ever comes out of The Gambia. Yes, you heard me. I said, Nothing good ever comes out of Gambia…Ok, I’m kidding…but isn’t that the feeling you get reading all our online news sources? When was the last time you read something good about the country from our online journalists especially those based abroad? Same as critiquing our journalists, it’s almost like a sin to report on something positive (Just ask Cherno Baba Jallow).

Anyway, just like I dared to break that taboo of critiquing our “journalists”, today I am breaking another one by reporting something positive that Gambians everywhere can be proud of.

The USA is not known for football, or soccer as they call it, but the Major League Soccer has been making some major strides in trying to catch up with the rest of the world. The addition of big names like Juan Pablo Angel and David Beckham is drawing crowds and interest from around the world. At the conclusion last year of the U21 World Cup in Canada, the New England Revolution drafted 2 Gambian Internationals in Sainey Nyassi and Abdoulie (Kenny) Mansally. Having joined mid-season last year, they played with the reserve team but have broken into the starting eleven this season and they haven’t done so quietly. Not once is the New England Revolution mentioned this season without the anecdote “the two young Gambians”. The “boys” are playing so well that they’ve made themselves key players to the New England squad and a talking point of every MLS discussion. Sainey Nyassi’s goal on his debut was voted MLS goal of the week.

All of us at The Gambia News Filter send our congratulations to Nyassi and Mansally. We wish them good health and luck for long successful careers representing Gambian football.

Now, I know football is may not be of interest to some of our readers but this issue extends beyond football. These boys are ambassadors of the Gambia and their good performance will open doors for many more aspiring young Gambian footballers.

On that note, I would like to take this opportunity to alert Gambian parents, AND THE GOVERNMENT, to be cautious about the possible negatives that come along with increased interest from football scouts. It’s a serious problem facing African countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal. After their performances in the World Cup and the brilliance of stars like Didier Drogba and Michael Essien of Chelsea, huge doors have been opened for young football aspirants to have the opportunity to change their lives and those of their families and communities with the kick of a ball. However, along with the opportunities come the predators. Unlicensed football traffickers are taking advantage of the desperation and ignorance of poor young men and their families by charging them fees and promising tryouts in Europe only to leave them stranded on the streets of Europe.

To end, I would like to remind our journalists that there are others in the country besides Jammeh and reporting on something positive does not make you a Jammeh supporter. It doesn’t make you unpatriotic either. The current administration doesn’t need any help embarrassing itself or us Gambians. With stories of mystery cures, hire today/fire today and cases of missing demons, Gambians have enough egg on their faces to wipe off. You can help provide napkins by occasionally finding positive stories that we can show our friends.

Conspiracy Theory

It all began a few days ago with an article in the Observer on March 4th, in which one Baboucarr Trawally, President of the Gambia Professional Photographer's Association, allegedly "walked into the Daily Observer’s offices on Sunday, fuming with outrage at the performance of the GPU executive". 

"I have been in the union since its inception", Mr Trawally reportedly fumed, "but I have observed that the executive have not delivered as expected". [Strike 1]

Then, on the 11th, in an editorial title "GPU, the questions", the Daily Observer posed a few questions of the GPU executive, the thrust of their questioning being that they had registered members (Daily Ob journalists) for the GPU, but since the Congress was happening in 12 days, and the registration process seemed to be poised to take longer than that, they were worried the journalists they had registered would be unable to vote at the congress. In closing they quoted Mr Ceesay, the GPU President's answer ("We are mature and responsible people who will give enough time to applicants to become members"), and said they "ope for the sake of the GPU and its members this promise is kept and all are allowed to vote at Congress". [Strike 2]

On the 12th there was a follow-up article ("GPU accepts journalists registration"), with a victorious scan of the receipt for payment drawn for the Observer by the GPU. "This now means", the article ended, "that the 31 Daily Observer applicants have paid their annual subscription in full and should be able to pertake in the deliberations and decisions of the forth coming GPU congress... we await the GPU Executive’s confirmation of the membership of our journalists. We anticipate no problem in this and wish the GPU good luck at the Congress’s deliberations". [Strike 3]

Finally, today, a report from an independent online source, connecting the dots (and heavily quoting the Point newspaper): "Sources revealed the Gambia Radio and Television Services Thursday registered 54 of its staff and the pro-government newspaper, the Daily Observer also register e d 31 of its staff.... "Gambian government is all out to take over the Gambia Press Union and if this w orks, the President will be able to control the press and this will go a long wa y to re-establish the failed National Media Commission that was set up in 2004," sources added.... The sudden interest that most organisations and individuals in the media frater nity have shown in the fate of the GPU is suggestive of something sinister."

So which is it? Reading too much into an innocent attempt by Observer (and GRTS) to take part in normal media activities? Or, as the article above suggests, a thrilling conspiracy to take over the media by more subtle means than arresting journalists and harassing them, and burning down their presses (which practices, in the end, defeat their own purpose by giving the affected journalists even more exposure)?

As the editorial in the Observer today says, waxing philosophical: " Maybe  we cannot make most people happy. Most people would probably always be grumpy with whatever system of governance we have in place. Maybe what we should look for is a system which most people find tolerable, a system in which the rulers are not so oppressive and corrupt as to lead to rebellion and revolution... if you give the people bread and peace you can govern for as long as you wish. If people are hungry and fearful, beware a revolution". In as much as the Observer is one face of Government policy, perhaps we can take this to mean that we are leaving the era of heavy-handed governance behind ("death to all enemies! burn all the presses! support the Party or be an unpatriotic outcast!"), and entering the one where the Government becomes more cunning, not openly breaking any laws, achieving its objectives without the use of (visible) force. 

It doesn't get more farcical than this...

In other news, alleged NIA agents attempt to kidnap Yaya Dampha (the journalist who got into trouble for giving a tour of the country to Amnesty International representatives), and abduct him from his exile in Senegal. The result?

The sources said Dampha sought the intervention of his neighbours on recognizing one of the men...but through the intervention of his neighbours, the men fled.

Read more here and here. [Curiously enough there's still been no mention of this even in the Foroyaa, the paper Mr Danfa worked for].

Gambian Online Radio

Some Gambian journalists in Senegal have launched an online radio station. From the press release:

With the current political atmosphere in The Gambia, which is characterised by arrests, threats, unlawful detentions, closures and burning of media houses, eavesdropping by security agents, suppression of information and a general sense of fear, the Dakar-based journalists, with their counter-parts in Banjul, felt it necessary to initiate an online media with the sole objective of providing the Gambian people with an alternative means of accessing impartial and independent information.

You can visit the radio itself here. It sounds like a very good idea, though - as the problem is with any online endeavour in a country where there is only a small percentage of Internet penetration - not many people will be reached by this. However they do say something on their site about using Senegalese transmitters to broadcast a signal into the Gambia, which would solve this problem. 

Good luck to them, and I hope it works out.

 

Two Trials

There were two stories in the news today that attracted my attention:

1) The Deputy Permanent Secretary of Agriculture's court case: So this guy goes to a bar. After having a few drinks he boasts about working for the State House, and hints ominuously that he has knowledge of the "true" owners of the Daily Observer. As a result he ends up being hauled into court, on one charge of giving false information, and another of impersonating public officers. 

2) Mam Sait Ceesay's Trial for writing a report announcing someone had been appointed to a Government position when they had not, the only harm done being that the subject in question's friend called him to congratulate him only to find out it was not true. [Mr Ceesay was arrested with a fellow journalist, Malick Jones - somewhere along the way the case against Mr Jones was quietly dropped]

Both cases sound, from where I am sitting, more like the defendants simply pissed off the wrong guy in the labyrinthine power structure which is the Gambia Government (i.e. APRC party), and are now getting punished for it.  

One of the major problems of having one party pretty much run the state is that party in-fighting and all the other nastiness involved in party politics automatically spill over, into (ideally neutral) Government space. Because there are no checks in place, the ruling party uses the powers of Government it has to coerce/bribe people into supporting it, completely undermining the whole democratic process, and then when it is in power continues this trend to lengthen its stay. 

The sycophancy and praise-singing which have become such a staple in even the lowliest civil servants' speeches in the Gambia are not there because these people like to grovel before others and kiss their feet - they are there because the way the system is set up, you have to please (at the most basic, animal level) the people above you in order for them to give you a hand up. Working for the Government is not just turning up for work everyday, and dutifully doing your bit - it's also showing full party support, or at worst not being seen to be in opposition to the party ("unpatriotic" is a useful word here - it has come to mean not supporting the party (and therefore not liking your country), and in these times is one of the most deadly accusations someone can make of a civil servant). 

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that within the party itself there is nothing even remotely approaching intelligent debate, or healthy disagreements on issues that affect all Gambians. Instead there are these continuous power jostles, people being sacked and taken to prison and re-instated and sacked again, until everyone is on their last nerves, and marabouts in the country are doing a brisk business in job-preserving jujus. This is bad for the party itself - though it gives some control to the leaders, which is probably the point, it is also creating a fragmented party, one which will not stand up to any real crisis (such as an opposition worthy of the name actually competing for elections, and going all the way). And, since the party in this case is also the state, it's bad for the country as a whole - if you did a survey of civil servants, especially in the higher positions, "losing my job" would probably be one of the top fears listed by participants. This cannot be a healthy thing for the country - a civil servant is more likely to be corrupt, and do a hit-and-run on their position, when they continually fear losing their position.  And instead of concentrating on doing productive work for the country, they instead concentrate on improving their rankings within the party, since this is after all the more important benchmark by which they will be measured, in the end.