IEC Boss on Credible Elections, Biometric Voter’s Cards...

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:54pm
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As International Companies Vie for Contractual Seal

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) “A complete and accurate voters list is the starting point of a credible election. An election that is credible must prevent voters from voting more than once and unregistered voters from voting,” the Chairman of The Gambia Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Alhajie Mustapha L. Carayol has said.
He made this statement at the Kairaba Beach Hotel during a one-day presentations and demonstrations on how to conduct the process of Biometric Voter’s Cards on Tuesday 12th January, 2010.
The two Companies, CODE Incorporated Digital Registration Solution (from Canada) and Zetes PASS of Belgium were on hand to present and demonstrate on how to conduct the exercise provided that they secured the contract.

Qcell Introduced New Product, “Muslim Phone”

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:30pm
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As CEO Emphasised on Record Breaking

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The GSM Mobile Company, QCell on Friday January 8, 2010 introduced its newest product, the QCell Muslim Phone in The Gambia’s telecommunication industry.
The Muslim Phone, which is dedicated to the former Imam of the Pipeline Mosque, the late Imam Mass Jah has an Azaan Alarm, FM Radio, Colour Display, and Long Battery Life.
The Muslim Phone was launched in Malaysia last week for the first time in the world, and with the forward vision of the QCell Company in Banjul, the Muslim Phone has arrived in The Gambia’s technology market being the first of its kind not only in the country but in Africa.
The Phone cost only D750, however, its network has been locked and it takes only QCell
Sim Cards, and this, the CEO of the Company explained, it is meant to limit the circulation of the phone within the country, as it is the first in the continent.

Human Pandemic Preparedness (H2P) Training Ends

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:47pm
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Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The Gambia Red Cross Society (GRCS) on Friday 8th January, 2010 ended a two-day training workshop aimed at enlightening people on the importance of Human Pandemic Preparedness.
The programme, which was held at the Baobab Holiday Resort in Kerr Serigne, brought together officials from the Information, Agriculture and Health Ministries.
In his welcome remarks, Mr. Mamodou Bah, the Secretary General of The Gambia Red Cross said the Influenza Pandemic has grown over the past few years to become a global threat to lives and livelihoods.
He added that the virulent human flu has spread remarkably from East Asia to the rest of the world with outbreaks in all parts of Asia and some parts in Europe and Africa. He said the disease is air borne and can spread easily from one person to another, particularly in the absence of proper environmental sanitation and personal hygiene.

Manneh Calls GFA Congress ‘Unconstitutional’

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:46pm
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But the Football Association’s President Disagrees

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) Kebba Yorro Manneh, a social commentator and critic has branded the recent Gambia Football (GFA) Congress as unconstitutional after his contender for the post of Third Vice President was elected in absentia.
Samba won with a difference of 39 votes after he bagged 54 votes while Manneh secured 12 votes.
“The election was manipulated, fabricated and masterminded in the sense that all the members of the executive committee shall be elected from among the delegates,” he told journalists in an interview after the congress.

“Zero Tolerance for Gender Based-Violence” - Minister Sonko

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:44pm
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Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The Minister of Interior, Honorable Ousman Sonko has declared that there will be zero tolerance for gender-base violence, in particular rape and sexual assault against women and girls, and that perpetrators will have no place to hide.
This statement was delivered by Assistant Superintendent of Police, Yahya Fadera on behalf of the Interior Minister on Wednesday during the two-day training workshop for law enforcement officers on violence against women and children.

Ageing with a Smile Initiative Launched

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:42pm
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Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Babucarr Gaye officially launch the organisation, “Ageing with a Smile Initiative” (ASI) in The Gambia, over the weekend at the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC).
In his statement, the Dr Babucarr Gaye said that the elderly is the world’s fastest growing population group and unfortunately among the poorest. He stressed that we must meet the needs of the older persons who are alive today, as well as that of the elderly in the near feature.
“We should not underestimate the role that elderly people play, culturally and traditionally in our societies. The truth is that older people make innumerable contributions to their families, societies and economies that must be honored,” he said.
According to him, societies all over the world are currently engaged in the process of preparing for the challenge of the coming years, with The Gambia being no exception. “The absence of material deprivation for older people is a fundamental precondition for an active later life, but equally important are social integration, equal rights and access to adequate health care and long-term care,” he said.
Dr Gaye noted that the Department of Social Welfare is aware of that, for the welfare of the older persons to be fully realized, there is the need for family and community-based care should be encouraged as it does provide an opportunity to reweave the social fabric and promote intergeneration inter-dependency, including skills and cultural transfers.
He revealed that his ministry has already put in place long-term plans to address issues that that affects elderly persons directly, as in the form of free provision of needy aids and rehabilitation services; relief assistance to needy old persons and the introduction of day care and residential facilities.
“Access to adequate health care and social services is an integral part of life and an essential precondition for a productive and active ageing,” he said.
He also remarked: “my Ministry is very concerned for the welfare of the aged and is developing systems to improve the treatment of age-related diseases to help enhance the well-being of older persons he promises.”
The Lord Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, Yankuba Colley on his part commended the Organisation, ‘Ageing with a Smile Initiative’ for their vision, while promising an unflinching support and partnership with the organisation in their endeavours. VOL:2 ISSN:16

Police Officer Testified in Bank PHB Theft Case

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 12, 2010 at 9:40pm
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Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) Police Officer, Inspector Ebou F. Badjie on Wednesday testified in the ongoing theft case involving Bakary Camara, staff of Bank PHB at the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court before Senior Magistrate Abdoulie Mbacke.
Camara is charged with three counts of stealing by servant contrary to Section 258 of the Criminal Code Cap 10 Volume III Laws of The Gambia 1990.
In his testimony Inspector Badjie told the court that he recognised the accused as Bakary Camara. He explained that it was on 23rd March, 2009 that the accused was arrested in connection with complains received by them (police) from the said bank.
According to him, a cautionary statement was obtained from the accused in English, adding that the accused was then caution and asked not to say anything about the matter, whatever he said will be written in the presence of an independent witness.
He also told the court that the accused wrote his statement by himself, and he and the independent witness signed.
At this point, The Counsel of Bank PHB, Anna Dibba stood up and appealed to tender the cautionary statement as an exhibit, which court admitted as exhibit D without any objection from the Defence Counsel.
Inceptor Badjie then quoted the first sentence of the cautionary statement to the court, which says that “I have to confess that I gave to Mr. Ndow, Mr. Chimi and Emeka.” Under cross examination, Inspector Badjie said apart from the cautionary statement, the accused did not tell him anything.
Readers would recalled that Bakary Camara, a resident of Serrekunda was granted bail to the tune of 900, 000 by the Kanifing Court on December 14, 2009. According to the particulars of offence, Bakary Camara between January and February 2009 being an employee or servant of Bank PHB Serrekunda Branch, fraudulently converted the sum of D120, 104.55, D146, 084.81 and D580, 979.57 from the said bank without the consent of the bank, which money came into his hands by virtue of being an employee of the bank.
He was said to have given the money as loan to one Ebrima Ndow, Christian Chimi and Emeka Orybam thereby committed an offence.
The case has been adjourned till 13th January 2010. Bank PHB was represented by State Counsel Anna Dibba, while the accused person was represented by lawyer Dr. Assan Martins. VOL:2 ISSN:15

Africa’s $30 Billion, ‘a Drop in the Ocean’

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 5, 2010 at 6:39pm
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Gambian Delegation Dejected With ‘Climate Change No Deal’
 

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) After what seemed nearly an age of arguments, developed nations at the recently concluded Conference of Parties in Copenhagen, Denmark agreed upon what they called a collective commitment to provide new and additional resources, approximately USD 30 billion for the period 2010-2012 for the African Continent.
This includes forestry and investment through international institutions, with balance allocation between adaptation and mitigation.

Lawmakers Unhappy with Media Reports

• Posted by Modou S. Joof on January 5, 2010 at 6:36pm
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“Gambian Media Accused of Unbalanced Reporting”
 

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The North Bank Evening Standard has reliably gathered that lawmakers in The Gambia have expressed dissatisfaction over recent media reports on the proposed increments of the amount of fee to be paid on national documents as well as the five per cent tax levy on rice.
This year’s budget saw almost a 100 per cent increase on passport, road tax and license as well as 5 per cent tax levy on rice-developments that caught the attention of members of the ruling government.
According to reports monitored from The Daily News, media reports (print and electronic) on the debate are not balanced and objective because the reports were centered only on those who spoke against, while account of those who spoke in favor were not featured, National Assembly Members (NAMs) argued.
The Majority Leader and Member for Serekunda East Fabakary Tombong Jatta who launched the attack quoted from a recent article “NAMs Mourn Increment on National Documents”.
“It is true that we are being critical of issues, but the positive sides f statements are never been captured by the press”. “I was in Kaur recently when I heard a group of people talking about the increase on rice,” a nominated member, Seedy Njie was quoted as saying by The Daily News.
He added: “What is saddening is that a particular radio station (name withheld) reported that the state has made 15 per cent tax increase on rice.”
Hon. Kebba Gaye, the Member for Jokadu District also clammed on a particular radio station for what he termed to be reported below standard. “We should criticize constructively” he said.
“I do not consider Gambian press to be a fair press,” the Member for Lower Niumi Cherno Charm said. He stressed: “If the press wants to be independent they do not have to compose their newspapers with negative views.”
“These newspapers make every body confuse by making hyperbolic headlines as if they are borrowing words from William Shakespeare,” he argued. VOL:2 ISSN:13

UNDERSTANDING COPENHAGEN

Ibrahim Ceesay- National Coordinator Children for Children Organization
 

Copenhagen, Denmark (TNBES) I spent eight weeks traveling Europe with a group of 13 AVAAZ climate activists from five different continents, organizing for a better Copenhagen. For the past three days I’ve been trying to make sense of what happened in the final moments of that journey.
The story of Copenhagen began in Bali, Indonesia two years ago. After an intensive two weeks of negotiations, 192 countries, including the Bush Administration, signed on to the Bali Roadmap, a plan to complete a binding global climate treaty in Copenhagen. The Bali Roadmap was a political agreement acknowledging that the evidence for the planet warming is “unequivocal”, and that further delays in reducing emissions would further increase the risks of “severe climate change impacts.”

Madam Jammeh Gives over D100, 000 to First Baby

The Baby of the Year Award Was Initiated In 2000

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The First Lady of the Republic of The Gambia, Her Excellency Madam Zinab Yahya Jammeh on January 1, 2010 presented a donation of items and a cash prize of one hundred thousand dalasis (D100, 000) to the first babies of the New Year, at a ceremony held at the premises of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, Banjul.
Madam Jammeh, the Chief Patroness of “Operation Save a Baby” also made a personal contribution by giving D20, 000 to each of the first born babies of 2010.

Gambian Kora Star Named ‘Man of the Year 2009’

The Kora Maestro Is an Icon on Traditional Music

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) Jaliba Kuyateh, a well known Kora player and the leader of the Kumereh Band of Brikama, has been designated “Man of the Year 2009” by The Gambia News and Report weekly magazine, the first Gambian musician to receive the award.
Going by a press release obtained by The North Bank Evening Standard on Friday 1st January, Mr. Sweabou Conateh, the Publisher of Gambia News and Report weekly magazine stated that Jaliba’s selection was because of the way he has, “with modern education background, developed his own brand of the music of the Kora to a level never known for his brand of music, standing out as most innovative, the most creative and fascinating player of the instrument in today’s Gambia and the sub-region.

President Jammeh Declares A ‘No Compromise’ with Criminals…

Urges Youths to Desist from Perilous Journeys

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The President of the Republic of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh has stressed that he would never compromise with criminals and detractors, whose main intention is to stall our progress as a country, in fostering peace and stability in The Gambia.
The Gambian Leader was addressing citizens in his traditional annual New Year Message, on the eve of January, 1, 2010.
He added that there has been a sharp increase in heinous crimes including murder, rape, robberies and other perpetrated within our borders. “The Gambia is a country that champions and practices the rule of law. We as a nation denounce violence in all it forms. My Government will always maintained zero tolerance for people bent on wreaking havoc, instability and violence. We will apply the laws of this land to the letter,” he told Gambians.

GFA Holds Congress, Elects New Executive

“The Election Was Masterminded and Manipulated” - Manneh

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) In the Gambia Football Congress on New Year’s Eve, The Chairman of Basse Area Council Mr. Omar Ceesay was elected as the First Vice President, Lamin King Colley, the Chairman of Western Region Sport Committee as Second Vice President and Adama Halla Samba, an official of Wallidan Football Club as Third Vice President respectively.
From the onset, it was known to almost every individual that Seedy Kinteh has retained his position as President after he went unopposed on the deadline of nominations. Kinteh has been mandated to fulfill all what he could not have done in his four years, as he received clubs’ baking to lead for another four years.
The positions of first and second vice presidents went unopposed, while the third vice presidency was contested between Kebba Yorro Manneh, a social commentator and sports critic and Halla Samba.
Samba won with a difference of 39 votes after he bagged 54 to the 12 votes secured by Manneh. However, Manneh who is versed on sports documents, especially football told journalists in an interview that the election was masterminded and manipulated.

GFA to Recommend Foreign Coaches to Government

Kinteh Has Been Elected for another Four-Year Term

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The President of The Gambia Football Association (GFA), Mr. Seedy M.B. Kinteh has stated that they will identify and recommend to the government the appointment of foreign coaches for the U17 and the U20 national teams.
Kinteh was delivering his acceptance speech after he has had been elected as the president of the FA for a second four year term. He appeal to the government through the Ministry of Youth and Sport for the construction of at least three modern stadia to help improve the standard of the game and also enable the country to host future CAF and FIFA tournaments.

Investigations into Zonal Final Stand-off

“Bakau-Serrekunda East Final Was Marred By Fans Violence”

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) The Special Task Force set by The Gambia Football Association (GFA) to look into the incidents that marred the final of the 2009 Muhammed Yahya Jammeh’s Perpetual Tournament between Bakau and Serrekunda East, has been investigating the reports since last week.
The seven-man committee has been holding daily meetings to look into every detail surrounding the impasse.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting last week, the Secretary General of The GFA, Mr. Jammeh E.K. Bojang, recalled the incidents that marred the Zonal Final between Bakau and Serrekunda East on Sunday December 13th 2009.

Bundung Resident Sentence for Littering

The Anti-Littering Bill Was Made into Law in 2007

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) A resident of Bundung was on Monday 4th January, 2010 convicted and sentence to a find of D2500 in default to serve three (3) months imprisonment.
Muhammed Lamin O.B. Camara was sentenced by Senior Magistrate James Judge of the Kanifing Magistrate Court, after he convicted for disposing unused Compact Discs (CDs) on the street of Bundung, contrary to Section 3 Sub-Section 1 of the Anti-littering and Regularity Law 2007.
According to the particular of offence, Muhammed Lamin OB Camara on or about 12th December, 2009, at Bundung disposed-off unused CDs into the public street thereby committed an offence.
On his Mitigation, the accused told the Court to consider that he is a first time offender, while pleading to the court to exercise justice with mercy. He added that the offence he committed was unintentional, as he was in the process of cleaning his place.

Eradicating the Solitary Mood of Aging Folk

Aging with a Smile Initiative takes New Turn

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES)The widely held believe in The Gambia that getting old is a disadvantage and a misery as people at their dotage are ignored; living with little or no care, being left alone will soon be a thing of the past, if information gathered from the Organisation, Aging with a Smile Initiative (ASI) is any thing to go by.
At a Press Briefing held at National Malaria Control Programme Conference Hall in Kanifing, on 5th January 2010, the Secretary General of ASI, Mr. Ousman Badgie told journalists that they have arrived at the point to speak-out that the elderly in our communities will be given first-class attention and to help them cope with the state of affairs of the present generation.

Gambia Tourism Authority Warns Stakeholders

 Employees Asked to Produce Certificates of Character
 

Banjul, The Gambia (TNBES) Reports reaching The North Bank Evening Standard has it that the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA) has issued a warning to all tourism stakeholders in the Tourism Development Area (TDA) to produce a certificate of character for the year 2010, in order to be given operational licenses.
“This mode of registration is the first of its kind in the history of the GTA to call on stakeholders to produce such a credential document,” a press release from tourism officials said yesterday.
The North Bank Evening Standard also gathered that the warning is directed the tourist taxi drivers (new entrants), juice pressers, fruit sellers, hairdressers, staff of beach bar owners, food vendors, bicycle rentals, horse riders, among others.
They are required to produce a Certificate of Charter from the Gambia Police Headquarters in Banjul on or before January 8th 2010 in order to be issued an Operational Licence by the GTA.
According to reports, the Gambia Police Forced will be put in place a processing system from 4th - 6th January 2010, adding that the co-operation and support of all the tourism stakeholders is therefore highly solicited. VOL:2 ISSN:3