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‘Payment of teachers should be safeguard’
Marie Antoinette Corr-Jack, the Secretary General of the Gambia Teachers’ Union (GTU), has said that payment of teachers should be safeguarded.
Madam Corr-Jack made these disclos lately during a press release put forwaby the Union’s board.
“The salaries, terms and conditions of teachers and education support personnel at all levels should be protected at all times during and after the covid-19 crisis”, said the union, which added that teachers must be rewarded as usual during closure periods.
*The union further called on government to ensure the provision of psychosocial support, including counseling services offered to all affected students, teachers and education support personnel in order to ensure their well-being as the trauma associated with Covid-19 can be devastating to students and educators who lost loved ones.*
The union went on to appeal government to assist private schools badly hit by the pandemic, saying they are at the apex of total collapse without government’s support or bail out.
Additionally, the union call out to the ministries of health and education come together to build and communicate well-defined time line to the resuming of schools.
*It said as a union there are lots of things they are doing in collaboration with the Ministry of Education which they hope will bear positive fruits soon enough.
It also called on education authorities to ensure regular and timely information and updates to all employees in the sector aiming to minimize uncertainty and related stress and anxiety.*
A UNESCO findings have shown a disastrous impact of over 1.5 billion students being affected due to school closures in 165 countries as of March 26th 2020.
This is not less than 87% of all registered students, over 63 million teachers with a giant number of education support personnel also being highly-flown by the pandemic.
Stating these unusual developments, and as such the union said the virus has become an educational catastrophe.
Source___Standard Newspaper
Former Gambia health minister Contradicts Ebola funds were mismanaged
Former Gambian health minister, Omar Sey has insistently contradicted Minister Dr Ahmadou Samateh’s allegations that funds that were meant to fight Ebola were mismanaged.
*Minister Samateh told lawmakers last Saturday during the debate on the extension of state of emergency that the Ebola funds were wasted and equipment which were said to be procured never reached the country.*
But Sey, who was the minister of health during the outbreak of the Ebola crisis, denied this: “The money never came to the ministry of health. It was all handled at the level of the UNDP and the procurement process was also done by the UNDP.We were just handed the materials and everything”.
Sey explained that, when the Ebola escalation was reported in the sub-region, the government put up an Ebola response task force but no money was taken from government because this was around end of year.
“We worked with the UNDP and there was a donor conference in Dakar which I attended with the finance minister and presented our plan. The plan attracted lot of interests from the UN and CSOs who really wanted to help,” he said.
He said the plan was then taken to the UN South-South Cooperation platform and the Japanese government decided to fund some of the activities.
“And all those funds came through the UNDP as the middle body responsible to build point of entries in the border villages, procurement of motor bicycles, ambulances, pickup trucks and some equipment including the ones at the airport”, Sey said.
“So based on the activity plan, funds are released from the WHO account at Standard Chartered Bank to the ministry of health account at the Standard Chartered in the name of the PS ministry of health. The PS will make a request and sign the cheque and give it to the subcommittee to go and implement their activities,” he explained.
Source___Standard Newspaper
Police Debrief Rambo over Toufa Statement
Police have cross-questioned Ousman Rambo Jatta, the deputy leader of opposition Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction over comments made against Toufa – the TRRC witness who assigned guilt to former President Yahya Jammeh of rape.
The Point Newspaper has been notified that Rambo Jatta was asked questions by police on Friday at the Police Headquarters in Banjul over comments he made last year; during APRC political rally in Abuko against Toufa.
*The APRC No. 2 was quoted as saying that they will deal with Toufa Jallow after the release of the recommendations of the TRRC.*
The deputy spokesperson of the APRC, Dodou Jah has disclosed this development to Point Newspaper reporter.
He said the police only questioned Rambo to elaborate on what he meant by dealing with Toufa after the TRRC recommendations.
As disclosed by Rambo,he told the police that they were going to take a legal action against Toufa who put accusations against former President Yahya Jammeh of rape.
“Many in fact believe that it has to do with Rambo’s recent comments about people that are insulting former President Jammeh. Again, we will not sit only for people to be insulting former President Jammeh. He should be respected as a former head of state who has too many followers.”
Source___The Point Newspaper
‘President’s term cannot start from 2017′
As the debate on the two-term limitation in the draft constitution tantrum is on, a foremost constitutional lawyer has accorded with the cabinet that President Barrow’s first term cannot start from 2017.
The Standard issued he cabinet’s agitation about certain provisions in the draft, among which is the two-term limit which bars President Barrow from running after 2021 election.
Briefing as a panelist on the Paradise TV national exchange of views on the final draft constitution Saturday, Barrister Lamin J Darbo, while pointing what he seen as “too many conflicts” in the final draft constitution, said if Barrow wins next election, then his first term should start from there.
“There is a fundamental issue in the constitution: retroactive application of constitutional provisions. It is in the 1997 constitution Section 102 C. The president’s right to serve as president is vested. In this other constitution also, the same thing. No retroactive application. So the president’s term cannot start from 2017. Whatever you think about it; whatever your views about the president and his government, what we must always do is to ensure that we are fair in our national conversations; ensure that we abide by the rule of law; it is very important. And the rule of law is really scuttled as far as commencing the president’s two-year term from 2017. This of course is a democratic process, but are we assuming that the president is going to win in 2021? Even if that assumption is correct, his term should not start from 2017. That is something we need to look at,” Darbo said.
Barrister Darbo concured that the executive has hold on to the draft longer than required but the agenda of the executive often spoken about is actually lawful.
“Some people say the president should take it the National Assembly; I agree it spent a lot of time with the executive. That is needless. And the executive also has its own agenda but that is legitimate because the executive is a legitimate stakeholder,” he added.
Source…Standard Newspaper
Gambia to move facilitate amelioration in the electricity and telecommunication sectors
The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved on the 14 May a $30 million development policy grant to support The Gambia’s struggles to improve debt and public investment management, improve financial viability and service delivery in the energy and telecom sectors, and improve the flexibility and governance framework of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
”This first in a series of two programmatic Development Policy Operations supports The Gambia’s efforts to undertake fundamental reforms to improve fiscal management for better public service delivery,” said Elene Imnadze, World Bank Resident Representative.
*This Development Policy Operation will ensure public investment projects are appraised as per National Development Plan priorities and support the adoption of a new procurement bill to eliminate the use of single source procurement and tighten the emergency clause for its use*
The financing will also help improve the financial and operational fulfilment of the energy effectiveness in order to provide cheaper, more reliable and cleaner energy.
Additionally, it will also help the reservation of the telecom infrastructure and restructuring of the SOEs in that sector to improve the digital economy.
“This operation will support the government in strengthening fiscal transparency and reducing fiscal risks and promote a governance framework to ensure long-term sustainability of the SOE sector,” said Mehwish Ashraf, World Bank Country Economist and co-Task Team Leader.
*This first operation is aligned with the development priorities of the Government as reflected in the National Development Plan for 2018-2021 which identifies economic stabilization, growth stimulation and structural transformation as key priorities for The Gambia.*
Source___Standard Newspaper
‘Parliament can bring draft constitution to itself if executive refuses’
Nominated National Assembly member, Ya Kumba Jaiteh has said if the executive do not want to bring the Draft Constitution to parliament, a lawmaker or a committee can bring the draft to the parliament instead
Speaking as a panelist on the Paradise TV national briefing on the final draft constitution Saturday, Ms Jaiteh disclosed it might have been a miscalculation by the parliament not to give a time-curb on to when the executive should take the draft to the House, but said there is still other ways if the executive drags its feet.
“It is true that there is no time-limit for the president to bring the draft to parliament but who would have thought, given those circumstances why they wouldn’t want to bring the draft to parliament. I think for me it’s impossible; they have to bring it to parliament,” she said.
“Another thing that people always lose sight of is parliament can bring this draft to itself. It doesn’t necessarily have to come from…the executive” Speaking on the actual process to this alternative draft tabling, Ms Jaiteh added:
“There is a process of how this bill will come to life and that is in the 1997 Constitution. The constitution has made provisions on how you can repeal it or amend it or how you can amend certain provisions or entrenched provisions. And there is nothing in it that says it cannot be brought by a member of the National Assembly. It is the responsibility of the Legislature to make laws; we should never lose sight of that.”
She said parliament too can put forward laws just like the executive, and in this instance, it can always introduce the draft if it is very needed.
“Laws can be proposed by the executive but they can also be proposed by the National Assembly. So if in any case the executive says they are not bringing this to parliament, well the parliament can bring it to itself. That is very simple and straightforward. So if they decide not to bring it, one of us or a committee can bring the bill to itself,” she told Harona Drammeh, the host.
Source__Standard Newspaper
Gambia: Raneru Inhabitants Oath to boycott upcoming elections if gov’t fails….
The inhabitants of Raneru village in Sami District of the Central River Region (CRR) have taken oath to boycott all national elections if government fails to bring sustainable development to their doorsteps.
“If we do not have our needs before the next elections we will not cast our votes,” Sheriff Sallah, chairman of Raneru Village Youth Development (RVYD) told The Point.
“From 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon the people would be fetching water for drinking and other domestic uses. And from 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. the cattle farmers would also start fetching water for their cattle,” he disclosed.
Sallah asserted that the livestock borehole is about 200 meters away from the community but in spite of that distance, the inhabitants have to carry gallons of water on heads as well on donkey carts to their various homes.
Alh. Adama Talla, chairman for the Village Development Committee (VDC) said: “We do not have water at all because we now depend on the cattle’s borehole to get water. It has no taps. It only has a pine that goes to reservoir.”
Therefore, he said the villagers have to get water from that pine for drinking and other domestic uses.
“We also have opened well in the village but that water is not good. The women have to sieves it severally before putting into the jars for drinking,” he said.
He said they believe casting votes for politicians is not of any significance for them because they always put people in office who end up doing nothing to solve their problems.
“We will boycott election because we are just voting for people in vain; therefore, abstaining ourselves from voting is better for us,” he expressed.
Sainabou Camara, resident of Raneru: “The lack of sufficient water supply in the village has affected us so severely because we do not have adequate water in our homes.” she said.
They are calling on both government and nongovernmental organisations to come to their aid.
Source___The Point
Health Minister enunciates disappointm over the country’s bad system
The Minister of Health on Saturday make known to the national Assembly members that the Gambia has a very bad system which requires some significant changes.
Dr. Ahmed Lamin Samateh was speaking before lawmakers on Saturday afternoon on the condition of COVID-19 in the country and why the payment of allowances to the salient workers was not made on time.
He said rather than dealing with the overcoming of COVID-19, putting in place what needs to be done, developing the strategies, people were thinking on how to amass money through the guarantee allowances.
He said there were people who were known for bungling the fund meant to fight COVID-10 as they did with the Ebola fund
“I think we inherited a bad system. That is the bottom line. The same old people are there. They got used to the same bad system. We talk about Ebola, unfortunately, Ebola funds were wasted in this country and that is what they want to do with this and we say no.”
“That is why some of them are up and against. The Ebola funds were wasted here. What that would have done, today, our health system wouldn’t have been like this. There were equipment which were said to have been procured which never got to this country. Nobody sees them. Allowances were put together – then allowances were paid as impress and I was told they put it in bags and they went and paid selected people and the rest only God and they know where the rest went to. Some people were left as a response team for three months and they never get a dime paid to them. They are still here.”
He said the same people are still around and now that they don’t have the access, they are vandalizing the system.
“To them, things won’t work. To them, things will fail. This is the frustration I am facing as a health minister.”
He added: “Unfortunately, people started forgetting about COVID 19, all they talk about is money, money, money. That is why I said our work is very difficult.”
He said there is a great number of health workers who are on daily bases sacrificing their lives for the country, but there are one or two substandard elements too.
Source___Foroyaa
Draft Constitution to be handed over to the National Assembly in August
As stand in need by the Constitutional Review Commission Act 2018, His Excellency, President Adama Barrow having received the Draft Constitution on 30th March 2020, the Ministry of Justice will issue the national document in the Gazette before the end of May 2020, before it is later presented to the National Assembly in August 2020.
It could be remembered that in June 2018, President Barrow get off the ground a Constitutional Review Commission to take up a review of the 1997 Constitution and to come up with a suggested Draft that will be lay open to a referendum and usher in a Third Republic for The Gambia.
The Office of the President therefore guarantee the public that the due preceding will be followed in building up our democracy.
Source___The Point
Gambia gets covid-19 organics raft from Madagascar
The public is thereby enlightened that The Gambia has received a delivery of three boxes of Covid Organics from the President of the Republic of Madagascar, H.E, Andry Rajoelina.
The cargo is part of a gift to ECOWAS countries en route to the fight against COVID-19.
They have already been handed over to the Ministry of Health.
Source___The Point
D5 Creation