The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) has released its final reports following more than two years of investigations into the alleged human rights abuses perpetrated under the 22-year-old regime of Yahya Jammeh. However, fear and disappointments had engulfed the victims when President Adama Barrow formed an alliance with the Alliance for Patriotic, Re-Orientation and Construction (APRC) to support his re-election bid in the December 4th presidential election. To victims, this was a clear indication that Barrow’s government will not fully implement the TRRC’s recommendations for political interest because he would avoid angering Jammeh’s influential people, some of whom are in fact, indicted by the Commission’s findings. However, victims and activists found solace recently when the president had vowed to implement the report’s recommendations. Call and hope for justice Awa Njie, the widow of Abdoulie ‘Dot’ Faal, the slain military officer, would want to see the implementation of the TRRC recommendations on top of the government’s agenda. Dot Faal with several soldiers, was murdered extra-judicially on Jammeh’s order, following their implication in the alleged November 11 military foiled coup in 1994. For Awa, justice is all she needs after the mysterious killing of her husband in cold blood. “It is very difficult to look at the person who killed your husband, walking freely and you cannot do anything about it. If justice is not served, victims can take the law into their own hands.” “Even, if I’m going to vote it would be a person who would look at the victims and push the government to implement the TRRC report and make sure perpetrators are brought to book.” Among the human rights abuses caused by Yahya Jammeh’s government, religious freedom was at the centre of the right violations. Members of the ‘Ndigal’, a religious sect with origin in Kermonthali, in the Central River Region were evicted and forced to flee to Senegal because of their religious views. Talking to this medium, Yunusa Ceesay, a Ndingal member says there’s high hope on the government to implement the recommendations. “I have no reason to be pessimistic. I will however be extremely disappointed, if the government were to take any other action different from doing justice to the work of the Commission. Jammeh and his enablers must be held responsible for their crimes, and justice must prevail.” Like other victims, Yunusa Ceesay assured to vote for a person who would put national interest first and advise the government to implement the TRRC recommendations. “Whosoever is going to stand firm and defend that I would definitely vote for that person. My expectation from the next parliamentarians is the elected candidate to make sure that whatever is put on the table is properly looked into and aligned with the interest of the State instead of party or individual.” Sheriff Kijera, Chairperson of the Gambia Centre for Human Rights Violations, otherwise called Victims’ Centre, describes the alliance between Barrow and the APRC as unfortunate and a betrayal of trust. “The alliance is a slap on the face of victims of Jammeh.” On the contrary, he lauds the government’s initiative in establishing the TRRC which has unraveled the gross human rights violations that occurred during former president Jammeh 22 year’s reign; adding that, the Barrow’s government is the architect of the entire transitional justice process and therefore shouldn’t be anything to undermine the commission`s work. “Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt that they will implement the recommendations of the Commission. I’m confident that the Barrow administration will do justice and fully implement the recommendation.” Kijera and the Victims’ Centre are not relenting on their efforts to engage the government constructively by advocacy and bilateral means to ensure that the government is committed to implementing the TRRC recommendations. Stakeholder perspective The Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Emmanuel Joof calls for efforts to make Gambians know about crimes committed during the 22 years rule of former president Yahya Jammeh. “There must be a sustained effort to make sure that Gambians from all walks of life know exactly what happened in the atrocities committed by the APRC government during the 22 years rule of Jammeh. The TRRC report will therefore be translated into all the major local languages and the information disseminated through the radio (including community radios, TV, and schools etc.” He expresses his institution’s commitment to engaging the government to take seriously the recommendations of the TRRC, and incorporate them in the anticipated White Paper which is due in May 2022; adding that NHRC, as a human rights protection mechanism, would be monitoring and investigating all future human rights abuses in the country. “NHRC will continue to engage the government and the National Assembly on reforming laws so that they are aligned with human rights principles and laws, especially international and regional treaties and conventions that the Gambia has ratified.” A human rights activist, Madi Jobarteh suggests the prosecution of perpetrators of the various human rights violations as recommended by the Commission. “…if we fail to address injustices and violations, the tendency for victims to take the law into their own hands is high, while the perpetrators will be empowered on the cause of human rights abuses without accountability. “When that happens then impunity prevails in the society, which means eventually it is a matter of survival of the fittest and a culture of violations becomes the order. Hence, the need to deliver justice is indispensable and urgent.” Assurance of justice Meanwhile, in his attempt to dissuade tension of anxiety among victims, President Barrow, during his first press conference following his re-election in December says that the TRRC is an important project in his government and would be part of his legacy. “I want to assure that there will be justice, reconciliation and reparations, it will all happen. We would follow the due process and take the right direction in which a decision would be taken.” The truth commission was established on the mantra ‘Never Again’ as it aspires to put an end to human rights violations in the country, following what some describe as ‘a bloody and traumatic 22 years tyranny’ by Jammeh. The Commission has submitted its report to President Barrow on 25th November 2021 and the Government is expected to issue a white paper on the document in May 2022.
Like many countries, Agriculture remains a key contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of The Gambia, yet farmers remain poor despite the positive influence their agricultural activities have on the country’s economy. Of those farmers, many are women who engage in vegetable gardening for their upkeep and that of their families. Mostly, the women gardeners sustain the needs of their families from the income generated from the sales of their vegetable products. Contrary to the energy and time invested in the community and/or back yard gardens by them, there is limited access to the market for the hardworking and committed women to sell their products post-harvest. That makes access to market a challenge for them, especially those in the rural area. Due to the limited access to markets for most of the women post-harvest, they are compelled to sell their vegetable products at a cheaper cost within their communities or travel afar to the nearby markets in major towns to sell. Either of these options has numerous challenges for them. In addition, due to the nature of most of those community markets and the distance to the major markets in the nearby towns, many of their products go on unsold and perish in the end because of the lack of storage facilities at their disposal to preserve the leftovers. The perishing of their unsold products causes economic losses to them and further toughens the sustenance of their families from the income they generated from the sales of the products. In the build up to the April 9 parliamentary election, women gardeners in three districts in the Fonis- Berefet, Bintang and Kansala told this reporter that their votes are for candidates who would ease their nightmare. In other words, a candidate who would ease their challenge to access the market for the sale of their vegetable products, after harvest. Access to market, decider for the women What supposed to be a moment of joy and gain for her, Manlafie Jarjue, the head of vegetable growers in Somita in the Foni Berefet District enumerated the numerous difficulty she faces accessing market, anytime she harvests her vegetables for sale, which leads to economic losses for her, instead. “Most of my vegetables get rotten along the way, although the road is good but Brikama is far from here (Somita). And upon arrival, the price that I fix for my vegetables won’t be realized, because those in the market usually set their price prior to my arrival, which I can’t refuse because that is the only place I can sell my vegetables. As we are heading to choose someone to represent us, I will vote for the one who has the plight of the women of Foni at heart, especially us gardeners,” she said. Among others, every farmer wishes to make profit at the end of every harvest, but that is not the case for Kaddy Camara, a tomato grower. She lamented that most of her leftover tomatoes are usually thrown away after sales saying, ‘no matter how much I struggle to arrive early in Brikama, before I reach the market, people are done with buying, which is a loss for me’. Kaddy stressed that despite the efforts she puts into gardening does not pay off due to difficulty in accessing markets; adding that she caters some needs of her family from the gardening, among others. She assured to vote for a candidate with plans to facilitate easy access to the market for her to sell her vegetable products: “Hence I own my votes, I will vote for an individual who will help me put an end to my struggle here in the garden.” Another vegetable grower, Kaddy Touray, 'Joofoo’ goes all the way to Sibanor or Bwiam to sell her vegetables, which is far from her village (Somita). Like her colleague, she makes a little or no profit thanks to the marketing constraint. Anytime she could not go to Sibanor or Bwiam to sell her vegetables, she goes house to house to sell, and not all is sold, sometimes. “Sometimes, I even give my vegetables as a loan and at the end they won’t pay or sometimes, I give it out for free but this wouldn't have happened if there was easy access to the market,” she lamented. Fatou Darboe, also a vegetable gardener, said that she earns her livelihood from the trade. However, limited access to the market is affecting her a lot; thus, she is not able to sponsor her children’s education anymore as her income level falls. ‘If accessing the market were easy, then all my children would have been in school by now’. For her, the parliamentary elections will be decider, especially for her children’s future because if that candidate can facilitate easy access to the market for her to sell her products, then, the candidate deserves her vote as all her children would go to school and have a bright future. Vegetable production provides a promising economic opportunity for reducing rural poverty and unemployment in developing countries and is a key component of farm diversification strategies; as vegetables remain a source of vitamins and minerals needed for good health. Agriculture is a vital sector in The Gambia. It accounts for about 17.8 percent of the GDP, ranking behind the service sector, which recorded 68.8 percent of the GDP. An Onion bed at Somita women gardeners Promises Amie Colley, an aspirant for Berefet argued that the challenges of women are beyond access to market, but marketability of their products, due to importation. If elected, she promised to ensure that a cold store is provided for the gardeners so that their leftover products would not perish after sales. Ebou Colley, an aspirant for Berefet under APRC ticket, observed that another problem the vegetable gardeners encounter in the constituency is water, and he would work with relevant stakeholders like the Ministry of Agriculture to solve, if elected. The APRC aspirant said if elected, he would influence the authorities concerned to solve the problem. Stakeholder reaction Meanwhile, Lamin Darboe, deputy director of administration at the Ministry of Agriculture said the population of a community determines markets and said Brikama market is good because there are a lot of people and buying and selling can take place. He said his ministry in partnership with donors is building a warehouse in every constituency of Foni where the women can preserve their vegetables for long. Expert view Mustapha Camara, horticulturist said marketing is a key challenge in production and suggested farmers to practice growing one group of crops at a particular period, as a solution. The practice, he suggested, would help them to determine the market demands and enable them to avoid growing the same variety of vegetables at the same time. “If all are grown at the same time, not all will be sold…if this is done farmers will make profit and they will not go to markets to sell, instead customers will come and buy from them,” he suggested. Camara advised gardeners to do market surveys, saying ‘know what the market wants, have a plan and have farming skills so that you can have profit and enjoy the beauty of gardening’.
Addressing the press at State House on December 7, Barrow attributed his election victory to his achievements among them improving the energy sector in the country. Barrow said when he was coming to power in 2017, a World Bank report stated that electricity would come on and off 17 to 19 times a day. He bragged that his government was able to bring down electricity cuts to 2 to 3 times a day. He added that, that was why the Gambians came out in large numbers to vote for him . FactCheck Gambia verified such information to be false but, our reporter Alieu Ceesay who has keen interest in the energy sector prepared this report. ALIEU CEESAY 3- final