The Gambia is seeing a significant rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases, though the number of covid-related deaths have significantly reduced. Experts have warned that the relaxed nature of observing covid-19 safety protocols before, during and after the presidential elections may are the factor behind the increase in the number of new infections. Massive political rallies were held across the country in November, ahead of the December 4 election, and thereafter, gatherings that are more public were held with little or no covid safety measures. According to health experts, the trend is expected to continue with massive political rallies expected ahead of the parliamentary elections in April this year. It could be recalled that when covid-19 was discovered in the country in March 2020, all public gatherings were suspended to prevent the spread of disease but it is not practised now. The national situational reports from 1 November 2021 to December 16 indicated that 11, 426 new tests were carried out, 80 new cases, 36 recoveries, and 2 deaths were recorded in the Gambia. As of 1 November, the Gambia registered 9, 973 total confirmed cases, 14 active cases, 9, 618 recoveries, 1 new death, and 341 total confirmed deaths. However, as of 31 December 2021, 206 new cases were registered as the fourth wave of covid infections kicked in. Since then, a record 952 new cases have been reported by the Ministry of Health between the 1st and 8th of January 2022. Following the first positive covid case on 17 March 2020, President Adama Barrow-led government suspended all public gatherings; temporarily closed educational institutions and houses of worship; reduced the normal capacity of commercial vehicles and reduced the operational hours of markets. However, at some point in 2020, most of the COVID-19 regulations such as the ban on public gatherings was lifted due to minimised cases; but later in 2021, the Gambia experienced a second wave of the deadly disease. Despite that, public gatherings such as political rallies continued to be held. Despite the low records, Health authorities expect another wave in January 2022. United Democratic Party rally in Bakoteh on December 2, 2021 (Photo: Kerr Fatou) In a Foroyaa newspaper report, the Director of Health Services at the Ministry of Health said on 30 November 2021, that the Gambia is expecting another wave of Covid-19 in January 2022. Gibril Gando Baldeh, senior risk communication and community engagement at health communication unit, Directorate of Health Promotion and Education officer at Ministry of Health (MOH) said the Gambia has just entered its fourth wave of the pandemic and the ministry is aware of the threat, as there is already a sharp rise in cases. “This January, we have seen a sharp rise in cases. Meaning, from three to two (cases) which we were used to reporting in the beginning of December 2021… but coming one month down, we have started seeing a rapid rise in cases and this is alarming,” he expressed. In fighting other covid-19 variants, he said there is still need to use the same strategies that were used before such as the social distancing, hand washing, wearing of face mask, amongst others, to prevent the spread of the virus. However, Baldeh further said: “If the new (fourth) wave is similar to the first wave where we had almost hundred deaths in one month, more than five thousand cases in three months, it would force us to go in to more strict measures and ensuring that anybody who goes against these regulations would be dealt with according to law.” He added that it is obligatory to wear a facemask and adhere to covid-19 measures. He urged everyone to adhere to COVID-19 safety measures and take the jab to prevent widespread the spread of the virus. In a recent publication by the Point newspaper, Omar Sey, former minister of Health of The Gambia said if preventive measures are not put in place in political rallies, more COVID-19 cases could be registered. He justified that overcrowding is one of the factors of spreading the virus among people. “We all know that one thing that spreads the disease is overcrowding because someone may have the virus without symptoms and the person would be shouting while droplets coming from his or her mouth. This is the danger we have because some people do not know their health status,” he said. The former health minister said political rallies cannot be stopped in a year of election, but there is a need for political leaders to work with public health officials at the grassroots to make sure COVID-19 safety precautions are adhered to at all political rallies. He said political leaders should have containers of water with hand sanitizers for supporters at entrances of all political rallies and encourage their supporters to wear face masks properly and regularly to avoid spreading the disease. “The most difficult thing is social distance but they have to be encouraged to distance and avoid hand shaking. That can help in containing the virus,” he advised. Red Cross volunteers stretching a covid-19 corpse for burial in The Gambia(Photo: The Chronicle, The Gambia) Mr. Sey, who was the health minister of The Gambia when Ebola knocked some West African countries, advised the ministry through public health officials to use risk communication, community engagement and involvement strategy in every region. “Let politicians work with public health officials at the regional level to put health measures in place,” he told The Point. He advised the public to adhere to the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization recommendations and to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, a young feminist leader Amanita Jaiteh said women can minimize physical activities and always wear face masks to protect themselves. She encouraged women to participate in online campaigns on digital platforms when they have the access. The young feminist added that for women and children to be protected during this time, there is a need to invest in personal protective equipment for the women and girls by the government. Red Cross volunteers stretching a covid-19 corpse for burial in The Gambia (Photo: The Chronicle, The Gambia) “Political parties can consider hosting rallies in smaller groups at different intervals...,” she suggested. Jaiteh urged the awareness of women and girls to be raised about the dangers of the covid-19 pandemic to stay alert.
The frequency at which the property owners (landlords) increase their rent for accommodations has been a cause for concern for poor tenants in The Gambia. Many believe that the involvement of intermediaries (middlemen or agents) who are known as the so-called house agents are responsible for the situation as they set the price for the house owners, from which they get a share. Most of the people renting in the urban areas are on a very low earning at their workplaces due to poor salary scales; thus are living from hand-to-mouth. The role of the agents in the rental business is not only making the price expensive, but the conditions they lay down make it beyond the reach of the poor who are consequently denied from having a dignified living. Fatou Sambo, a mother, testified to this. She disclosed that tenants are now often required to make an advanced payment of six months before accessing a house; while a typical two-room and parlour, nowadays costs tenants D4, 500 per month. “I will work for a whole day and end up paying it for rent. All my earnings stop at rent. Sometimes, I usually eat lunch from my neighbours because I can’t afford to cook due to the pressure of rent,” she said. She wants the government to take a bold step concerning rent because it is not reasonable, as the other necessities such as feeding, clothing, education, health and other social services must also be taken care of by tenants, especially the poor. “It will really help if this issue is tackled because now landlords are making a lot of money, more than they spent on building because of the high cost of rent they are charging. The rent keeps on increasing. If this continues, I will end up living in the streets with my family,” she stressed. She also noted that property owners sometimes serve tenants with notices to leave within a very short period because the tenant fails to pay just one- or two-months’ rent. This is against the Rent Act 2014, which specifies, “a landlord or tenant may terminate a tenancy by notice in writing, specifying the date at which the tenancy is to come to an end. In the case of a yearly tenancy, the notice is given not less than three months.” Another tenant, Ousman Sallah, explained the difficulties he faces from expensive house rent coupled with the harsh attitude of some property owners. According to him, to get a house in the Greater Banjul Area is difficult. He currently pays D3, 500 for 2 rooms and a parlour house, which has poor roofing, and the property owner refused to renovate it. “I am a single father of three. My wife passed away and I lost my job recently. Now I am a donkey cart operator but my landlord has no understanding at all. I owe him six months’ rent, but he is making things hard for me. Sometimes, I would find him locked my door, so I would beg him to give me some time, because I am a single parent, as I have to pay for my children’s school fees and also have to feed them, which is not easy. He recently increased the rent to D4, 500 without giving me prior notice,” he explained. The single father urged the government to take concrete action to address the rental issues in the country, at least by providing or implementing laws that restrict the powers of the property owners. Property owners react “It is not that I am heartless or so, but I am a businessperson, and I get my earnings from the money I collect from house rent,'' said Abdoulie Mbaye, a property owner who has been into renting houses for the past six years. He complained that some tenants would be owing house rents unbearably long, and when approached to pay, they would react ‘rudely’ to them (property owner) who are simply asking for their money. According to Mbaye, property owners are responsible for paying rent taxes, and argued that the government should lower the imposed taxes to enable them also to lower the rent tenants are asked to pay. Ousainou Faye, also a property owner, says building materials are expensive in addition to the construction of the building, which makes them to fix rent at prices through which they can recover their expenditures. He also complained that tenants would sometimes exit while owing property owners, as he justifies the issue of advanced payments, which they usually ask for six months payments. Faye maintains that the livelihood is stressful for everyone and it is the duty of the government to create balance for people by reducing cost and taxes on building materials. Government’s promise The ruling National People’s Party (NPP) led by President Adama Barrow has promised that his administration shall engage in and promote sustained schemes for holistic rural and urban development, while affordable and livable housing schemes shall be a priority to ensure and improve the wellbeing of all Gambian citizens. Expert opinion Ebrahima Touray, an economist, said the high cost of rent affects the tenants in many ways, including making them feel insecure and unstable, if they do not have the means to pay for rents. He added that that makes it so hard for them (tenants) to address other needs of their families such as providing basic needs of health, feeding, and education as they struggle with poor living standards. “The solution to all these problems is the municipality should set regulations for rent and implement it because rent control will help,” Touray suggested.
The government of The Gambia continues to struggle to curb youth unemployment or the rate at which young people migrate for greener pasture. Young people who finish school often struggle to find jobs while skills training is almost non-existent. In the run up to the National Assembly elections, young people in the Kanifing Municipality renewed their calls for job opportunities in this report by Alieu Ceesay. Aieu Ceesay 2 final
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.
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
Farmers in the North Bank Region have lamented that post-harvest losses is a serious problem be-setting crop production in the area, affirming that candidates with plans to tackle the problem would greatly influence their voting in the 9th April parliamentary election. A cross-section of farmers who spoke to this medium, acknowledged that post-harvest losses affect their earning and therefore needs urgent attention by concerned authorities. Farmers’ concern Lamin Njie, a 35-year-old gardener in Njaba Kunda in the Central Badibou said he encountered a challenge in controlling pests in his garden because he does not have enough pesticide to eradicate the pests at his garden, as a result, he losses many of the produces he harvested in his gardens to them. He informed that community gardens have a great impact at community level, especially in small villages, adding ‘due to pests’ invasion, we experience a lot of difficulties in our gardens’. Njie called on the government of the Gambia through the Ministry of Agriculture, and partners to find a solution to the problem for the well-being of farmers and the country, by extension. Like other farmers, a solution to the problem would greatly influence his voting in the parliamentary election. “I would only vote for the candidate who advocates the well-being of farmers in the Central Badibou District in the 9th April 2022 parliamentary,” he said. Another farmer, Ndey Fatou Sanyang, a vegetable grower at Jokadu Karantaba, is also affected by post-harvest losses mostly caused to her crops by pests and diseases. “Most of us (women gardeners) use the money we get from the garden to pay the school fees of our children and also take care of our other needs for our families,” she said. The vegetable grower in Karataba confirmed that gardening has transformed the livelihoods of many women; and said that any candidate vying for the parliamentary seat of Jokodu should be ready to fight for the best interest of the farmers, as their representative at the National Assembly. What aspirants offer? Fatou Busso, an aspirant under the National People’s Party (NPP) for Upper Niumi said if elected, she would empower the women through government subsidies to remedy their problems. “If I win the 9th April parliamentary election 2022 for Upper Niumi, I would not only focused on pests and diseases control, but I will also lobby projects including boreholes for clean drinking water, as most of the people of Upper Niumi lack clean drinking water in their areas,” she assured. Aspirant Busso promised that the lack of fertilizer, seeds, and controlling pests and diseases would be her priority, as well as empowering women and youth farmers to access markets. Sulayman Saho, the sitting National Assembly member for Central Badibou seeking re-election under the United Democratic Party (UDP) said if elected as the lawmaker for his constituency, he would liaise with the government through the Ministry of Agriculture to effectively control pests and crop diseases for the well-being of his electorates. “If I am re-elected as the National Assembly Member for Central Badibou, I will make sure that the pest and crop diseases will be controlled- whether it is cultural, chemical or biological control for the betterment of agriculture for my people and the country at large,” he promised. Expert observation Lamin Fatty, an agriculturalist observed that the absence of permanent and standard selling places such as poor marketing structure, lack of simple storage technologies to maintain and prolong the life of produce which causes post-harvest losses. He added that the unavailability of well- established markets, storage facilities, poor transportation and lack of practical skills related to post-harvest handling, temperature and humidity management, also cause losses to farmers after harvest. “Post-harvest losses and quality deterioration of horticultural crops are mostly caused by pests, microbial infection, natural ripening processes and environment conditions such as heat, drought and improper post-harvest,” Fatty said. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), poor seed quality, inadequate farming practices, or insect attacks in the field can provoke post-harvest losses for farmers. The research added that broken grains from threshing could encourage the development of insects caused by the combined action of moulds, insects, rodents and other pests leading to post-harvest losses; as well as premature harvest, poor maturation, poor threshing, insufficient drying, and bird attacks, among others. In many developing countries, overall post-harvest losses of cereals and grain legumes account for about 10 to 15 percent, and it is estimated to be about 50% in some regions of Africa and Latin America.