The Speaker of the National Youth Parliament, the Honorable Lamin F.Bojang, has been awarded the Peace and Love Award by Energy Boys and Girls of the World Federation for Peace and Love based in Taiwan.

He received the said award last Thursday 14th August at the end of the 5th Session of the United Nations Annual Youth Assembly, at the United Nations in New York. Speaker Bojang who was awarded the Peace and Love Medal alongside over a dozen young people from around the world who were commended for their contribution to the development of young people in their respective countries.

 Presenting the medal to the Awardees, Ying – Chen, a member of the Energy Boys and Girls, remarked that her parent organisation is operating worldwide and working to promote world peace and love.

 She noted that her organisation is indeed very grateful to award a medal to outstanding youth personalities whose contribution to world peace through their respective organisations complements world peace and love.

 In receiving the award, Hon. Bojang thanked the Energy Boys and Girls for the encouragement. He called on them to collaborate with young people of The Gambia, as the relationship between the Taiwan and The Gambia is excellent. This he said can be supported through creation of partnership between like-minded organisations in two countries.

Young people, he added, have a major stake in the development of their societies and the world as a whole. He therefore stated that the inculcation of responsible behavior and attitude goes a long way in the promotion and protection of world peace.

The meeting, held at St.Thereses Lower Basic School in Kanifing where the students are currently attending summer classes, was highly welcomed by the young writers.

Speaking at the occasion, Musa Ndow, 1st vice president of YJAG, dilated on the history of the association which, he said, was founded on the 16th September 2007. He also informed them of the various activities carried out by the journalist body within the year. Mr. Ndow, an alumnus of Armitage, advised the students to work hard, noting that during his term the society used to be very good in the school.

Isatou Baldeh, 2nd vice-president of the association and also a former student of the school, dwelled on women’s participation in media. She encouraged the girls to also take journalism as a profession noting that what men can do women can also do, if not more.

For his part, Mr. Nfamara Jawneh, president of YJAG, said that they had planned to meet the school earlier but due to logistical constraints it was not possible at the time. He told the students that the association is involving press clubs across the country in its activities so as to better prepare them to become great journalists in future.

The YJAG leader encouraged the aspiring journalists to always listen to news and make reading a hobby. He spoke at length about the plans they set for writers clubs in the country.

Assan Sallah, PRO of YJAG and himself an ex-student of Armitage, chaired the meeting. He extended an invitation to the writers club to attend the 1st anniversary of the association.

The teacher co-ordinator of the club, Mr. Jallow, welcomed the initiative. He appealed to YJAG to facilitate the training of young writer’s club members.

In response Ms. Aminata Sanneh, Treasurer of YJAG, assured the students of their full support.

Ms. Rohey K. Saidy gave the vote of thanks.

The final of the Stakeholders Football Tournament, featuring people in the sporting arena, will played on Sunday and will feature the Football Fans and Security at the Independence Stadium in Bakau.

Both teams are formidable sides and will not only put up a good performance on Sunday but to battle for the first ever title.

The tournament, sponsored by the President of the Gambia football Association, Seedy MB Kinteh and Major General Lang Tombong Tamba showcased some high level of drama, interesting performances and above all, has facilitated in cementing a smooth relationship among participants.

In the semi-finals, played on Tuesday, Coaches crashed out of the tournament when they lost to the football Fans 3-0 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in normal playing time.

A team of security men surprised the football medics in a game that ended 1-0 the same day.

A trophy and a bull awaits the winner of the tournament, while runners up will walk away with two sheep.

The sporting fraternity in Western Region will on Saturday August 23rd troop to President Jammeh’s farm in Sifoe to take part in the farming activities.

Lamin King Colley, Chairman of the Western Region Sports Committee, said the move is part of answering the president’s call of going back to the land. “We feel by giving him a hand on behalf of the country, will boost our relationship with him as the proceeds from the farm will go back to the Gambian people,” he stated.

He said as planned, all the districts within the Western Region will send 50 representatives from their areas adding that even football academies will be represented.

He said a letter was written to the police and the army for transportation and they promised to provide the vehicles like they did last year.

“Last year we were in Kanila and this time around we chose Sifoe because having learnt that most of the work at Kanila has been done. We are calling on all the district chairpersons to come early and assemble at the Brikama Police Station Saturday morning for departure,” he said.

King was quick to reveal their committee’s intention of making the event an annual affair and finally appealed to all young people in sports to come out in numbers with their farming materials to make the day a reality.

We extend our best wishes to the group of Gambian students, numbering 49, that are set to leave the shores of the country for The Republic of China on Taiwan to pursue various degree courses through the Taiwan 2008 Scholarship. We also urge them to make the fullest possible use of this glorious opportunity and fly the flag of The Gambia high while they are abroad.

The chance to study abroad is not only an opportunity to further ones education but also a glorious chance to experience another culture and broaden the mind through travel. For this reason the students must grasp the chance gladly and with both hands.

The scholarships are also another shining example of the great support that the people of Taiwan continue to give to the people of The Gambia. We thank them for their bottomless generosity of spirit and hope that the support will continue for a long time to come.

Taiwan has been a shining example of what a country can achieve even in the face of great adversity and the students should learn well from this example and bring the lessons home to share with their fellow countrymen here in The Gambia.

The students have been chosen from many thousands of others so they are obviously of a very high calibre. This said they must not be complacent or slacken their pace in any way as the studies that lie ahead will be intense and testing. Sometimes they may feel overwhelmed by culture shock or the enormity of what is expected of them but we urge them to be courageous and not loose concentration or focus.

Addressing the students at the recent gathering to mark the students departure, Richard Shih, Taiwanese Ambassador to The Gambia, congratulated the students while describing the day as a moment of joy for them. The Taiwanese diplomat revealed that the students will be pursuing their bachelors, Masters and PhD. It is gratifying to note that this is the highest number of scholarship awarded to The Gambia by Taiwan, which he said is a manifestation of his government’s willingness to support  The Gambia’s education efforts. “It is the intention of The Republic of China on Taiwan to share our experience with our best friends of The Gambia,” he said. We thank the Taiwanese and urge the students to repay their kindness with dilligence and hard work so that after four years they can return to our shores and serve their country as accomplished, well educated citizens.

He also has avascular necrosis of the head of his left femur secondary to his sickle cell disease. The report states, “we as a board have agreed that he will benefit from overseas treatment for the avascular necrosis of the head of the femur which will need surgical treatment as well as the chronic oesteomylisis which can be followed up at the orthopedic clinic.”

The report also indicates that after examination it is clear that the young man is in urgent need of overseas treatment as the only means of restoring him to a normal life. He is suffering every day and his health is deteriorating all the time. Habibou is seeking help from anyone who is in a financial position to help him in his predicament. He can be contacted on 9325894.

The permanent secretary was speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day stakeholder’s workshop on public service reform and institutional capacity development project. The workshop was jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and held on Tuesday at the Atlantic Hotel, in Banjul. He pointed out that the main purpose of this planning workshop is to discuss, in detail, the work and monitoring plan for the public services and institutional capacity development project. “This project was conceived a year ago following government’s formulation of the public sector reform strategy document 2007 –2011, a major component of the poverty reduction strategy paper 2,” he said.

He affirmed that in view of this situation and given the absence of a comprehensive approach to civil service reform, government willingly undertook with UNDP support in 1999 to design and implement a reform programme directed at the public service management, as part of an overall six component national government programme. He added that as the attainment of the goals of the public sector reform strategy dovetails well with the objectives of Vision 2020, the PRSP 2 and the Millennium Development Goals ( MDG’s), the UNDP country office expressed an interest in funding part of the project. “On the basis of this expression of interest, the UNDP Regional Bureau decided to initially allocate US$ 1.45 million to fund the public service reform sector component,” he stated.

He said the government of Spain, through the Democratic Governance Thematic Trust Fund (DGTTF), provided the funds, with the UNDP’s local contribution of US$ 30,000 the total amount currently available is US$ 1.8 Million for a three-year period from 2007-2010.

The stakeholders workshop was attended all the key donor agencies including senior government officials, senior auditors, the national auditor, the dynamic staff of PMO, Journalists and representatives from UNDP.

The perpetual difficulties facing travelers by air in the sub-region, and The Gambia in particular, will soon be a thing of the past with the coming of Inter Continental Airways into the country’s aviation industry. The Gambian registered airline on Saturday made a maiden flight to the Liengi International Airport, Freetown, marking its official inauguration. The Nigerian High Commissioner to The Gambia, Her Excellency Esther John Audu, the Outgoing Sierra Leonean High Commissioner, His Excellency Mohamed Foday Yumkelia, the Director General of The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority, Fansu Bojang, the Chief Executive Co-ordinating Officer Inter Continental Airways, Captain Henry Ogunyemi, Senior officials of the Airline and the Nigerian Embassy in Banjul, Senior GCM officials, friends and well wishers made the historic trip to Freetown on board the 117 passenger flight.

Speaking on the occasion, the High Commissioner, Esther John Audu, thanked Almighty Allah for the day “saying it’s a dream come true. She commended the Gambian government for partnering with her country in this international flight. She also thanked the government of Sierra Leone for allowing the first landing to take place there. She hoped the company will help promote bilateral and multilateral relations in the region as well as economic development. High Commissioner Audu congratulated her Sierra Leonean counterpart and all those on board the maiden flight for the historic event. She prayed that Almighty Allah might bless the Airline and its staff as well as for its growth and sustenance for posterity. She used the occasion to call on the general public to fully support the airline by patronising it.

The outgoing Sierra Leonean High Commissioner Mohamed Foday Yumkelia also thanked Allah for helping the owners of the airline realise their dream. He said he was proud to be part of the inaugural flight and that it happened during his term. He too prayed for its growth and sustenance saying with competition, fares will decrease, thus increasing the number of customers. High Commissioner Yumkelia urged them to treat their customers with utmost care and to always go closer to them. He hoped they are here to stay. The Director General of The Gambia Civil Aviation Authority, Fansu Bojang, said the entrance of Inter Continental Airways into the market is timely noting it will fill the “big vacuum” created by the withdrawal of Slok Air International, which has been adversely felt in the sub-region. He said, “the presence of Inter Continental in our aviation industry will help achieve the Yamusu Koro declaration which is a desire of the AU to have economic integration in Africa through the liberation of our airspace.” Mr. Bojang said the presence of Inter Continental Airways will ease the movement of persons and goods in the sub-region and beyond. He hailed the owners of the airline as patriotic citizens of Africa because they are resident abroad but decided to invest in the continent, thus showing their commitment to the well-being of their fellow Africans.                       He assured them of GCAA’s full support. The Managing Director Inter Continental Airways, Captain Walter Kagbo, said they are bringing 40 years of experience in the industry to bear on the new venture. He said they will be flying from Banjul daily to cities in the sub-region and plan to extend it to four other cities, one in East and Southern Africa in the next six months. He said they plan to commence their first flight to the UK on October 1st, 2008 and thereafter the USA. He said they choose Banjul as their base because the GCAA is the best in the continent. He said their aim is to transform Banjul International Airport into the connecting point for travelers from across the region to the outside world. This he said will give Banjul more prominence and create jobs.

The true and full picture of the state of the finances and accounts of Gamtel/Gamcel, the country’s telecommunication and cellular companies, continues to occupy the minds of many each passing day.

Gamtel/Gamcel, 50 percent of whose shares was sold to Spectrum company, a Lebanese owned company, on 1st August, 2007, has since then been making headlines as to the state of affairs of the companies.

According to latest reports by the joint sessions of the Public Accounts and Enterprises Committees of the National Assembly, Gamtel/Gamcel required further clarifications and consultations with regard to the true and full picture of the state of finances and accounts of both companies.

The committee went further to call on the management of Gamtel/Gamcel (Spectrum), the Department of State for Finance and Department of State for Communication and Information Technology, to make recommendations on reporting mechanisms for the future.

The committee however expressed grave concern with the partial or ill preparedness of the overwhelming majority of Public Enterprises and Agencies to comply with and conform to parliament’s statutory mandate to exercise scrutiny and oversight role.

Those charged with the responsibility of marking the Grade 9 and Grade 12 Examination papers are grumbling about the slow and unnecessary delay those in charge are causing.

A long-serving examiner, who prefers anonymity, said: “The top people at the Council do not care about us. I finished marking about two months back. Whenever we ask them, they blame it on either government’s failure to give them their subvention or it is claimed that the person supposed to sign cheques is sick. Whatever that means we don’t know.”

Many of the examiners who spoke to this reporter expressed frustration at the fruitlessness of the efforts they have been making in pursuit of their pay. “We walk to the WAEC Office paying our fares but Mr. Grant, the man in charge of finance, does not speak to us well. He treats us like children without talking to us fairly,” fumed another examiner.

Yet another angry-looking examiner said he had marked over 650 papers, which have been submitted and verified but no one has been telling them the truth about payment for the services rendered. “We blame the problem on the Deputy Director of Finance who seems to have more powers than the Head of National Office (HNO), a source said.

However when contacted Ebrima MS Njie, Head of National Office (WAEC), dismissed the claim that examiners were not paid. “The rumours are unfounded and untrue,” he said, noting that payment is in progress but that they cannot pay over 800 people at a go.

Addressing the unpaid examiners and others in the presence of his colleagues in his office, Mr. MS Njie said it was wrong for examiners to disclose their identity. “Under the contract agreement with examiners across West Africa, they are not supposed to identify themselves to the public,” Mr. Njie said. He urged examiners to exercise patience because, he added, the payment of nearly 1,000 people could not be done at the same time but gradually.

Meanwhile other examiners counter that the was same problem occurred last year, thus preventing many examiners to take part in the marking exercise this year. “WAEC is not fair to the examiners,” said another aggrieved examiner who was standing at the entrance of the WAEC office.