Progress Dissatisfies Minority Leader

Hon. Momodou Lamin Sanneh, Minority Leader and member for Kiang West constituency, has expressed dismay over what he described as the lack of payment of about 30% of the total amount of monies owed to the people by the defunct Continent Bank. Hon. Sanneh blamed the ordeal of the former customers of Continent bank on Central Bank of The Gambia.

The bank, which has been out of business for some years, is now reported to have settled almost 70% of the monies owed to the people.

In his contribution to the motion on the adjournment debate at the National Assembly last Tuesday, Hon. Sanneh called on the Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs to critically look into the situation so as to ensure that part of the money owed to the people is settled.

“I understand that 70% of depositors’ money has been paid but the remaining 30% is yet to be paid. We should understand that these are people who genuinely got this money and were able to manage and save their money at the bank,” he said.

He however expressed worry that after some time since the bank’s problems began, depositors that saved their money have been finding it difficult to get their money.

According to the Minority leader, the problem with the bank should not be seen as the problem of the people that saved their money with the bank.

“It is the bank itself and the Central Bank of The Gambia which guarantees the bank that should be blamed. I see no reason why the people, after quite a long time, cannot get their money paid back to them,” he asserted.

He added: “I would therefore want to call on the State Department for Finance and Economic Affairs to look into this situation seriously and do justice to it so as to ensure that people get back their money.”

Turning to agriculture, Hon. Sanneh noted that agriculture being the backbone of the country should be given the desired attention. “It is only through agriculture that this country can survive economically and be able to attain food self-sufficiency,” he said.

According to the Kiang West parliamentarian, the way things are going in this country regarding agriculture really needs a straight-forward policy that will revamp the sector.

“Agriculture cannot go without mixed farming centres. There are lots of mixed farming centres in this country that are currently overstaffed. How do you expect the farmers to increase their production?” he queried.

He also went on to call on the government to look for a way out and see how best they can attract farmers to be able to work effectively in agriculture.

“As it is in this country, we definitely have to do something since we all agree that agriculture is the backbone of this country,” he said.

Hon Fabakary Tombong Jatta, National Assembly Member for Serrekunda East and Majority leader of the National Assembly, has spoken of the need for African citizens to practice noble values that promote peace on the continent.

He said since the pre-colonial era, the continent has been known for practicing noble values that generated peace within its settlements adding that these practices must be brought back as it has been polluted due to factors relating to acculturation and bad behaviour.

The majority leader made these remarks during a debate on peace and security in Africa at the ninth Ordinary session of the Pan- African Parliament currently ongoing in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Addressing about 225 parliamentarians, Tombong Jatta highlighted bad human behaviour as one of the causes of suffering, injustice, crimes and other crises in Africa.

He said, “there is need for all Africans to live in harmony and unite but any time concerted efforts are used to resolve crises in a conflict zone new cases emerge”.

Hon Tombong Jatta described the cases of Sierra Leone and Liberia as successfully resolved and called on Africans to exercise peace and democracy.

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Ninth PAP Ordinary Session Underway in Johannesburg

The 9th ordinary session of the Pan- African Parliament kicked off on Monday in South Africa.

The session, which attracted about 225 parliamentarians across the African continent, will mark the beginning of the 5th year of existence of the Pan African Parliament.

 In her opening address, the president of the Pan African Parliament, Dr Gertrude Mangella, a Tanzanian, said since the last session a number of activities and missions have been carried out by the members of the bureau, parliamentarians and Staff members of the Bureau, this includes election observer missions in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

She said the election observer mission reports will be tabled for the first time for debate during the sitting. Dr Mangella added that PAP budget for 2008 amounts to 12.7 million dollars.

She highlighted that after operating for five years, between now and 2009, PAP must carry out an assessment of Article 25 of the protocol, make recommendations to the process of reviewing the protocol. The protocol made provisions that after five years of existence, the Pan African Parliament will be transform in to a legislative body.

The two-week session will dilate on the peace and security in Africa, reports on election observer missions to Kenya and Zimbabwe, food crises in Africa and reports of the Audit of the organs of the AU by a panel of eminent persons from PAP.

Reports of the permanent committees and celebration of the Ethiopian millennium will also be treated as part of the agenda.

The Pan African Parliament is its at it transformative stage from an advisory and consultative organ into a fully fledged legislative organ of the AU.

The biannual event also witnessed the swearing in of 30 new members from national parliaments.

 In another development, the Cameroonian committee in South Africa is calling for a total rejection of the amendment of the Cameroon constitution. This allows President Paul Biya to continue as president for life after being in power for 45 years.

They made this call during a peaceful demonstration held outside the gate of the Pan African Parliament Conference Hall Monday morning.

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African’s Conflicts could be Lessened- Hon El Hadj Diao Kante

Hon El Hadj Diao Kante, Chairman of the Committee on cooperation, International Peace and resolutions has said that respecting the principles of good governance, resolutions and agreements by governments of Africa will lessen African conflicts.

“African governments should operate in a democratic manner in order to achieve the objectives of the AU and the eradication of conflicts in our territory”, he pointed out.

He made these remarks during a press briefing as part of the second sitting of the ninth ordinary session of the Pan African Parliament.

Addressing Journalists, Mr. Kanteh highlighted the fact that Ethiopia is a major threat to peace in Somalia.

He said the African Union is facing problems to cover 8,000 troops in Somalia. Instead they are able to gather only 2,000 troops who are currently on a peace mission in Somalia. He added that in fact the Union is currently faced with financial problems to sustain these troops.

Commenting on the major crises in Africa, he said conflicts, nutrition and human rights are other emerging problems on the continent.

The Guinean Parliamentarian was quick to add that among the crises in Africa, Cote d’Ivoire is the most favorable situation and is in a position to organise elections.

He said a draft resolution, including the list of the major causes of conflict in Africa, is already being prepared by his committee and the recommendations will be sent by PAP to the next summit of heads of states.

He called on every one to be on board in trying to resolve Africa’s crises.

 Hon. Conteh added that, “PAP is a consultative organ but when the transformation into a legislative body has been done, it can pass laws which will be applicable by member states.

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Major Concerns Raised by Parliamentarians on Crises in Africa

Parliamentarians at the 9th ordinary session of the Pan African Parliament have raised major concerns relating to the issues affecting peace and prosperity in Africa.

One of the Parliamentarians who talked tough on Africans crises was Hon. Eugene Kpakka from Liberia. In his remarks he said Africa has lost the key to peace and prosperity. And in order to solve the crises faced by the continent, it required African’s intervention.

He said, “African problems require African solutions. And taking Africa’s problems to different areas for resolution will yield nothing”. He noted that the solution to Africa’s problems is in Africa and that the Pan African Parliament should take note of that in finding solutions to Africa’s crises.

He said one of the leading problems faced by Africa is power struggles. He said African leader’s failure to hand over power at the end of the term is a major problem. He called on the need for African leaders to come forward and work for the best interest of the Africa

Honourable Mary Mugyengy of Uganda, in her deliberation, said conflict eradication should be the number one agenda of the Pan- African Parliament and this could be done by clearly stipulating guided rules for member states by the Pan – African Parliament.

Also speaking was Ethiopia ’s Hon Anab Abdulkadir. He said Somalia has been bleeding for 19 years and is yet to find a solution to their crises. He said it is the responsibility of the Arab league and other organisations to save Somalia.

“Africa has no shortage of resources to solve the crises in Africa. I am urging the Pan African Parliament to include Somalia ’s case as part of their agenda”’ he said.

Other members who spoke included Honorable Farah Ismale Hussein, Honorable Edward Ndawula Kaweesi and Angelo Beda.

As part of their inspection visit to the stadiums across the continent, members of the FIFA inspection team were expected to arrive in Banjul today 6th of May 2008.

Speaking in an interview with Point sports, the deputy director of the Independence Stadium, Mr. Ebou Njie said that “all works are at the finishing point and we are very optimistic that FIFA would not ban the Independence Stadium”. He said that the FIFA inspection team will go back with positive results. He further revealed that the Stadium management have done a lot towards the improvement and the development of the Independence Stadium.

It could be recalled that various Independence Stadiums across the continent have been banned by FIFA due to poor state of dressing rooms, poor pitches, and sub-standard facilities.

The call for Africans to unite and form a united state of Africa has long been a popular demand among the people of the continent. It will be recalled that the theory of African unity has been addressed by many African leaders in the past including Kwame Nkummah, Sekou Toure and Kenneth Kaunda to name but a few. In more recent times the issue has been addressed by the Libyan leader Muammar Ghaddafi,

For Nkurunmah, one of his most outstanding legacies was a commitment to the potential of African unity. The only way forward for Africa is through the type of union envisaged by Kwame Nkurunmah.

This common demand or African unity was shared by most of the African leaders who gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the last African union summit. They tempered their support however by cautioning against a premature rush towards establishing an African government before certain issues have been addressed.

One thing is or certain, if we are to achieve this popular demand for unity African leaders and people must be committed to the free movement of goods and labour, common services and customs, monitory unions and also a number of other steps towards more complete integration. This requires regional political and commercial commissions to redouble their efforts. When unveiled Africa would be a great nation for all her people.   

Africa is the second largest continent in the world with over 500 million people

Africa is the second largest continent in the world with Asia being the largest. Africa contains many countries with warm sunshine, green trees, blooming flowers, ravishing landscapes, and some of the world's most beautiful animals. Africa is made up of large deserts, wild jungles, and boundless grasslands. Did you know that Africa covers one-fifth of the earth's land surface?

How Big is Africa?

Africa is over three times the size of the United States and has twice the people. From north to south, it stretches about 5,000 miles long. Africa is located south of Europe and the Middle East with its northern coast lying on the Mediterranean Sea. To the east of the continent lies the Indian Ocean and to the west lies the Atlantic Ocean. The equator passes through Africa just south of its middle.

Who Lives in Africa?

Three out of four people living in Africa are black, but there are also many Arabs, Asians, Europeans, and mixed races. But Africa is not without problems, and its people rank among the poorest in the world. Many of the people are starving; thus, there are thousands of deaths each year.

Countries in Africa

Nations in Europe once controlled most of Africa, but in the 1950s Africans started to win their independence and build new countries. Africa consists of two large areas made up of different lands and peoples.

North Africa
North Africa includes the world's largest desert, the Sahara Desert, and stretches north to the Mediterranean Sea. This desert takes up more than one-fourth of the area of Africa. Between the Sahara and the Mediterranean seashore lies a coastal section, which receives rainfall that helps crops grow. Many people live here, and this area includes the lands of Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt. Mostly Arab people, who speak Arabic and are Muslims, live in North Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa
The region south of the Sahara includes grasslands, rain forest, and deserts. Africa has long been known for its rain forest and jungles. The African rain forests lying along the equator are known as some of the wildest in the world. Not many people live here, but the sound of thousands of exotic birds can be heard drifting through the still air along with the sounds of monkeys.
Most of the sub-Saharan area of Africa is made up of grasslands and plains. The grasslands or savannas stretch for hundreds of miles. Here you might hear trumpeting elephants or see a giraffe's head through the treetops. You might even see a lion chasing a herd of zebras.

History

Over 5,000 years ago the Egyptians built a supreme nation along the banks of the Nile River. The empire of ancient Egypt spread deep into eastern Africa. Later, North Africa was under the rule of the Middle East and Europe. The Greeks began to build great cities there, and North Africa became part of the Roman Empire.
In the early 600s Arabian warriors conquered the area bringing their new religion Islam with them. The Arabs continued conquering the north, and kingdoms such as Ghana and Songhai gradually disappeared. Throughout the 1400s Europeans explored the western coast of Africa.

By the 1500s they were looking for hardy men and women to work their colonies in the Americas. They mastered a plan to send men to West Africa to kidnap black Africans as slaves. Between 1500 and 1850 close to 10 million Africans were brought to the Americas against their will to be used as slaves. They were sold to plantation owners and forced to live and work on their owner's estate. In the 1800s after the Civil War in America ended, most of the slaves were set free but nearly all of them relocated in America with only a few returning to Africa.

People

Hundreds of languages are spoken in Africa because the people belong to hundreds of tribes, each having their own language. Nearly three out of four Africans are herders or farmers. Most farmers are poor, have only small plots of land, and can grow just enough food to feed their families. Some farmers, however, do raise crops to sell for cash. Some Africans have homes or apartments in the cities, and many poor Africans from tiny villages often go into the cities in search of work. Only a small number of Africans can read or write because most children go to school for only two or three years and some children never even start school. Today, African governments are trying with the aid of other nations like the United States to build more schools and train more teachers and educational workers.

Africa Today

Hunger is still the biggest problem facing the young countries of Africa today. Although Africa is a beautiful land to look at, much of the land is not suitable for farming. Also, conflict between tribes still continues, causing fighting and wars. Although Africa still has a way to go, with the help of its people, government, and other nations, better farming methods, schools, roads, factories, and more can be introduced to Africa and produce better living conditions.