Both men, women and children, are saying when will it be done for the Gambia senior national team to participate in the African Cup of Nations?

According to many football analysts The Gambia will only make it if the right structures are put in place. We need, first and foremost, efficient machinery that would execute vital arrangements in a timely manner: arrangements for professional players to camp on time, arranging travel tickets on time, catering for camping of teams, arrangements for payment and satisfactory accommodation arrangements for coaches, are all important for proficient preparation for matches and field performance of teams. This can be achieved only with a competent and efficient Secretariat. A high caliber coach is also needed, who can take care of the team technically, psychologically, tactically. We need to have series of test matches to assess our teams, and to promote team cohesion and performance. The big question remains: when can The Gambia accomplish these very basic matters, more importantly securing the permanent services of an able Coach?

If we can recall back during the handing over of 22 plots of land to the 2005 former U-17 team in Salagi layout located between Sukuta and Brusubi, a cheque for D1,120,000 was also presented to the 1st Vice president of the Gambia Football Association (GFA) as match bonuses to the U-20 team.

The Secretary of State for Fisheries, Hon Yankuba Touray, has spoken of the need for a concerted effort to be made by Government and the private sector to promote and prepare Gambian players for the export market in order to eradicate poverty through sports. Another point he made was that The  Gambia is yet to make significant growth in playing in the English Premiership or other highly rated European leagues. He said, “it is in recognition of the fact that my government has recently established a sports development fund to promote sports at all level. The fund will revitalise schools sports in collaboration with the Department of State of Basic and Secondary Education through the re-introduction of PE teacher training, to be piloted in some regions.” Secretary of State Yankuba Touray was speaking on behalf of President Alhagi Yahya AJJ Jammeh at a dinner marking the formal handing over of plots of land to the 2005 former U-17 team and match bonuses to the U-20 team.

According to the SOS “In recent times football has become the most popular sports and one of the biggest industries contributing to the economically developing countries, especially in Brazil. It is among the first five contributors to their economy through remittances from the foreign players in that country, contributing to economic growth and getting people out of poverty”.

He said Africa is also beginning to realize the benefits secured from this noble sport through the export of players to mostly European clubs. And we believe the appointment of a highly rated coach will help us achieve our goals. We believe that it is the duty of the FA to identify a coach for the national team as they are the watchdogs of our game of football in The Gambia, and whoever is capable of handling our national team, we should go for it if the funds are available. We need to help each other for the betterment of football in The Gambia; the ministry has to come up and tell the general public why the coach that the FA identified is still in limbo. We don’t have time anymore; we have to start now if we want to see The Gambia in Angola. We agree with the first vice president’s  comments he during a program on West Coast radio when he said that every coach has his personal problem, but we want to know if at all the coach that the F A, identified, Paul Put, is having a problem also, because of a match fixing scandal. But then why is FIFA and CAF allowing him to work with his papers? Secondly the ministry should work with the FA hand in hand for the betterment of football in The Gambia; they should help The Gambia not the GFA because we all recall that during the time of the U17- U20, if The Gambia wins, it is all round celebration for both old and young in the country.

We are appealing to the ministry to get this sticky problem resolved once and for all.

For the meantime a team of local coaches like Alhaji Sarr, Alhaji Sillah, Sang Ndong, Lamin Sarr, Bonu Johnson, Tarik, and even the Italian Lorenzo Rubenacci, should take charge as the issue of the foreign coach is still subjected to inexplicable delay.

The United Nations is in the grip of a moral crisis.

The BBC has learned that the UN ignored or suppressed evidence that its troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo gave arms to militias, and smuggled gold and ivory.

It heard allegations that inquiries were halted for political reasons. Of course this is not the first crisis of its kind to hit the UN in recent years.

For some time now it has been clear that the UN is in need of serious reform. Its moral authority in the world has been seriously undermined by the United Sates led invasion of Iraq and the workings of the institution have been continuously affected by the use of Security Council vetoes, that before we even consider the actions of troops on the ground. In recent years there has been a slow drip of bad news with regard to the behaviour of UN troops on the ground in various war-torn or poverty-stricken countries.

In December 2006, the erstwhile UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, said Moroccan troops had been involved in widespread sexual abuse.

The latest revelations are every bit as shocking.

Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia, providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines.

Indian peacekeepers operating around the town of Goma had direct dealings with the militia responsible for the Rwandan genocide, now living in eastern DR Congo.

The Indians traded gold, bought drugs from the militias and flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory.

The litany of crimes relating to Pakistani peacekeepers was investigated by the UN in 2007. It concluded that one officer had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town.

But the UN decided that “in the absence of corroborative evidence” its investigators “could not substantiate the allegation” that Pakistani peacekeepers supplied weapons or ammunition to the militia. It did, however, identify “an individual who seemed to have facilitated gold smuggling”. 

It now seems to be clear that Pakistan is not going to investigate its own soldiers and once again the UN is left looking toothless.

The ideal of the United Nations is a very noble one and we must all, in the international community, try and work together to save the ideal and reform the organisation. It has become big and bloated and now seems completely incapable of policing itself. A small cabal of states, which sit on the Security Council, essentially run the show at the expense of small or weak countries. This is not the ideal on which the United Nations was founded.

Unless radical reform is undertaken quickly, the United Nations will soon be beyond saving and this would be a tragedy. While it does need considerable reform, the basic principles on which it was founded remain both pertinent and relevant to the modern world. If every nation works together, as we must, then we can face head on the challenges that we all face from various threats such as climate change and food and fuel shortages. Only together can we tackle these issues in a realistic and effective fashion.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Martin Luther King

Many a time when we discuss the ever intriguing pace of development this country is experiencing, we often painfully limit ourselves to the equally important but quite conspicuous infrastructural face-lift.

While it is important that the people are kept abreast as the ever relentless developments process unfold, it is also quite crucial that we constantly remind ourselves of the uncharted part of our history in the making.

There is this part of our emerging democracy that we seem to have left uncharted, yet it is as important in maintaining the peace we all so cherished as it can serve as a valuable role model for other nations - exportation of moral values.

There is this imposing photograph of President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh and his immediate forerunner, Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, that seems to have captivated readers of our website ( www.observer.gm ).

The overwhelming response we have been receiving on this spectacle from both within and outside the country is indeed suggestive of how appreciative people are of the emotional and unity message it sends. The picture itself is undeniably a perfect reflection of the level of maturity of our country’s political atmosphere.

However, to most Gambians, this is not at all a surprise as it is set on the basis of our cultural heritage (heritage of humanitarianism and respect for the elderly). Our values and ideals, to a great extent, encapsulate a tradition of a somewhat realistic, inestimable love for respect for the elderly.

The picture of the two great statesmen symbolises a unified and peaceful Gambia. And its infectious effect of fixing permanent smiles of happiness on the faces of all the people that come across it has triggered more respect and support for the President, the Gambian people and all the institutions that identify themselves with it; hence the amount of feedback we continue to receive from our esteemed readers.

In many countries where power had exchanged hands in a more ceremonious mood, relationship between a sitting president and his predecessor have had to take such a deteriorating turn that it had left, in their wake, extremely polarised and suspicious societies. Zambia, Malawi and Ghana are just a few countries that fell in this category. Maybe these and many other countries outside the African continent can borrow a leaf from the Gambian people and their leadership.

The summit of more than 70 African and European Union nations has opened in Portugal with an acknowledgement that conflicts, human rights violations and poverty continue to pose challenges. Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates opened the summit on today, calling it a meeting of equals in a community of nations that shares a historic duty.

The Portuguese leader promised a frank and open discussion with no taboos. This was seen as a reference to issues such as conflicts and human rights violations in Africa as well as historical injustices in Euro-African relations.

The chairman of the African Union, Ghana's President John Kuofor, said the relationship between Africa and Europe during the past 500 years has been unhappy, characterized by the slave trade, colonialism and apartheid. He said a new relationship is needed to correct what he called a historic inhumanity.

"The real significance of the Africa-EU summit must therefore be to lay the foundations of a new partnership based on mutual respect and a genuine commitment to pursue the mutual interests of our two continents," he said.

The leaders are to establish a new strategic partnership with eight priority areas. These include peace and security, governance and human rights, economic development, environmental degradation, migration and trade.

The President of the African Union Commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, said the relationship must avoid charity, paternalism and false promises.

He says no one will solve Africa's ills for it. Africa must play the game of globalization but not unilateral globalization based solely on market forces. Konare said the new partnership must develop ways to address this issue.

Efforts to hold the Africa-EU summit have been thwarted for the past five years by a dispute over Zimbabwe's human rights record. President Robert Mugabe's invitation this year prompted a boycott by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain, Zimbabwe's former colonial ruler.

Human rights activists have protested that summit leaders are ignoring suffering and oppression on the continent. And opponents of globalization said the summit's approach to boosting trade would aggravate poverty.

European leaders have been intent on holding the meeting because of competition for Africa's markets coming from China, India and other emerging nations.

Food and hunger issues are the daily battles that continue to gnaw the efforts of the poor and the marginalised throughout the world, particularly in the south where production and distribution are inadequate. 

This was stated in a press release issued by ActionAid, which indicates that “it was barely seven years ago that would leaders promised us that hunger would be cut down by half in 2015. At the time, the figures stood at 852 million people going to bed without food”. 

However, the release stated that instead of seeing a downward movement, it is shocking to realise that today the figure stands at 854 million people, who go to bed without food. This scenario is worst in the sub-Saharan Africa, where above the total of 206 million are living within. “This is certainly an indication that there is a fundamental failure on their side which needs to be addressed by all and sundry, hence ActionAid’s Hunger -Free campaign working with young people to end hunger by keeping world leaders on their toes to keep to their word”, the release pointed out.

“The above is anchored on the right of food which states that, by virtue of birth, everyone on the planet has the right to food. It is perhaps the most fundamental and enabling human right of all. Without food we cannot thrive. We cannot function, we cannot live. Hunger dulls the intellect, hinders development and thwarts productivity. It prevents the entire societies from realising their potential. And it is responsible for more deaths globally than Aids, malaria, and TB combined,” the release added.

Since 1948, the United Nations (UN) has identified access to adequate food as both an individual right and a collective responsibility.

Almost 16,000 children die every day from hunger-related causes: that’s one child every second, one in five people in the developing countries is chronically-undernourished, while chronic hunger kills more people than disasters, diseases and wars.

The release further stated that “it is against these startling realities that the Hunger-Free campaign is targeting young people who are found to possess great energy levels, which if tapped and used in the right way can generate some far-reaching impact on ending hunger.  To this end, we in The Gambia through partnership with Africa Youth Coalition Against Hunger-The Gambia (AYCAH) and other youth organisations and institutions, like the National Youth Council (NYC), National Youth Association for Food Security (NaYAFS), among a host of others will stage a street caravan from the Churchill Shell Station to the Latrikunda Buffer Zone, starting at 4pm on the 28 June 2007”. 

At the Buffer Zone, speeches are expected be delivered on the relevance of the event, to be followed by free- life performances, by Jaliba Kuyateh, Gambia’s UNICEF Ambassador and the Kumareh Band and the Royal Family.  The songs are not only meant to entertain the crowd, but to educate people on the causes and impact of hunger. The general public is being called to attend this history-making event in ending hunger to enhance us all to live a life of dignity.

Seedy Kinteh, President of The Gambia Football Association, has insisted that the Gambia Scorpions must qualify for Ghana 2008.
He said the Football Association will see to it that the Scorpions qualify and no matter what it will require.

Kinteh made these remarks at the Banjul International Airport on Wednesday as he received the Scorpions, who returned from Conakry, where they clinch a 2-2 draw with the Syli Nationales to keep their Nations Cup dream alive.
He salutes the Scorpions for their heroic effort in Guinea and urged them to renew their commitment ahead of their two final fixtures. He said the team earlier lost in Banjul due to attitude problem, adding that the Football Association will not tolerate any form of unruly attitude from any player.

He added: "You people have played your part and you have played it well. You have done what people don’t expect and with that you got our deep appreciation for your heroic effort. You played here two weeks back and lost 2-0. You could have won the game but you lost because of attitude problem. I and my executive will not tolerate that from any player. I said earlier that there is no indispensable player in the national team and I still stand on that. No player is indispensable in the national team and not under any category."

Kinteh said only three players namely; the Russian-based player, Abdou Jammeh who was a two-match suspension, Yankuba Ceesay, commonly known as Mal and Belgian-based midfielder, Mustapha Jarju, will join the team for the final fixtures. He said the rest of the absentees will dance to their own tune.
"We expect only these three players to join you people for the Cape Verde and Algeria matches and the rest of the players will dance to their tune," he stressed.

He added: "We are proud of you people. We will stand by you people to make sure this team qualifies for the coming Nations Cup finals in Ghana 2008. I know it is a daunting challenge, but we will guide you with all the necessary support to make sure we achieve the dream. I know you can do it and be ready to do it. Go all out and win your two matches to take the Gambia to her debut Nations Cup finals," he appealed.

Just 72 hours before the Gambia crucial Nations Cup qualifiers game in Conakry, 14 foreign and 6 local based players have responded present for the Conakry do-or-die encounter on Sunday.

The foreign based players that arrived in Banjul as at Thursday morning are: Assan Jatta (Bierroff), Lamin Conateh (Babayeh), Ba Dembo Touray, Kamal Ndow, Edrissa Sonko, Ebou Sillah, Modou Jagne, Aziz Corr Nyang,  Pa Saikou Kujabi (Carlos), Dawda Bah, Abdoulie Corr alias Paco, Musa Bajaha and Njogou Demba.

On the time of filing this report Mustapha Sarr was on his way to Banjul from Dakar by land while the first Gambian player to play in the South American league, Yankuba Ceesay alias Mal is expected to land in Banjul today Friday.

Meanwhile an uncertainty surrounding the participation of Captain Jatto Ceesay and Simon Badgie in Sunday game as no new was yet received from them.
The only Gambian player in England, Seyfo Soley, would not be available for Sunday game due to injury.
To complete the team Coach Martinez and technical staff have called six home based players to join the camp.

They are: Malick Mendy of Hawks, Sheriff Samba of Armed Forces, Alagie Jobe of Real De Banjul, Abdou Darboe of Armed Forces, Ousman Colley of Steve Biko and Baboucarr Sey (Mbat) of Bakau United.
In an order development the Scorpions were held to 3-3 draw by the U-20 team in a test match played at the Independence stadium in Bakau on Thursday morning.

Pierre Gomez and Modou Ngum (Base), who scored twice, scored the U-20’s goals.
The senior team managed to level the scores through Edrissa Sonko, Kaba Jobe of Gamtel and Assan Jatta (Bierroff).