The chairman of the newly formed Village Development Committee (VDC) of Gunjur in Kombo South, Mr Abdou K. Touray, has reacted to comments made by the chief of the area as not important as far they are concerned.

Chairman Touray who walked into our offices on Monday spared neither the chief nor Brikama Area Council.

It could be recalled that in an interview with The Point published on Wednesday 20th August 2008 the chief of Kombo South Sheriff Ajay Janneh said that he recognised the VDC under the leadership of Famara Bojang only. And that the newly formed VDC could only be seen as a development partner and nothing else.

Reacting to the above, Mr Touray said “Chief’s comments are not important as far as we are concerned. Some people either misled him for their selfish interest or he is not acquainted with the 2002 Local Government Act. If he does, why is he speaking this way?” he asked.

He said that the VDC under his leadership followed all the steps that need to be followed based on the Local Government Act. “We have a right to call ourselves a VDC as the majority of the Kabilo heads put us there which the Act is advocating,” he said.

 He said that the former VDC under the leadership of Famara Bojang could not even mobilise youths to carry out social work in the village unlike his when ever the need arises, people come out in their hundreds. “Chief recognising Famara Bojang’s VDC is useless, based on the Act. He has a right to recognise any one he feels like but then neither him nor the area council can decide for the people of Gunjur,” he said.

He added that six out of the eight Kabilo heads in the village support the removal of Famara Bojang and the dissolving of his committee.

According to him, it’s criminal for Famara Bojang to hold the documents of the village since the majority of the villagers didn’t recognise his committee.

He said that since they instituted the new committee, they have sent a letter to the area council and the chief informing them about the change of leadership in Gunjur VDC.

According to him, upon the receipt of their letter the Area Council should send in a fact-finding mission to enquire whether it is true that there is a change of leadership and whether it happened in conformity with the LG Act.

“Some one hundred and eighty youths from the village also signed that letter along side the six Kabilo heads. We are making it clear to all natives of Gunjur that new VDC still stands as it has got the full backing of the LG Act ,” he said.

Following Longstanding VDC crisis

Sheriff Ajay Janneh, the Chief of Kombo South, Western Region, has finally given his word regarding the prolonged Village Development Committee (VDC) crisis, saying that he only recognised the supposedly replaced VDC under the chairmanship of Mr. Famara Bojang.

The crisis, which has sparked serious concerns among residents of the village, follows the formation of another VDC, thus bringing a replication of the same committee in the same village. The newly formed VDC is reported to be claiming to have replaced the current committee in the area.

Chief Janneh’s comments came in the wake of a long-standing village development crisis in the village of Gunjur and if his comments are anything to go by, then the whole saga will come to an end at the soonest possible time.

In a letter addressed to the Chairman of Brikama Area Council, a copy of which was made available to this paper, the Chief of Kombo South said he has recognised and will only recognise the VDC under the chairmanship of Mr. Famara Bojang. According to Chief Janneh, this is based on the fact that the recognised VDC has been formed in accordance with the objective of the Local Government Act of 2001.

Quizzed as to the reason for his timely intervention, he asserted that he as the chief and a native of Gunjur will never sit by while his village descends into a dismal situation.

For the Kombo South chief, the newly established group could only be recognised as a development partner but not as the Village Development Committee. “I was initially with them to empower the incumbent VDC in their weak points but not to remove them,” he said.

Chief Janneh went on to call on members of the newly formed group to continue their development programmes. He was however quick to stress that this should not be done under the name of VDC.

At least twelve 4H board members recently attended a two-day workshop on management and record keeping. It was held at Jarumeh Koto Village in CRR North.

Speaking at the gathering, the Board Chairman, Mr. Bala Musa Keita, said that the workshop aimed to equip and prepare the board members with management and record keeping skills. He stated that the workshop was sponsored by 4H The Gambia. He then urged the participants to make good use of the training, as this would have a positive impact on their roles and responsibilities as leaders in their various regions.

For his part the 4H Programme Director, Mr. Momadou Secka said that by the year 2009 the Norwegian donors will be leaving and that they are now putting up a mechanism to sustain 4H The Gambia projects. According to him they are also looking at other areas where they can have income generating activities to provide funds for the association.

Mr. Secka further revealed that the reason for targeting the board members is because they are responsible for gathering funds for the projects. Mr. Secka then urged the participants to organise other training for the club members at a local level so that they can also gain knowledge and skills in management and record keeping. He then commended the Norges Vel and their counterparts 4H in Norway for their support during the past few years.

Fatoumata Komma, the Field Assistant at Niamina East gave the closing remarks.

Niger has registered 157 cases of meningitis that have resulted in 11 deaths this year, but there is no epidemic of the bacterial infection anywhere in the country, according to Niger’s health authorities.

“None of the eight regions of Niger has crossed the threshold of requiring an alert of an epidemic,” said Lamine Issa, Niger’s health minister.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) threshold for issuing a meningitis alert is five cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The organisation declares an epidemic when 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants are recorded in a week.

Niger’s southern neighbours Burkina Faso and Nigeria have both declared epidemics this year, and the International Federation of the Red Cross has reported on possible epidemic levels in Benin. WHO has warned 2008 could see a spike in the number of meningitis infections across Africa.

Issa said Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, has so far avoided mass infections because of a successful plan of preventative action implemented this year.

According to the ministry of health, there have been regular missions around the country to prepare for outbreaks and to stockpile 500,000 vaccination doses of in regional health centres.

“Health workers at all levels have been instructed to reinforce their efforts to follow outbreaks and to give free treatment if cases occur,” Issa said.

Among the regions in Niger which recorded meningitis cases this year are Zinder, Niamey, Maradi, Tahoua, Tillabery and Dosso. The regions Agadez and Diffa remain untouched, according to the health ministry.

One year ago, Tyson Gay capped his breakout season with a stellar 19.68 victory at the World Athletics Final. This year, Stuttgart may have witnessed the birth of another sprint star, Norwegian Jaysuma Saidy Ndure.

24 hours after finishing second to World record holder Asafa Powell in the 100m here at the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final, where he lowered his own national record to 10.06, the 23-year-old produced a stunner of his own after powering away to a 19.89 victory in the 200.

“I was just gone, it was crazy, it was unbelievable,” was the Gambian-born Ndure’s reaction when seeing ‘19’ flash onto the screen. “I feel really happy. These were some great conditions here today. And I made good use of them.”

Clearly leading off the bend, one could sense an upset in the making, but Ndure said he wasn’t surprised to find himself ahead of Osaka bronze medallist Wallace Spearmon heading into the home straight.

“No I was not surprised; I’m a faster 100m runner than him. He’s very slow in the 100 and I took advantage of that.” He clearly did, leaving the American well back in 20.18

It was a massive leap forward for the 23-year-old, who arrived in Stuttgart with a 20.25 best to his credit. But the happy-go-lucky sprinter, who began training seriously just two years ago, said he wasn’t that surprised that he pulled off the victory. Indeed, he said, he had big plans for the weekend.

“I’ve been training very hard this year. Yesterday I was looking forward to running under ten seconds. But with the false starts and all that, it was a little bit bad in the 100. I was a little bit tired, because it took three starts yesterday. But then today I came into the race feeling all fresh again. I feel great.”

Raised by his mother, Saffie Saidy, in Gambia, Ndure participated in a wide variety of sports, and athletics wasn’t immediately his first choice.

“Life was good in Gambia,” he said. “I was doing athletics just for fun. I was playing basketball and volleyball more often, and football a little bit. I was talented, but it was only part-time for me. And then the Gambians invited me to compete for the national team. But I still wasn’t serious because I didn’t like to train.”

Ndure moved to Norway in 2001, to join his father, Babou Ndure, who’d been living in the Scandinavian country for 27 years.

“I had been living in Africa with my mom, and I later moved to live with him,” he said, before adding with a wide grin, “I’m a guy, and I need to be raised by a guy, not a woman.”

In Oslo, he continued along his athletics path, but didn’t begin taking it seriously until about two years ago, following a bronze medal finish in the 100 at the 2004 African Championships. That year he reached the quarter-finals in both sprints at the Olympic Games in Athens, and reached the semis of the longer sprint in Helsinki a year later.

After becoming a Norwegian citizen in December 2006, he immediately began rewriting the nation’s sprinting lists. After his dash in Stuttgart, he made a significant revision to the continental all-time list as well, blasting all the way to No. 3, behind only former World record holder Pietro Mennea of Italy and Greek Konstadínos Kedéris.

Although he was forced to miss Osaka, he’s competed notably over the past month, finishing second in the Zürich and Brussels 100m contests and winning in Berlin.

But for now he’s not thinking about record, rivals, or even which is his better event. He’s clearly having fun, and plans to continue enjoying himself.

“I’m still going to run both races,” he said. “I’m doing pretty good in the 100, today was great, so I’m going to keep running both of them. And right now, I’m not thinking about any records. I’m just going to keep on training, and just hope to see better times.”

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), satellites 200 images from the Danish National Space Center (DNSC) indicate that the Arctic ice levels are at an all time low, since the first images taken in 1978, and as a result have completely opened up the Northwest Passage for the first time since humans began to record history.

The images have shown the melting of the ice has "dramatically increased" than previously thought and that in 2030, all of the ice summer could be gone with all the region being completely ice free by 2070. Researchers call an it an "extreme" situation and that the ice is now shrinking at a level of about three million square kilometers a year, up from one million square k.m. from 2005.

"The strong reduction in just one year certainly raises flags that the ice may disappear much sooner than expected," said DNSC spokesman Leif Toudal Pedersen in a statement.

The new findings have put Canada and the United States at a standoff, both laying claim to the passage because it could be a valuable resource for the shipping industry. The passage goes through the boundaries of both nations. In 1985 diplomatic relations on the passage were strained after a U.S. icebreaker passed through without the U.S. notifying Canadian officials.

As a result, the Canadian military is building two new bases at both ends of the areas they claim to be theirs. There will also be at least six new naval patrol ships built, that will be stationed in the passage.

The U.S. claims that regardless which country boundaries the passage passes through, the waterway should be open to anyone who wants to use it.

"We believe it's an international passage," said U.S. President George W. Bush.

Denmark, Norway, and Russia all also lay claim to the vast amounts of minerals, natural gas, and oil.

The First Vice-President of the Gambia Football Association and Chief of Defence Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, Brigadier-General Lang Tombong Tamba, has revealed that there was no contract agreement binding the Gambia Football Association with the German-based sports firm, Saller Sports.

Speaking at a press briefing held last night at the Independence Stadium, Bakau, Brigadier-General Tamba, said Sallers sport was equipping The Gambia National teams, based on mutual trust and understanding until such a time when both parties resolved to sign a formal agreement. He said the football association fulfilled its part of the agreement, by putting-a-pen to the draft copy, sent by Saller before sending it back for them (Saller Sports) to append their signature on it. He said up till today, the Gambia Football Association, has not received a draft copy, simply because Saller did not want the termination clause to be included in the agreement.

The GFA No. 2 said the issue of the termination clause, which stated that “either party can terminate the agreement by giving three (3) months notice in writing”, was the bone of contention between the two parties.

“Sometimes in July this year, Saller Agent Malick Camara served me a letter and I asked him what happened, he said, Saller said he cannot accept the termination clause included in the draft copy, because it does not favour him. He said if we want, we can delete the termination clause or he (Saller) will back out. We convened a meeting and tabled this matter before the Marketing Committee, who anonymously agreed that no contract can be signed without a termination clause being included.”

“The termination clause was meant to protect both parties and not only the Gambia Football Football Association. If we sign an agreement that has no termination, we can do things that do not confirm with the agreement, and what will Saller do since there is no termination clause and vice versa.”

“If the termination clause that was meant to protect both parties can be the cause of the pull out, then it came to us as a surprise,” Tamba said.

No direct contact

The GFA First Vice-President, said the agent Malick Camara introduced them to Saller, but later served as a stumbling-block between the football association and Saller Sports.

“Malick introduced us to Saller, but he never created the enabling environment for the football association to deal directly with Saller. There is always bound to be a problem when you have a mediator in such a deal. And Malick’s approach on behalf of Saller was very negative, having authored and made negative comments against the football association.”

Enough publicity

Brigadier-General Tamba, said Saller Sports has been equipping the National teams, but added that this was not done for free. He said The Gambia has participated in three major competitions (FIFA U-17 World Cup finals in Peru, U-20 Championship in Congo and FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Canada) as the only country that wore Saller outfits, and according Tamba this was enough publicity for the German-based sports firm.

He also bemoaned the difficulties The Gambia went through during these competitions.

 “We went to Congo with only two sets of jerseys (one white, one blue), and what would have happened, if one set of jersey is missing? The Gambia Football Association spent four thousand euros to transport these materials from Germany to Congo. Also in Canada, we have to improvise after spending two thousand five hundred euros to transport the equipment from Germany to Canada. We laundered our jerseys match-after-match, and where on earth do you see National teams playing in such major competition washing their jerseys when others are exchanging jerseys on the pitch in the name of fair play?”