As PAC/ PEC Prepares to Receive Annual Reports

In what could be described as an ultimatum to all public enterprises and agencies, Hon. Fatoumata Jahumpa Ceesay, Speaker of the National Assembly, has warned that by 8thSeptember the joint committee of Finance and Public Enterprises of the National Assembly will proceed to take appropriate legal measures against defaulting agencies and enterprises that fail to submit their annual reports, accounts and financial statements by 2ndSeptember 2008.

Speaker Jahumpa Ceesay’s caution came as the National Assembly committees prepare to receive and consider annual reports and financial statements of all Public Enterprises/Agencies of the government of The Gambia.

The month-long exercise expected to be convened from Monday, 25thAugust 2008 to September 2008, will give the law-makers the opportunity to receive and consider annual reports and financial statements of all Public Enterprises/Agencies of the government of The Gambia.

So far only 20 Public Institutions and Enterprises are said to have complied with the constitution by submitting their reports, accounts and financial statements to the National Assembly on time for statutory considerations and scrutiny by law-makers, while about 22 are yet to do so.

This exercise is in pursuance of the powers bestowed on Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Enterprises Committee (PEC) of the National Assembly by the provisions of section 102, 109 and 110 of the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia, which require that the annual reports, accounts and financial statements of all Public Enterprises and Agencies that are funded wholly and partly by taxes from the people of The Gambia are jointly received and considered.

Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, 18thAugust 2008 at the National Assembly Chambers, the Speaker of the National Assembly noted that “the principal objective of this statutory exercise is to perform lawful checks, scrutiny and oversight over Public Enterprises and Agencies and the public service delivery systems with a view to ensuring that the Government of The Gambia and its public service delivery systems, institutions, enterprises and agencies are all accountable to the Gambian people.”

She however highlighted that the meeting is not out to witch-hunt anybody but designed rather to fully discharge the statutory duties entrusted to the National Assembly by the constitution and other laws of the country.

“It is our collective resolve and mandate to make sure that the loans we ratified here in this Assembly or grants secured on behalf of the Gambian people are properly accounted for,” she explained. “This we would all agree will boost donor confidence,” she added.

Businessman Banta Kaira Bailed

Reports have it that Mr. Banta Kaira, the businessman, who had been arrested four weeks ago together with one Dodou Jobe, a consultant, has been released on police bail on Monday.

Meanwhile, the fate of Dodou Jobe was not clear at the time going to press.

Following reports of suspected impersonation by a certain person at the expense of Haddy Gibril, who reportedly sent comments to the BBC network Africa Programme, a lady claiming to be the real Haddy Gibril expressed her concern over the issue. According to Haddy Gibril, both the comments and the impersonation have caused inconvenience to her and that anyone engaged in such practice should refrain.

Ms Gibril went on to say that if such practice continues, she will take legal action against the perpetrator(s). “This is to inform the general public that somebody from The Gambia is using the name of Haddy Gibril in sending comments to BBC Network Africa Programme. This is causing inconvenience to the real Haddy Gibril and the one doing it should put a stop to it. Otherwise if he or she is known, legal action will be taken against him or her,” she warned.

This paper thus informs the general public hereby that the said Haddy Gibril has disassociated herself absolutely from the person using the same name in sending comments to BBC Network Africa Programme.

Earlier this month the Department of Health in Gauteng Province confirmed that two people living in the Chicken Farm informal settlement in Kliptown, an area in Soweto, had died after contracting the waterborne disease.

"The source of the infection has not been established, but an urgent investigation is underway to establish the source, identify and treat possible cases, and ensure no further spread of this illness," a spokesperson for the provincial health department, Zanele Mngadi, told IRIN.

Cholera is an intestinal infection causing acute diarrhoea and vomiting and, if left untreated, can cause death from dehydration within 24 hours. It is easily treatable with rehydration salts.

Deeper issues

Soweto residents point to deep-seated problems related to poor sanitation facilities and the lack of access to potable water. Patra Findane, national organiser for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation (CAWP), a pressure group agitating for free water for all in Soweto, said many more Kliptown residents were showing symptoms associated with cholera. Findane said there had been unconfirmed reports of a third case this week.

A joint statement by CAWP and the Kliptown Concerned Residents (KCR) read: "While it is a shock to everyone in the community to lose one of its members, it should not be a surprise ... the government's neglect of pleas for emergency intervention to combat the social and environmental crisis makes it fully responsible for her death." The statement was issued after members of the groups had visited the family of one of the two confirmed cases of cholera.

"Residents live in fear as they wonder who is next," the statement commented. "Despite all efforts undertaken by the poor residents of Kliptown to get its attention, the City continues to turn a blind eye."

Findane said local government's failure to adequately improve basic services delivery to a neglected township that is more than 100 years old had likely been the main contributing factor to the outbreak of the disease.

The informal settlements of Soweto have no sewage or drainage systems and the bucket system of human waste disposal is still widely used, despite promises by the government that the practice would be eradicated by the beginning of 2007.

Failing to isolate the source

Last week Johannesburg Water, the local utility, said the results of recent tests of the area's water supply confirmed that Kliptown's water was cholera-free and safe to drink.

Municipal spokesperson Baldwin Matsimela said the City of Johannesburg's Environmental Management System, which is part of Johannesburg Water and is responsible for sampling and monitoring surface water, took samples in Kliptown on 28 March and 8 April.

The samples tested negative for cholera on both occasions, and more samples were taken on 11 April but tests on these were also reported as negative for cholera.

"In addition, drinking water samples were taken from the informal settlement in the Kliptown area and the results were cleared of any contamination," Matsimela said.

Findane doubted this. "They say there is no cholera here, but all over Kliptown there are posters and field-workers from different local clinics warning people about the threat of cholera infection. So why should we believe the current cholera outbreak has nothing to do with terrible conditions the people live in, and that it is not a big problem?" he asked.

The CAWP has called on the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, the Department of Health and Johannesburg Water "to immediately act on the crisis in Kliptown. Without water and sanitation more people will continue to fall ill in this community."

Greenpeace welcomed the publication today of the first assessment of global agriculture as an historic opportunity to replace destructive chemical-intensive agriculture with methods that work with nature not against it.

The report says industrial agriculture has failed and, regarding genetically engineered (GE) crops, found they are no solution for poverty, hunger or climate change.

Some 60 governments signed the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD)’s final report [1] last week in Johannesburg, South Africa. The United States, Canada and Australia were the only governments in attendance not to sign. Despite being among the stakeholders who selected the report’s authors, they accuse the assessment of being ‘unbalanced’ and are attacking the authors’ independence [2].

Dr. Janet Cotter, senior scientist for Greenpeace International, who was one of the reports contributors said, “This report proves we can produce more and better food without destroying rural livelihoods and our natural resources. Modern farming solutions champion biodiversity, are labour intensive and work with nature, not against it”.

Benny Härlin from Greenpeace International, who was on the IAASTD’s governing body, said, "This report is a call for governments and international agencies to redirect and increase their funding towards a revolution in agriculture that is firmly agro-ecological”.

The IAASTD report calls for a fundamental change in farming practices, in order to address soaring food prices, hunger, social inequities and environmental disasters. It acknowledges that genetically engineered crops are highly controversial and will not play a substantial role in addressing the key problems of climate change, biodiversity loss, hunger and poverty.

It recommends small-scale farmers and agro-ecological methods are the way forward if the current food crisis is to be solved and to meet the needs of local communities, declaring indigenous and local knowledge play as important a role as formal science. A significant departure from the destructive chemical-dependent, one-size-fits-all model of industrial agriculture.

“Dependency on world agricultural commodity prices and speculation, as well as on seed and toxic agricultural inputs controlled by a few transnational players is literally a kiss of death for small-scale and poor farmers,” warns Härlin.

Out of 53 members states of the African Union only 26 submitted reports on the Solemn Declaration. Among those who have submitted were Ghana , Mali, Ivory cost ,

South Africa, Nambia  and Senegal , madam Jeanne Flora Kayites, programme officer , women’s right(AUC) African Union commission , gender directorates was delivering a paper at a workshop on human rights education for west Africa in Banjul The Gambia.

Kayitesi , speaking on the second day of the  workshop on 15 April 2008, told participants that AU solemn declaration on gender equality in Africa is facing problems of submitting reports . At the AU level letters were sending to African leaders and also regional workshops were held for parliamentarian so that they can act as advocate but to submit their reports.

The commission of the African Union , in collaboration  with the African Commission on human and People’s Rights and Economic Commission for Africa , organize a workshop on women’s rights through  education , from 14^th -16^th  April 2008, in Banjul , The Gambia.

There is an  international consensus that human rights education makes a fundamental contribution to the  realization of human rights .Human rights education aims  at developing a common understanding of the responsibility to make human rights a reality in every community and society at large .

 On 10 December 2004, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the World Programme for Human Rights Education (WPHRE), which began on 1^st January 2005, with first phase running from 2005-2007. This programme is a follow –up to the United Nations Decade for human rights education which ran from 1995 to 2004.

The regional decade review of the Dakar and Beijing Platforms for Action (7^th regional Conference o Women , Addis Ababa, October 2004), highlighted progress made in the last ten years in a addressing the human rights of women . The country reports noted that the legal framework for gender equality has been strengthened in many countries, by ensuring that de jure equality for women is institutional frameworks. Constitutions in many countries now include provisions guaranteeing equality between men and women. New laws have been adopted to bring civil, penal and family provisions into conformity with the Convention on the elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.

At the Continental level , the Heads of States and Government Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa enshrine  numerous commitments of African leaders to the protection of the rights of women and girls , to gender equality and to women’s empowerments in all sector.

Measures protecting women against violence especially domestic violence are in place in several countries . However , the Regional Review indicated that despite these successes , the Beijing and Dakar Platforms for Action remain far from being fully achieved . Attitudes towards gender equality and empowerment of women among the general public have not changed at the same peace as policy, legal and institutional frameworks. In some countries discrimination in legislation continues to deprive women of their human rights in all spheres.          The coexistence of multiple legal systems remains a source of great concern, especially as they relate to customary and religious laws governing personal status and private life. Women continue to experience discrimination and are disadvantaged in owing and inheriting property, as well as in having access to economic resources and social services. In addition, they face different kinds of  violence , which inhibit them from fully  exercising and enjoying their human rights. In all countries , women and girls are subjected to physical, sexual and psychological abuses, whether in public or in their private life. Discriminatory social norms, violence and men continue to be major obstacles to the fulfillment of women’s human rights  in most African countries.

A number of strategies have been formulated to address the large gap between de jure and Dakar Platforms for action and most international and regional instruments pay attention to the role of education in promoting women’s rights . “Provision of human rights education is essential for promoting an understanding of the rights of women, including knowledge of recourse mechanisms to redress violation of their rights”(Beijing Platform for Action, Para.227). Schools are widely recognized as important sites for learning about gender equality, and education and can be a key for change towards a gender equality culture. Human  rights education and gender sensitization at all levels are a critical dimension of a rights-based approach. In many countries , there have also been sustained efforts to promote gender equality in the curricula .

The promotion and protection of human rights, including gender equality, is an integral  part of the African Union Constitutive Act and the African Union has adopted various instruments , declarations and decisions on human rights. In particular , the Constitutive Act provides for promotion and protection of human rights accordance with the African charter on Human and People’s Rights and other relevant human rights instruments Act 3(h) . The Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa provides for States parties to take specific position action to promote literacy among women; education and training for women at all levels ad in all discipline particularly in the fields of science and technology ; promote the enrolment and retention of girls in schools are other  training institutions and the organization of programmes for women  who leave school prematurely , Act . 12(2). The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the child provides that every child shall have the right to education Act.11(1).

In October 2005, the African Union , in collaboration with Economic Commission for Africa and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, organized in Kigali, Rwanda, a sub-regional workshop for east African  Countries on the “Realization of women ‘s Rights through  Human Rights Education” This was  followed by similar workshop for North African Countries. These workshops were attended by government officials, National Human Rights Institutions, Civil Society Organizations and UN Agencies . It is the African Union’s desire to organize a similar workshop in all the regions of Africa in a bid to build a culture of respect for human rights gender equality , security and peace on the Continent. It is therefore against this background that the African Union in collaboration with its partners organizes a Human Rights Education Workshop for its member’s states in West Africa.

At least 6,000 people have been affected by flooding following heavy rains in the southern coastal district of Taveta, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said.

"Three primary schools have also been closed temporarily after being submerged," Anthony Mwangi, the KRCS Public Relations Manager said on 1 April. "The water levels in some areas are up to chest level."

Groups of people have been marooned, with transport services also affected, he said.

The hardest hit areas include the villages of Eldoro A, B, C, Ngutini Python Hill, Kinongo A, B, Kisogoto, Marodo, Lambu, Marigasa, Kiwalwa and Marisa in the Kimorigo, Mbogoni and Mahoo sub-locations of the district. The schools affected were Abuni, Eldoro and Notima primary schools.

Some pit latrines also filled up or collapsed due to the flooding, presenting the risk of spreading water-borne diseases. However, Mwangi said there had not been any reports of contamination so far.

He said KRCS was providing food and non-food items to the affected people and trying to assess the needs of those marooned.

"We are also conducting an assessment to determine the magnitude of the flooding," he added.

Meanwhile, KRCS has helped thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by flooding in their camps move to higher ground.

“The flooding is a major challenge facing the IDPs but we cannot relocate them to different camps due to logistical issues,” Mwangi said.

The camps most affected by flooding included those in Nakuru in Rift Valley Province and the neighbouring town of Naivasha. There are at least 15,718 IDPs in the Showground camp and 1,020 in the Afraha camp, two of the main IDP camps in Nakuru.

In the long-term, Mwangi said, the needs of the IDPs, such as resettlement, security, house reconstruction, the provision of farming implements and peace and reconciliation, would need to be addressed.

Thousands of people were displaced across the country following the eruption of violence over the disputed results of the December 2007 elections.

Source: IRIN

Hundreds of nomadic families have fled the Middle Shabelle and Hiiraan regions of south-central Somalia after clashes between two communities claimed dozens of lives, sources said.

The latest clashes, which began on 18 February between the Hawaadle and Abgal sub-clans of the main Hawiye clan, were concentrated around the small towns of Eil Qoryaale, and Eil Baraf, 260km north of the capital Mogadishu, and the surrounding villages.

"The clashes have displaced hundreds of nomadic families on both sides," Yusuf Ahmed Hagar, the governor of the Hiiraan region, told IRIN. "We don’t have exact figures but reports we are getting indicate a few thousand are on the move."

Many of those affected have moved into the hinterland or towards major towns in the area for safety. A local journalist told IRIN that the Hawaadle were moving to the town of Jalalaqsi, about 270km north of Mogadishu, while the Abgal were moving south towards the town of Mahaday, 120km north of Mogadishu.

The fighting, Hagar said, was being fuelled by insurgents loyal to the ousted Islamic courts and water shortages. "They [insurgents] are providing weapons to the nomads and exacerbating the situation," he said, adding that water shortages in the area were "a contributing factor. We are appealing to aid agencies to assist the affected people, with water trucking a priority."

However, a local elder, who requested anonymity, said: "I don't think there is any involvement from the Islamic courts or anyone else," adding that the area was instead experiencing serious water shortages and people and livestock were in danger. "They have no access to wells or water points, because the areas they moved to were already dry."

Another local source said the two groups had in the past fought sporadically over grazing land and water points, but the latest clash was linked to revenge killings and the competition for water. "The water situation is really desperate and that is making it a matter of life and death."

Each side blamed the other for starting the fighting, he said.

While fights over grazing pasture and water were not unusual in these areas, he said, "what is unusual is for the clashes to continue for over a month".

Hagar said elders from both sides had been dispatched to the area to contain the situation. Adow Rage, the Mahaday district commissioner, said he was confident they would bring the situation under control very soon.

"It is the first time and probably won't be the last but we intend to stop it from getting out of hand," he said. "We have sent officials to assess and report on the extent of the needs of the people affected."

Other sources said tensions remained high in the area even though the fighting had subsided.

Hagar, however, said: "I am hopeful we can contain the situation and there will be no new fighting."

Mr Mambayick Njie has been named as the new permanent secretary at the Department of State for Youth and Sports, reports reaching Observer Sports desk have revealed.

Mr Njie, the former deputy permanent secretary at the youth and sports department was recently redeployed at the Office of the President as acting permanent secretary.

However, Observer Sports has reliably learnt that Mr Njie bounced back yesterday to replace Mr Ebou Joof as the new no 2 to secretary of state Axi Gai.