NKawsu Badjie, an ex-Corps Member of the National Youth Service Scheme NYSS, whoalso doubled as the Chairman of the interim Executive Committee of NYSS Alumni Association, will leave Banjul today to the Republic of Mali an NYSS media release has revealed. While in Bamako, Kausu will be attending a month-long training in Electrical Installation at Soufouroulaye Centre.

The training, organised by the ECOWAS Commission for Youth and Sports Development Centre, in collaboration with the Ministry for Youth matters of the Republic of Mali, aims to promote youth integration in the formal sector, developing youth entrepreneurship in the area of electricity and also to render support to young people by building the capacity of youth who are presently engaged in Home Electrical Installation in all ECOWAS Member states.

Meanwhile, according to the release, the training, which will bring together fifteen youth from the sub region, will commence on 10 April and will end on the 8thof May, 2008. At the end of the training, the release added, each participant expects to go home in addition to the knowledge gained, $600 as grant to boost their businesses by purchasing equipment and other essential materials.

Reacting to the gersture Kawsu Badjie, who now operates his own Air Conditioning, Electrical and Refrigeration workshop, commended the NYSS for its splendid strides in ensuring the development of the human resource base of The Gambia.

“Indeed NYSS has changed the lives of many of us. It is as a result of the training we got at the NYSS that most of us are capable of running our own workshops and also doing very well in our places of work. I most confess that the scheme is on course. Upon my return from Mali, I will strive hard to serve my nation by putting into good use the knowledge gained”, Kawsu promised.

According to a media release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the referendums proposed by the two major political parties (one on Taiwan’s UN entry and the other on Taiwan’s UN return) took place in tandem with the presidential election of March 22nd. As the required quorum was not met, both referendums were rendered void. The statement adds that the holding of referenda is a core value of democracy and a peaceful expression of public opinion. While this marked Taiwan’s third time to hold a referendum, the process is still new to the majority of the Taiwanese people, who still need to learn to take advantage of such opportunities to directly voice their opinions. The release went further to say that the referendum on Taiwan’s UN entry and Taiwan’s UN return advocates essentially the same thing: that Taiwan should strive for a seat at the United Nations. They do, however, express different views as to which name and methods should be used. According to Taiwan’s Referendum Act, 50% of eligible voters (8.66 million), which is a higher rate than in other democracies, need to vote for the first threshold to be passed. As a matter of fact, the number of voters supporting either referendum (about 5.53 million) supported Taiwan’s UN entry and about 4.96 million supported Taiwan’s UN return) greatly exceeded the second legal threshold (about 4.33 million people). Therefore, the release adds, despite the failure of these two referenda, with their differing views as to which name should be used, the determination and will of the majority of people in Taiwan to support the government’s long-term efforts remains unchanged.

The press release, channeled through the Taiwanese embassy in Banjul, quoted the executive Yuan’s Mainland Affairs Council, “nearly 80% of respondents to various public opinion polls indicated that they hope to see Taiwan join the UN.” Promoting the UN bid is closely connected to Taiwan’s national security, existence and development. It stresses that despite China’s unreasonable obstruction the government of Taiwan will continue to pursuit the cause for the best interest of the people of Taiwan.