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    By Sheriff Saidykhan    | Political Analysis of The Gambia and Senegal Country Risk Report 2022  | Fitch Solutions, a data analytical research centre  based in London has projected that Macky Sall, the President of Senegal’s coalition would likely lose power in the upcoming Presidential election in 2024.   The report, by projecting a stable policymaking trajectory for the next 10 years in The Gambia impliedly assumes that Adama Barrow, the President of The Gambia will remain in office for at least 2031.    The report indicated that the loss of the ruling party in Senegalese Parliament will constrain policymaking ahead stating that: " We at Fitch Solutions expect that the policymaking process in Senegal will slow, given that President Macky Sall's Benno Bokk Yaakaar coalition lost its  parliamentary majority in the July 2022 legislative elections…The declining popularity of Sall and his administration pose increased policy continuity risk following the 2024 presidential ele

                                 By Sheriff Saidykhan Fatoumatta Hydara, the mother of the two children that were killed in a flat fire incident in Nottingham, has died in hospital.  She was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Clifton after the fire incident on Sunday, but subsequently died on Tuesday 22, November 2022.  Both of her children, Neemah Drammeh, aged one and Fatimah Drammeh, aged three all of them died on Sunday.   A 31 year old man was arrested after the fire incident for suspicion of murder. This is a developing story...

         | UK Company directors, Wayne Hawkeswood and Graham Woodhouse found guilty of Health & Safety breaches linked to deaths of five Gambian men in 2016. | By Sheriff Saidykhan  Two company directors have been found guilty of safety failings after five Gambian agency workers at a metal recycling site were crushed to death when a 45-tonne wall collapsed in Nechells, Birmingham. A seven-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court was told the men died instantly while working in an area near the wall, which was holding back 263 tonnes of metal briquettes. Jurors were told the weight of metal, stored at a scrapyard in the Nechells area of the city, was equivalent to about six fully laden articulated lorries. Labourers Almamo Jammeh, 45, Ousmane Diaby, 39, Bangally Dukuray, 55, Saibo Sillah, 42, and Mahamadou Jagana, 49, were pronounced dead at the scene in July 2016. The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Birmingham-based firms Ensco 10101 and Hawkeswood Metal Recycling, as well as di

      By Sheriff Saidykhan A group dubbed JusticeFor66+ Campaign seeking justice for the Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) child victims have demanded an apology from Dr. Anna Jammeh, a senior health officer at the Ministry of health. Readers could recalled that, the recent comments from Dr. Anna Jammeh in a Standard newspaper saying victims are not cooperating with AKI investigators from the Ministry of health.  The headline reads: ‘AKI victims' families not cooperative with investigators- medical officer’. The group said in a statement: “We wish to therefore demand Dr. Anna Jammeh to withdraw her false and insensitive comments and apologize to victims,” the statement said.  The group described the false allegations as misleading, in order to hide the truth and dodge away from justice and accountability.  The group is fully concerned that the attempt to undermine investigations is now directed at attacking grieving parents who have no reason whatsoever to refuse to cooperate with investig

  By Sheriff Saidykhan Fanta F. Jabbi, an environmentalist at the ministry of agriculture has warned the general public against the indiscriminate waste dumping in the environment, a tendency which she said can lead to environmental degradation.  “Indiscriminate disposal of wastes especially those from plastics and plastic products can lead to environmental pollution evident in several ways including environmental natural beauty deterioration, entanglement and death of aquatic organisms, sewage system blockage especially within the crowded urban settlements like the west coast and greater Banjul areas resulting in creating conducive environment for breeding mosquitoes and other disease causing vectors as well as the production of foul smells, reduction in water percolation and normal agricultural soils aeration thus causing reduced productivity in such areas,” she said. Speaking to The Outpost in an interview, the environmentalist said waste dumping has become a commonplace in many par

  By Sheriff Saidykhan Amid weeks of heightened political tension between the government of The Gambia and the Coalition of Progressive Gambians (COPG) over the November 11 planned protest, the government's mediation officials has on Wednesday 9, November 2022 signed an agreement with the Coalition of Progressive Gambians at a joint press conference held at the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) building along the MDI highway. Speaking to The Outpost in an interview, Seedy Cham, the Chairman of Coalition of Progressive Gambians said they have suspended the November 11 planned protest till further notice.  “We have suspended our peaceful protest for now. We did not stand down in our protest yet. We will further engage the ministers on our demands, if they did not implement our demands we will go ahead with our peaceful protest,” he said.  COPG still want the authorities to immediately constitute an independent investigation taskforce to look into the illegal opening of the special securi

         By SHERIFF SAIDYKHAN  A 25-year-old Gambian migrant was killed by one of his Gambian counterpart  at a Sielmingen refugee camp in Reutlingen, Germany. Dawda Jallow, the deceased was stabbed to death by one of his Gambian mate name (withheld) on Sunday 6, November 2022.  According to the release from the Public Prosecutor's office in Stuttgart, the deceased was badly injured during a dispute with the assailant. The deceased could not survive the severity of the injury, and he died subsequently.  “At around 8.30 a.m., residents of the accommodation had called the emergency services and police control centers and reported that a man had been seriously injured.  The emergency services found the 25-year-old in a room with several severely bleeding injuries.  Despite immediate resuscitation measures, the man's life could not be saved.  Initial investigations on the spot revealed a suspicion of a 26-year-old Gambian who lives in the building but could no longer be found there

     By Sheriff Saidykhan The United Nations Network on migration has called on all states to harness the contributions of migrants, as enablers of sustainable development and enhance cooperation to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration.  This involves full respect for human and labour rights and the humane treatment of migrants, regardless of migration status, as outlined in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). The zoom online forum, held on Friday 4, November 2022 brought together migration experts to dilate on key issues geared towards addressing the plight of migrants. Yahya Sonko, a Gambian migration activist based in Germany said migrants continue to play a significant role towards accelerating governments efforts, for the socio economic development of the country. He said migrants support many families in terms of remittances. He added:  “Migrants are key actors across all dimensions of sustainable development. Through their work, their remittan

     By Sheriff Saidykhan The President of the Gambia Press Union Muhammed S Bah, said the union is concerned about the safety and security of journalists in the country. He made these remarks on WhatsApp in an interview with The Outpost on Friday 4, November 2022. According to him the union has recorded 15 assaults on journalists from the security apparatus, different political party supporters and the incumbent.  He added: “This is a concern to the GPU because we recorded 15 assaults on journalists mainly by political party supporters from both the incumbent and the opposition parties.  Assaults were also recorded from the security apparatus. These assaults are concerns to the union,”  he said. He said there is need to do more capacity building training for safety and security of journalists in the country.  “I believe we need to do more capacity building training to reach out to more journalists so that they can be aware of how to protect themselves from assaults or any form of dang

      By Sheriff Saidykhan Suwaibou Touray, the National Assembly Member for Wuli East Constituency has aimed to eradicate poverty, through empowering the agrarian communities among other initiatives in Wuli East. It is against this backdrop, he initiated the Wuli East Development Initiative (WEDI), a community based development with the aim to supporting development initiatives in the Wuli East Constituency. “WEDI is a Community Based Organization which I initiated in 2017 for the purpose of supporting development initiatives in Wuli East Constituency. From 2017 to 2021, I continuously donate part of my sitting and other allowances received from the National Assembly to the WEDI which they use to support communities with development challenges relating to water, gardens, road maintenance, sport gears, fertilizer purchases and seeds,etc” he said. He said the rationale behind the initiative, is geared towards supporting vulnerable women gardeners. “So in 2022, the WEDI and I agreed to c

       By Sheriff Saidykhan  Ny ima Jadama, a Gambian Journalist based in Germany has been awarded by the AFRONEWS as the best African TV personality of the year 2022. The AFRONEWS, a newspaper for Africans in Germany, awards and celebrates outstanding achievements of Africans in different fields in Germany. The second edition of the African community in Germany awards was held over the weekend in the city of Eschborn in Frankfurt, Germany.   The Awards recognise the good work done by African Individuals, organisations/associations and businesses to promote a positive image of Africa and Africans, facilitate integration of Africans in Germany, promote business opportunities and international cooperation between Germany and African countries. Speaking to The Outpost, Nyima Jadama expressed delight and extended gratitude for winning the award.  “Being awarded the best African TV Personality 2022 is a great step forward  to my media career and I am greatful to all the support renderd towa

     By Sheriff Saidykhan Yahya Sonko, the founder of Nuimi fm and rights activist of Gambian migrants based in Germany, has Critiqued the mass deportations of Gambian migrants into the country. He said there is need for the government to reengage the European Union (EU), and revisit the mass deportations of Gambian migrants He made these remarks in a WhatsApp interview with The Outpost on Thursday 20th, October 2022.  “I think our government need to reengage the European Union, when it comes to deportation matters. The situation of our country is getting worst,” he decried. The reintegration of these migrants he said, has been put into deaf ears by the government, adding that it poses a security threat into the country. “What we should understand is that currently there are thousands of Gambians that are deported from Libya, Algeria and some parts of Europe. How many of them have sustainable reintegration,” he quizzed.  According to him, the 25 Gambian immigrants that are set to be de

  By Sheriff Saidykhan Alagie Ndow, the founder of Inspiring Youngstars, a non-profit organization have bemoaned the recent demised of 66+ babies, due to the mysterious cough syrup from India. He further blamed the government of negligence, for the poor medical and health system in the country. He made these remarks recently in an interview with The Outpost in his residence at Old Yundum, West Coast Region. “It is a shame that the system of governance in this country does not establish monitoring and evaluation in place to ensure harmful drugs are detected before been distributed in the country resulting to this tragic deaths of children. I think this might be the figures or data recorded who knows the how many more numbers of children pass out mysteriously out there. This is call negligence,” he argued. The mysterious death of the 66+ babies ensued nationwide backlash, many calling the government to revisit the medical regulatory body in the country.  He further decried the lack of pr

  Sira Ndow By Sheriff Saidykhan Sira Ndow, the Country Representative for the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED) has frowned on the slow motion of Justice for Victims in the country. The governments lack of commitment she said, has hindered the prosecution process of perpetrators of the human rights abuses committed under the former government. She made these remarks with The Outpost recently at her office in Serrekunda. “It is said that justice delayed is justice denied so in that sense, we can say that the slow pace of government’s actions could be taken as justice being denied. If we are talking about justice in terms of criminal prosecutions, we expected to see more concrete steps being taken at this stage e.g. the formulation of a prosecution strategy at least but so far, all we seem to be getting is more verbal affirmation of government’s commitment to the process backed by very little action” she argued. She said there is need fo

  By Sheriff Saidykhan Marr Nyang, Founder and Executive Director of Gambia Participates (GP), a civil society organization set up to investigate corruption, has said that corruption has become a myriad problem due to bad leadership in the country. He made these remarks in an interview with The Outpost on Tuesday 20th, September 2022 at his office at Westfield, behind the red Cross. “We accommodate and normalize corruption when it supposed to be the contrary. There is immense lack of leadership and sense of accountability in countering corruption in The Gambia and in the absence of these two, it becomes an opportunity for many to use it at their advantage,” he said.   Expressing despise for what he described as governments insufficient efforts to fight corruption. He said there is need for strong independent institutions, to counter and punish corrupt acts in the country. “What we need is strong and independent legislative and institutional settings that detect, prevent and punish cor

       By Sheriff Saidykhan         Dawda Bah, the founder of Safe Life Gambia, a non-profit organization set up to ease the burden of road accidents said overspeeding is the main causes of frequent road accidents in the country. He made these remarks with The Outpost on Wednesday, 14th September 2022 at his residence in Tujereng.        “The common causes of road accidenac in The Gambia is as à result of over-speeding. Many drivers do not know where to overtake and when they did, they want to immediately join the lane whiles the  vehicle in front also increase speed or does not allow the overtaking,” he said. The influence of drug substance by young drivers he said, has contributed to the increase in road accidents in the country. “Secondly, driving under the influence of substances is also another challenge on our roads. Many young drivers consume intoxicant substances such as harmful pills, cannabis, and alchole” he remarked. Lack of awareness between the motorists and pedestrians h

  Cherno Ceesay By Sheriff Saidykhan Cherno Ceesay, the Nominated Member and rights activist for young people with disabilities at the National Youth Parliament (NYP) of The Gambia, said there is need for political representation of persons with disabilities in the country. He made these remarks recently with The Outpost at his residence in Bakau.  “Regrettably, persons with disabilities are often excluded from leadership in The Gambia and we should work to change this. it's a collective responsibility as disability rights defenders to work with those in the democratic process to help persons with disabilities navigate the challenges they face and bring about more inclusive democracy in the country” he remarked.  The underrepresentation of differently-abled in major political parties he said, has deterred them from holding political positions in the country.  “Differently-Abled are continually underrepresented in relevant positions within political parties and the Civil service. Fo

                                     By Sheriff Saidykhan The Inter African Committee (IAC), in partnership with Gambia House recently convened the 11th Inter African Committee annual conference and the 5th Nordic Gambia Investment forum in Norway, Oslo.   Established in 2011, the inter African Committee is an NGO organisation targeting people of African descent with different cultural background in Norway.   Readers could recalled that tens of thousands of Gambians left the country during the repressive rule of former President Yayha Jammeh.  The weeklong event brought together Gambians from the Nordic countries, and government dignitaries to devise strategies for the Gambian diaspora to effectively contribute towards the socio-economic development of the country.  Musa Camara, the Director of Diaspora Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained the rationale of the Diaspora Directorate.  “The Diaspora Directorate was established at the MOFA in January 2018. The raison d’