OP

  Team Outpost Alagie Saidy-Barrow, former TRRC Investigator has called on the government of President Adama Barrow to take a new paradigm shift towards tackling crime rates in the country.  In his regular contribution on Coffee Time show on Tuesday, he said keeping data on crime will help reduce the high rate of crimes in the country.  “Keeping statistic on crime is critical in internal security. Not that does this guides authorities or resource allocation, but it also helps with the formulation of crime policies.  Importantly data on  crime rates helps with the perception of crime trends,” he said  Statistic on crime and development he said,  can be very political.  “We have reduce our security matters into partisan politics. Instead of a holistic debate in crime and its cause and consequences, it becomes an emotionally charged and minds of back of forth without any substance”.  He continued: “given the lack of centralised crime data base. ...

  By Pa Louis Sambou   F or most people, the Israel - Palestine question is probably the one conflict whose ugly scenes of horror has regularly appeared before their screens for a period of time spanning their entire lifetime. Although not the only unresolved historic territorial question, it is certainly the only none-frozen one, which fact probably explains why it evokes strenuous opinion from even folks afar, with Gambians not an exception.  Whether pro Israel or pro Palestine, far too many well-meaning people the world over, find themselves holding very strong views on this subject matter, but which position is in most cases predominantly driven and sustained by subjective factors and considerations. A particular news article which I recently came across on a Gambian newspaper, exhibited a spectacular example and presentation of this phenomenon.    Without offering a line by line review of the news article in question, which is definitely not the objective o...

  By Sheriff Saidykhan Momodou Gassama, of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that one in every eight person in the world has a mental health disorder.  He made these remarks on Thursday at a press briefing, held at Kanifing in collaboration with the Ministry of Health  on the Mental Health draft Bill.  “Which means one billion of the world population  has a mental health disorder” he said. He said two per cent of the global health ministries budgets are pumped into the mental health disorders.  “All the health Ministries, and compile all their mental health budgets together. Only two per cent of world health budgets goes to mental health disorder.  In some countries it is far less that that. Some 0.5 per cent  of their budgets goes into mental health” he revealed.  He added that the world is not doing ‘enough’ to tackle global mental health disorders.  “The world is not doing enough to address the needs. The mental health is h...

                                                    Rev. Fr. Matthew A. Mendy 1984-2024 By  Philip Saine Late Rev. Fr. Matthew Ambrose Mendy was the son of Ambrose Mendy and Rose Mendy. He was born on 25 October 1984 in the village of Kitty, West Coast Region of The Gambia (the name meaning a gift of God). He received his education from St. James School- Brikama, Presentation of Mary - Brikama, St. Therese’s-Kanifing and St. Peter’s Senior Secondary-Lamin. During his High School Days Matthew exhibited truthfulness and holiness. Due to his peacemaking and preaching shills (sign of been filed with the Holy Spirit) his fellow students and comrades fondly called him ‘Father Matthew’ . That name stayed with him all his lifetime. He always demonstrated willingness and dedication to serve the church. Between 2005 and 2010, he took up the Catholic Priesthood ca...

Team Outpost Hassoum Ceesay, renowned historian and Director General at the National Centre for Arts and Culture said Gambia attained its independence from Great Britain through political mobilisation of political parties led by former President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara.  He made these remarks in an interview yesterday with The Outpost Media.  “Independence was basically a political project. Gambia won her independence through political mobilisation, and not through war or massive civil disobedience, it was largely won through political mobilisation” he remarked.  He said the political mobilisation of political parties, played a significant role in the fight for independence. “The United Party (UP) of Pierre Njie and the Democratic Party of Reverend J.C Faye, the Gambia Muslim Congress of I.M Garba Jahumpa and the People's Progressive Party of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara” Through these political parties he said, Gambians were mobilised in the fight for independence.  He...

By Sheriff Saidykhan  President Adama Barrow called for the preservation of the nation, safeguarding the state and securing the country's resources. During his speech marking the country's 59th Independence day celebration on Sunday, Barrow said: “Preserving the nation, for what it is worth, requires us to cherish and safeguard our identity, history, culture, social structures, relationships and everything else that distinguishes us as a people. Embedded in these traits are our shared values and ways of co-existing in peace and harmony as Gambians, hence we must make sure that they are not corrupted to give way to indecency. To succeed in this national endeavour, the government we choose to manage our affairs, the Constitution and Laws that regulate behaviour, the institutions that provide services and the territorial boundaries that define our land surface must be at the heart of whatever we do. Without this, our resources would be wasted, which we must collectively resolve to...

By Sheiff Saidykhan Alagie Saidy-Barrow, former TRRC investigator has said that the national dialogue is the resemblance to the national think tank.  He made these remarks in his regular contribution on the Coffee Time show with Peters Gomez on Tuesday.  The rationale behind the national dialogue and the national think tank he said, is of two sides of the same coin.   “Some years ago at the height of the euphoria of the first exit of Yahya Jameh. Some genius came with the idea of the national think tank.  I remember how so many people waited to know who will be the individuals  selected to be part of this national tink tank.  As usual some among us waited what drive the notion of the think tank.  When I read the concept note of the tink tank, I suspected that it was a vehicle going nowhere and time has proven my predictions right.  Today I wake with another prediction. This national dialogue like the national think tank is also a vehicle to nowher...

By  Pa Louis Sambou    The premise of thought of most fair-minded people is no doubt that, dialogue is always preferable to anything else to the contrary. So, in principle, the concept of a National Dialogue is commendable. However, ‘a “ National Dialogue Meeting ” to what end?’, is also an equally rational question for any citizen to ask. Well, it is the question for me anyway.    With the exception of one or two whose opening statements touched on public policy subject matters, one would notice that the issues raised by all other opposition party leaders or representatives who spoke during the opening of this National Dialogue Meeting (NDM) are matters which are already within the remit and competence of the Inter Party Committee to address. As the sponsor, President Barrow’s opening remarks and speech was so unhelpfully vague as to the objective, it offered no comforting opening to the enigma at hand. So, with an unclear and undefined objective, one wonders u...

    By Sheriff Saidykhan  Dr. Cherno Omar Barry the Deputy Executive Secretary (DES) of the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat has said that there's need for  dialogue to quel off the on going political crisis in Senegal.  “Now there's national dialogue being called, hopefully that could be an opportunity to begin to discuss with the President to find solution. Why we are monitoring, we know there are efforts going to ensure there's peace and stability,” he said. In his interview on Coffee Time show with Peters Gomez on Tuesday, he said the Senegalo-Gambian Secretariat is aimed at ensuring peace, security and general development. As a secretariat he said they are concern of the current political instability in Senegal.  “Now if there is instability, because of the riots that are on going right now - so we are concern. Then there is a peace rupture,” said Dr. Cherno Omar Barry. He added that Gambia and Senegal shared a thinning geographical boundary. Any...

    Release Over 100 leading figures led by members of The Elders and the Future of Life Institute, have issued an open letter calling on world leaders to take a bold new approach to address ‘catastrophic’ risks to humanity. The letter states that ‘long-view leadership’ is needed to tackle the ongoing impact and escalating risks of the climate and nature crisis, pandemics, nuclear weapons, and ungoverned AI. It also illustrates that millions of lives and livelihoods are already impacted by these threats and world leaders’ inaction and failure to cooperate will drive humanity toward ‘greater catastrophe’.  The Elders, including Mary Robinson, Ban Ki-moon, Graça Machel, Juan Manuel Santos, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, together with the president of the Future of Life Institute, Max Tegmark, have been joined by former leaders, Nobel Laureates, scientific experts, youth activists, business leaders, philanthropists and influential figures from across public life to urge decision-mak...

    By Sheriff Saidykhan Alagie Saidy-Barrow, former TRRC Investigator has Critiqued President Macky Sall's election postponement till December 15th 2024. His pronouncement has sparked an international condemnation, calling on Macky to reconsider its decision and call for election.  In his regular Coffee Time contribution on Tuesday Alagie Barrow said the trappings of power continue to hypnotize him. “When I hear what President Macky Sall is continuing to do in Senegal I could not help but wonder if he too has reach a point of no return. The simple man among us will tell you Macky did everything according to due process. That one man can wake up and go to the TV and tell the people that he has  indefinitely suspended the election, and it means nothing to our democratic crusaders” argued.   Being President in Africa he said, can be hypnotic and mesmerizing. “Combine presidency with the unaccountable powers. And the President will get lost in the trappings of...