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Renowned Linguist, Politician and Writer Sidia Jatta, has on Friday arrived at Columbus, Ohio to receive the African Heroes Awards Early Life And Education Sidia Jatta was born in Sutukoba 1945, in Wuli District. He was educated locally and at Nungua Secondary School, near Accra, Ghana from 1961 to 1963, before returning to The Gambia to attend Yundum College from 1964 to 1966. After working as a school teacher in various primary and secondary schools until 1972, he enrolled at the University of Grenoble from 1973 to 1978, obtaining undergraduate and master's degrees in linguistics. He returned to France again to further his study in 1983. Career After returning to The Gambia, Jatta worked for the Curriculum Development Centre from 1978 to 1983, later as senior curriculum development officer, and was also a research fellow at the International African Institute, London from 1980 to 1982. He resigned from the government in 1986 in protest to the performance of the ruling People'...

President-elect Bassirou Diomaye Faye will be sworn in on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at the Abdou Diouf International Centre - CICAD, in Diamniadio. Ceremony will start at 11 Following his swearing-in, the new president will be officially sworn in during a transfer of power with outgoing president Macky Sall later in the afternoon of the same day. On this occasion, the outgoing president, Macky Sall, will officially hand over the reins of the country to his elected successor, Bassirou Diomaye Faye. This transfer of power will mark the beginning of Bassirou Diomaye Faye's presidential term, newly elected with 54.28% of the vote, according to official provisional results announced on Wednesday.

By Almamy Fanding Taal The change we celebrate today in Senegal is 25 years in the making: the SOPE /ALTERNACE Project of President Wade is the source code for the constitutional reforms aka TERM LIMITS which started with dismantling the post colonial administrative State that was led by the Ecole Superiere elite.  A Renaissance continued by President Macky Sall and the PASTEF Project should not outrightly disown this patrimony of Senegal.  Now that the dust has settled the urgent question to ask within a pan African context is what  should African progressives propose with a view to addressing the crisis of legitimacy in the Sahel? On the currency question the world is fast digitalizing with crypto currencies and blockchain technology but most importantly currencies are legal tender which is really a legal construct and the real values of which are directly correlated to the real economy. Therefore the real question is how do we create employment opportunities for the pe...

The post-election atmosphere looks relatively calm, as Senegalese awaits the final declaration of results. Basirou Diomaye Faye secured 54% of the votes, whilst his main contender Amadou Bah secured 35%   WHO IS BASIROU DIOMAYE FAYE? Bassirou Diomaye Faye (born 25 March 1980 in Ndiaganiao, in the western department of Mbour Senegal. is a Senegalese politician and former tax inspector who is the president-elect of Senegal He is the former general secretary of dissolved PASTEF and won the 2024 Senegalese presidential election in place of disqualified candidate Ousmane Sonko In 2000, Faye earned his baccalaureate. He successfully attained a master's degree in law and subsequently cleared both competitive exams, enrolling at the National School of Administration (ENA) and the magistracy in 2004. Political career Initially a guest when the party was founded, Faye swiftly ascended to become one of the most prominent figures within the party.[1] He would go on to become one of the ideolog...

   Photo credit: SenTV Team Oupost Campaign have ended ahead of Sunday's presidential election. Seventeen contenders are running for the election. The election is widely seen between the two main contenders Amadou Ba, of the Government party candidate and Bassirou Diomaye FAYE of the Opposition defunct PASTEF party.  Earlier last month, President Macky Sall announced the postponement of the  February 24th election, citing irregularities of some candidates.  His pronouncement sparked many civil unrest. The Supreme Court rejected his moved and called on him to organise fresh election.  Diomaye Faye is the backup candidate of Ousmane Sonko, after their party was dissolved in November last year by Macky Sall to formed a coalition. The duo were released last week after Macky Sall granted amnesty to political prisoners.  Many young voters are seeing Amadou Ba as a continuity of President Macky Sall, saying Bassirou Diomaye Faye will sweep the polls.

  |  Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, during which Muslims are encouraged to abstain from food and drink between dusk and dawn.| Before you fast, it is always a good idea to check in with your doctor to determine whether or not you should. If you are unable to fast, you can pay the fidyah instead, where you give a poor and hungry person the amount of money equivalent to the cost of two meals a day. How fasting and being charitable helps your mental health Fasting is not only about abstaining from food. You also avoid harmful speech such as talking ignorantly or indecently, and also shun negative actions such as arguing or fighting. By doing so, we can focus on developing good behaviours and increasing the number of good deeds we do. Throughout Ramadan, there is an emphasis on charity and thinking of those in need in order to find ways to unify our community. During this month, we start to think of how we can give back and how to connect with our family and those ar...

  By Sheriff Saidykhan The Gambia Women are Free to Choose (GWA-FC) a pro female circumcision advocacy group have threatened to demonstrate against any external interference on FGM in the country.  “We will mobilize and respond in our numbers to demonstrate against any interference from external FGM organizations or actions from donor countries that infringe on our democratic and constitutional rights as Gambian citizens,” the release said In a press release yesterday, the group expressed concerned with Amnesty International’s misguided call on Gambin Parliamentarians to maintain a ban on FGM  “W are concerned about misleading statements made by human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International. First, the terminology that is used in the Women’s Act 2010 is “Female Circumcision” and not Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), as we also mistakenly assumed. Gambian women do not practice or support the “mutilation” of females or males.  Second, for an international hu...

  Amid the growing debate over FGM/C, the Gambia Supreme Islamic Council Renewed Its Support And Issued A Declaration On The Ruling On Female Circumcision In Islam. Below reads the full release. Release “The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council (GSIC) is pleased to issue a fatwa to all Muslims in  The Gambia regarding the legality of female circumcision. In this regard, the GSIC would  like to clarify that female circumcision is not a merely inherited custom as falsely claimed  by those who are clueless about Islamic law. Rather, it is one of the virtues of Islam and  among the Sunnah practices dictated by the Messenger of Allah, Peace be Upon Him, who  said: “Five practices are characteristics of the Fitra,” of which he mentioned circumcision. The legitimacy of female circumcision has been proven in several established hadiths on  the authority of the Prophet; peace be upon him. Therefore, Muslim jurists agreed on its  legality. Some jurists have even ...

  By Sheriff Saidykhan Fatou A. Darboe, Programme Coordinator, Nutrition unit at the Directorate of Health Promotion and Education has urged Muslims to eat more warm foods during the period of fasting. She made these remarks on Wednesday at her office in Kotu. “When breaking the fast, it is ideal to eat something warm so that the intestine will be activated.  And the body will be ready to consume the diets. So we are encouraging individuals to eat warm foods and local tea.  They are nutritious and very good for our health. We need to stay healthy by eating nutritious diets. Because In Ramadan people will be fasting for so many hours.  And also dates. So these food options are very good for our health when breaking the fast" she urged. She encouraged people to eat local combination of foods, taken into account the healthy ones.  “We can also eat other combination of foods that we have at our disposal, taken into consideration the health ones.  When we talk a...

  7 March 2024 – Day 17: Ousman Sonko addresses the Court In accordance with the procedural code, Ousman Sonko was given the opportunity to address the Court before it began its deliberations. In particular, he stated in English that he regretted that the Court did not provide simultaneous interpretation of the closing arguments of the other parties, as he was not able to understand what had was argued. For this reason, he could not comment on the conclusions presented by the parties. The lack of translation was a problem for him throughout the course of the trial, since 8 January 2024, for him but, above all, for the people interested in the proceedings: The Gambians. He also stated that he was the subject of violations of his rights throughout the proceedings, in particular by not receiving the transcripts of his testimony in a timely manner. He further stated that some plaintiffs have adapted their statements during the trial to make them fit the charges brought against him and ...

  Team Outpost As the debate on the FGM gather pace in the country, the Honourable member for Serrekunda West Constituency has called for the FGM bill to proceed to committe level for debate. War of words continue to ensue between the pro and anti FGM campaigners.  Rights holders of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) called for the total ban of the practice, whilst the pro campaigners called on law makers to repeal the bill.  Madi MK Ceesay said the bill should proceed to committe level for public consultation.  “My position is  for the Bill to  proceed to committee level, so that the public engaged. Law makers can't make paws for people without consultations,” he said.  He added: “Its is only then that the public can fully participate in law making. The members should not think for people they need to be consulted.  That has always being my position any time a Bill is before members” he concluded.

         | Things that we ought to consider as a people seven years post dictatorship | By Almamy Fanding Taal We have chosen to engage in meaningless endeavors like repealing FGM and making elaborate procedural maneuvers to put JAMMEH and crimes of his era on trial in the Gambia while  the acolytes and enablers of dictatorship are elevated to the highest echelons of political power?  At the same time based on the recommendations of the Truth Commission successful prosecution have been made of the Jammeh era crimes outside the Gambia at no cost to public resources. This is a compelling precedent for Jammeh to stand trial in any other state with Unversal Jurisdiction. Charles Taylor of Liberia is serving a life sentence in a UK prison following his conviction for war crimes and crimes against humanity.  With the myriad challenges facing the judiciary of the country a cost benefit analysis of establishing a hybrid court system for Jammeh era crimes ...

  Team Outpost   The Africa Catalyzing Action for Nutrition (AfriCAN) in partnership with the National Nutrition Agency (NANA) have begun training of youths and journalists  on nutrition.  The training started from 26 February to 8 March 2024. The Theme: “Good Nutrition Starts With Me” focuses on the thematic areas to understand and promote a healthy diet currently held at NANA. The training is meant to equip youths and media groups on basic nutrition.  Haddy Crookes, the facilitator highlighted the significance of food classification, and the different nutrients found in foods.  Jackline Colley, of the Fatou Network and a trainee said the training will provider her with the requisite knowledge on nutrition related issues. She added that the training will help her as a journalist to raising awareness and to promote a healthy diet.    “As a media practitioner, I expect the training to provide me with a comprehensive understanding of nutrition-...

   By Sheriff Saidykhan The Local Government committee have recently concluded a nationwide public hearings on the draft rent bill. The consultation hearings started from Banjul, West Coast, Lower River Region, Upper River Region and Central River Region of the country.  The committee held country wide public hearings on the draft rent bill.  The committee convened twelve public meetings, and public concerned were raised on the exorbitant rent charges.  Farafenni The committee also tabled wide range of discussions ranging from agent issues, tenants and deposits. The committee put together a report capturing all the concerns. The report will be laid before parliament on the 5th of March 2024. The amendments will look at key areas of the bill. The annual increament of not less than five per cent. Madi MK Ceesay, National Assembly member for Serrekunda West, said if the law come into force it will will “control that, and the issue of deposit will also be captured a...