President Barrow Decorates Ten Military Colonels

As Commander in Chief of The Gambia Armed Forces (GAF), President Adama Barrow, on Tuesday, decorated ten senior officers to the rank of Colonel. The ceremony signifies the enormous respect the President has for members of the Armed Forces, who have made colossal contributions to making the nation's security their top priority in life.

President Barrow encouraged the newly promoted officers to explore further innovative ways of rebranding the image of GAF, "as a noble national defence institution, using emerging technologies to your advantage.' This is in line with the Security Sector Reform and the NDP Yiriwa agenda

Speaking on their behalf after administering six oaths , the Director of the Medical Service of GAF, Colonel Musa Kah, expressed gratitude and reassured their loyalty and readiness to serve the country.

The state decorations were awarded to service members who are deserving in character and have demonstrated patriotism, dedication and commitment to duty.

2 Lieutenants Completed Commando Training In India

Lieutenant Abdou Majid Jallow and Lieutenant Alieu Gassama have successfully completed an intensive Commando training course from the Junior Leaders Wing Infantry School in India. The training which is conducted by the Indian Army Commando School, Belgaum is designed to train military officers and equip them with professional skills to conduct complex military operations beyond enemy lines.

The course brought together different participants across the globe and lasted for several weeks with physically demanding and rigorous training. The course highlights included, among other modules, Helicopter-borne Insertion, Unarmed Combat tactics, Day and Night Navigation and other intense exercises.

The participants from the Gambia Armed Forces were recognized for their outstanding commitment and performance and were presented with the Ultimate Award.

GAMTEL MD Tunkara Reassured Effective Service Delivery

On the event marking the International Labour Day the managing director of Gambia Telecommunication Company (GAMTEL) Lamin A Tunkara reassures his commitment to promoting staff welfare and service delivery. Mr. Tunkara who is known as action oriented and service minded man reafirmed his company's readiness in providing sustainsble communication delivery to their esteem customers.

The managing director of Gamtel Mr Lamin tunkara, thank his staff for their dedication and commitment to national duty .

Mr. tunkara takes this opportunity on workers' day , highlights the tremendous efforts of his working staff, and extended his message to those departed individuals who contributed immensely to Gamtel successes .

on the OIC submit director tunkara lamented on Gamtel's readiness in providing effective , stable, and fast Internet connection during the Summit.

The Gambia Welcomes OIC Delegates

The OIC Senior officials meeting Commenced yesterday with the meeting formally opened by Amb Permanent Secretary 1 Mr Lang Yabou of MOFA. He welcomed the delegates and senior technical officials from all the OIC countries. They will work on the summit documents and communique before the Foreign Ministers meeting in a few days time.

The Gambia will be the focal country for the 57 Islamic member states. His Excellency President Adama Barrow will be Chairman for the Heads of Governments, Ambassador Mr Lamin Dibba, The Gambia PR in New York will equally be a Chair for OIC Ambassadors at the U.N and Ambassador Prof. Kah in Geneva will equally Chair the OIC Ambassadors in Geneva.

Diplomatically, the Gambia will be a significant player in the global stage. The conflicts in the world, with polarisation and geopolitical power dynamics means, more dialogue and cooperation. The people of the world need peace and security.

Gambia Armed Forces Refutes Alleged Tribal Promotions

THE GAMBIA ARMED FORCES REFUTES ALLEGATIONS OF TRIBALISM AND POLITICAL INTERFERENCE IN THE RECENT PROMOTION OF SENIOR OFFICERS THIS WAS DONE IN A TENSE EIGHT POINTS STATEMENT FROM THE OF THE DIRECTOR OF PRESS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LIEUTENANT COLONEL LAMIN SANYANG FIND BELOW THE FULL TEXT The attention of the High Command of the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) was drawn to an ill-informed and malicious publication by the social media platform, Open Gambia Platform (OG) with the headline, ‘A GROUP OF SENIOR GAMBIA ARMED FORCES OFFICERS (GAF) DECRIED POLITICAL INTERFERENCE IN THE PROMOTION OF MILITARY OFFICERS!’ which was published on Sunday 21 April 2024. The article purportedly contributed by ‘ANON’, states, amongst other issues, that it ‘received allegations of political interference and tribal favoritism in the promotion of military officers to the rank of Colonel in GAF from a group of senior officers’. The article went further to state that ‘the disgruntled GAF officers alleged that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Lieutenant General Mamat Cham with the Director General of the State Intelligence Services (SIS) Ousman Sowe and the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Honourable Seedy Njie, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Defence and Security ... conspired to restructure the GAF by placing the Non-Jola and Mandinka Officers, whom they perceived as loyal to their political interest, in a strategic position within the Armed force in anticipation of the withdrawal of the ECOMIG Troops after the completion of their assignment when the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliations (TRRC) recommendations are concluded’. It must be noted that these allegations are not only calculated narrations to soil the reputation of the GAF Command but irresponsible, preposterous, baseless and should not have warranted a dignified response from GAF. However, to avoid ill-informed and dangerous conclusions by well-meaning Gambians, we would kindly oblige and clarify a few issues on the ill-fated article by the social media platform. This is with a view to refute the allegations by unpatriotic, disgruntled and unscrupulous elements who wish to sow seeds of discord within the Armed Forces and the general public. The GAF wishes to inform the general public that owing to the existence of ten (10) vacant positions within its structures which were supposed to be filled by senior officers at the rank of Colonel, a request was submitted to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for subsequent approval by the executive. Consequently, upon receipt of executive approval, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General Mamat OA Cham, constituted a Board/Committee to nominate officers eligible for promotion to the rank of Colonel in accordance with specific Terms of Reference (TOR). This was in line with the Security Sector Reform (SSR) and transformation of the institution since the dawn of the new political dispensation under the President and Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Armed Forces His Excellency Adama Barrow. It has to be re-iterated that promotions in the Armed Forces particularly for the rank of Colonel and above are a privilege and are usually highly competitive. After a comprehensive and exhaustive process by the Board, the Defence Headquarters, Gambia Armed Forces submitted a list of senior officers that were eligible for promotion to the rank of Colonel to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for onward transmission and approval of the President and C-in-C. Therefore, the GAF High Command wishes to state that there was no interference, be it on political or ethnic lines in the process leading to or after the selection of the senior Officers for promotion as alleged by the ill-informed and malicious report. In fact, a close scrutiny of the names in the above list contradicts the assertion by the said baseless OG report that the promotion was informed by ethnic/tribal considerations. It must be reiterated that, since 2017, under the leadership of all previous and current Chiefs of Defence Staff, the respective Commands of GAF have consistently constituted Promotional Examination (PROMEX) Boards to oversee the promotion of Officers who are due for elevation to the next rank. All these PROMEX Boards, without exception, have been guided by strict and specific TORs, the TACOS, the GAF Promotion Policy (recently drafted) and other relevant administrative documents regarding promotions. Once they are constituted, no CDS has ever interfered either directly or indirectly with the deliberations and outcomes leading to the recommendations of the Boards that were convened under his directives. Therefore, GAF condemns in the strongest terms the allegations of tribalism and/or political interference against the CDS and/or other personalities within and outside GAF as claimed in the ill-intentioned report by the social media platform. It is our conviction that such publications can only be with the sole aim of using the obnoxious tribal and ethnic card for ulterior motives. It is rather unfortunate that, in the twenty-first century some Gambians would be so myopic to judge each other based on parochial considerations such as ethnic or tribal lineage. The allegations in the said article are just the figment of the imagination of the author who is, apparently, either a coward or is not too proud of his identity and goes only by the sobriquet – ANON, whatever that means! It must be emphasised that, since the dawn of the new dispensation in 2017, GAF has expended enormous resources and time to sensitize its Officers and soldiers/ratings as well as the general public against promoting vices such as tribal and ethnic sentiments/ identities within its ranks. Suffice it to state that GAF wishes to pride itself as the bastion of unity and the last line of national defence and unity. Accordingly, as an institution, GAF wishes to emphasise that it does not have a policy that classifies any of its personnel along ethnic, religious or partisan lines. Consequently, making such disturbing and baseless references to the outcome of an internal administrative process that is in line with international best practices could not only be described as divisive but callous and dangerous to say the least. Additionally, it is pertinent to clarify that, henceforth, postings, appointments and most importantly promotions in GAF would strictly be based on merit, commitment and competence, amongst other criteria. This is to ensure that GAF provides qualitative services in terms of human security to the citizenry in line with the ideals of the SSR. This is a vow that was taken by the new Command of the Armed Forces under the leadership of the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Mamat O Cham. Our doors have always been opened for clarification and we are more than willing to provide further undisputable facts on this matter. To this end, GAF craves the indulgence of all patriotic Gambians to continue to insulate this national institution and its members from ethnic sentiments and politics – a commitment it has resolutely made since 2017 to date. Hence, persons with nefarious intentions must avoid attempts to infiltrate the GAF under any pretext to advance ulterior motives that are not in tandem with the lofty republican ideals of the Armed Forces. Signed LAMIN K SANYANG Lieutenant Colonel Director of Press and Public Relations Gambia Armed Forces 22 April 2024

President Barrow Meets Print Media Chiefs

President Barrow Calls for Stronger Partnership with Gambian Publishers President Adama Barrow Friday hosted a delegation of Gambian publishers, led by their President, Pap Saine of the Point Newspaper, to discuss strengthening the relations between the Government and the Publishers. President Barrow recognised the need for continued collaboration between media stakeholders and the Government to build better media and to promote good governance and democracy. He urged the publishers to promote coverage of development issues and reporting of positive steps to advance the country.

The President expressed appreciation for the visit and services rendered over the years. He further encouraged them to hold the Government and those in power accountable for their actions while promoting the possibilities in The Gambia. The President noted freedom of expression, particularly media freedom, as the driver of human rights, such as the right to access information.

The Publishers commended the President and acknowledged the goodwill and positive atmosphere the media operates under his leadership while recalling the difficulties they experienced. In addition to the goodwill the President demonstrates, they further called for the repeal of draconian media laws to provide the legal protection of journalists.

They also shared the challenges they faced in maintaining their media houses, including delays in receiving payment of invoices and access to information from some officials. Lamin Cham congratulates President Barrow for upholding media freedom and respect for divergent views. He said the country has seen considerable progress in press freedom since the end of the second regime.

The Gambia has been ranked 5th in Africa and 46th globally out of 180 member States of RSF Reporters Without Borders.

Other members of the Publishers’ Association present were Samuel (Sam) Sarr of FOROYAA, Pa Sallah Jeng of Standard Newspaper, Baba Hydara of The Point and Musa Sherrif of The Voice Newspaper.