The African Star

Congratulations, Gambia!

Students from The Gambia proudly hold their certificates   after successfully completing a course. Please note this was not the AVU-IUP Certificate in Journalism for which  they and their colleagues in Somaliland, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Uganda will be receiving their certificates shortly.

Uganda Miracle

Former street child Bugembe turns legend at nineteen

Former street child Wilson Bugembe has hit legacy pages with two albums bullying every other beat, note and tune all over the FM wave space, and enjoying a royal arena on the shelves of music stores.

 The nineteen-year old gospel-hit maestro, whose first album Yellow registered enormous success is set to launch his second Walibade Mufu on June 13. “This one is the lion of the local music jungle,” Said one music vendor referring to the album. “It is the giant of the market.”

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. Picture below: Right to left: Pastors Wilfred, Wilson Bugembe, Philip and a colleague

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Police say immigrants causing increase in armed robberies

The Gambia is experiencing armed robberies  partly because of immigrants from war-torn countries, a police officer  has said.

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Government seeks public help to combat forest fires

The department of forestry has introduced a series of strategies geared towards raising more awareness as well as build partnership with the public and the private sector to control bush fires.

Speaking during an interview the head of the Participatory Resources Management Unit at the forestry department, Almameh Dampha, said the strategies focus on ways and means to improve communication between the department and the Gambian community.  Full Story

Public reponds to appeals to fight forest fires

Members of the public have expressed their opinions on the problems of bush fires. Full Story

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Pictures (Somaliland)

Gambian editor stresses press freedom, refuses to register with media commission

By Sulayman Makalo,Abdou F. B. Boye. (in the picture) The Gambia

The Editor-In-Chief of  The Independent , Abdoulie Sey, said he has refused to register his newspaper with the  Media Commission because it  is a threat to the freedom of the press.

Addressing media trainees in the IUP-AVU Certificate in Journalism program, Sey said  the Media Commission was being challenged in court because  its provisions were unconstitutional.

Sey said: “The [Media Commission ] Act in its current form renders Gambian journalism an endangered spices. If journalists are forced to reveal their sources of information when summoned in front of the members of the commission, public confidence in journalists will be seriously undermined.  Full Story

Manager appeals to government  to control Shilling

The  manager  of the country’s largest construction company has appealed to government to   help stabilize the  country’s currency to help imports of raw materials.

Mohamed Abdi Falag, who is also co-owner of  the company, DCC,

 said  materials are purchased in the US dollars. But the Somali Shilling often fluctuates in value causing some companies to go bankrupt.

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Police arrest 19 demonstrators

Police have arrested 19 people after the demonstrations against the government.  The head of the police, Col. Mohamed Egge, confirmed the arrests. He said the demonstrators were  led by Ali Koryoley and they had been arrested for security reasons

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Govt official says charcoal burning is a big environmental problem in Somaliland

The depletion of tress in Somaliland is worsening, a government  official  has said.

Speaking during an interview Director General (DG), Mohamed Jama Farah, of the Ministry of Rural Development and Environment  said the situation was  deteriorating because the only energy for  cooking and heating in Somaliland is charcoal in urban centers and  firewood in rural areas.

“The fast growing cities and towns have caused extensive burning of trees for charcoal to meet the demand,” he said.

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African journalists need more skills and more pay

A veteran journalist says  journalists need skills and better pay in order to fully enjoy freedom of the press.

 Mohammed Hassan Ali “waji”   said to be a journalist in Somaliland is  to stay poor.

 Waji who served under the regime of Siad Barre said the constraints on freedom for the press and  human rights abuses under Barre were a daily vent.

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 Disabled fight for rights

The chairperson of the disabled women development Organization (HAN),  has urged  the public to consider disable people  as equal to them .

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Zimbabwe journalist and AVU student attacked by state agents

A Zimbabwean journalist for the independent Standard newspaper  was severely attacked  and robbed  while covering  the country’s opposition party  in elections.

The journalist, Savious-Parker Kwinika, is also  a student in the 2004 AVU-IUP Certificate in Journalism courses.

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Ugandan security guard  angry at low pay

Security guard Atubete Lazarias has complained that  his pay is not  enough for the kind of job he does.

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Mayor promises to get rid of rubbish

The mayor of Hargeisa  will take steps to  get rid of  rubbish scattered all over the city. Full Story

Opinion: Somaliland is stable in a region of conflicts

The territory formerly known as the Somaliland protectorate became independent on June 26 June 1960. The new state then merged with the Italian colonized Somalia on July 1 1960 creating the Somali Republic, which later becomes the Somali Democratic Republic.  Full Story

OPINION: Should presidential term limits be lifted?

The issue of amending the constitution so as to remove the limit on the presidency has hit  many headlines of our newspapers and dominated talk on our local radio stations. Full Story

$15 million to fight HIVAIDS in The Gambia

By Olymatou Cox The Gambia

The World Bank has loaned The Gambia $15 million to  fight HIV AIDS, an official in the ministry of health said yesterday.African Star Reporter, Olymatou Cox , interviewed the Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare Dr. Yankuba Kassama.

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Taxi drivers in Somaliland doing great despite unusual circumstances

There is one unusual thing about being a taxi driver in  Hargeisa, Somaliland. You can only pick passengers from designated places.

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FAO launches $2,000 fish project.

Yampi- a local farmer grouping, last week launched a fish farmer project in Tumani Fatty village, in the central river division. The project is aimed at reducing the rural poor and also to encourage the young people to participate in the development of their communities.

This one-year project, estimated at US$ 2,000, was signed between the Yampi Farmers Association and FAO the UN food and agriculture organisation..

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Music scene

Struggling musicians face many challenges

Times are hard for a struggling Gambian music group, Half Die Clan. Although highly motivated  the group has no access to modern recording facilities.

Members of the group are: Sherif Jagne,  Aligie Jagne, Ebrima Jagne(Fire folk), Bamba Jagne, Lamin nNie and Lamin Sowe.

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Profile: Gambia's top doctor's career spans 18 years

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare Dr. Yankuba Kassama, who has served as a medical doctor for 18 years, is spearheading the  country’s  health care  initiatives.

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Women's group achieves modest successes in Somaliland

 Women’s rights group in Somaliland have made modest gains in their  campaign for greater women’s role in  national political processes.

The coordinator for the Women Decision-Making Forum, Kinzi Hussein Kowden,  said   in an interview  that, as a result of  her group’s campaigns, Somaliland now has two women  government ministers and three councilors. The Forum is part of the Nagaad Umbrella Organization which consists of 32 member NGOs who work in different areas of community development in health, environment, agriculture and human rights

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Awadal region now has 500 schools

 There are now more than 500 schools in the Awadal region.

Awdal Educational Officer Ahmed Mahamoud Yabal said in  an interview that  400 of the schools are primary and the rest secondary schools.

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Expert explains  strategy for nutrition education

Nutrition expert, Sir Faal, says the educational programmes of the  National Nutrition Agency (NaNA) focus on all issues that affect human development.

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Opposition party accuses  government of broken promises

The leader of the opposition party in Ivory Coast has accused the government of reneging on the agreements it signed with opposition groups.

Explaining the reason for leading a recent demonstration against the government, Bacongo Cisse, who is in charge of mobilization in the Republican’s Rally (RDR), said President Laurent Gbagbo refuses to let reconciliation government work.

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Gambia Opposition Party Welcomes A Veteran Journalist

The Campaign Manager for opposition National Reconciliation Party in The Gambia, Dullo Bah, has said that his party’s Executive had met and unanimously agreed from the deepest of their hearts to welcome Sanna Manneh to the party. Full Story

Hargeisa water supply problems to be solved in eight weeks

Hargeisa the capital of Somaliland has in the last several weeks been faced with shortages in water. The Central government and the Hargeisa Local Council were both criticized by the public for neglecting to do something about the water problem.

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Health minister  call for help in improving health services

Somaliland Health minister, Osman Qassim Qodah, speaking an opening Ceremony of a new pediatric recently added to Hargeisa General Hospital said there are no nurses who graduated since the war broke out in the country in 1988.

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Government and NGOs working to improve girls' education

 Government and women’s organizations are  working on programs to  improve women’s education in The Gambia. According to  national statistics, of the overall enrolment of 57 percent,  women’s enrolment is 4.6 percent.

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Water shortage hits Hargeisa

The growing population in Hargeisa has caused water shortages.

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Doctor gives insights on TB

Kumba Bah a doctor at Ndungu Kebbeh Health Center has given insightful information about TB.

Tuberculosis is a disease of  public health importance in most develop and underdeveloped countries including the Gambia. If unchecked, it occurs in serious consequences such as permanent disability or death.

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Government starts campaign to save rare wild life

Somaliland’s government has embarked on a major campaign to save  two rare  wild life species from extinction.

The chairman of the Somaliland Ecological Conservation Society Mohamed Kille, said in an interview that in the last seven years the government’s Wild-Life Preservation Department, in collaboration with the Somaliland Society for Ecological Conservation, has been engaged in a campaign for raising the public awareness about this tragic problem.

Kale, who is also an expert on Somaliland’s wild life, said people were told not to harm these most endangered species. A legislation banning their hunting was also introduced. Last year, the Ministry of Tourism came up with a plan to establish a national park for preservation of wild-life animals at the remote north eastern Sanag Plain where the last remaining Gumburi and Zebra species are believed to have gone to seek refuge. However this plan has yet to be implemented due to lacks of funds.

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Military are poorly paid in Somaliland

In every nation across the globe civil servants are the very reason for a country’s growth or for it being dysfunctional. This means that nearly every aspect of civil service is vital to a nation and there is rarely a vast difference in the importance of a particular sector. However, currently in Somaliland there seems to be a lack of appreciation in a particularly important sector, the armed forces.

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Women launch campaign against female genital mutilation

Halima Abdi –Somaliland

Women have launched a campaign against female genital mutilation (FGM) the practice of circumcising women. At a recent  conference women heard that  FGM is dangerous to women’s health. This was after MARYAN GUHAAD ALI an FGM practitioner demonstrated how it is practised. Full Story

SNM Women association calls for help

The Somali National Movement’s  women association has called for help for  the SNM’s needy people. Anisa H. Abbi, Director General of SNM’s women association said that the SNM war-widows and their children are the most needy people in Somaliland society. Full Story

The head of the  SNM a women's movement, Anisa H. Abbi, recently spoke out. See picture below.

Hargeisa man runs multimillion dollar business

A man who  started a business  during the fall of Somalia and against the advice of his friends is now one of the most successful businessmen in Hargeisa.  

Ahmed-nuur Hassan Abdi’s business in the city is now worth millions of dollars.

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Media act creating problems for journalists says editor

The Director of Information Services and editor of The Gambia Daily newspaper, Alie Sanyang, has said the state of the media in The Gambia is now taking different dimensions after the ratification of some acts at the national assembly, amongst which, the Media Commission Act. 

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Operation Cleanup.

Women complain of restrictions.

Women who participated in a recent campaign to clean up the environment have complained that they were disenchanted with the whole exercise, despite “wholeheartedly participating in it.”

They complained that they were barred from going to the market in the morning, which is their normal routine.

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Opposition party calls for government to change its attitude

The Chairman of the opposition party, Kulmiye,Ahmed Mohammed Silanyo, yesterday called on the current government to alter their stance towards his party.

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Hargeisa notary business is now biggest revenue collector

A notary service in Hargeisa has been awarded  the highest revenue collector, sometimes exceeding the municipality collection center.

 Khadar Ibrahim is the manager of a private notary office in Hargeisa, Somaliland. His office has been registered with the ministry of justice since 1996. “We have opened this office in mid 1996, after we have seen the business opportunities in notary,” he said.

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Farmers appeal for aid as crops fail

Farmers from different parts of the country recently appealed for more support and encouragement from government, non-government organisations (NGO) and the private sector, following the crop failure the hits the country over the past two years.

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Ten Gambians fall ill after drinking Senegalese water

Ten  Gambian delegates to an award  ceremony in Senegal were admitted to hospital after they suffered from a variety   of illnesses.  Full Story

Gambians urged to donate more blood

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare Dr Yankuba Kassama has urged Gambians to become voluntary non-remunerated blood donors to save lives that they have never met before. Full Story

“Hargeisa Flowers” are harmful to the environment

Plastic bags are the only material widely used for shopping throughout Somaliland, introduced into the country around the 1980s.  However, their use has been increasing at a fast rate and gradually replaced many other materials used for shopping in the past such as paper, cloth, baskets, etc.

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Traditionalist says girls should marry at age of 14 or 15

 Are there any advantages to early marriage for girls? At what age should a girl marry?

 A Somaliland traditionalist  believes that girls  who marry early will not age early. 

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Malaria now a major public health problem

 Malaria is a preventable and curable disease that kills millions of African children every year.

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Police  arrest women for staging  a peaceful  World Refugee Day march

By Savious Kwinika - Zimbabwe

 POLICE in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city yesterday arrested and illegally detained 20 women at Donnington Police Station for organizing a peaceful march to mark the World Refugee Day.

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Pay your bills..or or join Baba Jobe Jammeh tells area councils

President Jammeh has told residents of Basse that the acute lack of electricity in the provincial capital for the past seven months, was not due to sabotage but to huge arrears amounting to millions of Dalasi owed Nawec by the Basse Area Council. He called on the town council to settle their bills if they want Nawec to operate there.

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Mahamed H. Mahamud Omar of the KULMIYE has said that the people who voted for his party  showed their confidence, and belief in  the  party.

 “We are not too late to win the race because we  are the last party in formation of our political parties and gained  42.24 percent of the votes, while the leading party (UDUB) gains 42.4 percent, the  rest of the votes were won by the third party, UCID.”

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NASHA director denies links with DAALO

The manager of  the National Airport Services and Ground Handling Agent has denied  that his company is owned by an airline.

Speaking at a press conference  Dahir Mohamoud said  the rumors were pure speculation.

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Hargeisa barber contributing to fight against HIVAIDS

Amaje Guray, a barber shop owner in Hargeisa is contributing to the fight against HIVAIDS.

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Group hospital meeting national health demands

Hargiesa Group Hospital, the largest in Somaliland, is offering maximum services as a referral hospital to all  the country's services, the hospital’s manager said in an interview.

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Hodan Abdirahman Moge interviews Dr. Yassien Abdi Arab

Camel ride.

AVU-IUP student,, Remi Adeoye from Nigeria,  takes a break from   the world of journalism as she goes camel riding!

Minister denies selling theatre to a foreign businessman

The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism has denied selling the Somaliland Theater to a foreign businessman.

 This came after the artists association in Somaliland had protested the action.

 “Our arts belong to the community in Somaliland and the Somaliland people in the Diaspora. It does not belong to outsiders. That is what we fought against.
Our theatre and art is not for private use, it is not also for sale," an official representing the artists said.

Gambian farmers faced with input problems. Government announces plans to help agriculture

Although Gambian farmers employ 75 percent of the country’s labor force and bring in badly needed foreign 

currency they are faced with problems of poor marketing, and no assistance from the government.

This was said by Hendry Jammeh, a farmer..

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Africa needs peace in order to develop

By Abdou F. B. Boye--The Gambia

Despite  being the richest continent in culture, resources and tradition Africa has yet to enjoy peace, a Red Cross volunteer and the National co-ordinator of The Youths of Ambassadors of the Gambia, Mr. Fabakary Kalley  has said.

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By Shaanika Saima -- Namibia

he mayor of Karibib said  town officials had paid about $1 million to restore electricity after it was cut off.

 Mayor Lourens Hoeses said. water and electricity had been cut off due to non payment.

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Smoke at your peril!

Doctors warn of dangers of smoking

By Sulayman Makalo --The Gambia

African Star Reporter

Twenty five of Gambians, mostly youths, smoke. Yet tobacco is the cause of many diseases.

 The Director of the Disease Prevention at the Department of State for Health and head of the Tuberculosis and Leprosy Unit Dr Kebba Manneh has said that tobacco usage worldwide has become a global epidemic and its health consequences in both the developed and the developing world are devastating.

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