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Momodou
Denmark
11841 Posts |
 Posted - 04 Sep 2006 : 22:34:36
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NAWEC Officials Arraigned In Court
BAIL APPLICATION DENIED
By Bubacarr K. Sowe
Abdoulie Jobe, executive director of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), alongside Tijan Bahoum, the company’s distribution manager, were on Friday arraigned before the Banjul Magistrates’ Court on two counts of the Economic Crimes, contrary to section 5 (f) of the Economic Crime Degree of 1994, Decree Number 16 and punishable under section 6.
According to the particulars of offence on count one, Abdoulie Jobe and Tijan Bahoum as directors of NAWEC, between the months of January and August 2006, in a manner detrimental to the economy or welfare of the people of the Gambia, intentionally failed or omitted to install and connect to the national grid, two new caterpillar power generators acquired from the USA.
Count two states that Merssr Jobe and Bahoum, as directors of NAWEC, by willful act or omission, disrupted electricity power supply to the Banjul and Kanifing Municipal Council area in a manner detrimental to the economy of the Gambia and to the welfare of the people of the Gambia.
Both accused persons pleaded not guilty to all the charges. They applied for bail and complained that they have no access to their lawyers since their arrest on Saturday, 26th of August 2006. The police prosecutor objected to their bail application, noting that their release may interfere or affect the ongoing investigations.
Presiding magistrate I.I. Mboto ruled that the court cannot grant them bail because investigations are not completed. She said that the prosecutor should expedite the investigations so that the accused persons can be granted bail. The magistrate also said that the accused should have access to their lawyers and families.
The trial is adjourned to 14th September 2006, for hearing.
Source:Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 73/2006, 4-5 September, 2006
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2006 : 23:56:31
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I am not sure if this has a merit in court. It should be seen as a performance management issue and the Board of Directors are the competent authority to judge performance in line with their job roles but also cognisant of the resources and environment they operate.
Does this mean that if any peformance is "below" standard then that employee will have his day in court. If that is the case then, the Public Service Act should be abolished along side with the General Orders and Public Service Commission Regulations. Infact these people are not covered by any of these pieces of legislation other than the NAWEC Service rules approved by the Board Of Directors.
It would be interesting to know who defines the " manner detrimental to the economy or welfare of the people of the Gambia" |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2006 : 11:54:11
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
I am not sure if this has a merit in court. It should be seen as a performance management issue and the Board of Directors are the competent authority to judge performance in line with their job roles but also cognisant of the resources and environment they operate.
Does this mean that if any peformance is "below" standard then that employee will have his day in court. If that is the case then, the Public Service Act should be abolished along side with the General Orders and Public Service Commission Regulations. Infact these people are not covered by any of these pieces of legislation other than the NAWEC Service rules approved by the Board Of Directors.
It would be interesting to know who defines the " manner detrimental to the economy or welfare of the people of the Gambia"
I think that Gambia has the right Idea let management who are alleged to have been performing under what is expected of them give their side of the story in Court in front of the people, and be judged by their peers,just as someone who is charged with a criminal offence has to,in the UK there have been many instances of people in high positions of management doing badly at their jobs, and yet being rewarded with big money in their pay packets,if these Fatcats had come under the Gambiuan way,(spending a little time in Mile 2 as well!!) giving their story in Court,their management skills may have developed along different lines. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2006 : 18:01:58
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Unfortunately, the authority that Managers have in Europe is not the same as in the Gambia. Some other people away from the organisation make decisions in many cases. Did you see the article where the MD of GPTC bought party clothes of the government and distributed it to staff with money to sew them?
They were required to leave their offices and attend nomination procession of the ruling party at the expense of the taxpayer. If this were to be done in Europe, it will raise eyebrows. In fact you cannot force employees to do that. Right now GPTC cannot apy salaries and had to lay off hundreds of employees, hardly any sizeable bus route in the country. It takes two days to reach Basse using the south bank because of lack of transportation etc.
Why did such people not have their day in court? One has to be able to compare like with like. In the case of NAWEC, its problem is lack of capital investment and to lay that squarely on two people is definitely unfair. As far as is known, there is no performance contract in place with management.
The concept of national interest between the west and Africa is just like night and day. In Europe your governmenet is more accountable to its people than in Africa. |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2006 : 19:04:29
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quote:
Originally posted by kondorong
Unfortunately, the authority that Managers have in Europe is not the same as in the Gambia.
There are obvious differences I accept that but the concept of making those responsible for their actions in front of a public court I still think is an idea that should not be scoffed at,if someone makes a decision to take some action or be responsible for such a taken action and it proves to be wrong,if such a decision was made with due diligence then "NOT Guilty" should be the result,if however the action was made due to corruption,self advancement or incompetence then, "Guilty" and a punishment awarded,I would welcome such an arrangement for politicians in the UK a contract for over £140 Million for a health service database,was dropped after 3 years of work,a vast loss to the taxpayer,what will happen about that? nothing at all,thats OK put up taxes more to pay for anothr database. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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blackerberry2004
69 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2006 : 20:28:23
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INCOMPETENCE is NOT a crime!!! Yaya then should be tried for hiring such incompetent people, thus causing economic hardships to Gambians.
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2006 : 20:37:02
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| You can only judge these people if you know what their terms of references are . |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2006 : 13:49:06
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quote:
Originally posted by blackerberry2004
quote:
Originally posted by toubab1020
[quote]Originally posted by kondorong
Unfortunately, the authority that Managers have in Europe is not the same as in the Gambia.
INCOMPETENCE is NOT a crime!!! Yaya then should be tried for hiring such incompetent people, thus causing economic hardships to Gambians.
I Dont think that I ever said it was a crime,what I wanted to discuss was is a Public Court direction a way to go to weed out those who are not performing up to standard |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2006 : 18:27:04
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They were not hired by the courts. They are being charged with poor performance and not criminal offences like corruption. You never know, the charge sheet can always change as in the case of Pa Sallag Jagne and Manlafi Jarju.
There are better ways to manage performance than through courts. |
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2006 : 23:48:00
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Maybe corruption in Gambia has reached such levels that court is now being used as a deterrent for maladminstration after all these services are essential for Gambia's progress. As a reliable water and electricity supply are basic utilities, which Gambia needs. These officials must be made accountable to the Gambian public who have to pay for an inadequate service which is harming both the quality of life and standard of living a public in Gambia. A Public Inquiry into NAWEC operations is overdue to find out what is needed to fix once and for all the persistent problems which keep on arising in Gambian utilities sector. It is high time that this situation is remedied to stop the ongoing disruption to Gambia's struggling economy and inconveniencing peoples lives on a daily basis.
Peace
Sister Omega
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Peace
Sister Omega |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 00:14:34
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It is easier said than done. May i remind you that Kanilai has electricity 24/7 with no interruption? May be, if only the country can invest in newer generators then the problem can be reduced. Most generators are old and operate below capacity.
The other problem is the frequent hiring and firings in public service. Institutional memory is almost non-existent and hardly any handing over. So new directors take a hit and miss approach to problems.
The standard dismissal letter goes like this: "I AM DIRECTED TO INFORM YOU OF YOUR DISMISSAL FROM THE SERVICE WITH IMMEDIATE EFFTECT." This is the text of letters of dismissals most people receive. Just one sentence. The person signing the dismissal letter does not even know why one is being dismissed.
I can stick out my neck that the Permanent Secretary at the Department of State responsible for NAWEC, who would have signed their letters of dismissals cannot tell you why they were dismissed even though he is the their line supervisor.
He certainly received a fax from the President's Office signed by the Secretary General who would also say as follows: "I am directed to inform you of the dismissal of the following staff with immediate effect". That letter will also be one sentence. Who directed who is never known.
I am not condoning poor performance, but we should ask ourselves why Kanilai could have 24 hours of electricity whilst the rest of the country is in darkness. If we can find the answer, then we can judge these people.
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 12:20:59
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quote:
Originally posted by Sister Omega
Maybe corruption in Gambia has reached such levels that court is now being used as a deterrent for maladminstration after all these services are essential for Gambia's progress. As a reliable water and electricity supply are basic utilities, which Gambia needs. These officials must be made accountable to the Gambian public who have to pay for an inadequate service which is harming both the quality of life and standard of living a public in Gambia. A Public Inquiry into NAWEC operations is overdue to find out what is needed to fix once and for all the persistent problems which keep on arising in Gambian utilities sector. It is high time that this situation is remedied to stop the ongoing disruption to Gambia's struggling economy and inconveniencing peoples lives on a daily basis.
Peace
Sister Omega
Yes, Yes! a clear reasoned and fair posting, I applaud you. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 15:46:27
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Kondorong I think the message sent out to Civil Servants should be made loud and clear that they are their to serve the Gambian people and not just their own selfish egos. How can Civil Servants afford to build large mansions on their wages. The cyphoning off of government revenue by Civil Servants seems to have continued since colonial Gambia and this cycle needs to be broken. I do agree with you that better systems need to test quality standards need to be implemented Civil Servants need to be judged on performance and not nepotism. It is my view if an Equal Opportunities Policy was brought into Gambia then a lot of this inefficiency and corruption would be curtailed. Civil Servants need to be made accountable through monitoring their job performance all deadwood needs to be got rid of. This will also safeguard employees who are being unfairly dismissed through witch hunts, and improve the job prospects of others thus encouraging social mobility.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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Rainbow
Gambia
114 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 17:03:50
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quote:
Originally posted by Sister Omega
Kondorong I think the message sent out to Civil Servants should be made loud and clear that they are their to serve the Gambian people and not just their own selfish egos. How can Civil Servants afford to build large mansions on their wages. The cyphoning off of government revenue by Civil Servants seems to have continued since colonial Gambia and this cycle needs to be broken. I do agree with you that better systems need to test quality standards need to be implemented Civil Servants need to be judged on performance and not nepotism. It is my view if an Equal Opportunities Policy was brought into Gambia then a lot of this inefficiency and corruption would be curtailed. Civil Servants need to be made accountable through monitoring their job performance all deadwood needs to be got rid of. This will also safeguard employees who are being unfairly dismissed through witch hunts, and improve the job prospects of others thus encouraging social mobility.
Peace
Sister Omega
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2006 : 18:02:55
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Lets not digress. The issue is about connecting generators to the grid. The link i posted above indicates that these Generators are infact up and running for sometime now. So what are they being accused of. If it were the generators, those have since been fixed to the grid.
Well we saw a similar tactics with Pa Salla Jeng. His initial charge sheet kept changing as they look for excuses. The same thing happened to Manlafi Jarju and eventually, the case was thrown out. The same thing also happend to Press Jagne, Former Inspector General of Police. The man languished in jail for a long time until his case was thrown out by the Judge, Borry Touray and who was fired immediately after his ruling.
As to the issue of corruption, thats a diffrent topic and i think to do justice to that a new topic should be opened . That way we dont mixed things up. I dont condone corruption but if we can afforded gold and silver carriages, ten million dollar bridal gifts, then who is any one to point fingers at a civil servant. Its more of a pot calling a kettle black.
See this link on the "royal" wedding.
http://thegambiaecho.com/My_Homepage_Files/Page4.html
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