CTV Africa

  Havana, Feb 3 (Prensa Latina) The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Bruno Rodríguez, recalled today the formalization, 62 years ago, of the blockade imposed by the United States on the island, which he described as genocidal. In his profile on the social network, it's ending. On February 3, 1962, then US President John F. Kennedy issued Proclamation 3447, which decreed a total “embargo” of trade against this Caribbean nation, with the justification of this country's rapprochement with the socialist community. Since then, the policy of encirclement and economic suffocation was consolidated as the central axis of the strategy aimed at restricting the legitimate right of Cubans to defend their sovereignty and forge an emancipatory project, alien to the domination of the United States. Such provisions limit the possibilities of economic development by hindering commercial relations with third countries, as well as banking-financial operations, curbing foreign investmen...

  Corps Africa, an international non-governmental organization established in 2011 today launched its Gambia chapter and sworn in 11 volunteers who would serve in all regions of the country for one year.   In the Gambia, Corps Africa will focus on climate change and resilience, emphasizing its green initiatives. The volunteers will identify the sectors of greatest need to implement small-scale solutions to build resilience in the community, thereby contributing to community development.   In an event held at the SDKJ conference centre, Foday Bojang, Corps Africa country director, stated that Corps Africa's mission and objective are to provide opportunities for African youth to serve as volunteers in their own countries along the lines of the Peace Corps model.  He added that the volunteers will be sent to live for a year in rural Gambia to facilitate small-scale and high-income projects identified by local communities.   “Corps Africa further aims ...

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its deep concern at the continuing escalation of violence by Israel in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, in flagrant violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, including numerous UN resolutions. The Ministry strongly condemns, once again, the killing of civilians, especially women, children and humanitarian workers of the United Nations system, as well as the indiscriminate shelling of the Palestinian civilian population and the destruction of homes, hospitals and civilian infrastructure. Israel continues to act with impunity because it enjoys the complicit protection of the United States, which repeatedly obstructs and vetoes Security Council action, undermining peace, security and stability in the Middle East and worldwide. The Republic of Cuba has been a State Party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide since 1953 and,...

Awa Bah, a woman whose car got burnt to ashes, blamed the traffic blockage enforced by the country’s security during the celebration of the Banjul Cultural Festival held in the Capital City of Banjul. Giving her ordeal to this medium, Mrs. Bah who works for Reliance Financial Services at Barra narrated that on the 1 of January 2024, she left her residence at Wellingara to spend the night in her sister’s house to catch up with the early morning ferry to Barra. She added that this is what she normally does to cross the Atlantic Ocean for an early catch to work at Barra. She noted that when heading to Banjul on that afternoon, she happened to meet a traffic block immediately at the Denton Bridge in Banjul. “Although I wanted to return to Kombo to no avail because the traffic was horrible in both ways, I then decided to proceed but only to realize that my car was badly heating, so I decided to park at around the Mile 2 prison for over 30 minutes before I resume on the journey,” she...

Havana, Jan 1 (Prensa Latina), Cuba celebrates the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution immersed in the implementation of a series of economic and social measures that will allow the national economy to be re-boosted.   With the application of these initiatives, fundamentally focused on modifying the prices of energy resources, earning foreign currency and continuing to boost national production, the Caribbean nation projects growth in the Gross Domestic Product by 2024, at constant prices, of around two percent.   2023 was a difficult year for the country in a scenario of international crisis, exacerbated by the intensification of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States more than six decades ago.   Despite Washington's blockade and its invariable attempts at destabilization, the island did not renounce its commitment to continue protecting the prioritized sectors of society and advance legislative transforma...

Author: Pa Modou Cham The Secretary-General and Party Leader of the United Democratic Party (UDP), Lawyer Ousainou Darnboe, emphasised his leadership skills and qualities despite critics of his age to give way for the young ones. Speaking to GTTV during the party’s fundraising event, the veteran politician stated that his stay as the party’s head is about time and when the time comes, he would leave the position or the position will leave him. “But I know for certain that the position will not leave me. There have been saying that an elder is good for the household and therefore it’s also good for the country. Scientifically, it’s proof that between the ages of 50-70, their performance is very good and between 70-80 is very good. From 80 upwards is super because they are already mature with knowledge and experience. When asked about Sabally’s surprise move to the ruling party, he stated that Sabally’s move is based on choice, adding that it’s his democratic right to move on when he rea...

Author: Pa Modou Cham In his New Year’s message, President Adama Barrow has called on local communities and residents along the coastline to play a more active part in preventing irregular migration. He said: “Family units, friends, and everyone else should be vigilant enough to intercept all potentially dangerous journeys that involve Gambian citizens, either as traffickers, passengers, boat crew, or otherwise.” President Barrow, however, admitted that a major concern of the year has been irregular migration, saying this is not only a menace, but appears to be on the rise, thus putting the lives of more young people at risk. “Young people have a very significant role to play in their families, communities, and in national development, hence we cannot watch them perish with impunity. There are opportunities that such young people can exploit to guarantee them success at home,” he said while reiterating that education and training for skill acquisition are the surest means for the youth...

Author: Pa Modou Cham In its quest to mainstream Tahfidh (Quranic Memorization Centers) into the national education system, the Gambia government on Friday held a day-long stakeholders’ dialogue on the modernization and integration of Tahfidh. The event held at the SDKJ International Conference Centre provided feedback on the findings of the inspection visits of the Tahfidh conducted in May and August 2022; the study tour in Senegal and solicited views and inputs for structure, organization and curriculum that incorporate language skills, science, technology, engineering and others.   Alhagie Essa Darboe, Secretary General of the General Secretariat for Islamic/Arabic Education in The Gambia (AMAANAH) explained that Tahfidhs are the most needed sector that needs the government’s intervention and donors working in the educational field.  He added that according to AMAANAH statistics, they have over 700 centres registered with a population of 26,000 children. He said: “T...

Almamy Fanding Taal, the spokesperson of the United Democratic Party (UDP), on Friday hailed Momodou Sabally, UDP’s campaign manager for his expertise, knowledge and contribution since being elected as a member of the UDP executive. Taal who was speaking to Gambian Talents TV couldn’t ascertain the reason why Sabally left the party, saying his resignation has not indicated any problem that warrants his decision.  He said: “Sabally is not an ordinary Gambian and he has held an important position in the past government. He has standing and knowledge and since he joined our executive as campaign manager, he contributed a lot.” Taal further highlighted that Sabally came to a party that had several experienced people with lots of knowledge, arguing that if Sabally is part of any party, he needs to be respected, given his due and listen to his ideas. He continued that Sabally has made improvements to UDP since he joined the party, saying UDP is still on track for its agenda to help...

Author: Pa Modou Cham Amid a continued increase in the number of reported boasts that ventured into the deadly irregular migration journey, the Gambia Migration Department (GID) has intensified efforts to continue constant patrols at the Gambian coast. Speaking to commissioner Foday Gassama, the commissioner in charge of migration management at GID, told our reporter that this year, his department has 29 interception cases among which 10 boats were intercepted with 317 migrants. After the interceptions, he added that his department did investigations and charged about 33 people in eight irregular migration cases, saying most of them are now convicted while two pending cases are in court. Giving a comparison for last year, he said: “We have a total of six cases compared to 29 cases this year. Out of the six, we made three interceptions and the other three were instances we had reports and our officers would disperse them without arresting anybody. A total of 14 smugglers were char...

Author: Pa Modou Cham The Association of Licensed Forex Bureaus (ALFOB) of The Gambia, on Saturday, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) marking the end of the two-year terms of the executive task to run the affairs of the association. The event at Sonko Jileng Building in Churchill’s Town brought together representatives of licensed bureaus across the country, thus electing a new executive led by President Momodou S Jallow and Vice President Haddijatou Bah. Speaking to the general membership, Mr. Louis Sarkis, outgoing President of ALFOB, expressed delight while stating that the AGM is to take stock of the past year’s activities in which the executive discharged its stewardship responsibilities to the membership. He added that there is still a call for bureau owners to take the attendance of general meetings seriously to participate and deal with the challenges the association faces. “The association can only be stronger and more relevant to its members by constant interact...

Havana, Dec 20 (Prensa Latina) The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, valued the existence of the Cuban-American joint company Innovative Immunotherapy Alliance SA (IIA) as “very significant”, an example of the potential in scientific collaboration The Foreign Ministry of the Caribbean island reported today.   “The possibilities of scientific, technological, academic and cultural exchange between the Cuban and North American people have enormous potential, and this company is an expression of this,” the president stressed when receiving directors from the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Hospital.   Five years ago, this prestigious American scientific institution and the Center for Molecular Immunology of Cuba jointly created the joint venture IIA.   Díaz-Canel pointed out that this Cuban-American biotechnology company—the first and only one so far—“for us has a very high significance, and it has a lot to do with what we aspire from the relations ...

  Author: Pa Modou Cham As the African film industry continues to evolve and many youngsters get commendations in their various countries and abroad, young Gambian filmmakers continue to stumble to gain recognition, opportunities, and income. Over the years, the Gambia’s film industry has attracted some Nigerian and Sierra Leonean filmmakers who joined other Gambian movie-makers to produce content for both domestic and international audiences. Although some young Gambian movie-makers get frustrated along the journey due to financial constraints, and lack of government support and sponsorship, there are a few who continue to struggle and hope for transformation.   The movie industry is expected to utilize over two thousand young people ranging from camera operators, tailors, video editors, actors and actresses, make-up artists, drivers, sound operators, event planners, scriptwriters, and more. Thus, it contributes to the socio-economic development of the country by cre...

Author:  Pa Modou Cham The Gambia Press Union (GPU), on Saturday, held its 8 th edition of the National Journalism Awards (NJA) to honour and celebrate courage and excellence in Gambian journalism across all types of news and information media including the print, online/multimedia platforms, radio, television, and photography. The Gambia National Journalism Awards is the highest and most prestigious Journalism Awards in the country organised by the Gambia Press Union (GPU) as a flagship event of the annual commemoration of World Press Freedom Day . This year’s theme is ‘ Breaking from the Past: Safeguarding the Principles of Press Freedom and Freedom of Expression.’ Speaking at the event, Lamin Jammeh, Minister of Information acknowledged the significant achievements by President Adama Barrow’s government in the realm of press freedom and freedom of expression. He said that in the Global Press Index of 2023, The Gambia stands among the top 45 countries out of 180 globally, ...

International Trade Centre (ITC) through its Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund and United Nations Human Security Trust Fund joint programmes is excited to support the participation of 18 women cross-border traders from the Lower River Region and North Bank Region in the National Youth and Women`s Agribusiness and Tourism Trade Fair 2023. The support is part of the organisation`s broader efforts to improve market access for small-scale women cross-border traders to boost their competitiveness. The National Youth and Women’s Agribusiness and Tourism Trade Fair, jointly organised by the Gambia Youth Chamber of Commerce and Gambia Women`s Chamber of Commerce, is a trade event that attracts a diverse array of entrepreneurs from The Gambia and beyond to network and sell their products and services. Recognized as the second-largest trade event in The Gambia, the fair has over the years connected small businesses with customers and businesses leading to improved visibility and growth. ...