CTV Africa

During his speech at the Gambia’s 58 th independence celebration held at Banjul, President Adama Barrow stated that the hike in prices has reduced the ability of households to fulfil their basic needs and responsibilities. “2022 was a challenging year. It confronted us with rising living costs and hiking prices of fuel influenced by the global crisis. These reduced the ability of households to fulfil their basic needs and responsibilities.”     The President further stated that conscious of the responsibilities of the State, and to deliver on their promise to stabilise prices, his government took strides to ease the accompanying hardship imposed on the people. He said his government took various steps to lower the price of fuel, which has implications for business transactions and the price of commodities.   Barrow continued that they will continue to monitor the public institutions and work with the private sector to maximise their contributions to nation...

WhIPSO, a charitable Foundation that is rethinking humanitarian aid and dedicated to making a difference in the world, on Koriteh day gave out 2500 of 10kg rice packages to the community of Sotokoto, Tipper Garage, Serekunda as part of their 'Zakatul Fitr' charity to needy families. The WHIPSO Foundation that was founded in Germany in 2018 aims to benefit everyone, and reach everywhere regardless of ethnicity, gender, political beliefs, or religion. To achieve this goal, the Foundation offers help to the suffering and needy all over the world. In their quest to support vulnerable families within the country and beyond, Mr. Muhammed Nyan, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of WHIPSO Gambia told this medium that during the distribution of the noble gesture, underprivileged families and disabled persons also benefited from the humanitarian gesture. He added that the beneficiaries were highly grateful and offered prayers to the entire WHIPSO team while pledging such a gesture to con...

As requested by the Guinea Bissau Maritime Administration to draw a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Gambia Maritime Administration (GMA), the agreement seeks to tackle all forms of illegal means that exist within the two countries water.   In an interview with the two parties, the Director-General of GMA Bakary Janneh explained that the MOU will be drawn according to Bissau request and to Gambia’s interest in order to keep the existing bilateral agreement within the two countries. He added that Maritime safety and security will be in higher priority for the agreement. “Bissau and The The Gambia is very close and whatever activity that happens in Bissau is likely to happen in Gambia’s water. So it becomes our join responsibilities to work as a team and combat any forms of illegal means, either drug trafficking, illegal migration, illegal fishing in our waters, and anything that could hamper our community and development.” He further stated that drug is a natural phe...

Source: CNN  A new malaria mosquito is emerging in African cities, with potentially devastating consequences for those living there, according to a new study. The larvae of Anopheles stephensi -- India's main mosquito vector of malaria -- are now "abundantly present" in locations across Africa, researchers from The Netherlands' Radboud University Medical Center and Ethiopia's Armauer Hansen Research Institute said. Vectors are living organisms that can transmit infectious pathogens between humans, or from animals to people. This mosquito species only appeared in Africa a few years ago. Now, this invasive insect is "abundantly present" in water containers in cities in Ethiopia -- and highly susceptible to local strains of malaria, researchers have said. Most African mosquitoes that can transmit malaria are known to breed in rural areas. However, experts were  already concerned  this particular mosquito has found a foothold in urban areas, including cities...

  The South African military has amended its dress policy to allow Muslim women to wear headscarves as part of their uniform, an army spokesperson said on Thursday. In January last year, a military court dropped charges against an officer who had been indicted for wearing a hijab under her military beret. Major Fatima Isaacs had been criminally charged in June 2018 with willful defiance and failing to obey lawful instructions after her superior asked her to remove her headscarf when in uniform. A military court at the Castle of Good Hope near Cape Town withdrew all charges in January 2020, making an exception for Isaacs to wear a tight black wrap on her head on duty as long as it did not cover her ears. But the military did not amend its dress policy, prompting Isaacs to mount a challenge in South Africa’s equality court over regulations restricting religious wear. The South African Defence Force (SANDF) eventually agreed to amend its policy this week and allow all Muslim women to ...

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board on Friday decided to allowed for an immediate disbursement of about US$28.8 million to The Gambia to help meet the country’s financing needs, support social spending and the post-pandemic recovery. In a statement send to this medium, the IMF indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to represent a significant challenge to country’s economy, adding growth is expected to rebound to 6.0% in 2021.  “Today, the Executive Board of the IMF completed the first review of The Gambia’s performance under a program supported by a 39-month Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. The ECF, with a total access of SDR 35 million, (about US$47.1 million at the time of approval, or 56.3 percent of quota), was approved by the IMF Executive Board on March 23, 2020 ,” the statement confirmed.  IMF further stated that completion of the first review enables an immediate disbursement of SDR 20 million, about US$28.8 million; to help meet ...

In quest of promoting the critical infrastructural development in The Gambia’s institutions, Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) with the funding from the World Bank today concluded 10-day training on Cyber security technical awareness training. The training involved key stakeholders to form a well-trained team of collaborating experts across security, law enforcement, government, ISPs, Banks, academia and the ICT industry in the Gambia. In a ceremony held at the PURA head office in Kairaba Avenue, the director of consumer affairs Mr. Solo Sima delivered statement on behalf of his director general Momodou Jallow, saying he like engaging his staff and management towards the realization of the rolling out and implementing the national Computer Security and Incident Response Team (CSIRT). He added that it was deemed one of the urgent and critical needs of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) ecosystem, encompassing one of the key sectors that PURA regulates.  ...