The president of the Republic, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh Tuesday gave out 25 bulls as Christmas gift to the Christian community in the country. 

The bulls were presented to The Gambia Christian Council (GCC) for onward delivery to the various denominations such as the Anglican, Methodist and the Catholic Missions by the vice president and minister of Women’s Affairs, Her Excellency Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy at State House.

In her remarks, the VP thanked President Jammeh for the gift, noting that the benefactor has always been grateful to the Christians for their contribution to the maintenance of peace in the country.

The Gambia government has condemned in the “strongest terms” the ongoing political turmoil in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Africa’s newest, two-year old nation, South Sudan respectively, calling for cessation of crisis and peaceful resolutions to the upheavals.

A statement relayed to the general public Saturday by the secretary general, head of the Civil Service and Presidential Affairs minister, Momodou Sabally, indicated that The Gambia as the current chairman of the African Union Peace and Security Council, its leader,  President Jammeh has spoken to the president of South Sudan, Salva Kir. 

The president of the Republic has stressed the need for the continent’s citizens to sacrifice their lives for the sake of peace and security in Africa, saying, “we must find African solutions to African problems”.  

Speaking Monday while addressing members of the African Union Peace and Security Council as well as other delegates who called on him at State House in Banjul shortly after the end of their emergency meeting on the situation of South Sudan and Central African Republic, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh emphasised that the continent must be prepared to solve African problems in Africa. “If we decided that we are going to be members of the Peace and Security Council, then we must be ready to sacrifice our lives. So this meeting is timely as it will prepare us to know what we should talk about in order to resolve these problems in our continent,” he told the delegates.

The president of the Republic, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya Jammeh has spoken of The Gambia’s admirable religious co-existence, underscoring that “we should jealously guard our cross-faith relations and also pray for peace and mutual understanding in countries where the ugly phenomenon of conflict between followers of different religions abides.”

In his traditional Christmas address to the nation, relayed on his behalf by the vice president and Women’s Affairs minister, President Jammeh also enjoined the citizenry to reflect on the gem that this country is and consciously strive to further cement the bonds that tie us together as brothers and sisters worshipping the same God in different ways.

The outgoing country representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has disclosed that a total sum of US$74M was ably mobilised by them for The Gambia during his five-year spell in the country. He said this was provided through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM). 

Dr. Thomas Sukwa was speaking Thursday at State House in Banjul where he was bade farewell by the vice president and Women’s Affairs minister, Her Excellency Aja Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy. He disclosed that The Gambia is now at a pre-elimination stage of malaria, observing that since the intervention of the fund, the mortality rate has drastically dropped from 200 deaths annually to 150.