By Mathew K Jallow . It was a bit of a mystery that rattled residents of this quiet coastal community. The once idyllic lagoon, Bolong Fengyo, on the outskirt of Gunjur, 35 miles south of the capital city, Banjul, had turned into a river of blood. And on its banks, plant and wildlife; birds, fish, [...]
By Mathew K Jallow The unsurprising avalanche of criticisms and acrimony surrounding the Coalition’s scorecard, isn’t a departure from the norm; it is the new norm. The concept of a 100-days arbitrary deadline is remiss of reality, and ignores the social and political complexities that besmirch all illusions of substantial development achievement, in such short [...]
Thursday, February 16, 2017, 2:45pm By Shamane Mills If County Board Approves, Private Funds Would Supplement Initial 75K From Taxpayers Dane County is proposing a plan to help immigrants find legal assistance and social services. Executive Joe Parisi says his proposal is designed to help people gain citizenship in a part of the state that relies on [...]
By Mathew K Jallow There are many cities around the US, but very few have the political characteristics of the City of Madison, as a bastion of radical thinking. The city’s progressive tradition dates back decades, and as the center of government of the state of Wisconsin, Madison is still largely defined by its progressive [...]
The Wisconsin Association of Black Men will host a two-day symposium, the 6th Annual Black Men’s Initiative, at Grainger Hall on the UW-Madison campus Feb. 24 and 25. It will delve into issues facing black men with the intention of informing, educating and seeking solutions. “We really want people to walk away with a broad [...]
By Mathew K Jallow The statistics are striking, but far from shocking. For the decade and a half that I observed race relations in Wisconsin, I have never ceased to be amazed by the falsity with which the state is perceived as a bastion of liberal values. To many outsiders, Wisconsin may appear progressive; a place where [...]
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says lawmakers may split with the governor on several areas in his budget, including funding for K-12, tax cuts, the school choice program and self-insurance, among others. Fitzgerald predicted lawmakers will agree to increasing funding for K-12 education in the upcoming biennium. But he wouldn’t commit to the $649 million [...]
By Mathew K Jallow Prologue Institutions are the building blocks of the state. The First Republic boasted of a robust institutional framework, albeit, an internally weak one, which lacked accountability and impeded development. The social disquiet that flared up in 1981, and the 1994 military take-over, were byproducts of a system that had grown bloated, [...]
By Mathew K Jallow To some, the issue about the future of the military and the NIA in the Gambia may be a sensitive subject replete with risks and blind turns, but for a significant number of Gambians, simple logic and a dose of pragmatism trump the baseless fears that border on the ridiculous. In [...]
By Mathew K Jallow For democratic systems and institutions of democracy to flourish, it is necessary and imperative to operate an efficient and effective public bureaucracy. This paper discusses at length the failures and opportunities of African bureaucracies, and what governments there need to do to achieve social and economic empowerment for their citizens. It [...]
