(JollofNews) – A former Gambian newspaper editor has strongly criticised Wednesday’s arbitrary closure of the country’s first daily newspaper, the Daily Observer.
Alagi Yorro Jallow, former managing editor of The Independent, which was banned by the previous regime of President Yahya Jammeh in 2005, said the closure of the newspaper was clearly designed to silence critical media voices and an affront to media freedom and the authorities.
The Daily Observer was ordered to cease operation by the enforcement officers of the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) who have accused the paper of owing about D17 million in tax arrears.
But Mr Jallow said the way GRA acted against the newspaper could justify arguments that the closure action is not only in bad faith but also politically motivated.
“The Daily Observer newspaper grew into one of the best Gambian brands and diversified into courier and information services,” Mr Jallow said.
He added: “Previous regimes targeted the Daily Observer Newspaper with closure but it refused to die. It is my opinion that Gambia Revenue Authority’s action has been politically influenced as there are a lot of companies that owe the Gambia Revenue Authority huge sums of money but can operate. I am also surprised with the speed at which the Revenue Authority processed the case as it has thousands of cases awaiting to be processed.”
Mr Jallow further argued: “The closure of a business is an economical disaster as families and other businesses that depended on it experience difficulties of varying magnitude. The closure of the Daily Observer newspaper is not about Yahya Jammeh, Amadou Samba or Baba Jobe. Think about the few workers employed as editors, journalists, security guards, garden boys… And more deeply and emotionally, think about the street vendors who depend on 10 Dalasi per day they make from newspaper sales. All these will be denied money for rent, food, school fees. This is political miscalculation. Like shooting your own leg.
“As a former proprietor, the Independent and a victim of arbitrary closure I am urging the Gambia Government to work with the Gambian Revenue Authority and the Daily Observer to find a way forward that allows Daily Observer to reopen immediately.
“And I am appealing to the Government to reconsider the decision to close the Daily Observer Newspapers and avoid throwing hundreds of workers into unemployment thereby adversely affecting the welfare of their families.”
Thanks you Mr. Jallow. My Sentiments exactly. The Ministry of Information and its Chief Servant need to Consult with the Minister of the Interior’s Chief Servant and Terminate the Decision of the Upstart Officials of The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA). That is, if one can honestly say that such a Decision is the birth child of the GRA. Democracy Without an abridged or truncated Media is a Democracy by name only.
The story is full of false assertions and inconsistencies. NO ONE should be above the law. The Observer is closed for non-tax compliance. it is true that there are other non tax complying companies. However, each and every single one of them will have their own day under the sun. Is it possible to handle every single non compliant taxpayer at once? That would be like asking a court to sentence every single offender at the same time. I have always thought that Mr Jallow is a smart, rational and an intelligent man. I was up for a big disappointment!
You are 100% right!
How could the author claim other media houses, like the Observer, have failed to pay tax without naming them and stating the amount they owe. Can you believe such baseless assertion.
Mr Jallow is a man of conscience/ wisdom/ and experience/
If he say’s it>>> It should be good enough for you and reliable to me.
17 Million Dalasis can get lots of things done for our country and it beggars believe that the decision to shut a company that defaulted in its tax liabilities of such an amount can be met with such ill conceived judgement of calling it political miscalculation. Why do we have a government then,when our laws can’t be enforced against companies whether they be media or what? What the fuck is happening to our so called educated elites and their daily bullshit commentaries about what is right and what is wrong. Where were you guys during the last 22 years of despotic rule in our homeland? Hibernating in some remote corner of the universe? Come down from your lofty perches and contribute positively for a better nation where all companies pay their tax liabilities regardless of what they do or do not.
Tell me please where in the developed world can a company continue trading with such huge tax areas? 22 years of tax avoidance. Any man of conscience,wisdom and experience will encourage the government to go after tax defaulters firmly,rather than the other way around.
Shut the damn media house till they come up with the amount owed to us all as a nation.
God bless our beloved nation.
Gentleman, we are in trouble. There is an assault of freedom of the press in The Gambia. It took less than 6 months for these monkeys to start harassing and intimidating innocent Gambians. Who cares if the Observer owes taxes, the GRA can always figure out a way to get them to pay the taxes owed, while they stay operational, this is obviously for the greater good. So who is the imbecile that ordered the closure of this historic institution, and who is the moron who is supervising the dummy. True Yahya used this paper for political purposes, and for a time The Observer was not objective nor balanced in its area of responsibility, but that was then and this is now. Why the witch hunt, why get even? The sensible approach is to encourage them to be balanced, and return to the role of being a great newspaper. Look I know some of you guys are 5th graders, perhaps even special ed, this is STUPID STUPID STUPID! Open The Observer. We the people demand it.
God Bless The Gambia.
lets try and tell the truth on the face! tax default is an economic crime. lets simply tell the Daily Observer to pay their tax. it is not about press freedom, is about equal rights and national responsibility. Try and help them pay their arrears and continue operation.
The people who ordered the closure and those who supervised are all hardworking patriotic Gambians. They are not fake ‘Doctors in Prostitution’ like you. I will advise that you keep you stinking A** H*** tightly closed and wrapped.
You’re a nut! Really disgraceful! I hope the editors can curtail you. It’s becoming unbearable….
Dr Sarr, The Observer is closed due to non compliant with their tax obligation. if they settles their tax arrears, they will not remain close for one additional minute. I can tell you that you cannot brag with your Doctorate in Prostitution to any one, not only in GRA but the whole Gambia. The fact that you are calling your self a doctor and yet still cannot figure out the implication of non compliance with tax laws, and yet using such uncultured language in public say a lot about your sorry stinkingly cheap ass hole.
Your response is totally irresponsible and mean. Why can’t you argue without resorting to insults. Dr. Sarr is on record for reprimanding the excesses of the former tyrant and is a staunch believer in common sense. You may not agree with her points like many others but you must control yourself. Disgraceful!!
The Jammeh asset question has been handled with roughness;{In my opinion}
All the government needed to do was to appoint an administrator to oversee the affairs of each company/ Its job would be to allow the companies to trade whilst making certain the companies pay all due taxes and wages and NI Contributions pensions and contribute to Gross National Product. etc.
The government needs to establish how much {alleged} Jammeh owes and take contributions to repayment out from profits;
If Jammeh wants to sell any assets a{ 60% ? } levy should be applied towards his alleged unauthorised withdrawals.
This would ensure employment, Tax and maintain GDP and offer redress to Mr Jammeh’s alleged withdrawals.
At present the cart is being pushed by the horse instead of being pulled.
Just a suggestion/
Check out Section 215 of the Income and Value Added Tax Act 2012. when it comes to compliance with tax obligations, there cannot be any, and there has never been any sacred cow. More serious things have happened to bigger and more influential companies, garnishment of bank account, seizure of receivables, you name it, and yet no one made a noise in their favor. Why then the Daily Observer? Typical Journalist’s hypocrisy and rattlying. At one point clamouring for justice and in the next minute praying for the tampering of justice.
Even if the paper was previously spared because of its connections with the former regime, this should serve as a lesson to all and sundry that power belongs to Allah, and Allah alone and it is the only power that last for ever. Thus, whosoever pretends that they have power, there best bet is to use it judicially, but once it is abused, it will backfire one day or the other. This is a lesson to everyone who thrives on unfair/unjustified favors through lobbying or otherwise be it a businessman, politician or whatever.
payment of tax is an obligation on every citizen and companies. if market vendors, civil servants are paying their taxes, is the Daily Observer a sacred cow not to pay ? it is a serious economic crime for defaulting to pay tax especially for years… Please let us not be sentimental on this issue. Let the Daily Observer pay their tax and continue operation-simple! By the way Observer is deducting tax from the monthly salaries of their employees, now why are they defaulting paying their quarterly and annual returns ? this is deliberate and should be meted with a heavy penalty. this is not about press freedom it is about national responsibility!!!. lets be tax compliance, imagine a cola nut, or bitter cola seller is paying his tax everyday for carrying that small plate along the road much more a media house who we claim as the fourth estate….is that media house credible ? lets be honest to ourselves by telling Observer to pay their tax, period.
Mr Jallow and those calling this enforcement action politically motivated should try and evade taxes in the USA or UK and see what will happen to them. What a hypocrisy! Media houses are set up to promote free press and they should be allowed to execute their function and yet a tax Authority, set up by an Act of Parliament should not enforce a legal provision (Section 215 of the Income and Value Added Tax Act 2012) in the country’s tax laws. This closure should have been done ages ago. Yes it is sad that some people may lose their jobs, but has someone ever sympathized with the patient unable to get medication at the hospital due to lack of drugs, or the student sitting in an open classroom because there are no enough class, and many others, all because there are no enough funds due to tax evasion behavior by some sacred cow.
Another massive own goal by the coalition. This focus on Jammeh is becoming an unwanted obsession. Does this coalition have only two policies; ?
One>> to damage Jammeh/
Two>> to gain billions in loans/debt?
Where is the new industry and job creation to be found?
! This government only matters how to damage Mr Jammeh because they fear that he can come back, something that the citizens do not care about because Jammeh is a past but our politicians are immatures and Mr Barrow don’t know what to do with the country because isn’t his job
The whole issue has nothing to do with press freedom but all to do with none payment of taxes. Any responsible business should ensure that they pay their taxes, failure in doing so can result in the business being fined, closed until the arrears are paid. This is normal in all or most countries so I can’t understand why the government is being blamed for closing down a company that has been operating illegally. If employees lose their jobs as a result of this action, the blame lies squarely on the observer board not anybody else. In the UK, famous individuals have been jailed, businesses closed for none payment of tax so it’s a serious issue as no government can function without tax revenue. Stop the blame game.
This is the reason why the paper is closed according to the standard newspaper. No organisation or individual is above the law.
The Daily Observer, the legendary name in Gambian newspaper industry, which began publication in May 1992, has been shut down on the orders of the Gambia Revenue Authority, GRA, reliable sources told The Standard yesterday.
According to our sources, the GRA officials moved in to lock up the newspaper’s offices on GACEM Road yesterday afternoon.
Ousman Bah, head of Corporate and Public Affairs at GRA, said the closure of the Daily Observer is temporary, pending the institution paying up arrears owed to the Authority. “This is routine operations by the GRA when all efforts failed to recover tax from serious defaulters. We never want to take this last option in any case because as you know, when a business is closed, we cannot collect tax. However, the GRA Act and other laws mandated that when necessary we have to take this line. However, the Daily Observer and any other businesses affected are free to resume work once they pay up,” Mr Bah said.
He also stressed that this move has nothing to do with politics or the change of government. “The GRA is a technical arm of government mandated to collect tax for the state without discrimination,” he added.
The Standard also spoke with a senior staff of the company who confirmed the visit of the GRA but will not offer details. “Yes we have been told that the company should stop publications from now.”
Asked if the closure may have to do with tax arrears, our source within the company said that seems likely because there was a correspondence from GRA on that matter. “But I would not know what triggered this new development.”
Liberian journalist Kenneth Best started the Daily Observer on May 11 1992 but in May 1999, it was reported that the company was sold to businessman Amadou Samba. However, during the last 13 years the Company’s affairs were directly controlled by the office of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Meanwhile, Daily Observer Managing Director Pa Modou Mbowe has told the West Africa Democracy Radio that the closure of the newspaper is due to unpaid tax amounting to millions of Dalasis, but blames the Gambia Revenue Authority for not taking action when the tax arrears were ‘small’. He also confirmed he was appointed by ex-president Yahya Jammeh, but says he has no clue who owns Daily Observer newspaper.
“Leaving Observer to continue operation while it does not comply with its tax obligations is not fair to other newspapers like The Point, The Standard, The Voice and Foroyaa because these papers try as much as possible to pay their dues,” the GRA staff said.
Before the closure order, the GRA source said, the management of Observer was invited to several meetings to discuss possible ways to at least make a commitment and work out a plan to pay its tax arrears. That did not work.
The newspaper company was also served with several sermon letters by GRA for them to pay their tax arrears but they did not pay heed.
In addition, the source said, the GRA had tried several times during meetings with the management of Observer to know who is the principal owner of the company but to no avail.
“The GRA will not allow Observer to be operating without paying tax and its ownership also not known,” the GRA official said.
“Today, the GRA management had a meeting and it was decided finally that they have to take a step to temporarily close down Observer. They contacted the IGP to give them some police officers to go with them to the newspaper to effect the closure.
“GRA is an independent body that operates with transparency and fairness and the closure of Observer has nothing to do with the government. We don’t have the intention to close down any company but all companies must also pay their taxes.”
(courtesy thepoint newspaper)
Ha ha ha the Dictatorship Vs corruption or you support me or I kill you !!This is new Gambia
Peace: I wouldn’t go that far;
Thanks for all contributions/ some are making progress and reasonable explanations.
The coalition have not made any effort to curb the power of the Executive/ Consequently it is just too convenient to use the same methods as the APRC/ The only difference is it is attempting to explain why it is acting this way. Of course tax must be paid. But another more conciliatory tone, would be the sensible way to change the status quo during the transitional period of reconciliation.
There must be a definite change in how Gambia does things. At present it appears to be combative and not at all… towards change by negotiation with patience.
GRA is a partner in crime for neglecting the Observer’s tax issue under Jammeh. A modality should be worked out to enable the paper to continue publication for it now provides the most authentic information for the benefit of the Gambians.
I have never thought, even for a single moment, that someone could be so irrational an bias. Are you telling the whole world that the company should not have been given any chance and should have been closed immediately the arrears started building up? Stop paying your taxes in America or Europe and see what will happen! It is only in The Gambia where you will find a Managing Director who does not know who his shareholders are and yet he will appoint his biological father as and Adviser. Give GRA a break. They are carrying out their legal mandate fairly and justly.
Smells political issues ,, the closure of the newspaper was clearly designed to silence critical media voices and an affront to media freedom , identical government like Jammeh government? Jammeh naming jolas and Barrow naming mandikas what’s going on? How do we progress?
WE only have to view the reactions and diversity of opinion to understand their is an unhealthy discourse caused as a reaction to the action of the Coalition government, and yes the GRA need to explain why such an amount of arrears were allowed to accrue. How far back do these unpaid remittances go.? Were they accrued before January 19th? and if so what is the GRA’s explanation ? 17 million dalasis is a significant amount of accrued arrears.
The objection to the closure of The Observer from Mr Jallow is from a man who suffered such a fate during the Jammeh government. I think he is entitled to speak out against this regrettable situation. I also think Demba Jawo should give his opinion too. { He is definitely a man to be trusted 100% on this matter}
Bourne: I unreservedly apologize for my earlier reaction towards you. It was definitely uncalled for. I am glad you raised the matter and I hope you accept my apology.
God Bless/
I do not want to be seen as an opponent of this government, because I am not, but yet again, I have reason to question their action. Tax evasion is a serious matter everywhere, no doubt, and the D/O should be pursued to pay its tax arrears, but I do not think arbitrary closure of a media house is a wise thing to do at this point in time, given our condemnation of the same under the previous government.
Moreover, the Act that gives GRA this enormous power was only enacted in 2012, a period when we all, almost unanimously, agreed that the country was under a dictatorship, and hence the Act should be considered an “instrument of dictatorship”. The new government should not rely on an instrument of dictatorship to do what the dictator did, no matter how legit it sounds.
Furthermore, GRA, being party to any tax revenue dispute, should not have the powers to order closure of businesses and institutions that it has financial disputes with, because that would make it the “Judge, jury and executioner.” GRA needs to go to the courts, if all attempts to collect tax arrears fail and the courts will deliver the appropriate judgement, based on evidence adduced and heard. The defendants will then pay within the specified period or be dealt with by the Sheriff Division: the debt collectors.
GRA is entitled to pursue D/O for every butut it owes as tax, but arbitrary closures should be a thing of the past and citing the 2012 Act does not make such actions any more acceptable.
Bourne; You are invited to a chicken dinner in the Tendula Restaurant at The Atlantic Hotel in September; I hope the Kora player will play your requests and the NIA don’t come to burn off what I hold so dear. Love Mikey xxx
Looks like The Gambia will have to introduce an unemployment benefits bill, very soon.
If there were a level playing field, we could live with the Observer’s existence.
But after all those years when the other publications had to struggle to get by against all state-run atrocities that went as far as murder and arson, the Observer’s pure existence is a threat to democracy and the freedom of the press.
But if we want it to carry on, then why not ask Kenneth Best to take it over again?
Bourne; No problem, but hope your not offended if I have my steak and chips.
On the subject latter>> I think Madi asks if there must be a better way? Trying to punish all Jammeh’s former supporters is not very intelligent, besides it would be much better to have solutions and dialogue to resolve issues; Why right off 17 million of taxpayers money. That only serves the owners who remain elusive; In such cases a new owner could buy for a Pound and give an under taking to reach an agreement to repay tax through an agreed repayment schedule.
It would be a shame if The Observer were to close.
Lawyer Darboe has been named in a tax evasion list since 2013 with all the interest accurals. Have the GRA named him as an evader and hence to loose his salaries to the arrears.
Let us be free from sentiments here. If GRA is not being politically driven and witchhunting Daily observer,let them produce a comprehensive list of tax evaders and close them immediately cos they were being protected by the former regime. Why Daily observer alone amdist lots of company and individual company evaders.?
Guys, it is now commonsense that since the advent of the Barrow adminisration, most us are now convinced tha no wrong can be done neithre can they do any political errs and hence any one spotting such natural things is seen asa hater of the administration or an APRC support.
the new administration are moral beings and are infallible. To help our nascent government lets try to reflect on the teaching of the Holy prophets. Saying and accepting the truth even if it affects you. when you can’t say it or do, keep quiet.
If talking is gold, being quiet is Diamond. Prophet Muhammed Pbuh
Barrow and his cabìnet must decĺare their assets if they are honest people. The fact that they haven’t done so far speaks fór itself.