Give1 Project, Gambia, a digital rights advocacy and other human development network in the Gambia, on Saturday, 24 April, 2021 convened a one-day stakeholder workshop on Internet Rights and Privacy in the Gambia.
Held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in Bijilo, the event brought together under one roof members of the National Assembly Select Committee on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), business community, press, civic rights activists, legal practitioners and technologists to discuss vital internet security and privacy challenges facing the country, especially in this electioneering year.
The Executive Secretary of Give1 Project, Ms. Mariam Jobe reminded the gathering that Gambians celebrated the New Year (in 2021), in an internet blackout that spanned hours, stating within eight weeks the country experienced four internet disruptions, cutting off the entire country from the rest of the world, including international calls. “With elections in sights this year, the Gambia cannot afford the continuous intermittent internet shutdowns,” she held.
In her view, so far the country doesn’t have any clear-cut policies or programs that would prevent the reoccurrences of internet disruptions and shutdowns, citing the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable as the only internet access point for the Gambia. Executive Secretary Jobe believes that universality could only be achieved through government investment as custodians of the taxpayers’ money. She lamented also the country’s internet penetration rate is still low, therefore denying many Gambians the opportunities abound online.
Mr. Demba Kandeh, Journalism, Digital Media lecturer at the University of The Gambia (UTG) and an Internet Researcher for the Internet Freedom House in the United States, in his remarks refreshed in the late 90s, Gambia Telecommunications Company Limited (GAMTEL) was one of the best telecommunications companies in the sub-region, noting that efficiency continued for some time before its system started deteriorating lately.
He also told his audience that internet regulations started to become an issue in the Gambia in 2006 when the then government (of Yahya Jammeh) made efforts to control information flow coupled with media censorship. He claimed that was the first-ever recorded violations of the internet rights by the Gambian state.
Kandeh recalled the murder of journalist Deyda Hydara (co-proprietor of The Point Newspaper) in 2005, and the subsequent hacking (in May, 2006) of Freedom Online Newspaper website, in which a list of its subscribers was leaked, made state internet violations worse in the country as many Gambians were rounded up and victimized in connection with those incidents.
However, the Internet Researcher-cum-Journalism lecturer believes the Information and Communications Act in 2009, became a law in response to that 2006 incident; but he noted the Act did not feature all the necessary internet issues in the country.
Still recounting, he said in 2013, an amendment was done on the ITC Act which criminalized lots of things that Gambians are doing on a regular basis on the internet such as sharing funny posts, especially regarding public officials. He added the amended ITC Act in 2013 puts severe penalties by jailing internet users of up to 15 years in prison or paying heavy fines amounting to 15 million dalasi when found wanting by the state.
According to Kandeh, the Gambia has the slowest yet, the costliest internet charges with frequent disruptions, shutdowns and poor connectivity in Africa.
The National Assembly Member for Upper Saloum, Hon. Alagie Mbowe, who doubles as the Vice President of the National Assembly Select Committee on ITC, said the broadband owned by the government of the Gambia is highly under-utilized. He informed the meeting that 30% is still unused, and the lawmaker, therefore, urged that something must be done to use the available broadband to effect positive changes to internet penetration and high internet charges.
Mbowe suggested government should create a special agency different from Gamtel that would take care of the country’s broadband and fiber-optic cable and serve as neutral internet regulator between the Internet Serve Providers (ISPs) and telecommunication companies in the country. “In business, efficiency is necessary,” Hon. Mbowe echoed.
However, many of the participants questioned the role of the Public Utility and Regulatory Authority (PURA) in the regulation of these utilities, opining PURA lacks the legislative powers to strictly penalize operators under their purview.
A participant even likened the regulatory authority to a barking dog that never bites, claiming the institution doesn’t have “any powers” to seriously discipline service providers coupled with inadequate human and materials resources in the authority.
Numerous issues relating to internet rights, data protection and privacy challenges were discussed and participants were able to set out some recommendations which would be shared with the Ministry of Information and Communications Infrastructure through Give1 Project, Gambia, for better internet rights, accessibility, data protection as well as proper state policies on this vital tool in today’s world of technology.
