As elections for presidential and executive positions in The Gambia Press Union draw closer, aspirants have taken part in a debate to sell their plans and proposals to potential voters. The congress takes place Saturday, 8th September, 2018.

Speaking during a debate held at GPU offices, journalist Fatou Jaw Manneh vowed to bring greater rigor to quality control in the pen-pushing profession. She added that when elected it will be her mission to make sure “journalism doesn’t go wild on people” without the required training so that people are responsible. To better serve the public, she said journalists must be able to write and have the education to execute their function as fourth estate.

For his part, Sheriff Junior Bojang vowed to ameliorate the plight of young journalists who struggle with low-pay and dearth of benefits such as paid time off and health insurance. He further postulated: “I feel both the GPU and Gambian journalism are at a crucial stage which deserves even more attention. I’m running because I feel strongly that together with my colleagues, I can help make GPU the people’s Union where every journalist feels represented, build the capacities of our younger colleagues and advance the welfare of every Gambian journalist”. In his turn, Mustapha Darboe pledged to review the GPU training manual to ensure better quality, while decrying the certification of people who have proven incapable of writing proper English. He postulated that journalism in The Gambia is beset by challenges that are ever-changing hence the need for a fresh set of people to deal with them.