Again we have to congratulate and commend the Gambia National Olympic Committee (GNOC) for staging yet another successful May Day Sports.

The GNOC has been staging this event annually for 19 years unbroken. This itself is an achievement. However it seems the event apart from its continuity, is getting bigger and bigger having started in 1980 with under 20 organizations and this year reaching a record 50 companies and other institutions.

The May Day Sports event has numerous benefits. Very briefly, it helps staff and other personnel of institutions to participate in sports at some level, and that way, creates a healthier work force. The nation benefits from this as well as the individual. Social relations and social cohesion are enhanced by everyone’s participation. People from one institution get to know better those from different institutions. New friendships and collaboration can be forged at these meetings. In fact members of the same institution do get to know one another better, and some times even get to know each for the first time. The special events like Managing Directors race bring another interesting dimension. This shows that we are all the same if we put posts aside for a little while. This is of immense benefit for an organization and for social cohesion. Apart from the swelling number of participating companies H.E. the president agreed to grace this year’s event, and in doing so introduced some more interesting events e.g. Mr. Ugliest, Fattest, and so on.

All of this helps people to be themselves, to share in fun, and to build our unity as people. Many have said that the special events add more fun which is one of the objectives of the event.

Apart from these generalities, we have two specific observations. On the light side, it is observed that the uniformed services took all the top positions starting with Gambia Armed Forces, Gambia Police Force, Prisons Department, Immigration Department. Is this an indication that from school very good athletes go to join the security services, or do they just spend more time on practices and training. Or do the other institutions just allow them to win? Well, one advice to the organizers of the event is to start thinking of categorizing the event or something for future occasions.

On a more serious note, we recorded the statement of the Trade Union Congress on the very important subject of wages, salaries, and prohibitive escalating commodity prices. The Union Secretary General, Mr. Cham, advocated for a general increase on wages and salaries with a 100% increase specific to low – income earners. Such an increase would receive very wide support given the result of the latest Government increases two years ago: that 20% increase across – the board held little or no dividends to income earners because everything was sucked up by inflation and a rise in commodity prices. This sky-rocketing of prices still undermines the purchasing power of households, and negates much of the envisaged benefits to income earners.

The Union has recommended that Government should have a consumer agency in the absence of a consumer association.

However it is better still to have a consumer association because it would then be an organization of the people, not of Government.