Following elections late Sunday afternoon, the US-based unit of the Gambia Press Union has elected writer Mathew K. Jallow as its new secretary general. He will head a newly-elected executive which include his deputy Yankuba Jambang, the editor and publisher of the SENEGAMBIA NEWS and a former reporter with a number of newspapers in The Gambia, public relations officer Musa Saidykahn, a former editor-in-chief of the defunct Gambian Independent, treasurer Pa Ousman Darboe, formerly Daily Observer news editor and honorary member Christine Sukuna, an ardent supporter of Gambian causes.

Both the former secretary general and former public relations officer of the GPU-USA Demba Baldeh and Cherno Baba Jallow respectively, congratulated the members of the new executive on their new roles. They thanked their successors for accepting the mandate to conduct the business of the Union for the next two years. "I will be a resource to you at all times," Mr. Baldeh assured his successor, stressing that he will still be a dedicated member of the Union. "I will still be attending meetings."

Mathew K. Jallow said he was very pleased with the way the elections were conducted. "There was no acrimony," he observed, identifying that a few years back, a "tiff" within the media fraternity had roiled relations within the Union. "But that's all history now," he enthused. Mr. Jallow said it was a big challenge for his team to fill in the shoes of its predecessor. He thanked them for the hard work and constancy in elevating the status of the GPU-USA and making it more relevant to the situation of the Gambian press. Mr. Jallow said that he and his team would hit the ground running with a program of action for next year. He revealed that he would, among other areas, work towards launching a website for the Union, amalgamate the operations of the GPU-USA with those of its counterpart in the UK and kick off a donation solicitation first starting with the members of the Union.

A prolific and prodigious writer, Mathew became, at various times, a reporter, a writer, an editor, a columnist for the Gambian Daily Observer. From the early to the mid 1990s, Mathew, with an eye on human-interest stories and shifting patterns of culture, wrote numerous features, and opinions in his 'The Way We Live' weekly column, for the Observer. Among his notable works for the Gambian daily, include a harrowing, descriptive account of a family tragedy in Bundung, Serekunda, where a family member shot and killed several members of his kin in the early 1990s and a reporter's crusade on behalf of one young Olimata, who badly needed overseas medical attention for a very serious illness.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Mathew K. Jallow is a native of Sare Gainako, Niamina, Central River Region.

From the GPU-USA:

Cherno Baba Jallow, outgoing Public Relations Officer
Demba Baldeh, outgoing Secretary General