At the recently concluded 66th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, the Ecowas Commission has been tasked to send a mission to The Gambia in order to assess the financial implications of maintaining Ecomig forces in the country. The forces have been here since 2017 after outgoing president Yahya Jammeh refused to cede power to Adama Barrow, the incoming president.
For the past few years however, many voices from civil society organisations and individual Gambians have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of these forces from the shores of The Gambia. Many see them as forces of intervention when in actual fact there is no conflict in the country.
There are some citizens who see the continuous presence of the Ecomig forces as undermining the authority and dignity of the Gambia Armed Forces. They posit that it is because of the presence of Ecomig forces that the current government has not given the armed forces of The Gambia the respect and honour they deserve.
Some people focus on the economic and political cost of the continued stay of these forces here in the country. To some, it is not immediately clear who is funding the stay of these forces in the country with some people claiming that it is the European Union while others say it is the government of The Gambia.
On the part of the government however the stay of the forces seems to have its reasons and merits and that is why they don’t seem to be making any moves to ensure the withdrawal of the forces. It is not clear what timeline the government may have in mind as to the withdrawal of these soldiers.
It is therefore interesting that the earlier mentioned meeting has deemed it prudent to send in a team who will examine the financial implication of their stay and look at their mandate and operations. The team will also assess the political and security situation in the country with a view to advising the authority on what to do next. The next few weeks will therefore determine what will be done about these forces!
