During a sensitisation meeting held in Kuntaya, North Bank Region over the weekend, NCCE officials sought to raise the awareness level of the community as well as identify communication problems between communities and their representatives.
In his opening remarks, Kebba Jobe, a civic education officer of the National Council for Civic Education explained: “The objective of this meeting is to bring together the national assembly member, the councilors of the constituency and the electorates to talk to each other and to identify problems. In this, each will try to know what his /her relationship with each other is. The electorate may have something that doubts them about their development and they can ask their national assembly members or their councilors. Some people misunderstood the work of the national assembly and the work of the councils but if they gathered together they will be able to clarify each other’s position. There are 40 constituencies that are provincial starting from Kombo North to Barra. Serrekunda to Banjul consist of eight and that is why we have 48 constituencies but we decided to take 40 constituencies. We divided ourselves into two teams in which our team has started from Bansang to Fatoto through Wuli, Sandu, Sami, Nyanija, Saloum, Badibu coming down to the Niumi, Medina Serigne Mass and Pakau Njogu where the tour will end. The other team started from Janjanbureh and they will be going right to Kombo North to meet the targeted people. We are not talking about election today but what we are talking about is development and the position that each of us should take to lead the development of this nation.
“The councilors, National Assembly members and the electorate all have a role to lead in development and if each person is able to identify his or her own stance, I think development can be easily attained. This is one of the projects we have tabulated at the beginning of the year with UNDP, a very strong funding agency. If every Gambian knows his/her rights and responsibilities this will bring development to the nation. NCCE is empowered by law and if financially viable will reach out to people to make them understand and know their rights and responsibilities as every right goes with a responsibility.”
Alhaji Abou Khan, the alkalo of Kuntaya in his intervention to the meeting said: “This initiative is of great importance as it will create a platform for those who want to know their rights but are unable to read the national constitution in English. They will have the chance for it to be translated to them in the local languages.”
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