By Aisha Tamba
The Gambia National Youth Council (NYC) in partnership with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Senegal recently ended a 2-day capacity building training for the country’s elected young ward councilors at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.
The training targets to broaden the knowledge of the councillors on the Local Government Act, national youth policy, national development plan, project proposal development and resource mobilization strategies to make their work effective in delivering service to the communities they represent.
Speaking at the training, the Minister of Local Government and Lands, Lamin Dibba, reminded the councillors that they contested to represent their political parties during campaign “but now they must work as a team.”
“Councilors are very important because they will be the decision makers of their various councils. I am proud of Gambian youth because they are now in the forefront of the affairs of the country both political and development,” he said.
The NYC chairman, Dembo Kambi, said the Council has a strategic role in youth participation in the socio-economic development of the country and that cannot be achieved when young people do not participate in the political spectrum.
He appealed to the councilors to go back to their communities and defend their young people at their council meetings.
Meanwhile, Konrade Adenauer-Stiftung Senegal country representative, Thomas Volk Ronrad commended Gambians for the successful conduct of a free and fair councilor election, adding that democratic processes do not come over night. “Freedom, justice and solidarity are the basic principles of our work.”
