By Omar Bah
The Commanding Officer of the Ghanaian contingent of the Ecomig forces based in Barra, Major Moerino Joseph Bent, has commended the good relationship his troops stationed in Barra continue to enjoy with residents, saying the Ecomig troops are in the country to complement the country’s security forces in maintaining peace and stability.
The Ghanaian troops joined by some young people in Barra on Saturday cleaned the terminal and garage and inaugurated the waiting station at the garage renovated by them.
“We are here to ensure the safety and security of everybody here in The Gambia including the government officials. As security personnel, the locals are very important to us but we also expect them to support us in our activities, operations, and so far, we cannot complain,” he said.
He said Gambians should continue to consider the troops as brothers and sisters whose main objective is to maintain peace and stability.
“This is why we make it as part of our operations to support the communities we are stationed in to foster relations and understanding,” he said.
He said the troops also support government institutions in maintaining peace for development to thrive.
“We want the mission to be positively impactful to Gambians especially those who are in need,” he said.
He said the cleansing exercise is part of the troops initiatives to ensure natives operate in a clean environment that is conducive and healthy.
“So far, we have been able to clean the market. It’s looking very neat now and we hope the natives will pick it up from here so that we maintain the surrounding clean,” he added.
He said the troops have a long-standing history of brotherliness with the people of Barra.
“We will continue to do more. There are so many things lined up and we hope that we will stretch this cleanup exercise to many areas,” he said.
He said all their activities are funded by Ecowas in conjunction with the government.
“We are here because the government has accepted that we should be here. We will continue to do what we have been mandated to do which includes the provision of services to the government institutions and the locals,” he said.
The vice president of the Barra Transport Association, Ousman Jobe, commended the troops for the support and assured them of his association’s continued collaboration at all times. He said the troops since their deployment have demonstrated the true meaning of brotherliness and the community appreciates that a lot.
The secretary of Barra Transport Association, Assan Busso, said the troops have been very instrumental in the area since their deployment.
“Most of our women do not go to the government hospital now, they all seek medical treatment at the Ecomig-Ghana troops. So, we want to thank them profoundly for their support,” he said.
