By Bakary Ceesay
Sheikh Omar Faye, Defence Minister has told the various military installations they want the Gambia to stabilize and be peaceful so that there will be development.
“My priority is to implement the security sector reform, ensure that The Gambia is a safe place and one of the best places in the world,” he said during his ongoing nationwide tour to Military installations in The Gambia.
Accompanied by Chief of Defence Staff Gambia Armed Forces Lieutenant General Masanneh N Kinteh the tour has started on in the North Bank Region on 29th October, 2019 following a trip to Njongon and Kerewan with the aimed to familiarize the Honourable Minister with Gambia Armed Forces deployments and to have a first-hand impression of the current state of both living and working conditions of members of the Armed Forces and their families.
On 30th October, 2019 they visited Lamin Koto, Military installations to after engagements in Farafenni (2Bn) Headquarters.
The Honourable Minister has availed himself the opportunity to listen to the
concerns of the troops at this location and had brief engagements with elders
of the community as well.
On 5th November, 2019 they paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Lower River Region (LRR) Madam Rohey John after engagements with troops of the 3 Infantry Battalion (Basse) in Upper River Region.
General Kinteh explained that apart from familiarising the Minister with their deployments, the other purpose of the tour is to see the working and living conditions of their troops and families as well as the challenges they have with their logistics.
He added they are also doing the tour to gather facts and put them together in the form of a comprehensive report and find ways and means of tackling the problems they come across during the tour.
“We expect that it is going to be a much better outcome after the tour,” he said.
He said their first engagement they meet the Ghanaian contingents deployed as (ECOMIG) forces in The Gambia in the North Bank Region.
Mr. Kinteh said they believe that as part of good practice and good governance, it is always necessary to be able to engage themselves at different levels of command so that they get to know plans.
“This is an opportunity where they can air their views and also an opportunity where we can transmit the message of the transformation agenda that we have for GAF”, said the CDS.
He said they had an opportunity to engage members of the communities and learn from them how the Army is doing their work and how they can advise them to serve them better.
On his part minister Faye told the various military camps that ECOMIG are in The Gambia to help as they did in Liberian, Sudan, Darfur and other places.
“They are part of the system and globalized world,” he said. He stressed that they are looking at the territorial integrity of the Gambia and that they are looking at everything to ensure that they update on their gains and make sure that Gambians are informed.
The tour is subsequently hope to continue to other similar locations throughout the country especially in the Greater Banjul area and West Coast Region.
