By Yunus S Saliu
As part of their national security belt, the Director General of State Intelligent Service (SIS) on Wednesday 30th January, 2019 was joined by the Governor of West Coast Region, Service personnel from different areas across WCR, the inhabitant of the region, Councilors and National Assembly members from the region, among other stakeholders to inaugurate the first newly constructed SIS Command Building in Brikama, West Coast Region.
The newly constructed SIS Command Building was built in the premises of the governor of the West Coast Region’s office.
In his inaugural speech, Alhagie Ousman Sowe, Director General of State Intelligent Service expressed SIS’s profound gratitude to the president of The Gambia, His Excellency Adama Barrow for his support, encouragement and trust which he continues to show to the national security services of the country.
He extended his appreciation to the Governor of West Coast Region, Bakary Sanyang, for offering space within his office premises to build the SIS Command Building which really have solved the problem of office for the SIS officers who have been cramping themselves in a room of four-by-four meters but will now move into a spacious office building.
With the newly constructed building done by the SIS personnel themselves, he affirmed that “indeed SIS is really reforming and restructuring.” He added that their works represent the “new SIS which is a dedicated, organized and able service with capacity to deliver.”
He thanked all the SIS staff for ‘carrying the name to the good level as it is now since the ongoing reforming, restructuring and repositioning of the service’ to enable them meet the mandate bestowed on them by the Gambia constitution and government as well as the Gambian people.
On behalf of all the security services, DG Sowe thanked the people of West Coast Region for their support in cooperation, collaboration and understanding that exist between the security services, and all the people of the region.
Governor Bakary Sanyang in return thanked the government of the Gambia and other security service personnel through the Director General of SIS for their good job done in the region.
The governor also used the occasion of the inauguration to give an in-depth report on work of SIS in West Coast Region. He also explained the challenges and problems of the SIS regarding to boarder issues, lands and environmental issues such as deforestation, logging, and bush fires among others.
For free and float communication without interruption the State Intelligent Service presented NASBI CUB phones to the governor, the service personnel and District chiefs of West Coast Region while certificates of appreciation were presented to some service personnel for their hard work in the region.