Richard Carl Pashall, United States Ambassador to Gambia, has said that Gambians deserved transparency as they voted for changed in 2016.
He cited the Janneh Commission, the Constitutional Review Commission TRRC zmong others and said, these are part of the processes initiated the country to seek answers on a number of critical issues.
He was speaking during the opening of the consultative forum on the transparent management of extractives and non-extractives natural resources on 19-20, July 2019.
The two-day consultative forum comes at a time when communities are standing up against the actions of corporate entities that are posing a real threat to their immediate environment and their livelihoods.
It attracted policy makers, law makers, youth organizations, civil society groups participated in the consultative forum organised by International Republican Institute (IRI).
He told the gathering that the United States government is financially supporting the ongoing national consultation.
Dr. Isatou Touray, Vice-President emphasized that government is committed to ensuring that social equity prevails in the management of the country’s natural resources.
She pointed out that government inherited a framework for the management of extractive and non-extractives natural resources.
She added that: “Therefore, it is only through responsible extraction and proper management of these resources that we will realize a positive impact on the economic growth, social development and shared prosperity,”
As Gambia is pushing ahead with an open society agenda, Dr. Isatou Touray went on to say that the industry requires legislation that will compel companies to disclose the point of extraction, licensing, contracting, extraction as well as revenue collected.
Speaking earlier, the Resident Program Director of the International Republican Institute (IRI), Robina Namusisi, expressed hope that the deliberations will trigger ‘actionable recommendations’ that would the extractives industry on the right track.
She assured that as IRI, they will use these recommendations to plan follow-on activities to support our partners, inform the transparent management of the sector.