By Landing Colley
A Gambian prominent human rights lawyer has sulkily blamed President Barrow –led Government for failure to address the Chinese caused-environmental damage in the coastal zone.
Over the years some of the coastal residents such as Gunjur, Tanjeh and Sanyang villages have complained about the severe environmental harm caused by the Chinese Fish Processing Factories.
In an exclusive interview recently has with The Voice, Lawyer Assan Martin said: “The reality is that Chinese are causing environmental damage at the coastal area.”
However, he accused the current Government for not addressing this environmental disaster in the coastal communities, saying “we need to make sure that this is stop because it is affecting the future of the coastal communities and the future of the Gambia at large.’
He went on that “Government must take a note of these environmental damages they (Government) cannot sign contract with such company and allow them to degrade the environment,” he said.
Lawyer Martin noted that this environmental harm caused by the Chinese factories is affecting the aforementioned coastal communities. He added that the fish are not preserve in any form as all species of fish are severely affected.
Moving forward, he said the Chinese investors must respect the country despite having a business deal with the Gambia Government. Some of these agreements, he said, should be reviewed if they are conflicting with Gambian’s principal interest.
“We cannot be selling our natural resource like that especially to this foreign country that has taken advantage. All those sectors involved in the business agreement should be looked into and address it in the interest of our country; otherwise it is totally a mess.”
“We have a problem with our institution and our department whether is Fishery, Water Resource or whatever. The entire environment department in the Gambia is not effective in addressing this situation,” he said.
In conclusion, the human rights lawyer said there is a need for the Government to work harder to address these challenges for the coastal residents to ensure their wellbeing.