By Adama Makasuba
African Union has assured commitment to supporting The Gambia toward its economic recovery, transitional justice, truth commission, security sector reform and host of other areas relevant to ensuring the country is set on the right path to development.
The union declared the assurance as its Multidimensional Needs Assessment Mission Team arrived in The Gambia aimed to engage Gambian stakeholders with a view to agreeing on the framework and strategies for the African Union’s continuous support to The Gambia in area of elections, national dialogue, constitutionalism, security sector Reforms, transitional justice, governance (decentralization and local governance, public service and qdministration).
Speaking at the meeting, Dr Mamadou Tangara, Honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation described the visit as a sign of strong commitment of the African Union.
He expressed gratitude of the Government of The Gambia to the leadership of the African Union Commission particularly to H.E. Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union.
He said Ambassador Adeoye has advanced the focused commitment of his department to partner with the government of The Gambia in accelerating the momentum of democratization initiatives in line with the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA).
The African Union has shown that the application of the principles of subsidiary, complementarity, and comparative advantage aligns well with harnessing the diverse efforts and resources to address the critical development challenges facing its member states. The Gambia is, therefore, optimistic that the aspiration of the “Africa We Want” will systematically materialise through strong adherence to the principles that underline the collaboration between the African Union, the member states, and Regional Economic Communities (RECs),” he said.
Mbari Calixte, AU Director of Governance and Conflict Prevention, said the African Union has a responsibility to assist its member States to adopt measures to promote and implement shared values to advance agenda policies.
He added that The Gambia has received support from the African Union since the 2017 political impasse, ranging from economic recovery, transitional justice, truth commission, security sector reform and host of other areas relevant to ensuring the country is set on the right path to development.
Mr Calixte expressed satisfaction in the commitment of The Gambia government to implement these critical areas and assured the African Union’s continuous support in guiding the country to attain greater progress.
Director of African Affairs Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Omar Baldeh said: “As you may all recall in May 2017, following a request from the Gambian Government to the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC), on 29 March, 2017, the African Union conducted a Needs Assessment Mission to The Gambia.
“The mission led by the AU High Representative for Mali and Sahel, President Pierre Buyoya, assessed the areas of support required by the government namely: National dialogue and reconciliation, Security Sector Reform (SSR), and Socio-Economic Transformation.”