By Mustapha S Koli
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Welfare, Honourable Fatou Kinteh has emphasized that Government of the Gambia attaches great significance to Women Empowerment, as a critical enabler to National Development.
Madam Kinteh, made these remarks, Wednesday, 14th April 2022, in a meeting with project beneficiaries at the coastal community village of Tanje during a one day familiarisation tour of Fish Landing Site Projects.
The projects are being implemented by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare in Collaboration with World Food Programme and The Gambia Red Cross Society in the Coastal villages of Gunjur, Tanje and Sanyang.
The multiple projects is meant to support the Women Fisher folks in the coastlines with Smoke Houses, Smoke Ovens, Solar Dryers, Cold Rooms, Storage Rooms, Cooling Items, Rest Rooms, Toilet Facilities, Boreholes and Solar Pumping systems amongst others. It is part of the Ministry’s Covid-19 response strategy to consolidate and strengthen its support towards promoting and enhancing the plight of Women within the fishing industry.
The objectives of the tour amongst other things is to get first-hand information on the overall project implementation, as well as to assess progress on the construction of work and discuss with the Management and Development Committees on the identification of sites for other components of the project.
These Women Empowerment projects and programmes are anchored within the Ministry’s strategic plan 2022-2025 devoted to address gender imbalances, promote gender equality, social injustice, further mainstream women, children, people with disabilities, elderly and vulnerable in the overall development process, and ensure that their rights are respected, protected and promoted, as formulated in the National Development Plan 2018-2021(NDP).
Addressing the beneficiaries, Minister Kinteh dilated on the significance that the Government of the Gambia attach to women empowerment, which has led to the creation of a Ministry responsible to coordinate, promote and respond to issues affecting Women in the country.
The mandate of the ministry includes but not limited to policy formulation, projects and programme implementation for women empowerment as a critical enabler of the National Development Plan.
However, She emphasised on the need for sustainability which, she said, can only be achieved through collective collaboration, cooperation, communication and swift coordination among the beneficiaries to design and tailor responsive sustainability mechanisms for posterity.
The projects, She added , was designed and implementing to respond to the needs and aspirations of beneficiaries as prioritized during community consultations conducted in 2020.
The Minister urged women to maintain the project to contribute to food and nutrition security, self-employment and economic independence.
Mr. Lamin Bojang speaking on behalf of the Alkalo of Tanje, expressed happiness with the Ministry’s timely intervention to address the plight of women fish processors in the community. He therefore challenged beneficiaries to take ownership of the projects and maintained the facilities as required whilst assuring the women of his committee his support at all times.
Madam Fili Sarr of Tanje among others made remarks during the tour.
Upon completion of these projects it is expected to benefit 700 families in the villages of Sanyang, Tanje and Brufut.