By: Nyima Sillah
The National Youth Parliament on Tuesday organized a day-long capacity-building training for Civil Society Organizations and Media practitioners on the “Wajef” platform.
Sophie Manneh, Program Officer of National Youth Parliament and Project Coordinator for the Parliament Watch Project, said the NYP is currently implementing the Parliament Watch project which seeks to enhance transparency, accountability, and access to the National Assembly, adding they are a civil society that advocates, and they also have news outlets.
“For a strong realization of the democratic institutions in the Gambia, there is a need for collaboration especially since the work of parliament is huge and a single organization cannot do it alone,” she stated.
Ebrahim Rahizi Drammeh, Program Associate International Republican Institute (IRI) Gambia said the “Wahjef” platform monitors legislative activities with special emphasis on tracking campaign promises made in 2022 by NAMs.
“The platform monitors legislative activities with special emphasis on tracking campaigns promises made in 2022 by NAMs. To do this, we train them on the best practices on parliamentary monitoring to ensure that accurate information is produced.”
He expressed gratitude to be able to witness yet another training done by their partners NYP and continued that everyone should have a say in the National Assembly and take part in decisions and law-making.
“By keeping track of the promises made by our representatives will help us to keep them accountable for their actions and decisions, and one example would be how technology can be leveraged to promote good governance and democratic operations.
It is therefore ideal to recommend the NYP for their efforts in developing and maintaining this website and sharing their expertise through this training session,” he said.
He commended the National Youth Parliament for their support and confidence to see some impact of their programs in achieving democracy.
