By: Kemo Kanyi
The Chairman of the Brikama Area Council (BAC), YankubaDarboe, has stated that the agreement that his council had with the Gambia Police Force (GPF) over cessation of the demolition of market stalls had been violated by the police.
The Operation Clear The Road taskforce was at Brikamamarket last week to clear the roads and access paths but the Commander of Operations of the GPF,
AIG Pateh Jallow, alongside the regional police commander were in Brikama to engage with the BAC authorities, regarding the tension that greeted the arrival last of the taskforce in the regional capital.
The BAC chair insisted that the council was acting within the ambit of the law to put up stalls at the Brikama market. The Local Government Act, he explained, gives the council the mandate to allow for stalls to be erected to support income generation activities.
He explained that an agreement was reached last year between BAC and the Operation Clear The Roads taskforce following a fracas, which resulted in many individuals, seeking medical attention at the Brikama District Hospital. However, YankubaDarboe insisted that this agreement was violated by the police in their recent operation at the Brikama market.
“Our position is that we don’t mind Operation Clear TheRoads because there are so many roads in Brikama. Why is the operation obsessed with Brikama market? Why are they only obsessed with the demolition at the market? This is our number one issue with them,” Darboe emphasized.
He elaborated that the Local Government Act has given the BAC the authority to erect stalls on any streets or use of any part of the street or public place for the purpose of carrying on any trade, business or profession.
“The particular section they [police] rely on is under section 10 (1) of the NRA Act, which states that the authority is responsible for the administration, control, construction and maintenance of all roads. This is what the NRA Act says,” he pointed out.
The BAC chair stated that if both the police and the council follow the law and remain in their respective jurisdictions, there shouldn’t be a problem, adding that if NRA finds out that someone has erected stalls on the road, they should ask about the source of the authority and if they realize that it’s from BAC, then they should have been in a better position to know that the council is mandated by the law to do so. He added that if the government wants to reduce or limit council’s powers, the parliament should be engaged.
“They shouldn’t be above the law. So, this is the position of the council. The council is saying the law is here to be obeyed. It’s not here to be read as a novel, but it is here to be obeyed and everyone has to obey the law. We are acting within the limits of our mandate,” Darboe stated. He added:”But this government is obvious to all the laws and they use force, abuse the laws anyhow and they like to come after vulnerable people, whose only crime is to try and uplift their economic status at the market. They are not stealing anything from anybody; they’re not committing any crime. Their only crime is that they are occupying places that were allocated to them by this Council.”
