By: Nyima Sillah
Two members of the National Assembly Committee on Defence and Security said what The Gambia currently needs is operation safe the country not Operation Clear The Roads.
The Tallinding lawmaker Musa Badgie this week told The Voice that the country needs to clear certain roads for safety but pointed out that what the country needs is operation safe the country in view of the surge in violent crimes which, he described, as alarming. He added that the situation needs urgent government action to address it.
“Some might say road clearing is part of security, but we have seen some places that they are going to which do not pose any security risk, especially in markets. Markets do not need some of those highways. They are destroying people’s livelihoods because they want to make the road bigger when you have other priorities to sort out,” he stated.
He emphasized that the amount of energy, manpower and resources invested in Operation Clear The Road should be invested in curbing violent crimes across the country.
The Tallinding lawmaker hinted that the upsurge in crime in the country exposed the weakness of the security, and the failure of the security sector to take up responsibility to prevent crimes in the country, arguing that the country needs general security to ensure that citizens have freedom of movement.
He opined that the IGP and the minister of interior should immediately constitute a task force that would be funded and provided vehicles to patrol crime hotspots in the country.
“The energy that the government used to mobilize vehicles and resources to go and meet the people or for any other government function should be invested in mobilizing vehicles and resources for the police and immigration officers to be able to do constant patrols because some of the crimes are committed by undocumented people,” NAM Badgie stressed.
Busumbala NAM Muhammed Kanteh opined that the most needed crime control initiative for now is “operation safe the country”, arguing that a day hardly passes without the occurrence of a major security issue.
“Of recent, we have registered several robbery cases within the Greater Banjul Area and beyond and we have also registered murder cases in various police stations of which some of the murders were committed in mysterious ways and still the culprits are not apprehended. Even though the police are on their investigations, I believe there needs to be more proactive policing than reactive policing,” stated Kanteh.
The Busumbala lawmaker further stated that the serious criminal activities going on in the country would have serious consequences for the economy, citing that the recent murder of a vendor will instill fear in vendors.