By: Kebba AF Touray
The Majority Leader and Member for Kombo North, Kebba K Barrow, has called for Ministers to be present during the sittings of the National Assembly. Barrow said this yesterday during proceedings at the Legislative House in Banjul.
He emphasized: “we cannot be talking to ourselves here and those who are supposed to do the implementation of the programs are sitting in their offices and they are not listening to us. It is very frustrating and a lot of work is being done at the level of the House and implementation is key and that is lacking.”
He added, “I think it is important from now on, we want that before we start the sessions, all the relevant agencies and departments are here with us, because it is not going to be worthy wasting our time coming here, deliberating on issues and the people who are to implement them are not here. I think the Clerk and his team would take note of this and make sure that it is followed before the next session in June”.
He also urged the Clerk to provide the Lawmakers with the arrears of all the international bodies that they are members to, adding these dues can retard their participation in the activities of these bodies. He said it is important to know their arrears and ensure that they are paid.
Barrow urged that the political financing should be done on a level playing field to enable small parties to have a share in what they are doing. Thus, he dismissed that a particular political party should be opportune to have state resources for their political activities.
He also said sport is an enabler that helps to build up social cohesion in communities and villages, as such the involvement of young people in the domain is paramount. He called for the need for the Hospitality Training Institute to be decentralized in all the regions, wherein catering and hospitality can be done by the young people, thus serves as a source of living and employment for the young people.
