By: Kebba AF Touray
Photo: Minister Sanyang
Gambia’s Interior Minister Abdoulie Sanyang has admitted before Members of the National Assembly (NAMs), the unavailability of logistics and equipment to fight against the new drug “Kush”, and its rampant abuse by the youth.
Minister Sanyang acknowledged this while responding to concerns raised by NAMs regarding his Ministry, during the recently ended adjournment debate.
NAMs raised five main issues regarding the Ministry of Interior and these are lack of mobility, drug abuse, and the crime statistics in the country, among others.
According to Mr. Sanyang, his Ministry has come up with a task force that is working on the issue of the new drug.
“Kush is a foreign drug which has been brought into the country from Sierra Leone, due to the country’s porous borders, logistics and equipment to fight the menace of this new drug are not available for the Police to cover all these border posts across the country. So there is no way we can control these things,” he admitted.
According to Mr. Sanyang, he had an engagement with his security committee members when he served as the Inspector General of Police, on how to improve logistics for the security of the country and address problems such as mobility constraints that confront the police.
On the issue of lack of vehicles for security officers raised by most members, he informed the Members for Jarra West and Foni Bintang Karanai, Hon. AlieuBaldeh and Hon. Bakary Badgie respectively, that on the 7th of August, their constituencies will have vehicles for the security posts in their constituencies.
He said the costs of these vehicles were approved by the National Assembly even though he had an engagement with the legislature on improving the Ministry’s budget so that issues confronting security could be addressed.
“But unfortunately, only two vehicles were approved and the said vehicles are for Sibanor and Jarra Soma Police posts,” Mr Sanyang said.
In terms of the crime rate in the country, the Minister said he does not know the type of crime rate people are talking about, arguing that when compared to countries within the sub-region the sub-region and the rest of Africa, Gambia has the lowest crime rate. He said there are murder cases as highlighted by one Member, and asked what the Police can do when two people fight and kill each other. He said this is not the responsibility of the Police, but a societal and domestic problem.
Minister Sanyang associated himself with the President’s comments when he was giving his State of the Nation address saying as far as crime is concerned, Gambia has one of the lowest crime rates in the sub-region and Africa, adding that for him, his concern is road traffic accidents where the country is losing lives, and said the Police has come up with a Highway Patrol Unit that will help reduce road traffic accidents in the country.
On irregular migration, the Minister said the Gambia has the lowest number of her people embarking on such journeys. He said most of the people who embark on the ‘backway’ migration, use the Gambia as their point of departure, despite members of the Immigration and PIU patrolling the country’s borders with the support of the Gambia Navy. However, he said that dealing with issues of migration required a lot of logistics which unfortunately they do not have at the Ministry of Interior.
