By Adama Makasuba
Gambia Democratic Congress has expressed concern over crime rate in the country by describing it as ‘scary’ and called for political will to track its root cause.
“The rate of crime in the new Gambia is scary. This calls for an awakening of the required political will to track the root of these crimes by empowering the nation’s national security apparatus particularly at the points of entry into the country with the needed infrastructure and morale, strengthening the cooperation of the surrounding sister-nations to enhance a tighter border control mechanism and above all increasing opportunities of employment for our young people which can help in making the crime rate fall,” a statement signed by GDC leader Mamma Kandeh said.
“Employment opportunities can be increased by opening the doors to small-scale industries for our youth. It will make them gainfully busy in productive work which will decrease their predisposition towards crime. There is also a great need to combat the menace of poverty in the country which relates to ear- marking deliberate policies for economic empowerment of the masses. We hope that the government of The Gambia will listen to the growing list of outcries from among our people over the painful and pathetic situation that we face today as a people,” he added.
Meanwhile, he said: “another very worrying scenario is the stunning growth in violent crimes and lawlessness in the country. The 2020 annual report produced by the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) in conjunction with the Regional Security Office at the U.S. Embassy in Banjul assessed The Gambia as being a HIGH-threat location for crime. But what is more troubling is that, since 2020, the growing wave of serious crimes; murder, armed robberies, human trafficking and drug smuggling in the country has grown astronomically far above the rate identified last year. This provokes a serious cause for concern, especially in the effectiveness of the political will of the government in power to combat crimes and insecurity in the land.
“In April and May 2021, there were countless cases of robbery with arms in various locations of the country and it is almost becoming a norm. A few days ago, a burglar invaded a home in broad daylight at 7:30 am. In addition, another armed robber operation was carried out at Kololi in broad daylight too. Murder has also become rife. Last April, a grade 12 female student Marie Mendy was gruesomely murdered. In another development, the Gambian Police Force is investigating a case of the suspected murder of one Marang Jaw of Mandinaring Village in West Coast Region which occurred on the 11th May, 2021.
