By Bakary Touray Jr
The Department of Community Development yesterday received mobility support from the UNICEF country office in The Gambia. The empowerment package, which included a pickup and 15 motorcycles, is meant help the Community Department with mobility, by ensuring the effective implementation of the Department’s project dubbed, ‘Nsa Kenno’ meaning ‘we can do it’.
The handing over ceremony at the Department’s Headquarters in Banjul was attended by officials of Ministry of Lands, Staff of Community Development, UNICEF Country Representative and media people.
The UNICEF Country Representative in The Gambia, Madam Sandra Lattouf, said ‘Nsa Kenno’ seeks to facilitate communication, participation, connection, interaction and exchange among duty-bearers and communities.
“I am convinced that supporting local structures to have capacity to function and thereby be accountable to the communities will help in the effective implementation of the National Development Plan,” the UNICEF top official in Banjul echoed.
She disclosed that the UNICEF and UNDP have supported the Lands Ministry to ensure all community structures in Lower River River, Central River River-North and Upper River River are capacitated on good governance, interpersonal communication, child protection issues and key household behavioural practices.
Since the launching of ‘Nsa Kenno’, the UNICEF Representative noticed, giant gains have been registered such as the establishment of the national coordinating committee, mapping of community structures in the said regions, capacitation of Village and Ward Development Committees.
Mr. Ebrima Sawaneh, Director, Department of Community Development, hailed UNICEF, UNDP and their partners for contributing towards the successful procurement of the facilities.
He assured their partners that the vehicles and motorbikes would be judiciously utilized and properly maintained to meet the intended goals for which they were given to the Department.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands and Regional Government, Mrs. Mariama Ndure-Njie, said the project aims to strengthen and build the capacities of decentralized structures in URR, LRR and CRR-North, following a joint institutional comprehensive consultative process called ‘Building Capacity of Regional Decentralized Structures in LRR and URR’.
She explained the term ‘Nsa Kenno’ has been chosen to capture the results to be achieved through community engagement and interaction with government.
“These vehicles and motorcycles will address the mobility challenges the department has been facing, and will enable the extension services to go to hard-to-reach areas,” the PS stated.
