By Mariam Williams
The National Council for Civic Education’s Program Manager, Mr. Yusupha Bojang, has stressed the importance of nurturing peace at the village level, enlightening that before the country could have, or be at peace, peace building should be nurtured (first) from the grassroots level.
That’s why the NCCE deemed it very important to train 320 Village Development Committees (VDCs) and Ward Development Committees (WDCs) of four Regions in the country, as Bojang stated.
The training, supported by the UNFPA office in the Gambia under the Peace Building Project, is aimed at increasing the said Committees’ understanding of the Local Government Act (LGA); to ensure that VDCs and WDCs are reminded of their roles and responsibilities towards community development.
According to Bojang, some VDCs have differences among themselves, while others have differences with the village heads (Alkalolou).
The NCCE official went on to caution that, when one’s development is delayed or denied, it compromises peace; reminding that if they all fulfill their responsibilities without defaulting, then there would be sustainable peace.
Vice Chairperson of Mansakonko Area Council, Mr. Almamo Ceesay, described the training as timely, saying regional people really needed the training. He, therefore, saluted NCCE and partners for such initiate.
He urged participants to take the training seriously and ensure they share the knowledge gained, when they return to their respective communities, with those who were not fortunate to be part of it.
Mr. Bakary Juwara, National Program Associate at UNFPA said their mandate is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young person realizes their potentials. He hinted that if VDCs and WDCs are not well structured it bring difficulties among communities, positing that VDCs should have action plans on how to bring development to their areas.
Juwara advised that VDCs should include youth and women to ensure everybody’s aspirations are captured, and also ensure that they fully participate in community development projects. He said it’s very important for them to know that development “can’t go without women and youths”. He also stressed the importance of the VDCs and WDCs having a law that would govern them to be able to work effectively.
Mr. Tumbul Jobe, in deputizing for the chief of Kiang East hailed NCCE for reminding VDCs and WDCs of their roles and responsibilities towards community development.
It could be noted that, NCCE was created as an independent non-partisan Council under the Constitution, to design and coordinate Civic Education programmes and to serve as the advocacy component to the National Governance Programme.
It envisioned a politically-enlightened citizenry based on the principle of democracy and good governance as enshrined in the Constitution and other international legal instruments.
