By Lamin Njie
Former Minister of the Interior Mai Ahmad Fatty has said that violence in Mali and elsewhere “is valuable lesson for The Gambia to urgently, fully implement Security Sector Reform (SSR), take public security seriously.”
“We should provide needed resources and enhanced capacity for our law enforcement agencies,” Fatty said through his official Facebook page.
“If we are negligent of the institutional needs of our security outfits, then we as a nation must be cognizant of the potentially complex public security challenges,” he added.
According to Fatty, it was imperative for the government “to genuinely engage civil society and political parties on the way forward, and seriously fight corrupt practices through effective accountable governance architecture.”
“We need to focus on those elements that will fundamentally grow the domestic economy to create new jobs for the youth. We must be inclusive, embrace all and provide a sense of belonging for all Gambians. We need a National Political Dialogue to entrench our new democratic gains,” he said.
Malians went to the polls on Saturday to vote for a new president but the process was halted at hundreds of polling stations because of violence.
“We condemn the violence against the Malian electoral system by terrorists, as result of which 644 polling stations were reportedly unable to operate. We stand with Mali in their consolidation of democracy,” Fatty said.
