President Adama Barrow on Monday told his Ecowas equivalents the presence of ECOMIG in the country will be a stabilising factor, as he singled out reforms as the reason for his request for the extension of the force’s mandate.
“Given the reforms underway and the need to protect the fragile democracy in The Gambia, I avail myself this privilege to request for the extension of the mandate of ECOMIG in The Gambia. It should be noted that our Security Sector Reform is at an advanced stage and, for the first time, an audit exercise has been conducted in the army and a policy developed,” the president said on Monday as he spoke at the 57 ordinary session of the authority of heads of state and government of ECOWAS.
The president added: “The reform process remains sensitive, noting that the previous government had molded the security apparatus of the country to serve as a repressive mechanism.
“As such, a range of uncertainties, including right sizing and profiling the Armed Forces, matters of disarmament and demobilisation of troops remain complicated matters to address. As the reform process is ongoing, Government and its partners need to work with caution in order to complete the process successfully.
“For these reasons, the presence of ECOMIG in the country will be a stabilising factor, while providing, at the same time, the required capacity building support for the viable implementation of the sector reforms.”
