Abdou Colley, secretary of state for Trade Industry and Employment has said that police officers cannot be stationed at every household or junction so the involvement of local communities is highly needed to tackle crime and insecurity.

SoS Colley made these remarks over the weekend at the closing ceremony of a peace education training, which brought together 20 participants comprising of chiefs, National Assembly members, youth and women leaders. Held at Brefet Lodge in Western Region, the training session was organised by Youth Ambassadors of Peace (YAP) in collaboration with Concern Universal.

He described the peace training as an important tool in nation building adding that the participation of young people, who are the future leaders of tomorrow, comes at the right time. He commended YAP and their partners for organising such forum.

“It is important to prevent early warning signs of conflict before it escalates. In The Gambia there is a problem where we leave everything entirely on the police. Therefore there is the need for community policing,” he said.
For his part, Lamin Bojang, secretary of state for Works, Construction and Infrastructures hailed the Youth Ambassadors of Peace for their peace education training of opinion leaders.
“Peace is crucial as it helps in nation building. However, the involvement of young people in peace education is timely as they are the future leaders of tomorrow,” he added.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Ensa Badjie, commissioner of Police, who deputised for the secretary of state for Interior; Jalika Badjie, a female councillor of Brefet Ward; and Bala Musa Sanyang, chief of Foni Brefet constituency among others.