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Momodou
Denmark
11641 Posts |
 Posted - 22 May 2021 : 15:43:39
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Deplorable security situation - proposals
By Dr. Karamba Touray
There is no doubt we face an acute security challenge in our country. Violent criminals , drug dealers and ingrained institutional corruption are all combining to undermine the individual and collective security of our nation. We also face the potential of serious damage to our earned reputation as a safe and friendly country to visit and do business in . Our current national security architecture and orientation is unsuitable to properly address the urgent security challenge we face . On the one hand we are saddled with an outsized , expensive and poorly organized standing army brimming with generals and an overall officer corps of paper pushers whose only job seems to be warehousing thousands of underpaid, underfed , undertrained and underutilized regular soldiers spread in Baracks throughout the country . Our national army costs too much and does too little for its own good not to mention the urgent national security needs of the Gambian people . Except for a few cosmetic personnel reshuffling , the institution of the army has largely remained intact as it was inherited from the tyrant that shaped it for the 22 years he ran it as his personal proletarian guard . On the other end of the security spectrum is a severely under resourced police department weighted down by a paucity of resources that hobbles it from doing basic law enforcement functions. They have literally no vehicles to deploy to prevent or address crime, lack equipment to help with logistics and intelligence gathering, operate from bare and decrepit offices lacking even basic computers and communication gear to adequately do their jobs . How then can we expect even the most gallant and dedicated of police officers to protect the lives , property and liberties of our people when they are paid a pittance as salary, given little to no resources to enforce the laws they are constitutionally sworn to and required to uphold? They cannot wrangle magic and miraculously keep citizens safe with only their physical being . We must give the police the resources and tools they need to crack down on criminals and keep the country safe and secure.
Therefore as a citizen, I propose our government consider the following steps urgently:
1-The president address the nation in the local languages he is fluent in acknowledging the concerns of citizens regarding the deteriorating security situation and pledging to use every available legal and financial tool of The Gambia government to address it.
2- Direct the finance minister to immediately provide D50million to the police for the purchase of vehicles and other resources to expand and sustain their current anti crime initiative in the urban area. This money must come from the current approved budget through enforced reallocation from all ministries including the office of the president.
3- Work with parliament to pass emergency legislation stiffening penalties of some drug and violent crime categories as well as provide the justice ministry with earmarked funds to help expand their capacity for prosecution so that arrested criminals can be put on fast dockets.
4- Craft a framework that allows police to collaborate with municipal governments on how to sustain community policing with the direct involvement of neighborhood watch teams to help drain the ecosystem in which criminals thrive.
The security challenge our country faces requires a comprehensive and sustained approach . Piece meal temporary measures will only produce lulls and the violent criminals will return to ply their menace and making law abiding citizens feel like hostages at the mercy of marauding thieves if law enforcement is not on their tail. We all need to work together as a country to face this challenge and preserve our lives, properties and the good name of our country.
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Deplorable security situation
