By Makutu Manneh
Hamat N.K. Bah, the Minister of Lands, Regional Government and Religious Affairs, has acknowledged shortcomings in his ministry’s oversight of local councils and its engagement with traditional authorities, saying the government must do more to monitor local administrations across the country.
Speaking on GRTS Radio, Mr. Bah identified inadequate monitoring of councils and infrequent visits to chieftaincies, districts, and provincial communities as weaknesses within his ministry.
“I accept; we have looked at it and seen that it is a weakness, and we are going to work on it as soon as possible,” he said. “We will conduct a tour throughout the country.”
Mr. Bah said the ministry intends to address the shortcomings urgently, including through greater engagement with local and traditional authorities nationwide.
He offered few details about problems facing the councils, saying some of those matters were already being addressed through legal and institutional processes.
Still, Mr. Bah acknowledged that significant work remained to strengthen local governance. He pointed to concerns surrounding the operations of local councils as among the reasons the government established a presidential commission of inquiry to examine their conduct.
The commission was created to investigate the administrative and financial operations of local government councils across the country.
Mr. Bah said his ministry was awaiting the commission’s findings, which he said would be made available to the Gambian public.
His comments amount to a rare acknowledgment by the ministry responsible for overseeing local government that its own monitoring of councils and engagement with traditional authorities have fallen short.
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