45 VDC members trained on good governance

Over 45 Village Development Committee members in Jallubeh and Kibiri villages in the Central River Region are currently partaking in a four-day training on their roles and responsibilities in promoting good governance at local level.

The training, which was funded by the Community Driven Development Project through its sub-component of good governmance fund, was among others, meant to capacitise Village Development Committee members on their roles and responsibilities in their drive to plan and implement any development projects at the village level.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the lady president of Jamwelly Bayaba Women Kafoo, Mrs. Wurry Kandeh-Jawo highlighted the importance of the training, adding that her Kafoo had benefited from the good governmance fund.

According to her, participants would be introduced to some of the Local Government Acts that’s of concern to them.

For his part, the Community Development Officer for CRR north, Mr. Alieu Mbow spoke at length on the importance of the training, adding that the training is timely as it would distinguish the roles and responsibilities of Village Development Committee members, amongst others.

According to Mr. Mbow, the good governmance fund is a sub-component of the Community Driven Development Project, aimed at awareness creation and transparency. He said part of the fund is given to Non-Government Organisations, Community Based Organisation and Civil Society Organisation, to raise awareness on good governance. He urged participants to fully participate during the deliberations.

Mr. Omar Ceesay, the Development Officer at Kuntaur Area Council, who is also a resource person at the programme, revealed that the CDDP project has come to end poverty and secure food self-sufficiency. This, he added, cannot be realised in the absence of good governmance. He noted that for a village to realise sustainable and meaningful development there must be a well constituted VDC, according to the Local Government Act (2002).

"We have to look at the concept of VDC, why VDC, and how VDC is constituted? Who should be a member, VDC limitations and their roles and responsibilities," Ceesay concluded.