The National Youth Council (NYC) officials on 1 November presided over
of Lower River Region (LRR) youth committee inauguration in Pakalinding.
NYC has expressed satisfaction with the composition of the Lower River Region Youth Committee at the committee’s launching presided over by the office of the region’s governor.
The region was the second point of call next to North Bank Region (NBR) for the Youth Council in its tour to launch Regional Youth Committees across the country.
The acting executive secretary of the NYC, Abubacarr Sissawo, said the event was effective in ensuring unbiased selection and prevention of junk names into regional youth committees who will hardly gain moment of time to partake in youth development activities for their regions.
He said that it is an implementation of resolution from the 2012 NaYCONF for youth structures to be monitored and capacitated warranting the event to exist in those two folds.
Fabakary Kalleh, Chairperson of the NYC, directed the meeting direction to what he called key burning issues in the region, urging for immediate decisions by all stakeholders in addressing them.
He pointed out that the inaugurated youth committee should respond to and regularise the challenges in the management of the Youth centre in Pakalinding.
Going by record, he recalled that efforts in several occasion have failed in putting up a management for the centre in the interest of youth of the region through the dictates of the National Youth Policy.
His speech urged the Mansakonko Area Council to respond to the biannual youth resolution committing councils and municipalities to allocate 5% of their development budgets to youth development which the youth committees should monitor.
He reminded the LRR Regional Youth Committee that all eyes are on them with high expectations on their bid to host the 2014 NaYCONF with more than one thousand and five hundreds youth throughout the country.
Malick Ceesay, chairman of the LRR youth Committee, noted that the launching of his committee and the deliberation on the legal and logical frameworks of the governance of youth and youth activities in development left a mark to be desired for them.
“We are going to know our roles and responsibilities and our relationship with national structures and regional authorities.”
When it comes to funding, he said funds have been coming into LRR in the name of youth development but their manner of distribution was not transparent because the supreme youth group in the region was never put in the picture.
He pledged to make effort to involve youth structures in collaboration with the regional authorities to ensure that mutual obligations are honoured in the side of youth development and programmes.
On behalf of the Regional Governor in launching the LRR Youth Committee, Foday Camara, Ward Councilor for Gikoko Ward, expressed willingness to support the youth with a view that it is government priority to work in partnership with them.
He said the development and empowerment of youth committees will develop the villages and districts of the region.
The youth Committee for the region as endorsed by the NYC includes Malick Ceesay, Chairman, Almamo AK Ceesay, Vice Chairman, Muhammed Fatty, Secretary, Ansumana Camara, Public Relations Officer, Amadou A Bah, Treasurer.
It also includes Alhasan Bah of Jarra West, Modou Jobe of Jarra Central, Alagie Barrow of Jarra East, Yahya LB Gassama of Kiang East, Musa Fadera from Kiang Central and Bintou Sillah representing Kiang West.
