The
Ministry of the Interior has signed a US$48 million forensic science centre
project with the Centre for Diagnostic and Research in Molecular Medicine.
Speaking
at the signing ceremony yesterday, the interior minister said the purpose of
establishing the centre is to support law enforcement and to establish a
database that would assist in solving crime.
“The
database would increase the already well recognised efficiency of the Gambian
security forces and would place them in a leading position in the region when
it comes to preventing and fighting crime,” Minister Mai Ahmad Fatty said.
He
pointed out that the centre will also perform a wide range of tests for
molecular diagnosis and monitoring of pathologies such as infectious diseases,
cancer, genetic and other types of diseases.
It will also provide laboratory tests which are not available in already
established routine clinical laboratories.
Mr Fatty said the centre will also offer
researchers, teachers and other scientists a platform to develop research
projects, to train students and attract funds for the country.
He
said the signing of the forensic science centre project is “a milestone in the
history of The Gambia” but more so in the presidency of Adama Barrow.
“Today
is another day of fulfillment on the coalition campaign promise to keep The
Gambia safe and secure but also to provide a judicial system that is second to
none in Africa; a judicial system that will be characterised by free and fair
evidence processes and a criminal jurisprudence that will be the envy of
Africa,” he affirmed.
According
to Fatty, the project will revolutionise the act of fighting crime in The
Gambia, saying the future of crime fighting is in technology.
He
said: “We have had difficulties in
proving several cases before our courts.
Police investigation has been fraught with deficiencies and defectiveness
because we do not have the tools to produce and provide a lot of the evidence
necessary to secure conviction in the court of law.
“This
project will ensure they conduct proper investigations that are backed with
scientific prove. The completion of the
project will be a great milestone in integrating police services like DNA,
ballistic, biological examinations, cyber, and rape cases among others.”
Dr
Cheikh Tidiane Sy, general manager of Centre for Diagnostic and Research in
Molecular Medicine, said once the project is implemented, there will no more be
the need for Gambian citizens to travel abroad to have certain services but
instead the country will be attracting people from around the world.
