Speaking to The Point, Amadou Jallow, a native of Banjul and a youth activist, said in May 2018, Rohey Malick Lowe was intensely involved in actions in favour of the development of her locality. In particular, she made the question of gender her main battleground.
Mr. Jallow said one year after the commencement of her mandate, she brought together locally elected women of the country and set up the country chapter of the Network of Local Elected Women of Africa Refela The Gambia.
"Her colleagues have legitimately made the choice to bring her to the head of that network," he added.
Isatou Ndure, another native of Banjul, said drawing on her career as successful entrepreneur in the tourism sector, Ms. Lowe makes a point of involving development partners in the various actions of the network.
She said the launch of REFELA The Gambia was carried out with the support of UNDP, and as part of the actions undertaken to fight the coronavirus, the REFELA The Gambia network received the support of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) who donated two hundred thousand (200,000) masks to her on April 21, 2021.
Lamin Faal, from Lancaster Street in Banjul, said Ms. Lowe and her colleagues from REFELA The Gambia network were perfectly in line with the three campaigns carried by the continental REFELA network for the 2019-2021 period, namely: “Campaign of African Cities without Children in Street Situation”, “Campaign of African Cities with Zero Tolerance in the face of violence against Women”, and the “Campaign for African Cities for the Economic Empowerment of Women.
Fatou Jobe, another resident, said REFELA The Gambia Chapter has initiated awareness-raising actions supported by two videos in the local language (Wolof) in favour of the first 2 campaigns to reach grassroots populations. See the video of REFELA The Gambia on the Campaign for African cities without children in street situations; see the video of REFELA The Gambia on The Campaign of African Cities with Zero Tolerance in the Face of Violence Against Women and Girls, and see Ms. Rohey Malick Lowe’s video calling on women to take their place in local governance.
Momodou Njie said being the first woman elected mayoress of Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, Rohey Malick Lowe is also active internationally and is the voice of the continent’s elected officials on key themes like climate resilience, urbanisation and mobility.
Mariama Foon said in October 2020, Mayoress Lowe was elected president of the African Capital Cities Sustainability Forum (ACCSF). She held that position for the three following years. With her municipal team, various projects were initiated, including: the construction of the Banjul Youth Center of Excellence (2019), and “Greening the city center of Banjul” (2020).
She added that this project involves planting trees to beautify the urban landscape, mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, and prevent coastal erosion and desertification.
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