Discussed yesterday at the National Assembly in Banjul, the Population Bill 2024 seeks to provide the legislative authority for population and development-related issues in The Gambia, as well as secure the rights of everyone, leaving no one behind; guide the implementation of population programmes, and secure dedicated financing for population-related issues.
Giving their ministry’s submission on the bill, Basiru Secka, Principal Labour Economist at the Ministry of Trade, stated: “We have just got two observations: one is on the composition of the board. Looking at the bill, it is about population and we are aware that young people consist almost 60% of the population. Therefore, looking at the importance of the board, it has been kind of tentatively formed, but we don't see ourselves in there and we thought that it is important for the ministry to be part of the board.
“The other observation we have is on Part 5, page 17, of the bill which is talking about the National Observatory for Demographic Dividend. We have seen some of the directors there and we believe that, as far as employment is concerned, the Director of Employment and also the Director of Investment from the Ministry of Trade should also be part of this particular committee.
“We feel that the Director of Employment and Investment should be part of that committee because we are responsible for labour administration, because any investor who comes to the country must pass through these two or either of them for relevant documents. So we thought that we should be in that particular commission.”
Ismaila Jarjusey, representative from the National Commission Population Secretariat (NCPS), explained that the board's function mainly is to share the affairs of the secretariat, which will be doing the implementation of interventions and activities.
”So we looked at all the acts, and the size, the usual firm number, that we see is between seven and nine, not more than ten; so we should be careful maybe to make sure that we have a very good representation on the board.”
The Chair of the Committee, Hon. Amadou Camara, Member for Nianija, stated: “As part of the process of defining its practical application, the Bill makes provisions for the continuance in existence of the National Population Secretariat to formulate, implement, coordinate, monitor and evaluate population programs.
“The Bill also seeks to establish the National Observatory for the Demographic Dividend. The Bill is a comprehensive framework that addresses population-related issues, promotes data-driven decision-making, and ensures that demographic factors are considered in various aspects of national development in The Gambia, and incorporates and aligns emerging issues with current and future realities of The Gambia.”
