Environment minister pays courtesy call on NEA, others

Minister John-Manjang visited the Department of Forestry, Department of Parks and Wildlife Management and the National Environment Agency, accompanied by Ebrima Jawara, Deputy Permanent Secretary Finance and Administration of MECCNAR and Momodou Wuri Jallow, Adviser to the Minister.

The recently appointed Minister said that after taking over from her predecessor, she thought it was important to meet the staff of the departments under her portfolio as soon as possible, to see the conditions and environment under which they were doing their work, to reiterate the fact that she and all the staff of MECCNAR are public servants, who owe it to themselves and the Gambian populace to serve them honestly, in an efficient and effective manner.

She expressed her Ministry`s readiness to design future plans that will be SMART and workable to ensure they achieve their desired results.

Madam John-Manjang commended former MECCNAR Minister Honourable Lamin Dibba for the good work he had done, noting that, The Gambia has been recognised globally with regards to its wonderful policies and strategies put forward to ensure we meet climate change targets in the future. However Honourable John-Manjang emphasized the need to translate those wonderful documents, plans and strategies into real impacts on the ground, for the benefit of The Gambia and all those who reside in it.

The Minister called for the Ministry`s staff to think sustainability and practical applicability, when it comes to implementation of projects and programmes.

She also called for the need for the different departments and units to support each other in order to have balanced and workable solutions henceforth.

She noted that, the Gambian population has a key role to play in mitigating the effects of climate change, noting that in as much as technocrats design and advise on best policies and strategies to manage the effects of climate change on the environment, the general population must also be constructively engaged to respond and take ownership of these policies and strategies put forward by the technocrats, for their effective implementation.

Dodou Trawally, Executive Director of National Environment Agency, Muhammed Jaiteh, Director of the Department of Forestry, and Momodou Gassama, Director of the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management all received the Honourable Minister at their respective institutions, where she was taken on a conducted tour and was able to interact with the staff.