By Abdoulie John
As consultations on the new Constitution have moved into high gear, the Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), Justice Cherno Sulayman Jallow, has reaffirmed the commitment of the review panel to address issues regarding environment protection laws.
Justice Jallow made this remark Friday during a press conference held at CRC headquarter, located along Bertil Harding Highway in Kotu, some 8 km away from Banjul.
The country’s natural resources and environment are being subjected to man-made assaults, posing a real threat to people’s livelihoods and the existing ecosystems. Additionally, the adverse effects of Climate Change are increasingly impacting on Gambian society and all indicators suggest that the phenomenon will have disastrous consequences on human life across the globe.
“We have a Special Technical Committee on Environment to deal with natural resources,” Justice Jallow told reporters in an attempt to show that CRC is on top of issues.
He further stated that plans are at advanced stage to seek the expertise of environmental specialists in order to come up with legislation that would protect the environment.
“We are cognizant of the environment and the need to preserve it,” he added.
To many observers, the magnitude of the destruction in the environment sector should compel legislators to come up with entrenched clauses that would help to reverse the self-destruction process humans have embarked on.
Cross-country Tour
Weighing in on the CRC’s cross-country tour, Justice Jallow made it clear that everything is on track progressing.
“Since the 4th of November, the CRC has embarked on in-country public consultations and has so far covered the North Bank Region, the Central River Region, and Lower River Region,” he disclosed in his preliminary statement.
Lifting a corner of the veil on the consultative tour, the CRC Chairperson then added they visited a total of 47 communities in the 4 indicated regions, including the neighbouring and satellite villages.
As part of shared governance, the consultative process is expected to help Gambians take ownership of the new Constitution.
He went on to announce that the CRC is currently in the West Coast Region from where public consultations will cover Kanifing Administrative Area and Banjul Administrative Area.
“By the time we complete these remaining Administrative Regions, we would have visited an additional 41 communities, thus making an overall total of 88 communities visited by the CRC,” Jallow emphasized.
Ends