By Buba Gagigo
Seven nominated councilors were administered the oath to serve as representatives of various interest groups at the Brikama Area Council on Monday. Meanwhile, the council is awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of Local Government for the two other nominated members before they can be sworn in.
The following nominated councilors have taken the oath to represent interest groups or sections of society:
Fa Lalo Touray, the Chiefs or Seyfolu Representative
Ramou Sabally, the Women’s Representative
Sheriffo Baiyo Sonko, the Transport Representative
Alagie Bah, the Animal Husbandry or Cattle Herders Representative
Omar Darboe, the Farmer’s Representative
Sarjo Sanneh, the Market and Gardeners Representative
Bubacarr Sidiqi Jammeh, the Business Representative
Binta Senghore, the Youth Representative, and Ndey Saine, the Differently Able Representative, are still awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of Local Government.
“We have two other nominees who are yet to be Sworn-in, and that is our nominee for Youths and the differently able. We are waiting for the confirmation from the ministry in order to be able to conclude those two, and we are hoping that will happen as soon as possible. We were hoping it will happen before this ceremony today, but unfortunately, the nomination papers went in a bit late Friday, and they were not able to deal with it,” Chairman Yankuba Darboe said about the Youth and Differently able representatives.
The chairman reaffirmed the vital role that the nominated members play in ensuring that the concerns of the groups or sectors of society they represent on the council are heard and addressed.
“Nominated representatives serve an important role in the council in ensuring that the interest groups or the section of the society they represent are adequately heard, considered, and supported by this council. Furthermore, though the nominated councilor might be nominated by one particular interest group or section of society, but that does not mean that their representation is limited to that group alone but should be broadened enough to ensure other related interest groups or sections of society are ignored or unrepresented in the council,” Chairman Yankuba Darboe said.
Speaking on behalf of the newly sworn-in councilors, Business Representative Councillor Bubacarr Sidiq Jammeh reaffirmed their commitment to serving the interests of the Brikama Area Council.
“On behalf of the newly nominated councilors of the Brikama Area Council (BAC), we are hereby expressing our deepest gratitude to Chairman, honorable Yankuba Darboe for the opportunity accorded to us to serve the people of West Coast. On the same token, we stand here today to affirm our unflinching commitment to serve the interests of the Brikama Area Council with all our minds. Our Interest is to see the success of the West Coast Region and to help cement the legacy of honorable Yankuba Darboe and his elected councilors as the most transformative leadership that the BAC has ever seen since independence,” he said.