Photo Of The Committee Members And Officials From The Ministry Of Youth And Sports And Ministry Of Trade At The National Assembly Committee Room
By Ramatoulie Jawo
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Health and Gender held a consultation meeting on Thursday with officials from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to discuss the National Population Bill, 2024.
The bill was introduced to parliament during the 2024 session by Vice President Muhammed BS Jallow. After its second reading, the Population Bill 2024 was referred to the National Assembly’s Select Committee on Health and Gender for further review and consultations with relevant stakeholders.
The bill seeks to establish a legal framework for population and development-related issues in The Gambia, ensuring the protection of rights for all citizens and promoting inclusivity. Additionally, it aims to guide the implementation of population programs and secure dedicated funding for related initiatives.
In his input, Badou Secka, Principal Labour Economist at the Ministry of Trade, emphasized two key observations following his review of the legislation, particularly regarding the proposed board’s composition.“If you look at the bill, it is about population, and you can not talk about the population of any country without talking about the youth and youth of this country forms I will say almost 60% of the population and looking at the importance of this board has been kind of tentatively formed, but we don’t see ourselves in there, and we thought that it is important for the ministry of trade to be part of the board,” he said.
He made another observation concerning Part 5, Page 17 of the bill, which outlines the establishment of the National Observatory for Demographic Dividend.
He noted that, upon reviewing the listed directors, they believe the Director of Employment and the Director of Investment from the Ministry of Trade should also be included in this committee due to their relevance to employment matters.“We feel that the director of employment, because we are the ministry responsible for labor administration, so it is relevant for us to be in that particular committee, both employment directors and also the director of industry. Any investor who comes to the Gambia must pass through these two directors or either of them, for relevant documents. So we thought that we should be in that particular commission,” he said.
Ismaila Jarjusey, a representative from the National Commission Population Secretariat, clarified that the primary function of the board is to oversee the secretariat’s activities, which is tasked with carrying out various interventions and initiatives.
He pointed out that in similar cases, the number of board members typically ranges from 7 to 9, emphasizing the importance of ensuring robust representation on the board.
Hon. Amadou Camara, Co-Chair of the joint committee, emphasized that the bill ensures the continued existence of the National Population Secretariat. This body will be responsible for the formulation, implementation, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of population programs. He also highlighted the crucial roles of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Trade in the bill’s passage.
“ You are very important as far as this bill is concerned; that is why you are called to come and give us your positions as far as this bill is concerned, what you think from clause one to the last clause. What are your opinions, to see if there is anything you need us to change or add in any of the clauses? And this we will need you in person to explain,” he said.