By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The Vice President of Gambia, Badara Joof , has tasked the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) Parliamentarians to show more commitment to making good governance friendly laws that would assist them in ensuring people oriented results.
Joof made the charge yesterday in Banjul , the Gambia Capital when he visited the lawmakers who were his country on a delocalised Meeting .
He urged the Parliamentarians to be effective , vibrant legislatures that promote democracy and development.
He said,”You people have a lot of work to do . You are the custodian of the laws , you are the creators of the laws and you are the representative of the people . if you hear the people and more importantly listen to them then you will be able to actualize whatever the challenges they are facing .”
” You are the legislature and you hold the executive to account . You hold the judiciary to account . You hold every institutions in a functioning democracy to account.”
“And this depends on your effectiveness , your proactivity , your efficiency in execution of your duties.”
According to Joof, if the legislature functions , the democracy functions, citing Kwameh Nkruma, he said seek ye the political kingdom and all the things will follow. Seek ye an effective vibrant legislature and all democracy will be development democracy graduating from political democracy.
He advised the Parliamentarians to shun political democracy which promotes disunity,and dysfunctional system but to embrace development democracy in order to reduce poverty, conflicts, hunger and others in member states , adding that the ECOWAS does not need conflicts in the region.
He said,” The cost of war is more expensive than the price of peace . And it is in peace that we can achieve a lot” as he promised the Parliamentarians support from the governments of each country.”
Joof reminded the law makers although there are certain challenges in the ECOWAS region they should remain indifference , support the weak countries through persuasion , discussion and collaboration .
The provident of the future does not in the lie in AK47 and Khaki boys but it lies in sound policies , programmes that are implemented for social and economic development of the community in particular and Africa in general.
