FOROYAA Newspaper (Serrekunda)
Isatou Bittaye
7 April 2008
Gambian citizens are now mandated to arrest persons who commit offences or crimes at the Banjul International Airport. This mandate has been given under the new amended Civil Aviation Act, 2008 on Thursday, at the National Assembly.
Moving the Bill before parliamentarians, the Secretary of State for Works, Construction and Infrastructure, Lamin Bojang, said the Bill seeks to support some of our civil aviation legislations with international conventions of which The Gambia is a part. SoS Bojang added that The Gambia is a signatory to these international conventions on Civil Aviation 1994. He said the safety and security of international civil aviations can be achieved by implementing the provisions of the said conventions. SoS Bojang noted that the adherence and implementation of the civil aviation provisions are crucial. He indicated that the International Civil Aviation Mandatory Universal Safety Convention 2005 and the UN Civil Aviation Authority 2004 highlight some defects in The Gambia Civil Aviation. He said The Gambia should satisfy the minimum Civil Aviation Act which brings in new concepts to reflect elements required in modern day Civil Aviation industry. SoS Bojang noted that the amendment of the bill will enable security officers to carry out their duties diligently which will enable them to be more functional and effective. "There is need for the Civil Aviation legislation to be in line with the Chicago convention," he said.
In seconding the Bill, the majority leader and member for Serrekunda East, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, said it is good that laws that are not in the interest of The Gambia are amended. Hon. Jatta added that the security of airports is very important for any country to ensure that aircrafts come into your state. He said proper security at the airport is needed in order to attract aircrafts into the country. Hon. Jatta indicated that the law mandates citizens to be able to arrest people who commit crimes at Airport, but the civilians should only arrest in the absence of a security officer and should hand over the culprit to the security or the nearest police station.
The member for Wuli West, Hon. Sidia Jatta, said it is good that the new law will enable civilians to arrest people at the airport, but proper sensitization on this should be conducted. Hon. Jatta said people can know that they have the right to arrest at the Airport if they are informed. He urged the Civil Aviation Department to utilize the Radio and Television to sensitize people on this development.
Also contributing, the member for Jimara, Hon Mama Kandeh reiterated the need for sensitization. Hon Kandeh noted that tight security should be put in place at the Airport in order to protect citizens and ensure that aircrafts come into the country. He added that if proper security is available people can have access to direct flights to any destination they are going.
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Tighthen securty in our airport is a move in the right direction. I must caution the security guards to conduct arrest in a professional manner and inform victims of their right before pursuing arrest. I second Honourable sedia Jatta opinion that the community need to be informed and educate about the new law. We should have increase presence of officers in our airport that includes the NIA. At any point in time we should have about 15 officers visibly present including security guards. Our government need to do more in the area of public safety. We should increase officers… [Read Full Text]