Posted by By Bekai Njie
Ebrima Sawaneh, the director of Administration and public relations officer of the Brikama Area Council (BAC), has said that the council will engage a youth movement that calls itself #OccupyBAC to dialogue with them and look into some of their demands.
The movement on Wednesday 24 July 2019 took to the streets, demanding better social services such as good roads, standard market facilities, proper waste collection system, good drainage and other social amenities.
However, they were later dispersed by the PIU personnel, using tear gas.
Mr. Sawaneh told our reporter that the council will invite organisers of the #OccupyBAC protest for a dialogue with a view to responding to some of their demands that were embedded in their petition.
He added that the council will look into their demands and see which of them fall under their mandate, but was quick to point out that some of those demands do not fall under their purview as a council.
“We have received their petition and we are going to invite them,” he declared.
“We will invite them for a dialogue and the CEO did even mention that the council is going to invite them for talks and then we will try to tell them our mandate as a council.”
He acknowledged that the council is currently facing difficulties for the provision of some of the social services to the people of the region; as most of their sources of income have been taken away by the central government. He outlined revenue collection, sand mining, car park fees, cattle tax and bill boards fees as all currently under the control of the National Roads Authority.