In The Gambia, the National Environmental Agency, NEA, has warned against the use and circulation of plastic bags in the country. In a statement in Banjul, the NEA urged the people to remember that a ban has been placed on this environmentally hazardous material since 2015. Reaffirming the point at a news conference, Mr. Sheikh Sanyang, the Communications Officer at the NEA cited the Act on the ban on the Plastic Bags Order, which came into force on 1st July, 2015.
Mr. Sanyang went down memory lane to recall that two years ago, that is, in 2015, the agency took the step of banning plastic bags in the country; that the NEA ban now makes plastic an illegal product that no one must consume or deal with, both through import or export; that after the political impasse, the surfacing of plastic bags became noticeable in the country again. Mr. Sanyang posited that the state should set an example that will serve as a deterrent to other users.
NEA Director of Technical Services, Dr. Dawda Badjie, explained that government directive usually goes through a process; that through consultation with stake holders and looking at the dangers associated with the use of plastics, the government came up with the idea that was enacted into law in order to deter culprits.
Dr. Badjie said that regrettably, some Gambians tended to think that laws enacted during the past regime are not relevant in the ‘New’ Gambia, pointing out that this is a very wrong notion and people should be sensitized to know that they still reside in the same country. He declared that there are many negative issues associated with the use of plastic and that the dangers far overweigh the benefits.
In his remarks, a Director of NEA, Lamin Suwareh, said when the new regime came into being, many Gambians thought the laws that were in place during the former regime, were no longer relevant. Mr. Suwareh argued that the relevant laws emerged through normal bureaucratic process, pointing out that the council has the role of making policies and adopting guidelines and standards for the common good.
