Gambia Moral Congress party leader has lashed out at the Barrow administration for not doing much in addressing the country’s rising crime rate.

Speaking at a press conference today, Mai Ahmed Fatty said the current approach to fighting crime is not working. 

The opposition leader was speaking on on security matters a day after the head of the police Anti-Crime Unit Commander Gorgi Mboob was put on administrative leave pending investigations after he was accused of torturing 26-year-old Ebrima Sanneh whiles in custody. 

Mr Fatty said:  “the response to crime is not violent crime from law enforcement, the response to crime is not another effective crime management. 

“But the response to crime is building an economy and a political system that is capable of responding to the needs of young people.

“So that we can create better jobs for them – we can build up opportunities and they can feel part of that inclusive development.”

He said many of those involved in criminal activities in the country are mostly young people adding “as much as you look at the crime statistics – the majority of people involved in crimes are young people between the ages of 16 to 35.”

“And this is the most important demography in our country. But this is the demography that is wasting (sic) .. because we have a government that does not care about the future of our country,” he added.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba