Saturday 22 August | GunjurOnline
Editorial: Fisheries Minister James Gomez MUST resign, NOW!
The video showing the disgraced Gambian fisheries minister James Gomez wining and dining with the Chinese owned Fishmeal factory - Golden Lead owners must disgust anyone who cares about the protection of Gambian environment and livelihoods.
We have been calling on the powers that be, to shut down this evil company exploiting our fisheries resources and destroying our environment in the process without anyone blinking an eye feom the government.
What we have always known is that due to conflict of interest from various sectors of our society starting at governmental level, it will be a herculean task to see the back of Golden Lead from the shores of Gunjur.
The fisheries minister James Gomez disgracefully rubbished the claims of environmentalists at a meeting at Gunjur beach in 2017, that Golden Lead is bad news for the people of Gunjur and the country by extension. Minister Gomez continue to defend the fishmeal factory at every opportunity and as recently as a few months ago invited a political hack to his office where he was recorded dismissing calls for the company to close.
Fed up with the continued pollution of the environment and the depletion of the fisheries resources by Golden Lead, a consortium of environmental concerned groups filed a civil law suit against tye conpany at the High Court in Banjul since 2017. Three years on, the case continue to gather dust on the shelves of the presiding judge who seen in no haste for the case to conclude.
It is now evident that, not only is James Gomez incompetent as a state minister, he is immensely conflicted and must now resign if he has an iota sense of purpose for the greater good of the nation and not for his self centred purpose.
We therefore call on the dishonourable minister James Gomez to Resign NOW, or be sacked by President Barrow!