By: Binta Jaiteh &Kemo Kanyi
The National Assembly Wednesday convened an extraordinary session to set up a select committee that would investigate the disposal and sale of former President Jammeh’s assets.
The parliament then unanimously considered and adopted a motion for the establishment of a special committee.
The motion was tabled by member for Kantora who was also the majority leader, Billay Tunkara pursuant to section 109 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, 1997 and Order 95 (5) of the National Assembly Standing Orders.
According to Hon. Tunkara the committee would be mandated to conduct a full, impartial and independent inquiry, and to report its findings and recommendations to the assembly within a period not exceeding one hundred and twenty (120) days from the date of its first sitting.
He said the committee would be empowered to summon any person, institution, or entity it deemed necessary to assist in the discharge of its mandate.
Reacting to the motion on the select committee, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Seedy S.K. Njie called on his fellow lawmakers to exclude NAMs who might be politically biased from the nominations process of select committee.
The deputy speaker recommended that members’ political affiliation and loyalty must be critically assessed to ensure fairness, impartiality, and credibility in the assignment of the committee.
“Some members for one reason or the other, politically maybe bias or may not be fair, should, in fact, excuse themselves if they are nominated to be part of the special select committee,” he suggested during the parliamentary proceedings.
Sulayman Saho, National Assembly Member for Central Baddibou, commended the Deputy Speaker for his suggestion, stating that he boldly addressed the issue of political conflict.
NAM Saho said, “I think we must say kudos to him for boldly telling us that people who are conflicted, starting from himself or somebody somewhere to exclude himself/themselves from the whole process.”
However, the deputy speaker challenged that he has never been conflicted in the report by the Janneh Commission, condemning the insinuation by Saho that he (deputy speaker) was politically conflicted.
“The term or the adjective he (NAM Saho) used (conflicted) has a lot of meaning. I have never been conflicted in the Janneh Commission Report. That’s wrong for him to use,” the deputy speaker complained.
