By: Fatou Krubally
The National Assembly Select Committee probing the sale and disposal of assets identified by the Janneh Commission on Monday heard testimony that exposed gaps in the commission’s administration, as its former secretary, Ms. Ramatoulie Sarr, admitted reporting to the Ministry of Justice instead of the commission’s leadership.
Ms. Sarr, who joined the commission in 2017 on the instruction of then Attorney General Abubacarr Tambadou, told lawmakers she had no formal appointment letter at the start. She later received a letter dated 9th July 2018 from the Solicitor General appointing her as Deputy Secretary, but insisted her duties remained largely administrative.
“My role at the commission was limited to administrative functions, mostly processing payments of commissioners and staff,” she testified, adding that she continued to operate from the Ministry of Justice and only visited the commission when payments had to be effected.
The committee pressed her on whether she truly deputized the secretary of the commission when she did not take instructions from him. Ms. Sarr conceded that aside from facilitating payments through the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), she had no day-to-day involvement in the inquiry’s work.
She further confirmed that between July 2018 and March 2019 the commission operated without a substantive secretary, leaving her to act as head of the secretariat despite not being formally sworn in by the President.
Lead Counsel highlighted the irregularity of her position, noting that she received an honorarium from the commission while continuing her duties as Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice. Ms. Sarr defended the arrangement, arguing she was “partly performing the duties of the commission, particularly on payments.”
Her testimony reinforced earlier concerns about how the Janneh Commission was staffed, revealing blurred lines between the Ministry of Justice and the commission’s secretariat.
The revelations from Ms. Sarr underscored the absence of clear procedures in appointing and defining roles at the Janneh Commission, raising questions about its administrative integrity during one of the country’s most sensitive national inquiries.
