Gambia: Gambia to get constitutional review commission

10 Octobre 2017

BANJUL, Gambia, October 10 (Infosplusgabon) - Gambia's Justice minister, Abubacarr Tambadou, has hinted that the West African country will soon establish a Constitutional Review Commission.

Speaking to journalists in Banjul, the Gambian capital, Tambadou disclosed that his ministry was drafting a bill on the move to get a new constitution for the country.

"The bill shall be presented before the National Assembly at the earliest opportunity," he said.

According to the minister, the proposed constitution will "reflect faithfully and accurately" the views of all Gambians be they at home or abroad.

Meanwhile, Tambadou announced a six-month extension of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry that is looking into the financial activities of former president Yahya Jammeh and his cronies.

The commission was initially supposed to last till November 2017 but has now been extended to May 2018.

"The Commission now deems it necessary to extend its mandate to an additional six months from the date of expiry of the first three months," Tambadou said, adding that the extension was due to several factors including the emergence of new evidences, which called for more witnesses to testify as well as the numerous public institutions, offices and other bodies under scrutiny.

Furthermore,Tambadou gave an update on the steps taken towards setting up the

Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) which would investigate the many alleged human rights violations committed during the 22-year dictatorial rule of Jammeh.

"We have spent a considerable amount of time on the bill working with experts in the area of transitional justice and truth commissions, in particular," he said.

He underscored that the commission would be broad-base taking into consideration the composition of Gambian society. He assured that all regions and sections of the country would be fully represented.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/OKL/GABON 2017

© Copyright Infosplusgabon