Africa-Press – Gambia. The National Assembly Member for Latrikunda Sabiji constituency, Yaya Menteng Sanyang, has described the House majority leader Bilay G. Tunkara’s request for parliamentary inquiry into the disposal of Jammeh’s assets as deceitful, ill-intended, unreal and a cover-up.
“Hon.Billy G Tunkara’s recent request for a Parliamentary inquiry in to the sales of former President Jammeh’s assets has ignited a fire storm of controversy amongst Gambians consistent to the type of character he is. While ostensibly framed as a pursuit of transparency and accountability, a closer examination reveals a narrative riddled with inconsistencies, questionable motives and a distinct air of a calculated cover-up by Hon.Tunkara. As Hon.Member who has worked with Hon.Billy Tunkara, I will expose his deceitful, ill intended and unreal nature,” contended NAM Sanyang.
Bilay Tunkara announced on Tuesday that he’d sent a request to the office of the clerk of the National Assembly for an inquiry into the sale of the former dictator’s assets to ensure the sales were done within the ambit of the law and in the best interest of Gambians.
“He [Tunkara] falsely and hypocritically wants to champion the need of transparency, however knowing the type of character Billy Tunkara is who constantly blocked all progressive bills and parliamentary inquiries means this façade of righteous indignation under his fake intention will crumble under scrutiny. Because Gambians are demanding an unconditional release of the full list of all buyers of the assets, Hon. Billay’s motives is just to bring a delay tactics to this demand,” argued Sanyang.
He maintained that the timing of Billay’s request as raises suspicion of his motives.
“He spent over 8 years in the parliament and years has passed since the initial sales, during which numerous reports and investigations have been conducted. Existing mechanisms, such as Janneh commission, have already provided extensive documentation on the assets and their disposal and this Hon.Billy anytime one asked parliamentary questions about these assets from the Ministers, he will blocked those questions on a point of order. Therefore, his sudden urgency for a parliamentary inquiry appears less about uncovering new information and it is more about creating a platform for political manoeuvring and deceit,” he added.
The Latrikunda Sabiji NAM described the majority leader’s proposed inquiry as “vague”.
“He has not articulated specific public concerns and demands about the asset sales but instead resorts to broad generalisations and insinuations leaving room for ambiguity and state manipulation under the NPP government. His proposed inquiry is targeted to seal corrupt government officials implicated in the outcome of the investigative journalism, delayed tactics to the release of the names implicated, frustrated the demands of the Gambians rather than targeted pursuit of justice,” he stated, adding, “Hon.Billy’s motives appear deeply entrenched in political opportunism and favouritism and a desire to mislead Gambians on what really happened to the assets because any parliamentary inquiry will be useless and ineffective because they will use their NPP majority in the parliament to block the appearances of key witnesses and relevant questions. Therefore, the best way to accountability is for the Ministry of Justice to release the full list of buyers and not parliamentary inquiry. The timing of this request coincides with heightened public demands for the Government to release the names of buyers. Therefore, Billy cannot attempt to exploit this demand to protect corrupt officials involved in the sales of these assets. Allowing a parliamentary inquiry instead of the Ministry releasing the full list of buyers will lead us to a bias and improper conclusion because the NPP have the majority of members in the house.”
To Sanyang, the notion that a parliamentary inquiry can effectively address the complexities of the Former Jammeh asset sales is fundamentally flawed.
“The sheer volume of assets, the intricate financial transactions, and the involvement of the multiple jurisdictions create a labyrinth that a parliamentary committee will be ill-equipped to navigate. All the assets have already been disposed of, making it practically impossible to reverse the transactions or recover the lost funds,” he added. He pointed out that the parliamentary inquiry risks becoming a futile exercise, consuming valuable resources without yielding tangible results.
“Billy’s proposal is utterly misguided and wants to deny the Gambians to know the buyers and who directed the buying by this corrupt government. We will refuse to accept this proposed ill-intended parliamentary inquiry by Hon.Billy Tunkara whose performance in the National is very bad and below expectation as his only interest is to preserve the interest of the Government. I want the Hon.Member and Majority Leader to understand that Janneh Commission’s report have provided a detailed account of assets and their disposal was conducted by the Government under a process and were all recorded. Therefore, what Parliament should do is to request for the records and not a parliamentary inquiry because that will be redundant and also waste of public funds,” Sanyang opined.
“The most troubling aspect of Hon.Tunkara’s request is a suspicion that it may serve as cover-up rather than genuine attempt to uncover the truth around the assets sale. By initiating a lengthy and potentially an inconclusive inquiry, as Majority leader and also representing the government interest and business in the Assembly, he could effectively stall any real progress in holding those responsible for the assets misappropriation accountable. We will not fall cheaply to any Parliamentary inquiry, just give us the full list of the buyers,” he added.
For NAM Sanyang, the majority leader’s “strategy is to allow for the erosion of public attention around the sales of the assets, the dissipation of momentum, and the eventual shelving of the issue”.
“The inquiry could become a tool for delaying justice and protecting those involved in the asset sales. His request for Parliamentary inquiry in to the sales of former President Jammeh assets is a carefully crafted narrative designed to deny Gambians as per their demand for the Ministry of Justice to release the full list of buyers. The façade of transparency masks ill-intended motives, and the proposed inquiry is fundamentally unreal and potentially a cover-up,” he stated.
“The Gambian people deserve accountability and commitment to justice, not political theatrics and calculated distractions by political clowns like Hon.Tunkara. It is imperative that Government listen to the clarion call by Gambians to immediately and unconditionally release the list of buyers of former President Jammeh’s assets and let Hon.Billy keep his nonsensical Parliamentary inquiry to himself. Serious times needs serious measures and this is an urgent matter, no delay tactics. We should escalate the urgency of the matter,” concluded NAM Sanyang.
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