Africa-Press – Gambia. The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow has admitted to lawmakers that the Janneh Commission, which investigated the assets of former President Yahya Jammeh, operated under tight funding and relied heavily on government support for basic resources throughout its work.
Appearing on Monday before the National Assembly’s Special Select Committee probing the sale and disposal of Jammeh’s assets, the Justice Minister clarified that while the Commission was autonomous in its investigations, it was not financially independent and routinely depended on the ministry of justice for vehicles, equipment, and other logistical support.
“The commission’s autonomy was only in respect of its mandate how they investigate, analyse evidence, write their reports and make recommendations. But when it comes to resources, they always depended on government,” he said.
He explained that the ministry had to request additional vehicles from the Office of the President’s central vehicle pool, rather than purchasing new ones, to support the commission’s field work. He added that laptops for transcribers were also requested through the Ministry as the Commission’s own capacity was limited.
Responding to concerns from committee members about whether such dependence undermined the Commission’s work, the Minister noted that while some might argue that lack of financial autonomy can affect other areas of independence, all ad hoc commissions in The Gambia face similar resource constraints and must rely on government for funding.
He also pointed out that the Commission operated on a tight timeline originally planned for three months and this urgency often meant it could not be given a stand-alone budget in time.
The Committee further raised questions about administrative procedures, payments, and how staff seconded to the Commission were compensated. The Minister maintained that while some civil servants were detached from their parent ministries to serve full-time, any extra payments were allowances or honoraria and not additional salaries.
Lawmakers are continuing their scrutiny to determine whether the disposal of Jammeh’s identified assets complied with the recommendations of the Janneh Commission. The Special Select Committee’s findings are expected to guide future management of recovered state assets and prevent misuse of public resources.
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