The constitutional building process is expected to cost $5 million United States dollars, according to Justice Cherno Sulayman Jallow.
The chairperson of the commission that is building Gambia’s new constitution has told journalists on Thursday that their process will be inclusive, impartial and independent.
At their second press conference since they commenced work few months ago, Justice Cherno Sulayman Jallow said they will give an opportunity to all strata of Gambian society to contribute to the process.
“The Commission will receive and review recommendations that will emanate from the consultation process which in turn will inform the conclusions that the Commission will arrive at,” Jallow said.
“…The Commission wishes to solicit the support of all Gambians to ensure that the process is guided by the principles of Participation, Inclusiveness, Representation, Transparency and National Ownership, the end product of which will be a sound Constitution which reflects the collective values, beliefs and aspirations of all Gambians.”
Constitutional review processes are open to people to send suggestions on issues they think should be put in the country’s chief legal document.
Jallow said they have already started receiving communications from people in the diaspora on range of issues.
“We are also monitoring the media. People are making some very interesting comments on the media,” he said.
So far, the Commission has held over 10 sittings, coupled with the development, review and finalization of key strategic protocols and documents to guide its work and facilitate the execution of the constitutional review process.
All these protocols and documents were developed by the Members of the Commission and were considered, approved and adopted by its full membership.
Jallow said they will review Gambia’s 1970 constitution, current constitution, international legal instruments and constitutions of other countries to build a legal document that will ‘stand the test of time’.
The Commission is expected to commence engaging Gambian people from October this year.
Jallow said they are to establish a website soon to facilitate their reach to the general public.
Jallow said their preliminary budget shows an indication of $5 million United States dollars for the entire exercise.
The government has allocated D4 million which was approved by the National Assembly…
“We have received $250 000 United States dollars is in our dollar account,” he added.
The timeline for the finishing of the entire process is 2 years.