The justice minister faces lawmakers for questions on issues that are being handled by his ministry on Tuesday.
The justice minister Abubacarr Tambadou has told lawmakers on Tuesday that the Government has spent over fifty million dalasis on the commission of inquiry into the financial dealings of the formed ruler Yahya Jammeh.
Janneh Commission began inquiry into Jammeh’s financial activities in July 2017. Since then, justice minister said it spent 50, 951, 261 on its activities, wages and operational cost, among others.
“We must also take note that in the course of its work, the Commission was able to generate monies from its activities including 67, 894, 170 from the sale of recovered tractors and other items as well as monies in bank accounts hidden and other landed properties discovered by the Commission,” said Tambadou.
He reveal other details about the money generated from the sale of former president’s assets including 138 tractors.
However, the minister said the work of the Janneh Commission should not be measured in monetary terms alone.
“The value of their work exceeds any monetary value that I am sharing with this August Assembly. I am proud to report that largely because of their work, conducted in a professional manner with respect and adherence to due process, fairness and transparency, we have exposed the alarming scale of corruption and financial delinquency of the former president,” said Tambadou.
“We have shared information generated in the course of tracking and recovery of assets procured through illicit enrichment and we have registered some success in this endeavor.”
Meanwhile, the inquiry of the Janneh Commission has ended few months ago. The Commission have drafted a report which is yet to be released.
The Commission has investigated a number of businesses own by former president and his associates. The Gambia Government has also reach out to partners such as the World Bank and the United States to access the assets belonging to the former ruler outside of the country.
In 2018, the U.S has frozen all assets belonging to the former ruler.
“We intend to recover the entire cost of the Janneh Commission investigations by making those against whom financial adverse findings have been made to bear the cost of recovery proportion to their responsibility…,” said Tambadou.
Tambadou said there are foreign governments that are helping them in tracking the assets of the former ruler.