By Ramatoulie Jawo
Hon. Sainey Jawara, the National Assembly Member for Lower Saloum, has expressed his disappointment over the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into the alleged illegal importation of petroleum products into The Gambia.
Speaking in an interview, Hon. Jawara, who initially tabled the motion on July 22, 2024, to establish a commission for the investigation, voiced concerns over the direction of the inquiry. He criticized the joint committee’s decision to request a second extension from the plenary, exceeding the initial three-month timeline for completing the investigation.
Hon. Jawara lamented that the inquiry was unlikely to yield the anticipated results, citing internal disagreements within the committee.
“I feel disappointed because I know what we expect from this inquiry will not materialize. In fact, the committee themselves did not agree with the order paper because it was a plenary report that was first communicated in the order paper. Then all of a sudden, we see a statement from the co-chair requesting for an extension and if this statement has to come from the committee, the entire committee members have to agree on the statement, but we have seen members saying that they are not aware of the statement. So I feel like I am disappointed because the way the inquiry is going is not in line with my setup,” he said.
He further criticized the lack of transparency in the investigation, particularly the committee’s decision to bar the media from covering the proceedings. According to Hon. Jawara, this undermined the integrity and purpose of the inquiry.
“If you are not allowing the media personnel into the meeting hall, you are simply keeping the witness off camera, what will happen now? That is a question I will leave to the citizens. They will not come out with nothing, absolutely because everyone has lost hope in this inquiry, especially me,” he asserted.
Hon. Jawara also accused some committee members of leaking information to witnesses before their testimonies, further compromising the integrity of the investigation.
“So what is the interest of this inquiry? I think scrapping it is better. Because I know they will not bring anything. Even if you look at the committee, some are supporting the other side, some are not. I brought this motion with no hatred. I just brought it to make sure our governing system is regularized and to stop this kind of corruption in our country,” he emphasized.