Rights organization Edward Francis Small Centre for Rights and Justice (EFSCRJ) has demanded the implementation of the recommendation of the Special Select Committee on the Sale and Disposal of former President Yahya Jammeh’s Assets.
“The report lays bare a devastating truth: the Gambia’s institutions did not fail because of a few bad apples, but they failed because leadership at the highest levels permitted it,” EFSCRJ said in a public statement on Wednesday.
The National Assembly Select Committee has released its final report on Tuesday after months-long investigations.
The organization stressed that the very branches of government entrusted to protect the people actively participated in, or passively enabled, the betrayal surrounding the disposal of the assets.
“$302 Million USD, €29 Million Euros, and £2.2 Million Pounds remain unrecovered.”
“Over D1.7 Billion passed through the Receiver’s accounts, yet we cannot fully account for where it all went.”
“Dozens of properties, including the former dictator’s residence in Kanilai, sit looted and rotting, abandoned by the State like the rule of law itself.”
EFSCRJ raised concerns that, the report has demonstrated a profound failure of leadership and responsibility within both the Executive and Legislative branches of government, adding that the key officials entrusted with safeguarding public resources acted outside the law.
“Equally troubling is the finding that these irregular arrangements were not corrected even after changes in leadership within the Ministry of Justice.”
“The struggle for transparency and justice in the Gambia did not end with the fall of the AFPRC/APRC Dictatorship led by Yaya Jammeh. It continues today in the demand for integrity in public office and responsible stewardship of national resources.”
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