Tough action will be taken against the phony sale of assets linked to former President Yahya Jammeh, according to his successor in an address to the nation on Wednesday evening.
Reacting to recent revelations over the controversial sale of assets left behind by his predecessor when he moved into exile in 2017, President Adama Barrow sought to allay public concerns about the nature of the disposal and promised that justice will be meted out to offenders.
Jammeh’s seized assets which were put up for sale included livestock, heavy machinery, tractors, vehicles, and other valuables.
According to Barrow, the recommendations of a taskforce set up to investigate the asset sale will not only be made public, but also enforced ”to address the shortcomings discovered and hold accountable any individual or entity found culpable”.
He added: ”Let me assure every Gambian that the assets recovered belong to the people. My administration will not tolerate negligence, or any wrongdoing linked to safeguarding our nation’s resources”.
President Barrow said his government remains committed to ”full transparency in whatever we undertake on behalf of the people”, and vowed that ”lessons learnt from this incident will be used to fortify our institutions and systems against future lapses”.
In the meantime, he urged Gambians to exercise restraint before the report on the ongoing investigations.
A Commission of Inquiry into the financial dealings of Jammeh and his associates wrapped up in 2019 and its White Paper informed government policy on transparency and accountability.
According to Barrow, with this as it guiding principle, the justice ministry recommended a ministerial taskforce to oversee the lawful and transparent disposal of Jammeh’s assets and has been issuing regular updates to his cabinet ever since.
However, apparently not all the details covered in an online media revelation were known to the government and following public pressure including street protests, President Barrow on Tuesday convened an urgent cabinet session to address the issue.
President Barrow said his government would act within constitutional procedures by collaborating with the National Assembly and the National Audit Office, both of which are probing the matter.
According to the list published by the Attorney General and minister of Justice Jammeh assets include a14.32% stake in Gam Petroleum, shares with GSM provider Comium Gambia Ltd.
D202.75 million was realised from the sale of Jammeh’s landed properties, including one in the upscale settlement of Brufut Gardens costing D41.75 million.
WN/as/APA