By Kebba AF Touray
Photo: Hon. Kebba Jallow
The National Assembly of the Gambia has adopted The Gambia Legal Metrology Bill, 2024 which seeks to amalgamate the Weights and Measures Bureau (a Department under the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration, and Employment) into The Gambia Standards Bureau as the Department of Legal Metrology.
The bill was introduced at the First Ordinary Session of the 2024 Legislative Year, during the sitting of the Sixth Legislature on 4 March 2024.
On 18 March 2024, Honourable Members debated the general merits and principles of the bill during its second reading.
Following this debate, the Bill was read for the second time and subsequently referred to the Assembly Business Committee for committal to the relevant committee(s) as per Standing Order 68.
The Legal Metrology Bill consists of Thirteen Parts and Forty-Nine Clauses, and the fourteen parts, deal with various issues such as the units of measurement and the standards that are internationally recognized, the administration of the Gambia Legal Metrology Department, and the functions of the department.
Some parts of the bill also deal with the appointment of the Director, inspectors, and verification officers, activities delegated by the Bureau, and the assessment of these accredited bodies, as well as possession and usage of measuring devices.
The parts also deal with trading, dealing, and the sale of goods, the duties of the director, and the responsibilities of persons certified or registered to repair measuring devices.
The object is that due to the advances and sophistication in science and technology in recent years of which measuring devices are no exception, there is the need to redraft the Legal Metrology Bill to address challenges posed by these instruments.
The bill is in line with the Government’s policy to streamline Departments and Agencies for better efficiency and sustainability.
The present Weight and Measures Act of 1977 and the Standards of the Weight and Measures Rules of 1979 are deficient in some of its sections, and not serving its purpose.
The Gambia Legal Metrology Bill 2024 when enacted will broaden the scope of Legal Metrology to regulate measurements in trade, health, law enforcement, and the environment.
Tabling the report, the Chairperson of the Trade Committee, Hon. Kebba Jallow said “It will also help instill fair play in the utilization and application of metrology equipment in the course of trade transactions. It will also ensure that the consumer gets his or her money’s worth or value of goods and commodities in trade transaction”.
According to Hon. Jallow, the bill was brought in conformity with the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia, the Weight & Measures Act 1977, the Standards of the Weight and Measures Rules of 1979, and other laws of the country.
He said that it would facilitate the socio-economic development of the country, inter-regional and international trade, and consumer protection.
Some of the recommendations that the committee made include in Clause 38, with respect to Evidence, the Committee observed that, in this clause, there are offences mentioned but there are no charges attached to them.
The Committee proposed that a charge and or punishment be prescribed for all the offences mentioned in the clause.
Clause 33(1) relating to Evidence, the Committee observed that the amount “not exceeding five hundred thousand dalasis”.
The committee recommended an amendment to this clause to be changed “and a minimum amount of “not less than five hundred thousand dalasis”.
According to them, this will give the judge the leverage to fine offenders based on the magnitude of the crime committed.
The Committee further suggested a similar change to apply to all clauses where fines are pegged to a maximum amount.
The National Assembly Members subsequently adopted the report of the Trade Committee on The Gambia Legal Meteorology Bill 2024, with amendments.
