By: MUHAMMED S. BAH
The Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) has confirmed the appointment of Omar Ousman Jobe as the Secretary to the Commission.
This was confirmed on Friday 6 July 2018, through a press release sent from the Commission, signed by Justice Cherno Sulayman Jallow, Chairman of the commission.
According to the release, the appointment was made by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, after consulting the Chairman of the CRC.
The release continued to state that “Mr. Jobe’s appointment is with effect from 1st July, 2018 and that he was sworn in on the 5th July 2018 at State House by President Adama Barrow”.
Mr. Jobe is said to be a Development Studies and Management Specialist. The release added that as Secretary to the Commission, he will head the Secretariat and will arrange and facilitate the business of the Commission in relation to matters regarding the work of the Commission.
“Mr. Jobe brings to the Commission a wealth of experience, knowledge and understanding of governance systems and human rights instruments in Africa,” the release underscored.
According to the release, Mr. Jobe as an experienced worker has served as the Executive Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development and Governance (CeSDAG) and was until recently the Programme Quality and Learning Manager for the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) based in Nairobi, Kenya.
He also served as the Director of the African Competition Forum (ACF), a network of 30 Competition Authorities funded by International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom.
Prior to becoming the Director of the ACF, Mr. Jobe was a senior Civil Society advocate in The Gambia, heading the Pro-Poor Advocacy Group (Pro-PAG), a network of Civil Society Organisations specialising in budget work and budget accountability for good governance. In that role, he was also an adviser to the National Assembly of The Gambia, sitting at the Public Accounts and Public Enterprise Committees.
Mr. Jobe will work closely with the eleven members of the Constitutional Review Commission who were sworn into office on Monday 4th June at State House by His Excellency President Adama Barrow.
The members of the Commission are drawn from different professional backgrounds and experiences. The Commission has the responsibility to review the 1997 Constitution, seek the opinions of the Gambian public through consultations, prepare a report and draft a new Constitution that will stand the test of time. Since its inauguration, the CRC has been busy working inter alia on the establishment of the Secretariat, development of a work plan for the CRC, mapping out strategies for Communication and Media Engagement, Public Relations and Public Consultations, as well as other relevant aspects that will enrich the process to make it inclusive for all strata of the Gambian society.
