The leader of the APRC is also the Speaker of the National Assembly. Halifa Sallah was asked to comment on the press release issued by the APRC issued on 10th Ma.he indicated that the country is at a crossroads and oil and water cannot be mixed. He said the Tress release mentioned both Jammeh’s assets and the victims. he emphasised that the two things should not have been mentioned together in the same press release.According to him, the country has not even started healing. What should have been done in three years to facilitate healing as has happened in South Africa regarding the victims of Apartheid and the perpetrators is yet to happen.In The Gambia the victims are yet to be fully compensated and remorse is yet to be fully felt to be able to put the past behind us.He said he would wish for such statements to carefully crafted to contribute to the healing process.The Speaker of the National Assembly should be guided by section 112(b) of the Constitution which states that the responsibilities of members of the National Assembly should include the following:”all members shall regard themselves as servants of the people of The Gambia, desist from any conduct by which they seek improperly to enrich themselves or alienate themselves from the people, and shall discharge their duties and functions in the interest of the nation as a whole and in doing so shall be influenced by the dictates of conscience and the national interest.”He emphasised that it is significant that the person who is to preside over the affairs of the National Assembly to behave like a judge who displays no tendency to be on anybody’s side, especially commenting on a matter that is to come before the National Assembly. He noted that a code of conduct for the office of Speaker is urgent to guide the integrity of the office.He concluded that party politics should not blemish the integrity and impartiality of the office of Speaker; adding that this is precisely why the Speaker has no original or casting vote as clearly stipulated in section 106(2) of the Constitution of the Republic, thus:
“The person presiding in the National Assembly shall have neither an original nor a casting vote and if on any question before the National Assembly the votes are equally divided, the motion shall be deemed to have been rejected.”
