…and Assembly Committee Issues Guidelines for Admissibility
By Foroyaa Staff
The Office of the Clerk of the National Assembly (NA) has issued a notification revealing that it has accepted three (3) petitions from the general public as admissible for transmission and determination by the Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly.
The notice stated that based on guidelines for presentation of eligible petition(s) before the National Assembly, it received seven (7) different petitions from the general public for determination by the Committee and each of the petitions was given due consideration and attention.
“After a thorough review of the eligibility criteria of each Petition, the Office of the Clerk accepted three (3) petitions as admissible for transmission and determination by the Committee.
a) A Petition against Gambia Tourism Board;
b) A Petition against Gambia Police Force for its failure to stop cattle theft, and
c) A Petition against Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Gambians in UAE.
“These eligible Petitions were submitted to the Committee for consideration and determination, and the concerned parties will be duly informed during the course of the proceedings.
“The Office of the Clerk wishes to thank the public for engaging the aforesaid Committee on matters of public importance,” the notice stated.
In the same vein,in a press release to the Media, the Public Petitions Committee of the National Assembly in accordance with Standing Order 129 (1) (b), issued the following guidelines to the Public for presentation of eligible petition(s) before the National Assembly.
“A Petition shall:
a) Be in English language or be accompanied by a certified translation into English Language;
b) Be submitted to the Clerk by the Petitioner on any official working day;
c) Be free from alterations or interlineations in its text and duly endorsed or thumb printed by the Petitioner;
d) State the name of the Petitioner and the name of the person or institution being petitioned (Respondent);
e) Relate to matters of public concerns or general administration or activities of the Government;
f) Be brought by a natural person (individual) or by a non-profit making organization (NGO, civil society or associations);
g) Not be frivolous and must be written in a respectful, decorous and temperate language;
h) Not refer to a matter of which legal proceeding have already commenced before a court of law or tribunal;
i) Relate to matters that are within the powers of the National Assembly;
j) Not breach any enactment or rule of law, and
k) Indicate whether any effort has been made to have the matter addressed by a relevant body and whether any response is received.
“Thus, any petition addressed to the National Assembly must be in conformity with the above guidelines for it to be eligible for admission and consideration by the aforementioned Committee,” the dispatch stated.
