By Lamin Sanyang Honourable Abdoulie Bojang, Speaker of the National Assembly has yesterday, Wednesday 8 October, made a pre-session briefing with public enterprises and agencies of the government of the Gambia and media at the Chambers of the National Assembly in Banjul. “The primary objective of this constitutional exercise as you may be aware is to carry out lawful oversight function over Public Enterprises and Agencies and the Public Services. As people’s representatives, we are out to ensure that government and its Public Services, Institutions, Enterprises and Agencies are all accountable to The Gambian Tax-payers through their elected representatives in the National Assembly,” said Hon. Abdoulie Bojang, Speaker of the National Assembly. Speaker Bojang noted that the joint session should be seen as an avenue where managements of Public Enterprises and Agencies are accountable for their actions and decisions in the management of public resources. He said it should also be seen as a forum where good management and best practices are recognized and encouraged, while bad management is appropriately sanctioned. “We in the National Assembly shall discharge our statutory duties as entrusted to us, in our capacity as an oversight body without fear or favour, affection or ill-will,” he pointed out. The Speaker stressed that the adoption of reports and audited financial statements simply means minimum performance levels of admissibility of reports and accounts for consideration. This, he said, does not mean that the report is given a clean bill of health as some media outlets would report, but it means the report is accepted for consideration. “May I again reiterate that we are not here to witch-hunt anybody, nor are we here to flatter or sing praises to anyone,” he said. Speaker Bojang said they are here to ensure that transparency, probity and accountability prevails in all the public institutions and ensures that the public institutions deliver the desired services to the general public in an effective and efficient manner. Meanwhile, he mentioned that the session starts on Monday 27th October, 2014. ]]>
