Speaking during an interview on West Coast Radio, the Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, said the government is taking its time to ensure investigations are thorough before any findings are made public.
Providing an update on the two cases, Dr. Ceesay said the investigation into the ambassador to Russia had been concluded.
“For the Russia one, it’s done. It’s been sent to OP for review,” he said, adding that the Office of the President has many competing priorities but insisted the matter remains important.
He assured the public that the report would be released once the review process is completed.
“Once we are ready, this government is the most transparent government in the history of this country, we don’t have nothing to hide. We boast of that transparency. We want to be held accountable, we want public officials to be held accountable. But if you do that, you need to make sure you do it right, the reports will be ready and they’ll be published.”
On the investigation into the resignation of the former Chief of Defence Staff, the minister said it has not yet been concluded.
“The CDS one is ongoing. The Russia one is sent to OP with recommendations once it’s ready, we’ll share with the public,” he said.
Responding to a listener who asked whether reports on both matters would be shared with the public, Dr. Ceesay said “nobody is brushing off anything under the carpet. You see, when certain incidences have to do with people, you need to take your time and do proper, rigorous investigation.”
He said government would not rush investigations simply to satisfy public pressure.
“We are not a government of social media satisfaction, we want to just appease people on social media. No, you need to take your time because this has far reaching consequences for the institutions involved, for the people involved, and for everything,” he said.
According to the minister, government must follow due process to ensure any findings are credible and legally sound.
“As a government, we take our time and make sure that we do these investigations and follow due process because if you don’t do that, somebody can even sue the government for not doing things properly,” he said.
