Moving the motion, the attorney general and minister for Justice Dawda A. Jallow said the bill is the first attempt in undertaking a comprehensive review of the criminal code of The Gambia since its enactment in 1933.
The Justice minister underlined that the bills seek to align our criminal justice legislation with current trends by removing all provisions inimical to freedom of speech such as criminal defamation and sedition.
He added that the bills will also to close long-standing legal lacunae by expanding the criminal jurisdiction of Gambia courts to offences committed by persons outside the country and who thereafter state.
However, all the sentences under the old law were also reviewed in the bills to bring them in line with current realities.
Ousman Sillah, the Banjul North lawmaker urged the executive through the Ministry of Justice to come with an amendment rather than coming with the full bill.
Fatoumatta Njai, the lawmaker for Banjul South said that the criminal offences bill needs stakeholders’ consultation before coming to the parliament, while describing the bill as a good bill that comes to protect the lives and the livelihood of Gambians.
Justice Minister Jallow called on the members of parliament to give their support to the bills so that the lives and the livelihood of Gambians can be protected for the betterment of the country.
The president of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Edi Mass Jobe, has called on government of The Gambia to waive all corporate and payroll taxes for 2 years to encourage investment and improve standards in the stated areas: hospitals and health businesses, hotels and tourism businesses and agri-businesses.
The Republic of The Gambia has named former vice president Fatoumata C.M. Jallow Tambajang as the nation’s candidate for the Deputy Chairperson seat of the African Union (AU) Commission, according to the Gambia presidency. Next month, leaders of AU member countries will meet at the ordinary summit to elect a new Commission, the body’s secretariat, to run the organisation for the next four years.
As the tourism session set to resume in The Gambia in earnest, some intended holidaymakers especially repeater tourists to the destination have expressed their concerns over the Ministry of Defence’s new regulatory measures for all flights destined to fly to destination Gambia.
