As they say in Mandinka- now that the President has in his custody of 
both the knife and the meat, he can indulge in whichever part he choses! 
Lets wish him bon apetit!
 
Courtesy of the Daily Observer.


  President given executive power over Councils

Africa <http://www.observer.gm/africa/news> » Gambia 
<http://www.observer.gm/africa/gambia/news>
Thursday, November 01, 2007

It has finally been considered and approved for the President of the 
Republic of The Gambia to take over the affairs of all Area Councils and 
Municipalities, with effect from November 1, 2007.

This was considered and approved by NAMs yesterday, at an Extra-ordinary 
session of the National Assembly in the 2007 Legislative Year.

Presenting the motion for approval, Ismaila Sambou, Secretary of State 
for Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs, said Section 152 of 
the Local Government Act 2002, provides that the President may with the 
approval of a simple majority of the votes of all members of the 
National Assembly, assume the executive powers of any Local Government 
Area, in circumstance where the Council so request and it is in the 
public interest to do so and where it has become extremely difficult or 
impossible for a Council to function.

According to SoS Sambou, there has been constant power conflict between 
the Office of the Regional Governors and the office of the Chairman of 
Area Councils, the latter claiming being elected by universal adult 
suffrage of all eligible voters in the Local Government Area, thus 
creating functional difficulties.

"This power struggle in many instances do not yield positive impact. As 
a result, this constitutional provision has recently been amended to 
pave the way for the amendment of Section 13(1) of the Local Government 
Act 2002, among other things. For a good transition and to achieve the 
desired results, therefore, it will be desirable for the President to 
take over the administration of Local Government Councils for them to be 
well-prepared for the forthcoming Council Elections," he said.

He added that there has been a series of complaints from the general 
public and other stakeholders in Local Government Administration about 
the poor performance of the Local Area Councils, which in some cases led 
to public outcry and great confusion. It is for such reasons, according 
to him, that, the Department of State for  Local Government and Lands 
had to come up with a press release in 2006 to reduce rates across the 
country. "Also, because of the unsatisfactory method of car park fees 
collection by Councils, the Department of State in collaboration with 
the Department of State for Finance and Economic Affairs and the 
Interior had to shift the collection of car park fees from Councils to 
The Gambia Police Force," he noted.

SoS Sambou then noted that, these and many other cases are result of 
both financial and administrative malfunctions, leading to 
unsatisfactory performances by all Councils. He added that to arrest 
this undesirable situation and considering that Local Government 
Elections are scheduled for January 2008, the need to better prepare new 
Councils to take up their financial and administrative responsibilities 
as expected by the citizens they are supposed to serve, cannot be 
over-emphasised.

He then observed that in the light of the above and under the present 
circumstances, it is only proper for the President to invoke Section 
152(1)(b) of the Local Government Act 2002 to remedy the current 
situation and prepare good grounds for a more vibrant and 
result-oriented Local Government Councils in The Gambia to achieve the 
aspirations of the MDGs and our Decentralisation and Good Governance 
Strategies.

Supporting the motion, Hon.Netty Baldeh, NAM for Tumana, said the motion 
is timely for the fact that the Local Government elections are just in 
the pipeline. He said this will help to create a level playing ground 
field for all participants and also indicates government's commitment to 
ensure a fair play in the election process.

He urged the NAMs to ratify the motion so that the President of the 
Republic of The Gambia can take actions to remedy the current poor 
situations of Councils and Municipalities.

Hon. Sellu Bah, NAM for Basse, also supported the motion for the 
President to take over the affairs of the Councils and Municipalities. 
He urged for the proper scrutiny of the administrative actions of the 
Councils and Municipalities.

Hon. Sedia Jatta, NAM for Wuli West urged the authorities to create an 
interim management structures to run Councils until the election are over.

by Alhagie Jobe


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