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| President Adama Barrow and his Joint Transition Team |
The President of the Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency
Adama Barrow today, February 15, 2017, inaugurated a ‘Joint Transition Team’ at
a ceremony held at his temporal office at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in
Senegambia.
The Joint Transition team comprises of current and former Ministers
and Vice Presidents. The ceremony brought together dignitaries from the UNDP,
Transition Expert, Secretary General, Permanent Secretaries, Executive Members
of the Coalition 2016, Media and among a host of others.
“As you know, on 19th January, I had the honour
to be sworn in as the President of the Republic of the Gambia, reflecting the
will of the people expressed in free elections,” President Barrow reminded the gathering
as he launches the Joint Transition Team.
“We are assembled here today for an important step on our
democratic agenda- the inauguration of a Joint Transition Team.”
He assured that The Gambia shall remain an independent and
sovereign state, noting that regardless of the political, ethic, religious affiliation
there is need for all to work to contribute to the unity and togetherness of
the country.
To achieve these goals, the new Gambian leader informed the
joint transition team that they have been requested to work for the benefit of
the Gambian people, who have gone through many hardships.
His Government, according to him, is committed to democratic
principles and the will of the people, as well as committed to the principle of
continuity of governance and the need to build durable and independent
institutions of state.
He further told the gathering that today’s process therefore
lays the foundation blocks and sows the seeds for fully transparent and accountable
governance, adding that they will develop stronger framework and mechanisms to
better regulate the transition in the medium term.
“I wish to end by
stating that this process is simply to collect facts, data, and information,”
President Barrow noted, while saying that what is required here are facts which
will inform policy decisions for the benefit of the entire country.
He finally enthused that with the support of the friends and
partners from the international community, the people of the Gambia have
embarked on an important journey as a free and independent country, which will shape
the destiny of their children and grand-children.
Reasons for Late
Handing-Over
“Our 1997 Gambian
Constitution requires a defeated President to exit office after an election,”
President Barrow noted, pointing out that this is why the outgoing president
was expected to properly hand-over power to his government.
This, according to him, is to make sure there is
institutional continuity of knowledge and experience, as it requires the sides two
to work on a transitional programme.
The new Gambian leader also emphasized that the political
stalemate after the December 2016 election made it impossible to have a proper
handing –over.
He continued: “No formal hand-over was undertaken between
the government of ex-president Jammeh and my current Government. This has
seriously affected the functioning of the administration and the lives of
thousands of citizens.
“It has also damaged the image of our dear country and
created fear and panic in our people. As you know, I had to be sworn into
office on Gambian soil in Dakar in neighbouring Senegal”.
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