CRC Chairman- Nothing In The Draft Constitution is Final as Yet
Cherno Sulayman Jallow, Chairman of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) has disclosed that there is nothing in the Draft Constitution that is finalized, adding that Gambians must take it upon themselves to read and contribute towards the final drafting of the constitution.
Chairman Jallow was speaking in Banjul where the CRC held its first meeting of the second phase of the national consultation process.
According to him, the commission is embarking on the process of national consultation so as to attract the participation of each and every Gambian wherever they may live in the country, noting that the commission is also fulfilling its promises to The Gambian people that once the draft constitution is ready, consultations will be held to help in the review process.
“When we embarked on this process in November of last year, we said we will take it upon ourselves to go out to Gambian communities and interact with the people and hear from them in addition to matters that were raised in the issues documents. The process was designed to ensure full participation and inclusiveness, we want to ensure that Gambians become part of this and to ensure that the ultimate product of the work of the CRC be called their own”, CRC Chairman, Cherno Sulayman Jallow, disclosed at the median meeting in Banjul.
He added: “One of the things we did is, we promised Gambians and those who attended our meetings can testify to this, that we said once the draft constitution is reviewed, we will publish it and we will come back and hear from you and here we are to hear from you”
According to him, the draft constitution is still a draft and it will be very helpful for Gambians to come out with their thoughts and comments in the drive towards actualizing the process, stressing that there is nothing in the draft constitution that is final as of yet.
“The Draft Constitution is what the name actually signifies, it is simply a draft. At this stage we have published it to seek public opinion on it, nothing in the draft constitution is final as yet. It will be very helpful if you can share your opinions, very genuine opinions, your thoughts in terms of what you can share to help us finalize the draft constitution”, Chairman Jallow tells Banjulians.
The CRC Chairman called on The Gambian people “to read it carefully to understand it so that you can contribute constructively to the engagement we have embarked upon.”
“It is not every opinion that can be captured in the draft constitution, some opinions are either taken care of in some other laws or some are issues of enforcement and some maybe issues of policy development on the part of the government,” said Justice Cherno Saulayman Jallow.
