Deputies at the National Assembly have adopted the report on State-Owned Enterprises Bill.
The report on the bill was presented yesterday Tuesday at the National Assembly by the Standing Committee on Public Enterprises.
Presenting the bill before deputies, Hon. Lamin J. Sanneh, chairman of the Committee and also member for Brikama South, told deputies that the committee extended its appreciation to the permanent secretary, the Minister of Finance and his team and the directorate of State Enterprises for their "tremendous commitment and professionalism" in guiding the process of scrutinizing and acknowledging all gaps by the committee.
According to Hon. Sanneh, the committee is appreciative of all the witnesses who took their valuable time to scrutinize the bill part by part, and appear before the committee to give their opinions and recommendations.
Hon. Sanneh also took the platform to extend the committee's good wishes and appreciation to all honorable members for demonstrating a high sense of commitment and dedication throughout the whole process.
"The bill was introduced to the sixth legislature of the Second Republic during the fourth ordinary session of the 2022 legislative year, as enshrined in the handing over of the National Assembly, and honorable members debated on the merit and the principle of the bill," he said.
Hon. Sanneh further informed deputies that the Committee together with the Ministry of Finance also identified sector experts who also reviewed and gave their opinion on the bill, adding that the committee also took note of the act governing The Gambia's jurisdiction, for comparative analysis, and invited all commercial-oriented state enterprises to give evidence and provide a position paper on the subject matter.
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Hon. Sanneh said the report indicated the mandate of the committee and provided a summary of evidences gathered from the witnesses and indicated all the proposals for amendment for approval or otherwise at the consideration of the National Assembly.
He informed deputies that the mandate of the committee is to identify all witnesses and gather evidences on the clauses of the bill, record the opinion of the committee on each clauses focusing on any proposed amendment in which they stand in the bill.
Responding to the report, Hon. Alhagie S. Darboe, member for Brikama North and also the minority leader, called on members not to waste time in adopting the bill, adding that their duty is to assign them and consult experts, since National Assembly Members "are not experts" in those areas, "so we rely on experts outside".
He added: "I observed all the 52 clauses recorded for consideration of the Ministry for amendment, and the ministry agreed in total with them for the amendment to be effective to enhance the bill."
