By Lamin Njie
The draft constitution failed due to the indifference of President Adama Barrow’s government, UDP leader Ousainou Darboe insisted on Wednesday as UDP took a position over the document’s spectacular failure.
MPs on Tuesday carved out a history of their own by refusing to approve a bill which could spark the birth of a new Gambian republic with a new constitution. The draft constitution devoured 116 million during the course of its construction.
“It is quite disheartening that the tireless efforts of the commission and its members for the past three years have been made futile due to the indifference of the current administration,” UDP leader Darboe said at a news conference Wednesday in Pipeline.
He added: “It is even more disturbing that the government spent 116 million dalasis to fund a reform process they unjustifiably brought to an ill-fated end. The commission worked extensively at every stage of the drafting process seeking out the opinions of Gambians across the entire spectrum in and out of the country, studying best practices in other established democracies and exerting great effort to come up with a document that broadly reflected the considered views of the Gambian people. The commission did its job within the prescribed time and submitted to the president as directed by the CRC Act.
“Not once after receiving the draft had the president taken a moment to address the Gambian people about the significance of this national priority. Instead his cabinet and advisers publicly attacked the draft in ways that were unbecoming. No single member of the executive branched weighed in on the draft following its submission to the national assembly.”
