By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Judicial officers in The Gambia will receive a lifetime pension equivalent to their salary after retirement if the Judicial Officers’ Remuneration and Other Entitlement Bill 2023 is passed by the National Assembly next week.
Yesterday, on September 4th, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow, submitted the Judicial Officers Remuneration and Other Entitlement Bill for 2023 to be debated in Parliament. If approved, the bill will become law, and it will ensure that judicial officers receive pension payments equivalent to their salaries at the time of retirement.
According to Section 18 of the bill, retired judicial officers will receive a pension equal to their last salary received before retiring. “(1) A Judicial Officer shall be paid such pension as prescribed as follows:
“(a) pension equal to last salary in service shall be payable to the occupant of the office of the Chief Justice who retires after serving as such for a period of five years;”
In section 20 of the bill, which states the duration of the pension remuneration, highlights that the pension remuneration of the judicial officers will be for a lifetime starting from the date of their retirement as judicial officers.
“A pension granted to a Judicial Officer under this Act shall commence on the date of his or her attaining the age of retirement and shall continue during the life of the Judicial Officer”.
The pension remuneration of the judicial officers in the bill is subjected to review whenever the Gambia government reviews its salary structure.
The retirement benefits, security, and tax exemption are all included in the bill sent to the parliament by the justice minister, Dawda Jallow.
The first reading of the bill was done at the parliament and the lawmakers are expected to debate over the bill on Monday, September 11 during the National Assembly session.
