NAMs Consider National Security Council Bill After Finance Minister's Latest No Show

Vice President at National Assembly © Askanwi

By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT

The Gambia’s National Assembly was scheduled for three main businesses, including an oral ministerial report on the implementation of the annual budget and the National Population Bill 2024. However, only the National Security Council (NSC) Bill will be considered today, 18th March 2025, by Parliamentarians of the Sixth Legislature.

According to the Revised Agenda for the First Ordinary Session of the 2025 Legislative Year, dated 10th March 2025, the National Assembly was scheduled to hear an oral ministerial statement on the implementation and monitoring of the annual budget from the finance minister, as well as the Consideration Stage of two Bills—the National Population Bill 2024 and the NSC Bill 2023—both presented by the Vice President.

However, just a week later, the Order Paper for the day included only one agenda item, besides the usual review of the previous day’s meeting minutes: the Consideration Stage of the NSC Bill 2023.

It can be recalled that the finance minister was scheduled to present the Implementation Report of the Annual Budget on 3rd March 2025. However, this was not done, resulting in its postponement to today, 18th March 2025, yet no report has been forthcoming. Our inquiries reveal that the finance minister was out of town and, therefore, unable to present his oral statement.

This means that Parliamentarians remain clueless about how the budget is being implemented, just as they were during the 2nd and 3rd Ordinary Sessions of the 2024 Legislative Year. A previous publication questioned Parliamentarians' failure to comply with Standing Order 94 (1) of the National Assembly on Budget Implementation and Monitoring, which states:

“The Vice President or a Minister with responsibility for finance shall, at least once during each session of the Assembly, make an oral ministerial statement to the Assembly on the implementation and monitoring of the annual budget.”

Turning our attention to the only business of the day, our reporter managed to obtain a copy of the NSC Bill after prior requests. Below are the Objects and Reasons of the NSC Bill. At the time of publication, Parliament had reviewed less than 10 clauses within three hours out of a total of 26 clauses.

Some weeks ago, Parliamentarians considered fewer than 20 clauses of the Elections Bill 2021, which contains a total of 157 clauses. It remains to be seen whether the NSC Bill will be considered in its entirety today.

Parliamentarians considering the National Security Council Bill 2023 © Askanwi

Objects and Reasons of the National Security Council

This Bill seeks to promote the effective and efficient coordination of the security of The Gambia as a critically important factor for security sector reform. It also seeks to position The Gambia strategically in its geopolitical path for her best security and development interests as articulated in the National Development Plan.

Prior to 2017, the national security structure in The Gambia lacked formal mechanisms for security sector institutions to collaborate at strategic and operational levels. There was a lack of a central forum for managing national security operations and intelligence gathering activities, leading to a disjointed approach in providing information for informed decision-making at the executive level.

The Security Sector Reform (SSR) Technical Working Group's Assessment Report from August to December 2017 highlighted significant deficiencies within the Armed and Security services, including the absence of effective oversight bodies and outdated legal frameworks governing the security services.

The passing of this Bill aims to address these issues by establishing the Office of National Security under the National Security Council, and specialized committees within the Council. This framework is designed to improve coordination among national security activities and enhance the efficiency and accountability of the armed and security services in meeting The Gambia's overall security needs.