The Government press release on the "honorarium scandal" at the Ministry of Justice has further proven how dishonest of a government we have. This is unbelievable. An entire executive arm of government making false statements and covering up a few corrupted individuals is really the height of dishonesty.  

The press release gave Gambians the impression that this was a one-off payment done but they failed to tell Gambians that the $200,000 is only a part payment of a staggering amount of $420,000 meant for these few corrupt government officials.  

The press release did not also mention that it was the Ministry of Justice that asked for this honorarium which is in contravention of Section 222(11)&(12) of the constitution of The Gambia.  

The press release also did not mention that this so-called honorarium is also something that is being paid yearly for 5 years. Meaning 6 officials of the Ministry of Justice are being paid D21,000000 (Twenty One Million Dalasis a year for an initial 5 year period). This is the height of thievery ever seen within the Gambia Civil Service structure.  

The press release did not also say that The Gambia is struggling to garner resources and that so far not more than 10 countries have contributed to the fund set up for the Gambia- Myanmar case before the ICJ.  

How on earth is it that these individuals are now dipping their hands into the pot when the firm that is actually representing The Gambia is still not paid yet in full. What kind of honorarium surpasses by a hundredfold, and is 10 times more than their yearly salary?  

Did the press release also mention that these officials were paid government per-diems and all tickets were paid for by the government?  

Does the government of The Gambia think that Gambians are this stupid and ignorant?  

Sanna Jallow

UK