By Binta Jaiteh
National Environmental Agency (NEA) has been instructed to resubmit its activity reports and financial statements for the year ended 31st December 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively, after failed to meet some requirements.
Honorable Halifa Sallah, chairperson of the committee said: “we did make it clear that 1997 constitution aimed at establishing an independent authority to exercise direct and control over the operations of public enterprises. Section (175) sub section (2) calls for the creation of governing authority in a form of board and NEA management act sort to create a governing authority, the authority is responsible for policy making and agency simply execute.”
He added to that “It is the governing authority accountable for public enterprise committee, as section (175) of the 1997 constitution demands that national assembly to create a committee that will monitor the affairs of the public enterprise and make them accountable to parliament. National Assembly is an authority separate from the executive that should exercise control over the operations of public enterprises.”
He explained that Section (175) sub section (5) makes it mandatory to submit reports annually and financial statement which the council has been summoned to do, adding “we experience a vacuum yesterday (Tuesday) since there was no representative from the council, we gave a slight portion that we will not proceed until the council is represented and we adjourned till today (Wednesday) 1pm to continue the process.”
He said the council members do not have time and indeed we have to use the hammer to ensure that they are here by tomorrow.
“It is therefore prudent to issue summon for the minister of environment to appear before this committee by 11:00am tomorrow (today) with the team for the submission of activity report and financial statement of NEA for the years ended 31st December 2017, 2018 and 2019,” he said.
Doudu Trawally, director general, said: “we called minister of trade and that minister was available at 2:30, I took two telephone numbers from Mr. Jawo just in case I needed to get back to him and made several attempts to reach him.”