By Madi Jobarteh
I wish to sincerely and unreservedly apologise to nominated NAM Kebba Lang Fofana for referencing the wrong part of the National Assembly Salaries and Pensions Act in my commentary entitled, ‘In Defense of NAM Bakary Badgie of Foni Bintang’. My misrepresentation stemmed from an incorrect assumption following the parliamentary sitting of 27 November, during which amendments to the Act were discussed.
The blue papers displayed are Kebba’s amendments.
To set the record straight, Kebba Lang Fofana tabled a limited amendment to Section 4 of the 1997 Act, proposing new subsections to address three specific issues related to the gratuity arrangements for:
1. Families of deceased National Assembly Members (NAMs),
2. NAMs who resign or are recalled, and
3. NAMs completing a residual term of office.
During the proceedings, the Foni Bintang NAM Bakary Badgie was subjected to intense harassment by fellow members, coupled with unfair procedural rulings by the Speaker. It was in the context of that sitting that I mistakenly believed the entire National Assembly Salaries and Pensions Amendment Bill, first introduced in 2024 and withdrawn after public outcry was being revisited. That assumption was incorrect. NAM Fofana’s bill was a narrow amendment, not a reintroduction of the broader 2024 bill. For this, I offer him and all NAMs my sincere apology.
However, this correction does not detract from the serious and ongoing governance crisis surrounding the National Assembly Salaries and Pensions Act 1997. In fact, Fofana’s limited amendment only brings the wider problem into sharper focus.
When enacted in 1997, the law did not provide for pensions or gratuity. Those elements were added through an amendment in 2007. Since 2007, no other amendment has been made to the Act, yet the remuneration structures for NAMs covering salaries, allowances, pensions, and gratuity have drastically changed upwards.
The First Schedule of the law explicitly sets out the remuneration in fixed figures. But today, as of 2025, NAMs receive salaries and allowances far above what the law stipulates. This means the remuneration currently enjoyed by members of the National Assembly is not grounded in any lawful authority. It is, in effect, illegal.
This is the core issue: NAMs have, for years, been receiving benefits that are not established by any Act of the National Assembly, in direct violation of Section 95 of the Constitution, which requires that their remuneration must be set by law.
In this context, it is concerning that Kebba Lang Fofana chose to amend only a narrow gratuity provision while ignoring the glaring and unlawful disparities between the Act and the actual remuneration NAMs receive. These discrepancies amount to a willful and sustained violation of both the Constitution and the National Assembly Salaries and Pensions Act 1997.
This is not a mere administrative oversight, it is a matter that raises profound questions about legality, accountability, and abuse of office. Kebba and NAMs cannot just lament gratuity for their deceased colleagues and therefore amend just that part of the law while ignoring the fact that the entire law itself needs amendment.
Therefore, while I acknowledge and apologize for the specific misattribution regarding the scope of Fofana’s bill, I stand firmly by the substantive issues raised in my earlier analysis. The broader law remains unamended, outdated, and violated in practice. Addressing a small subsection while leaving the entire structure illegal does not serve the public interest.
My call remains clear: Instead of challenging me to debate on side issues, I hereby challenge Kebba Lang Fofana and indeed all NAMs to correct the grave and longstanding anomaly between the law and their actual remunerations. Until this is done, NAMs continue to partake in and perpetuate a system that reflects illegality, corruption, and abuse of office. In fact, in the 2026 budget estimates their salaries are set to increase again by 50% yet this is not grounded in law.
The National Assembly must be the first institution to uphold the Constitution and the law, and not the first to violate it.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
