By Kaddy Jawo
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubacarr Tambadou has told lawmakers on Tuesday that the contract of the Belgian company Semlex was ‘unlawfully terminated’.
He said the government either has to choose reinstating Semlex’s contract and face possibly no legal consequences or accept possible bids and face arbitration with Semlex.
“If we ever have reason (s) to terminate the contract of Semlex without legal liabilities, we will because we have done it in the case of African Petroleum and MGI. Why wouldn’t we do it again?”
He said if the contract of Semlex was terminated lawfully, they wouldn’t have been here discussing it again.
Minister Tambadou said they are aware of corruption allegations against Semlex but they have not heard any complaints from countries where the company is operating.
“The contract with Semlex has been renegotiated and amended. It is now before our ministry for final review and conclusion,” he said.
Last year, the Justice Minister told journalists that terminating the Semlex contract could have serious legal implications for which Gambia may pay dearly.
This comes a day after lawmakers gave the Interior Minister two weeks to supply them with contract documents between Gambia Government and Semlex as they prepare to launch an inquiry into Belgian company.
