By Baba Sillah
The United Nations Development Programme, UNDP, on Thursday donated twenty five desktop computers and monitors to the Ministry of Justice as part of a longstanding relationship that exists between the ministry and the UN development agency.
The handing over ceremony, held at the ministry, was attended by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Aboubacarr Tambadou, the Solicitor General as well as the adviser to the minister and some senior officials.
Ade Mamonyane Lekoetje, the UNDP resident coordinator while handing over the equipment said the donation is another indication of UNDP’s commitment to help enhance the capacity of the ministry in order to do what is expected of them.
In the new dispensation of justice in The Gambia, Madama Lekoetje said the ministry is expected to play a leadership role in advancing the government’s agenda of implementing key reform measures to improve governance, promote human rights and strengthen the rule of law which according to her are considered by the UNDP as cardinal elements in the efforts towards sustainable peace and development.
The UN resident coordinator is hopeful that after two decades of repressive rule with scant regard for the Constitution and due process, expectations are naturally high among both government and people to see a return to normalcy and strict adherence to the rule of law.
She added that the items donated will enhance the performance and increase the productivity of the ministry’s staff as expected.
“In addition to the ongoing programme to support the government’s capacity to establish credible transitional justice processes and mechanism, I believe these equipment will enhance the performance and increase the productivity of the ministry’s staff so that you can accomplish the huge tasks before you and meet the expectations of the Gambian people for a society based on the rule of law and human rights. The UNDP has built a strong partnership with the Ministry of Justice and I am confident this partnership will get even stronger with the implementation of yet another new project to strengthen the rule of law and enhance justice and security service delivery in The Gambia. We expect to sign this project with you in September,” said the UN resident coordinator, Madam Lekoetje.
Receiving the items, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice thanked the UNDP for the support saying the items will help the capacity of the staff in their work.
“Today is yet another remarkable day for the ministry and not only for the ministry but the entire country. We are happy to receive the items, the items donated will help the staff in their work in order to serve the country to the best of their ability. We thanked the UNDP for the supports it has been rendering to the ministry for the past years and we hope to partner with you always in our projects and development activities and the items donated will be put into good use,” Justice Minister assured.
Other speaker included the Solicitor General, Cherno Marena, who also thanked the UN for the support it has been rendering to the justice ministry.
