By Ramatoulie Jawo
Attorney General and Minister of Justice Dawda A. Jallow told National Assembly Members (NAMs) that the memorialization and renaming of Arch 22 are expected to cost D12 million.
In response to a question from Hon. Kebba K. Barrow, National Assembly Member for Kombo South, about the status of the Never Again Memorial Arch and the inscriptions of the names of the victims of former President Yahya Jammeh on the Arch, Justice Minister Dawda Jallow said that plans are still in place to carry out the memorialization initiative. He said that the initiative is important because it will bring the much-needed closure to the victims of Jammeh’s atrocities. Jallow also said that the memorialization will serve as a testimony of the Gambia’s commitment to ensuring that those atrocities never happen again.
“The renovation and officials renaming of the Arch is slated to occur in the fourth quarter of this year at an anticipated cost of about D12 million. We do not intend for it to be only a memorialization project, but we intend to carry out several memorialization initiatives across the country in consultation with the victims, and the victim-led organizations, and under the guidance of the steering committee on memorialization,” he said.
The Justice Minister said consultations will be held with the victims and victim-led organizations on the development and implementation of the comprehensive national memorialization framework.
“Following the release of the white paper which convenes the President’s intention to rename the Arch, the government is set to work on the elaborate implementation plan. This plan was finalized and approved by the cabinet and released on the 12th of May 2023,” he said.
Hon. Jallow said the plans recognized the fact that memorialization will need to be elaborate and consultative.
He said the plans envisage the setting up of a Steering Committee on the National Center for Arts and Culture (NCAC) to spearhead the memorialization efforts in the third quarter of 2023.
In his supplementary question, Hon. Kebba K. Barrow asked the Minister who will lead the memorialization processes in the regions.
In his response, the Justice Minister said they have a National Steering Committee that will cover the entire country.