By Fatou Sillah
The Speaker of the National Assembly, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, said on Thursday that lawmakers would intensify oversight of government spending, pressing the Ministry of Finance to provide more consistent and timely reports on the execution of the national budget.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr. Jatta responded to concerns over delays in the submission of budget expenditure updates, signaling that Parliament intends to more closely monitor how public funds are being utilized throughout the fiscal year.
“We are now pushing very hard to ensure that we are on top of this,” Mr. Jatta said. “The Minister of Finance should be able to give us updates on the implementation of the budget. As we go quarterly, they should come to Parliament and tell us what has happened and what the challenges are.”
He described the move as part of Parliament’s enforcement and oversight mandate, emphasizing that lawmakers would follow up to ensure compliance with reporting requirements. “That is the enforcement part, that’s the oversight part; we are going to make sure we follow up on that,” he said.
At the same time, Mr. Jatta acknowledged that administrative or technical hurdles can at times impede the reporting process. While maintaining that compliance with statutory obligations is essential, he expressed optimism that such challenges could be addressed.
“We should also understand that there are sometimes technical problems, administrative problems that you cannot do much about,” he said. “But we are hopeful that we will improve on those issues.”
The Speaker underscored the importance of adherence to the law while noting that legal provisions may require practical interpretation. “We should all ensure that we go according to the law,” he said, adding that laws, being man-made, must sometimes be applied with reason and context.
“For me, what I believe is we should all ensure that we go according to the law, but I also believe that these are man-made laws; they are not the Quran and the Bible,” he said.
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