Neneh Macdouall Gaye, John Charles Njie, Baboucarr Cham, Emil Touray, and Ya Amie Touray were appointed as commissioners of the newly constituted Access to Information Commission (AIC) by the National Assembly yesterday.

Ms. Gaye, who was previously the Minister of Information, will assume the role of chairperson. John Charles Njie will serve as vice chairperson, and the remaining three individuals will serve as commissioners.

The Minister of Information, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, introduced a motion to confirm the appointments and proposed remuneration packages of NAMs following their nomination by the government. The proposals were referred to the Public Appointments Committee for consideration and confirmation by the Assembly.

Yesterday, Alhagie Mbow, the vice chairman of the parliamentary committee, presented its report. He stated that the committee has determined that the nominees are qualified to serve as ATI commissioners after conducting an assessment of their suitability.

Mbow stated that the committee has reviewed and consulted with relevant institutions to compare the pay scales of commissioners across the board. The committee has proposed a pay scale that is similar to that of the National Human Rights Commissioners, as follows:

The chairperson’s monthly gross salary is D146,500. This comprises a minimum salary of D29,000, a responsibility allowance of D50,000, a professional allowance of D13,000, a residential allowance of D23,000, a utility allowance of D15,000, a telephone allowance of D5,500, a retention allowance of D11,000, and a domestic servant allowance of D5,500.

The gross salary for all other commissioners will be D134,500. This encompasses a minimum salary of D26,000, a responsibility allowance of D41,000, professional allowances of D13,000, residential allowance of D23,000, utility allowance of D15,000, telephone allowance of D5,500, retention allowance of D11,000, and domestic servant allowance of D5,500.