THE IMPLICATIONS OF JAMMEH’S RECENT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN!

Going by the recent cabinet reshuffle, it appears that there is nothing much in terms of portfolio changes.  Ministers on the waiting list should not lose their sleep. There is no doubt that the likes of Fatou Lamin Faye, Lamin Kaba Bajo and others will be recycled to other Ministries.  It’s a “Mary Go round.”  Very few Ministers will be replaced.  Justice Minister Edu Gomez must be very lucky if he is reinstated!

It was unwise on the side of Jammeh to shutdown the entire Government just for the sake of dissolving his cabinet.  The stakes are high in doing so. It means the entire Government machinery will be rendered non operational. 

The economic loss associated with such a move is dire so to speak. Millions of dalasi worth of projects will be stalled due to the cabinet reshuffle. A Minister is required by law to append his, or her  signature on certain paperwork before it would be finalized.  That’s why we have Permanent Secretaries. Their job entails working hand in hand with Ministers  to ensure the smooth running of their respective Ministries.  Budgetary finances cannot be approved in the absence of Ministers.

What Mr. Jammeh has done essentially is to retard Governance in the Gambia. His action is similar to the US’S Republicans recent move to shutdown the Government following disagreements among their Democratic partners—following a stalemate over Government spending. The budget was finally passed.  

In the case of the Gambia, thank God that that the dictator has come back to his senses to rehire the sacked Finance Minister, Interior, Tourism and the Vice President.  He has no choice but to recall them—otherwise Gambians stand to lose economically in view of the looming power vacuum.

That said, it’s imperative to note that Jammeh is facing problems in recruiting Gambians to serve as Ministers. With all the bluff, and euphoria that greeted his so called cabinet reshuffle, this man is unable to expeditiously bring new faces to run business in the capital city Banjul.

A senior Government official  told us yesterday that Jammeh had wanted to replace the vice President but  he changed his mind after the Freedom Newspaper hinted about “the secret moves” to send the old lady packing. He reinstated her barely less than twenty four hours after the Freedom story.

“ The President personally told Fatou Lamin Faye that he was going to appoint her as  a Vice President. But since the information had been leaked by the Freedom Newspaper, he is trying to win Isatou’s confidence.  Isatou will not last long in that post. It would not be long she will be replaced. That I can tell you,” said our source.

Another interesting point worth noting about  Jammeh’s cabinet reshuffle is his latest move to unfairly reward folks who fought for his reelection. Take for example, Lamin Kaba Bajo, who was the head of the APRC campaign team during the past elections.  He ought to have been number one on the list of the reinstated Ministers, but that’s Jammeh he is very ungrateful. He betrays folks who help him to get where he is today.

Bajo will no doubt be recycled to another Minstry, but the bottom line is:  Jammeh should stop the favoritism when it comes to running the affairs of the state. He embraces the “mindless and ignoramus” Ministers to the expense of the competent ones. 

Fatou Mass Jobe has not done a good job in revamping our collapsed Tourism Sector. Tourism is dead in this country thanks to lack of qualified folks to run the Ministry. There is too much bureaucracy in the Tourism Ministry.  Conflict of interest is undermining the sector.  Fatou and her husband are into this hotel business. They owned a hotel and her impartiality in running the industry is questionable.

Like Fatou Mass, Interior Minister Ousman Sonko is a certified killer for the Kanilai monster. This man has been implicated into a series of unresolved state crimes. Many are of the belief that Jammeh is indebted to Sonko and cannot afford to lose him.  He wants Sonko to be under his direct watchful eyes.

The Vice President is another dangerous character among the lot. This was the lady who lied before the nation that the fourteen unarmed school children killed themselves. In that, the students broke into police armories to shoot and kill each other. She was very instrumental in indemnifying the student killers through a bill passed by  the National Assembly.

May God salvage the Gambia from these funny characters. There is nothing new in the so called cabinet reshuffle. Old wines in a new bottle being recycled.  The same characters, the same faces bouncing back!