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Date: | Tue, 24 Jul 2001 20:45:24 EDT |
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This was culled from the Independent:
About 60 ministers in seven years President Jammeh's hiring and firing
syndrome
Since the country's political status quo changed in July 1994, fifty nine
ministers have been changed - either fired re-deployed to other ministries or
died while in state service. The pattern of hiring and firing by President
Jammeh had ensured that an average of one minister is fired every six months.
Of the ministries whose name has since changed to departments following the
transition to democracy in 1996, the Attorney General's Chambers has been the
most embattled by the hiring and firing syndrome, with seven individuals
serving from July 1994 to date. Following Amie Bensouda's short-lived stint
as acing Attorney General before she was re-deployed Fafa Mbai was appointed.
He was to be sacked later for alleged tax evasion and dubious monetary
transfer involving huge sums into his personal accounts. He made way for
Mustapha Marong who was also re-deployed. Musa Bittaye who was a July 22nd
executive member took over the department for just a little over three months
before Hawa Sisay-Sabally was appointed. Fatou Bom Bensouda served before she
was replaced by Pap Cheyassin Secka whose stint was one of the most
controversial in the wake of last year's student unrest and the flurry of
constitutional amendments that continued after his sacking. The departments
of Finance and Trade are the second most affected by the spate of cabinet
reshuffles with each registering six ministers in as many years.
The two most eventful stints at the Finance ministry has been the appointment
of Bakary Bunja Babo then regarded as a political survivor of the putsche,
which saw the old order written off and Ousman Koro Ceesay who died in the
most mysterious of circumstances just days before he was supposed to read the
1995 budget. Bakary Dabo was sacked and subsequently detained for an alleged
part in the November 11 1994 coup which was bloodily put down by Jammeh
loyalists in the army. He absconded under pretext of going to Dumbutu his
home village for a gamo. For Koro Ceesay he was found burnt in his official
car hours after he and other state officials saw off the president who was
attending an OAU summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Another eventful department had been the Interior under Sadibou Hydara who
was arrested with Sana Sabally for their alleged attempt to usurp power in
January 1995. Hydara was detained and allegedly tortured. Although the
government citing hypertension or high-blood pressure as the cause of his
death some believed he died as a result of torture. Meanwhile Lamin Kaba Bajo
had replaced him as Interior minister before he was re-deployed to the Local
Government department. Major Momodou Bojang replaced him for one of the most
unforgettable incidents. Bojang would perhaps be remembered more with hjis
war of words with BBC stringer Ebrima Sillah whom he threatened to lock up
over the Ahmadiyya controversy.
In 1999 Satang Jaw who since 1994 had kept her position as one of the few
women ministers resigned from the education portfolio, advancing some concern
for her health. She was replaced by Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta. Bemba Tambedou
was removed as Works and Communication minister while he was on a
familiarisation tour of institutions under him. He was accused of being
"inactive". Ebrima Ceesay replaced him and served for the rest of the
transition. He was a casualty of Jammeh mass firing which saw the likes of
Dominic Mendy taking a forced exit. The Health department's first minister
Fatoumatta Tambajang was given the sack in connection with the January 27
1995 attempted palace coup and replaced by Kumba Ceesay-Marenah. She was also
sacked when she was allegedly found in the house of Abou Denton former
Accountant General in the ousted PPP regime.
She was accused of "insincerity". Nyimasata Sanneh Bojang replaced her
briefly but was handed her marching orders for alleged financial
mis-management, nepotism and favoritism. She was replaced by Isatou
Njie-Saidy. Lamin Kaba Bajo was sacked last year for an alleged official
misconduct involving the controversial Sinchu Yahi land deal. He denied any
wrongdoing. The office of the vice chairmanship (vice president) has not been
left out of the rash of cabinet reshuffles. Sana Sabally the maverick vice
chairman of the then AFPRC fell from grace in January 1994 after an alleged
palace coup he reportedly masterminded to unseat Jammeh. His sacking and
subsequent arrest followed reports that he was cursed by Gambisara elders
whose wrath he incurred in the heat of a mosque crisis there. The crisis was
said to have sparked a so-called AFPRC power dynamics with opposing camps of
the same council pitted against each other.
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