By Kebba Jeffang
Madam Fatoumatta Jallow Tambajang, a key figure behind
the establishment of the coalition government has been appointed as the vice president of the republic of the Gambia.
This information was given to the media by Mr. Halifa Sallah, the spokesperson of the government of President Adama Barrow at a press conference held on Monday, January 23, 2017 at Kairaba beach hotel.
“Madam Fatoumatta Tambajang has been appointed as the vice president of the Gambia with the objective of gender balancing which is also in line with the Constitution of the Gambia,” said Sallah.
He added that “since it is a coalition some of the appointments will be political with parties proposing who they will want to be considered. There is a consultation taking place on how to bring in some technocrats so that the mixture will balance in the cabinet.”
Mr. Sallah said because of the consultation process other cabinet names are not released for now.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson went on to informed the gathering that the ex president Yahya Jammeh left on Saturday and Monday (yesterday) is the first working day since he left. He said they have to prepare the ground for the assumption of power so that they could be able to deliver services to the Gambian people.
“The current secretary general was mandated to call all the permanent secretaries in order to tell them to prepare their dossier, the strategic plans which are currently available and the policies, the plan and their budget lines and continue doing their work and guide the departments to function normally in preparation for the new ministers who will be presiding over the affairs of those ministries,” he said.
Sallah intimated that the Permanent Secretary at the Personal Management Office and the Inspector General of Police were mandated to visit the ministries and the public corporations in order to find out their current situation noting that so far an appreciable job has been done.
He said there has been information to the public about the central bank which was a particular concern but the Inspector General of Police and Governor of the Central Bank told him that everything is intact.
He said they are informed about some bit of administrative contradiction in terms of instructions given to certain ECOWAS heads. He said this has been resolved by informing the president to communicate with the ECOWAS authorities that the mission that is here will have no contradiction in terms of the service delivery such as the reforms. He said they are being informed that cooperation is now been effected so that there will be direct communication to those who have been given responsibility.
He said in the country, “services have begun to operate normally and they are assessing the difficulties they were experiencing before. So far only NAWEC indicated some difficulties in terms of petrol provision but that measures are in place to ensure that their demand is facilitated and addressed.” He said by tomorrow the entire government will work normally and plan ahead.
The former parliamentarian also clarified the movement of ECOWAS forces in the Gambia noting that their mandate has now been explained and it is clear to them on how to operate. He said President Barrow has selected an aide who will be in charge of the Armed Forces of The Gambia. He said this aide understands the Armed Forces because he was once in charge and knows the ground fully, adding that he will work effectively and provide good coordination of the ECOWAS forces.
He said so far many of those detained without trial are being released from cells and Mile 2 and that anyone who doesn’t see his or her relative can contact them or the Inspector General of police. He said the process is still going on involving all the security chiefs including the CDS, IGP and the DG of the National Intelligence Agency and that by today no one should remain in cells without trial. He said this matter will be pushed with speed because President Barrow has no tolerance for unlawful detention.
He thanked the Gambian people for maintaining peace during the difficult times by staying in their homes and not being violent. “You can make a country ungovernable by being in the street; you can also make a country ungovernable by being at home and making the government irrational, unfit to govern. That is the history the Gambian people have made.”
