By Abdoulai Dibba
Ousman Jammeh has rejected his appointment as the Director General of the Department of Agriculture following the rescinding of his appointment as Permanent Secretary One (1) at the Ministry of Agriculture.
According to a letter signed by the Permanent Secretary at the PMO, Mr Jammeh’s appointment has been rescinded by the Personnel Management Office, based on Executive approval and has been redeployed to the Department of Agriculture as Director General, with effect from December 12th 2017.
Ousman Jammeh stated that he was appointed on the 5th of December 2017 as Permanent Secretary One of the Ministry of Agriculture when he was in Dakar, on a mission on the Bio-Fortification (Baluu Timaringho) project under the United Purposed, an International NGO. Jammeh made these statements in an exclusive interview with this reporter at his office along Kairaba Avenue on Thursday December 14, 2017.
He said when he returned from his trip on Thursday, he was told about the appointment; that when he reported for work at the Ministry of Agriculture he was told by the Minister (OJ) that “I should go the Personnel Management Office, because they have written against my appointment.” He indicated that he wrote to the PS PMO about the reactions of the Agric. Minister and copied the letter to the Minister himself, the Select committee on Agriculture and the President of the Republic because the Minister has no right to deny his appointment.
“I went to the PMO to seek advice as to what to do if there are obstacles in having access to my office, to assume my duty and PS Jah said I should go back to the PMO”, he stated.
Jammeh indicated that at the Ministry he requested to see the Minister and who refused to see him because he was busy; that when he requested for the key to his office as PS1, he was told by the Secretary that she has only the key to the parlour and not the office; that it was when he returned to the PMO, that he was told by the PS that the Minister of Agriculture said he was not comfortable to work with him. Mr. Jammeh pointed out that at the PMO on Tuesday, he was told that his appointment as Permanent Secretary One had been rescinded and he was redeployed to the Department of Agriculture as Director General. Mr. Jammeh questioned how the Minister should feel uncomfortable working with him as PS and comfortable to work with him as Director General of the Department of Agriculture, the technical arm of the Ministry?
Mr. Jammeh stated that he is currently working with an International NGO but decided to accept the appointment for continuity at the Ministry.
