President Adama Barrow has reshuffled his cabinet, effective Friday, June 29th 2018, barely two years since he assumed Office. In a Press Release sent to media houses across the country on the new cabinet, the President made the following changes:
Vice President of the Republic – Hon. Ousainou Darboe
Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure – Ebrima Sillah
Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs – Mambury Njie
Ministry of Agriculture – Lamin N. Dibba
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Gambians Abroad – Momodou Tangara
Ministry of Lands and Regional Government – Musa Drammeh
Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration – Amadou Sanneh
Ministry of Youths and Sports – Hadrammeh Sidibeh
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare – Dr Isatou Touray
Meanwhile Hon. Fatoumata Tambajang has been redeployed to the Foreign Service, while Hon. Henry Gomez is now Special Youth Adviser to the President of the Republic. Omar Jallow has been relived.
Press Release, from the Office of the President.
OUSAINOU DARBOE
Until his appointment as Vice President of The Gambia, Darboe was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, a position he held since February 2017.
Ousainou Darboe, a lawyer by profession, is the Secretary General and leader of the United Democratic Party.
Darboe and 18 others were jailed for three years for taking part in an unauthorised demonstration on 16th April 2016.
He was pardoned by President Barrow and later appointed minister.
EBRIMA SILLAH
Until his appointed as Information Minister, Ebrima Sillah was the Director General of Gambia Radio and Television Services. He was appointed in this position in February 2017 while he was a media consultant.
Sillah has also worked for The Point Newspaper, Citizen Newspaper, and Citizen FM radio. He was BBC correspondent in The Gambia before he fled to Senegal. While in Senegal he also worked for Al Jazeera news agency and a number of media houses, including radio and online services.
ISTOU TOURAY
She is appointed as the Minister of Health and Social Welfares.
Touray is a gender activist who at the time of her appointment was the Executive Director of GAMCOTRAP, an NGO that campaigned vigorously against female genital mutilation.
She joined the coalition as an independent presidential candidate.
In February 2017, Touray was appointed as Minister for Trade, Regional Integration and Employment.
AMADOU SANNEH
Sanneh, an accountant by profession, is appointed as the Minister of Minister for Trade, Regional Integration and Employment.
He was the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs.
He is a senior member of the UDP and served as its treasurer. He was jailed by the government of Yahya Jammeh for supporting the asylum claim of a member of the party.
LAMIN N. DIBBA
Lamin N. Dibba is a member of the executive committee of the UDP and a former parliamentarian. He was jailed with UDP Leader Ousainou Darboe in 2016 after taking part in an anti-government protest.
He was appointed Minister of Lands and Regional Government in February 2018, a position he held until his new appointment.
MAMADOU TANGARA
Mamadou Tangara is the new minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad. Tangara was the Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations.
He held various positions within the Government of The Gambia from 2010 to 2013, serving as Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad.
Mr. Tangara also briefly served as Minister for Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters. Previously, he served as Coordinator of the National Authorizing Office Support Unit for European Union-funded programmes and projects in the Gambia, a position he held from 2008 to 2010.
He has also served as President/Chairman University Governing Council, University of The Gambia (UTG).
Hadrammeh Sidibeh
Sidibeh is the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Youth and Sports. Before this appointment, he was the acting Finance Director of the University of the Gambia.
Between August 2014 to November 2016, Sidibeh served as the university’s Principal Accountant.
He also worked with TANGO as an Accountant from 2009 to July 2014.
MUSA DRAMMEH
Musa Drammeh, who hails from Diabugu, Sandu, Upper River Region, has been a member of the People’s Progressive Party. He was Parliamentary Secretary and later elected as Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Sandu in the first Republic, a position he held till the coup d’etat of 1994.
Until his appointment he was adviser on investment to the President.
MAMBURY NJIE
Mr Njie served in the former regime in various posts such as: permanent secretary of the Office of the President; secretary general and head of the civil service; minister of planning and industrial development; minister of finance
and economic affairs overseeing the Ministry of Energy; minister of foreign affairs; minister of higher education; chairman of Skye Bank Gambia; Gambian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines and Taiwan; ambassador-at-large and advisor on economic and energy.
Until his appointment he has been serving as Managing Director of Gambia National Petroleum Corporation.
