By Maimuna Sey-Jawo
Ousman Jammeh who was appointed Permanent Secretary 1 at the Ministry of Agriculture through the Personnel Management Office (PMO) has had his appointment rescinded, The Standard can authoritatively report.
Instead Jammeh was redeployed to the Department of Agriculture as director general which appointment he has in turn turned down. One Hassan Jallow has now been appointed Permanent Secretary 1 at the Ministry of Agriculture.
“When I was appointed PS, I reported to work in order to inform the minister of my appointment and also to tell him that I was ready to work with him. Upon entering OA Jallow’s office he could not even tell me to sit down and I had to sit down by myself. Immediately, he told me that he had written against my appointment to the Secretary General that he didn’t want to work with me and that I should report to the PMO for further instruction,” Jammeh explained.
The former deputy minister of agriculture during the former regime said he then went to the secretary general at the Office of the President and informed him about Minister Jallow’s decision. “I was surprised that the SG told me that the minister of agriculture said he was not comfortable with me. I asked the SG why the minister was not comfortable with me because the minister did not know me and I had never worked with him before.
“What I came to understand is that Hassan Jallow has been appointed as the PS No 1 of agriculture on the instruction of the minister because that is his candidate and that’s what he wanted. I consider this to be nepotistic because people know in this country that they are related,” he alleged.
“Do we need such things in the ‘New Gambia’? Is that what should happen or is that what this country should entertain? These are fundamental questions we should ask ourselves because this is very discouraging and it does not go with the new democracy we have,” Jammeh queried.
