A standoff between the managing director of the Gambia Printing & Publishing Corporation and the board chairman that has left the government printer paralysed has been resolved yesterday.
According to sources close to the State-Owned Enterprises Commission, because of the standoff, staff salaries for January have not been processed and no money was available to buy even cash power to power the offices and the press.
On 21st January, the commission wrote to the chairman of the corporation’s board Alieu Faal instructing him to send the managing director Momodou Ceesay on administrative leave with full pay because of the “serious allegations” of economic malfeasance and mismanagement levelled against Ceesay for which the chairman claimed he had “substantive evidence”. Pursuant to this, the commission ordered an audit of the corporation. On 24th January, the Ministry of Information issued a public notice announcing the development.
However, according to our sources, on 27th January, Chairman Faal wrote to the commission informing them that MD Ceesay was “defying the directives to do a proper handing-over” to the deputy managing director.
The chairman was said to have explained that upon receipt of the 21st January letter from the commission he summoned an emergency board meeting and that only the representative from the Ministry of Justice turned up and that he went ahead and distributed the letter to Ceesay instructing him to do a proper handing-over. He complained that Ceesay refused to surrender his official vehicle and office key and that the corporation could not have access to the bank account to buy fuel and cash power.
According to our source, chairman Faal said when the deputy managing director contacted Ceesay to hand over, he told him the board did not have the quorum and that he did not recognise the instruction from the chairman.
The SOE Commission reportedly wrote to MD Ceesay and demanded a proper handing-over in default to face contempt proceedings.
Consequently, he complied and handed over to the deputy managing director yesterday afternoon.