Over the weekend, a press release from the presidency revealed that the erstwhile minister of the Interior, Mr Mai Ahmad Fatty has been relieved of his ministerial position and redeployed to the Foreign Service.
The press release however fell short of informing the general public of the reason(s) informing the decision of this development. This was the norm in the previous regime as well that a minister could be relieved of his position without any reason put forward.
While this may be legal and in accordance with the constitution of the nation, it is certainly not in line with the total transparency and accountability on which the Coalition government campaigned and got voted into office.
Therefore, it would be great if President Barrow could tell Gambians what exactly happened. Why did he relieve one of the key members of the Coalition government of his position? Even if it is not legally binding on him – the president – to do that; it will be great for transparency. This will build trust between the governors and the governed.
Whatever the case, citizens will speculate as to why this minister was relieved of his post. The people will ask questions not only as to what warranted this move, but what it means for the Coalition which was already seen in some quarters as being fragile.
It would be good practice therefore for the government to come out and explain what informed their decision even if they don’t have to.
