Dear Editor,
It is undeniably heartening to witness the appointment of highly qualified academics, technocrats and innovative business leaders to strategic institutions within The Gambia’s higher education sector. These developments reflect a growing recognition that knowledge infrastructure anchored in research, financing, and institutional strength is the foundation of national transformation.
The establishment of key bodies such as the National Research and Innovation Fund (NRIF), the Tertiary and Higher Education Trust (THET) Fund, and the Student Revolving Loan Scheme (SRLS) is not merely bureaucratic expansion; it is potentially the scaffolding upon which a new knowledge-driven Gambia could rise. For a developing country, investment in higher learning is not a luxury, it is the gateway to scientific discovery, agricultural innovation, industrial advancement, public health breakthroughs, and most critically, national self-determination.
A robust and inclusive tertiary system can birth Gambian engineers who build at home, scientists who solve local health crises, agronomists who transform farming, and innovators who disrupt global markets from Banjul rather than import solutions from abroad. And with a student revolving loan system that expands access to university education, the nation can move closer to eliminating inequality, dismantling privilege-based opportunity, and entrenching merit as the currency of mobility. Education is the ultimate equalizer when access is fair and opportunity is real.
It is in this context that these high-profile appointments must be welcomed:
1. Professor Momodou Sallah, Executive Director, NRIF – a distinguished UK-based academic.
2. Dr Jorjoh Ndure-Tambedou, Executive Director, THET Fund – a driver of digital transformation and educational innovation.
3. Dr Samba Bah, Executive Director, SRLS – a scholar with deep insight into education financing.
4. Professor Ebrima Sall, Chairperson, NRIF Governing Board – a respected Pan-African intellectual.
5. Mr Muhammed Jah, Chairperson, THET Fund Governing Board – a digital transformation pioneer behind QGroup.
6. Dr Ernest Reuben Aubee, Chairperson, SRLS Governing Board – a professional of strong repute and integrity.
I have known for years and interacted with some of these individuals, notably Prof. Ebrima Sall, Dr. Samba Bah and Dr. Ernest Aubee. They have earned their reputation through excellence, principle, and service. Their presence in these institutions inspires confidence. Yet optimism must not blind us to history.
Africa has long perfected the art of appointing highly credentialed leaders without producing corresponding national transformation. Nigeria has never lacked professors in power yet struggled to industrialize. Sierra Leone, under President Joseph Momoh, once had the most educated cabinet in the world, yet development stagnated. Even The Gambia under Yaya Jammeh had PhD holders scattered across the Cabinet and ministries, including Agriculture where despite the highest concentration of doctorates per capita, the Gambia still imports most of its food, battle hunger, and rely on aid.
As these high-profile individuals take over these most prestigious positions, I therefore wish them well noting that their qualifications should translate into transformation. As well-educated and experienced individuals who are familiar with the malaise afflicting our institutions, I hope to see them do things differently. That is, to disrupt entrenched dysfunction and inertia characteristic of our institutions to build and manage systems that outlive and outlast them.
The stakes are high. Their personal reputations are now tied to national outcomes. This is why commendation must be followed by clarity of expectation. The Minister of Ministry of Higher Education, Research Science and Technology, Prof. Pierre Gomez, deserves recognition for these appointments. But he must do more to ensure that these institutions are fully resourced, not symbolically supported and ensure that professional advice overrides political interference. Decision-making is evidence-based, not expediency-driven and accountability is enforced and outcomes are measurable.
At 60 years of independence, the Gambia cannot afford institutions that exist without impact. The country’s persistent socioeconomic challenges reflect not a lack of educated elites, but a deficit in systems that translate knowledge into national progress. The presence of a university must not be for its own sake but to diagnose and proffer tangible solutions to the needs and aspirations of society. Sadly, the attainment of relevance, responsiveness, and impact of the university in Africa remains elusive. Thousands graduate annually yet the challenges of development remain insurmountable.
If these new structures work as intended, higher education could finally become the engine of economic reinvention, technological sovereignty, and human development. But if they reproduce old habits, they will simply become new monuments on old foundations.
I hereby heartily welcome this development, congratulate the new officials, and commend Prof. Gomez and MoHERST for their foresight.
For The Gambia, Our Homeland
Madi Jobarteh
Kembujeh
