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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
 Posted - 14 Mar 2013 : 19:45:18
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1. Daily Observer News Published on Wednesday, March 13, 2013;
Nana Grey-Johnson is new Information minister
2. The Point News Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013;
Nana Grey-Johnson is new Information minister
3. The Daily News: Published on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
A Veteran Journalist and Writer Is the New Information Minister For Gambia
4. Jollof News: Published on Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Acclaimed Gambian Writer Appointed Information Minister
5. Foroyaa Sports News: Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013
NANA GREY JOHNSON APPOINTED MINISTER
Written by: Suwaibou Touray
"President Yahya Jammeh has appointed Mr. Nana Grey Johnson as Minister of Information and Communications Infrastructure with effect from yesterday 12th of March 2013. According to the state owned Gambia Radio and Television Services, reading a Press release from State House, the President acting under the provisions of Section 71 (1) and 71 (3) of the Constitution of the Republic of the Gambia has appointed Mr. Nana Grey Johnson as Minister of Information and Communications Infrastructure with effect from 12th March 2013.
Mr. Johnson will replace Mr. Njogu Bah who has been serving as the Minister of Information and Communications Infrastructure together with the other portfolio of and Minister of Presidential Affairs Secretary General and as Head of the Civil Service since 09th January 2013.
Prior to Njogu Bah’s handling of the supposed neglected portfolio, it was only Mr. Bala Garba Jahumba who briefly handled the position before his appointment as the Minister of Health in a Cabinet reshuffle on January 8th 2013, since 14th February 2012 when Jammeh appointed his new cabinet after the 2011 presidential elections."
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Edited by - kobo on 14 Mar 2013 23:55:16 |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2013 : 20:09:43
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Welcome to the hot seat Nana
The Point News: Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Author: Georges Braque
"We would like to warmly welcome Mr Nana Grey-Johnson as the newly-appointed Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, a post that has seen many ministers come and go.
It is regarded as a very hot seat indeed, but what makes the seat hot, perhaps, is the importance of the ministry.
Please Sir! accept our hearty congratulations on your appointment.
Your appointment as new Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure is, no doubt, timely because this is one of the most sensitive cabinet posts.
As the mouthpiece of the government, the Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure needs some of the most astute minds in the country to fend off any assault against the government, especially in the international media.
As we stated on these pages not long ago, with all the nasty media attention the country draws of recent, it is time this was ended.
This is a challenge for the new minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure.
As he settles down in his new portfolio, we urge the new minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure to see journalists as partners in development, not as enemies.
We would like to implore him to create the enabling environment for journalists to work without fear or intimidation. This he can do by assisting the independent media to have access to information.
He can also work for the repeal of the Criminal Amendment Act 2004 and the Newspaper Registration Act 2004. Both laws hamper our practice as journalists in this country.
As journalists, we are concerned about the environment in which we operate.
Even though journalists are generally perceived, in some quarters, as troublemakers, it is through our activities that the world gets to know what is happening, where, why and by whom.
Because the truth is sometimes difficult to swallow, those who at times engage in dubious deals brand us as troublemakers or even enemies.
To be sure, there would be chaos around the world without journalists, as people wouldn’t know what is happening next door. And what do we get in most instances for our efforts?
Arrests, arbitrary detention, closure of newspapers and broadcasting stations, harassment, torture and even assassinations!
The new Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure should make working towards the reopening of The Independent newspaper, Citizen FM, Sud FM and now The Standard and The Daily News newspapers, as well as Taranga FM radio station, all of which remain closed, as his first priority.
The fact that all these media houses remain closed is, no doubt, not a good image for the country.
The more newspapers we have in this country, the better because what one newspaper may suppress, another paper may bring to light. In this way, the government and the general public know virtually everything that is going on in the public domain.
It is high time that government opened up to the independent media, and they sit together and trash out any misunderstanding between them, for the betterment of the country.
“Truth exists; only lies are invented.”" |
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kobo
United Kingdom
7765 Posts |
Posted - 14 Mar 2013 : 20:19:18
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Our Challenge to Nana Grey Johnson New information Minister
The Daily News: Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013
Author: By D. Baldeh Gainako online newspaper
SOURCE: Gainako Editorial
"DEMBA Congratulates Nana Grey Johnson on his appointment as minister of information, technology and infrastructure which did not come as a surprise to many. We are not necessarily celebrating his appointment with optimism but rather recognizing that as a human being if that is what he regards as a chapter of personal achievement in his life, and then it is befitting to congratulate him on his success. While he is fresh in his ministerial position busy shifting through the rubbles of his numerous predecessors’ records or lack thereof, we would like to remind the new minister that he did not get to this position by accident. That his long history of contribution to Gambian media and as veteran Journalist and writer is what earns him this recognition. Although this may have been triggered by recent reports of him authoring a book on President Jammeh’s development in the last eighteen years, the underlining fact is that being a seasoned journalist and famous writer is what comes through in this appointment even though President Jammeh will never admit that is the reason for choosing him.
Minister Johnson may want to remember that this ministerial position has been semi vacant for several years for reasons known to all of us. The last media personnel who have served in this position were Dr. Amadou Scattred Janneh whose story and ordeals we are all too familiar with during the last several years.
The other two ministers who came after Dr. Janneh were Bala Gaba Jahumpa & Ngogu Bah who were only appointed as caretakers while the President continue to look for a trusted experience media personnel to serve this critical ministry. There is certainly no lack of experience media personnel in Gambia who could effectively serve this ministry if accorded the independence and respect to freely execute their service to the nation.
Minister Johnson, you took over this ministry at a time when the Gambian media and journalists are experiencing the worst assault from a sitting government in the history of the media anywhere in the world. As you take your oath of office, two newspapers and a community radio station are recently arbitrarily closed indefinitely by the Jammeh government.
Two journalists Abdoulie Jobe of the pro government Daily Observer and Baboucarr Ceesay were arrested and detained. No reasons as usual were given for their arrest and detention. Mr. Johnson your one time colleague and confidant in the media the distinguished Deyda Hydara was murdered in cold blood few yards from a police station allegedly for his criticism of the Jammeh government’s heavy handedness on Gambian media and Democracy. To this day government refused to investigate or allow credible investigations of his murder.
Chief Ebrima Manneh a young vibrant reporter of the Daily Observer was arrested by government agents since 2006 and to this day he is nowhere to be found. Over one hundred young and seasoned Gambian journalists have been forced into Exile for simply exercising their freedom to report and write about news and events in and around Banjul.
Mr. Johnson your appointment couldn’t have come at the worst time in the history of the Gambian media. Perhaps this would be a blessing in disguise and a divine intervention for you to break the deadlock and assault on Gambia’s fourth estate. As the saying goes everything happens for a reason and you may either be the man who finally brought meaningful dialogue between the media and government or another professional who turns against his own profession and colleagues. History is already recording your chapter and it shall judge you too as you attempt to execute your duties for nobility or towards oppression.
However, Mr. Johnson, President Jammeh has openly declared war against the media and has branded Gambian journalists as “illegitimate sons and daughters of the Gambia”. He seems to have no respect whatsoever for the work of journalists even as he exploits the positive aspects of two media houses; the National Television (GRTS) and the pro government Daily Observer to boost his own image and promote his propaganda. It is therefore obvious President Jammeh needs the media as much as the media needs him to contribute to socioeconomic development, education and democratic agenda in the Gambia.
Our first challenge to you Minister Johnson is to let President Jammeh and his government understands that Gambian Journalists are not enemies of the Gambian State and nation. That evidence of the work of the late Deyda Hydara; the professional and relentless contributions of Sam Sarr of Foroyaa, Pap Saine Cofounder of the Point, the patriotic consistent contributions from D.A Jawo, the educational literature from Dr. Baba Galleh Jallow, Alagie Yorro Jallow, Madi Ceesay of the Dailynews and the leadership of Ndey Tapha Sosseh and Emil Touray of the Gambia Press Union and several young and older Gambian Journalists clearly exemplifies patriotism and love of nation and peace.
The writings from these citizens have no seeds of enmity or hatred for either President Jammeh or his government, but rather a call for decency, openness, equal treatment and freedom to live with dignity, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all Gambians.
Our second challenge to you Minister Johnson is to open a dialogue and line of communication between the government of the Gambia and the independent media, in efforts to promote harmony and understanding between the state and the private media. Evidence has shown that when Fatou Camara former State House Press Secretary conveyed a meeting between President Jammeh and the private media at the very least it led to a reopening of the Standard newspaper. All media chiefs at the time openly welcomed the idea of an open dialogue with the State leaving many to believe that such a dialogue can only go a long way to promote peace and stability in our nation.
Another challenge for you sir is to have a regular meeting with media houses and the press union to help breach that negative perception of distrust between government officials and the private press. This session should include ways and means of obtaining information from government authorities on matters relevant to the population without media houses resorting to speculation and malicious charges of giving false information. This will fulfill President Jammeh’s earlier pronouncements that government officials are free to speak to the media.
Together with the media houses you should come up with a plan to negotiate with the government to repeal draconian media laws that puts undue hardship on media organizations and journalists to register newspapers and to report the news freely without fear of charges of passing false information among others. You must also begin to recognize that a vibrant online media currently exist outside of Gambia and it is a force to be reckoned with in informing and educating Gambians and the rest of the world about events in the Gambia. Granting an interview to the online media would be in order without fear of government backlash on government officials.
The last but not the least, Minister Johnson, you must convince this government to fully investigate the killings of Deyda Hydara and to bring to closure the disappearance of Chief Ebrima Manneh by either producing him or accounting for his whereabouts and compensate his family for the lost. Mr. Johnson we realized that these may be noble goals but a steep mountain to climb. However, this is what is expected of you as Minister from the media fraternity and should you move in this direction with or without success, you would have done your part to represent your profession and worked towards making the conditions of the media better.
On the contrary, failure to go this direction or your own ways and means of brining dialogue and harmony between government and the private media, then you will equally go down in history as a failure in taking the opportunity to put a stop to the assault. Now while we recognized that these are enormous challenges for you, we must warn that we have little confidence in your government’s ability to accept common sense dialogue with opposing views. It is an opportunity to prove us wrong and get the government to listen to you as the new kid in the block." |
Edited by - kobo on 14 Mar 2013 20:23:58 |
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Momodou
Denmark
11713 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2013 : 11:06:04
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Jammeh removes Nana Grey-Johnson as Information Minister
The Point: Wednesday, November 27, 2013
 President Yahya Jammeh has relieved Nana Grey-Johnson of his appointment as Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, the presidency announced Tuesday, the second to leave the cabinet within barely four weeks.
A statement issued by the presidency announcing Nana’s removal did not give any reason, and no replacement has been named yet.
Nana Grey-Johnson, a seasoned journalist, joined cabinet on 12th March 2013. He was also Secretary General No. 2, a post added to his portfolio on 10th June 2013.
Late last month, on 30th October, Susan Wafa-Ogoo was relieved of her appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
She has since been replaced by Dr Aboubacarr Senghore as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Source: The Point |
A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Nyarikangbanna
United Kingdom
1382 Posts |
Posted - 27 Nov 2013 : 11:46:47
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Good riddance. I like his policy on donkey carts though. It gives me a bit of twinkling.
Thanks |
I do not oppose unity but I oppose dumb union. |
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