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Momodou
Denmark
11804 Posts |
 Posted - 08 Feb 2010 : 19:35:59
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Daily News Editorial: Cabinet Reshuffle: A case Of Unnecessary Increase in Its Size
There is yet another cabinet reshuffle, this time we have seen the departure of Mr. Ismaila Sambou the Local government minister, Mrs. Nancy Njie the Tourism minister, Mr. Antouman Saho the Fisheries minister, and Mr. Lamin Bojang the Works minister all at the same time. The reshuffle also saw the birth of a new ministry, the ministry of Planning and Industrial Development. The sacking of former minister of information Ms Fatima Badjie on 5th February 2009 left a year long vacancy at the ministry of Information Communication and Information Technology.
We have also seen in recent times the appointments of deputy ministers. It was first the appointment of Tenenba Jaiteh as Deputy Minister of Energy, then that of Momodou S kah as deputy Minister for Agriculture. In a nut shell the cabinet size is growing bigger and bigger and for some of us it is a concern as it has its financial and economic implications.
The growing size of our cabinet is not necessary. Our economy is small and tax based therefore we do not need a very large cabinet. A small and efficient cabinet is okay. What we are seeing is one of a mere duplication of ministries. The newly created ministry of Planning and Industrial Development is a mere duplication of the Trade ministry. It is interesting to note that the former minister of trade Mr. Yusupha Kah has now been appointed minister of the newly created ministry.
The Higher Education and that of Basic Education is another case that was not necessary as the two could have been under one ministry. What is stopping the President combining Agriculture, Forestry, and Environment under a Minister? Closely looking at the size of the cabinet it could be reduced to a much smaller size, and yet goods could be delivered. If under the office of the president at one time there were up to three ministries, why not a minister having more sectors together? There is not much economic sense behind enlarging the size of the cabinet and the decisions need to be revisited.
The appointment of a minister of Information, Communication and Information Technology is one welcome development, as this paper did run an editorial sometime ago asking the President to appoint a minister responsible for information. Our reasons were that the private media and government do not have the desired relationship, and to improve on that, dialogue has to be in place. The implementation of such will be difficult to achieve leaving the President as minister responsible for Information, as access is almost impossible.
Now that the president has relinquished the Information ministry portfolio to some one else, we hope that person will quickly take in charge of his ministry and work on improving the poor relationship between the private media and government. An improved relationship between the media particularly the private media and government is in the best interest of our dear Gambia.
The press freedom status of the country is just at the foot of the ladder. It is poor and the environment needs to be improved. The harassment of journalists and the unnecessary closure of media houses should be properly looked into, and be improved. There cannot be any democratic country without a free press.
Unfortunately we in the Gambia have not been blessed with that, and it has even gone worst in the last year or so. The daily news applauds this new development and hopes a better Gambia will be created.
Source: Dailynews
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