By: Kebba Ansu Manneh
Impeccable sources closed to The Gambia Tourism Board have revealed the backlashing of some senior staff of the institution for divulging official information to the media and the public.
This development came following a petition signed by workers on alleged corrupt practices involving Hamat N.K. Bah, Gambia’s Tourism Minister.
Adama Cham, Research and Development Manager, Lazar Kujabi, Senior Manager, Marketing and Promotion and Lamin Bojang, Senior Officer Product Development are said to have received their redeployment letters from the Gambia Tourism Board for the said act of divulging official information, while Sheikh Omar Bah is said to resigned forcefully by authorities at the GTBoard.
In a petition letter submitted to the National Assembly Select Committee on Tourism earlier in 2020, the concerned staff accused the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Hamat N.K. Bah, Permanent Secretary Kodou Jabang Senghore, former director general of Gambia Tourism Board Abdoulie Hydara and former Director of Finance and Administration Ousainou Senghore for wrongly awarding the construction of the Eco-lodges contract to Lerr Group Construction Company as well as interfering in the smooth running of the institution.
They also called on the National Assembly to launch investigations into the activities of Hamat N.K. Bah, Minister of Tourism for alleged misappropriation of funds, poor bidding process over the construction eco-lodges in rural Gambia, awarding of fuel allowances to the minister of tourism, fraudulent awarding of licenses and lands within the tourism development area among others.
“I can confirm that all those petitioners who refused to write apology letter to the Gambia Tourism Board have all been backlashed for their actions. They have all been moved except for Shiekh Omar Bah, who has been forced to resign for alleged financial crimes committed against the institution,” a source at GTBoard disclosed.
He added: “Adama Cham, Lamin Bojang and Lazar Kujabi have been redeployed to Janjanbureh, Jarra Soma and Basse respectively for been part of the petitioners and as a result of their refusal to write a formal apology letter to the GTBoard.”
According to him, the trio has been redeployed to the rural country even though GTBoard are yet to establish any regional offices in the rural country, disclosing that this January 2021 will be the fifth month the trio have been receiving their full salaries from the authority without any office to do their works in the provinces.
He revealed that other petitioners such as Haddy Darboe, Ida Low Njie and Foday Bah have been greeted with internal transfers, while Alagie Laye, Lamin Fatty and Ida Jeng also received backlashed for their various unwelcoming activities at the authority.
“It’s true that we have been redeployed to the rural country to head various regions for simply writing a petition against the wrongdoings at the authority as well as against the minister. Our redeployment is squarely linked to the petition and our refusal to apologize to the authorities,” an anonymous victim disclosed.
He said the petitioners are not only disappointed with the attitude of the minister of tourism and the Gambia Tourism Board but as well to National Assembly Select Committee for their lackluster attitude towards their petition.
“We are very disappointed with National Assembly Select Committee on Tourism for failing to give the need attention to our petition. They did not only failed us but they equally failed the Gambian people for failing in their duties to addressing the various corrupt practices that were reported in the petition,” one victim who received the redeployment letter.
However, Hon. Alhagie Darboe confirmed that the said petition submitted by concerned staffs of GTBoard have been received and under review, disclosing that breaks and other commitments of the assembly derail the issue of the petition which has already been referred to the newly established petition committee of the national assembly.
Hon. Darboe assured that the petition will be review this month in their quest to get to the bottom of the issues inscribed in the petition.
