By Staff Reporter
An official source at the Gambia Tourism Board (Gtboard) has revealed the deployment of Adama Njie Marketing Director (MD) to the United Kingdom as Destination Manager (DM) but will still maintain his position as Marketing Director (MD).
The deployment of Mr. Njie was made known following a concern raised by an applicant, Ousman Jawneh-Jawara, a UK-based Spanish-Gambian citizen who expressed dissatisfaction and disappointment regarding his recent Zoom interview held with the Gtboard for the position of Destination Manager in the UK.
A senior official at Gtboard who prefers anonymity revealed that Adama Njie’s deployment to the UK is mainly related to divulging official information to outsiders, an act that was uncovered by the authority.
“His (Adama Njie) deployment to serve as the Destination Manager in the UK was hastily done and falls below the Gtboard Act and regulations guiding the appointment of a Destination Manager.
I can confirm that Adama Njie has been transferred to the UK as the Destination Manager even though he is still overseeing the position of Marketing Director. His deployment to the UK follows suspicion of leakages of information that were usually discussed at the official level that was later discovered to be his work,” our source revealed.
Our source added: “However, what puzzled everyone at Gtboard is that Adama Njie is still overseeing and receiving a full salary of the position of Marketing Director and even though if he is not receiving the salary of destination manager he will be receiving all the benefits attached to the position. This action is contrary to the Gtboard Act that requires him to resign first before he could be eligible to be appointed as the Destination Manager in the UK.”.
One source who prefers anonymity has revealed that Adama Njie’s deployment to the UK is mainly related to divulging official information to outsiders, an act that was uncovered by the authority, adding that his deployment to serve as the Destination Manager in the UK was hastily done and falls below the Gtboard Act and regulations guiding the appointment of a Destination Manager.
He argued that it is wrong for Adama Njie to serve as the Marketing Director and Destination Manager concurrently for the Gtboard, revealing that Authority continues to pay him a full salary as Marketing Director as well as receiving all the benefits attached to the position of destination manager.
“I can confirm that Adama Njie has been transferred to the UK as the Destination Manager even though he is still overseeing the position of Marketing Director. His deployment to the UK follows suspicion of leakages of information that were usually discussed at the official level that was later discovered to be his work,” our source revealed.
Source added: “However, what baffled everyone at Gtboard is that Adama Njie is still overseeing and receiving a full salary of the position of Marketing Director, and added to this is that even though he is not receiving a salary of destination manager but is receiving all the benefits attached to the position. This action is contrary to the Gtboard Act that requires him to resign first before he could be eligible to be appointed as the Destination Manager in the UK.”.
Another Gtboard source, described the deployment of the Marketing Director to the UK as Destination Manager as a big demotion and a ploy to get rid of him away from the office, noting that the position of a director is far bigger than the position of a Destination Manager on Gtboard’s organ in terms of duties, responsibilities, and functions.
Source further disclosed that currently, the Gtboard is without a Marketing Director, Director of Product development, Director of Quality Control and Licensing, Director of Finance, and Human Resources Director, revealing that Lamin Fatty, Director of Product Development has also been wrongly deployed to Spain as Destination Manager, while other directorates remain in the hands of incompetent Managers who did not attain the qualifications nor did they have the skills and experience to head such positions.
The source observed the deployment of Lamin Fatty as Destination Manager to Spain does not make any sense hence there is little or no job to do in Spain other than facilitating the traveling of the tourism authorities to attain programs, adding that close to one year the office of the Director of Product Development including the other directorates remains close without the appointment of competent Gambians to fill those gaps at the Gambia Tourism Board.
Meanwhile, this medium also spoke with one Ousman Jawneh Jawara, a Gambian-Spanish citizen currently studying and working in the UK who expressed his dissatisfaction and disappointment regarding a Zoom interview for the position of Destination Manager in the UK.
Source disclosed that the Zoom interview between himself and officials of Gtboard was poorly moderated and not allowed to express himself; neither the interviewers turned on their cameras during the interview.
“I am unsatisfied and disappointed with the level of incompetence from one of the highest offices in charge of planning the tourism sector and providing guidance for its general growth.
Secondly, talking to persons who had no preparation for the interview in place was funny, discriminatory, and difficult to understand on my part,” said Ousman Jawneh Jawara.
He stressed his dissatisfaction and disappointment regarding his interview as Destination Manager in the UK.
“The behaviors and comportment of the panel of interviewers pierce my consent and make me lose faith in myself to believe that I will be given the chance to serve my country. I wasn’t given the chance to introduce myself but also they refused to turn on their cameras so that I would be able to see the faces of the interviewers but only their voices which also informed my consent that Gtboard already had someone in their mind to be offered the job.”