By Kemo Kanyi
Madi Jobarteh, a human rights activist has reacted to the resignation letter of the former Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (MOBSE), Honourable Haddy Jatou Sey, and the sack of Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Honourable Ousman Bah, an event both took place on Friday.
Madi Jobarteh has stated that the resignation and sack exposed the incompetence of the President’s office as the constitution is explicit in ministerial appointments and qualifications, saying the offence made by the president is impeachable.
“This press release indeed exposes the gross misconduct of the President in total violation of the Constitution for which he must be held severely accountable. It shows the unprofessionalism and inefficiency of the Office of the President in making pertinent decisions for the country. How could the President appoint a person as Minister without knowing the status of that person first vis-à-vis the requirements of the Constitution?” he questioned.
“Section 71(2) is glaringly explicit that a person with dual citizenship cannot be a minister. Yet for months, two individuals with dual citizenship are sitting at the highest level of our State and being exposed to vital national information!” he exclaimed.
He questioned the impact of their appointments asking “What if these two individuals are spies or enemies of the Gambia? By being in the cabinet, the President has allowed them to access national security and economic information, among other critical matters! During their tenure, these two former ministers handled public resources for which they are not qualified to do.”
He said the president has enough resources to deal with such misappropriation and insecurity of the Gambians.
“By appointing these two people to the Cabinet, President Barrow has threatened the nation’s security. He has exposed the life of the country to risks. That’s unacceptable. The President has the Minister of Justice, he has a bunch of political advisors. He has a chief of staff and a minister of Public Service. Therefore, the President has enough resources to do due diligence for him so he can make the right decision,” he stressed.
He argued that by appointing these two individuals as ministers, the president has exposed the incompetence of his team, for which they must resign or be sacked.
He, therefore, called on the National Assembly to act because the president has violated the Constitution and put national security at risk.
“The National Assembly must take action on the President because not only has he violated the Constitution, he has also threatened national interest and demonstrated his incompetence to lead this nation. This action requires impeachment as per Section 67. The continuous and consistent pattern of violations of the Constitution by this president must be put to a stop, now. If the National Assembly is to justify their outlandish salaries and benefits, then let them demonstrate that by defending the Constitution by disciplining this lawless President,” he stated.
