Members of the National Assembly last evening consented to the appointment by President Yahya Jammeh of Alhagie B Sowe as the Ombudsman of The Gambia.

Mr Sowe’s appointment was considered together with that of Mrs Elizabeth Yamide Frances Rener and Mr Ebrima A Mbye,  his deputies.

The motion was tabled before NAMs by Vice President Njie-Saidy on behalf of President Jammeh, who in accordance with Section 164 sub-section 1 of the Constitution of The Gambia and following consultation with the office of the Public Service Commission appointed the said persons to the said office with effect from November 1, 2007.

Vice President Njie-Saidy drew the attention of the members to Section 164 sub-section 2 of the constitution which states that the person so appointed shall have substantial administration and personal experience.

She described the said individuals as having good characters, good curriculum vitae, excellent working experiences to perform the noble task assigned to them by the constitution and the Ombudsman Act. She also told NAMs that the appointees shall be in office for five years and shall be eligible for re-appointment.

Alhagie B Sowe, is a retired director and registrar of cooperative societies. He was born on November 18, 1939 in Banjul. He attended the then Methodist Boy’s High School.

In 1960, he entered the Gambia Civil Service and attended the Co-operative College in Ibadan. He trained in Loughborough, the UK and obtained a diploma in Cooperative Studies. He was promoted to assistant cooperative officer in 1966 and assistant registrar of cooperative societies in 1967.

In January 1977, he was transferred from Cooperative to the Central Statistics Department as assistant statistician. In December 1982, he was recalled to resume duties again at the Cooperative Department and eventually promoted to deputy registrar/director of Cooperatives in July 1984.

Mrs Elizabeth Yamide Frances Rener, was born October 27, 1946. She attended St John’s Infant and St Joseph’s Primary and won the Gambia government scholarship in 1956. She attended St Joseph’s High School and obtained the Cambridge School Certificate in 1961. For her post secondary qualification, she attended Yundum College in 1962 and obtained a Qualified Teacher’s Certificate in 1964 and a Speacialist Teacher’s Certificate in English and Mathematics in 1964.

 She attended the teacher training college at Winneba, Ghana in 1970 and did her HTC class 1, English in 1972. She later went to the Western Austrialian Institute of Technology, Perth, West Austrialia in 1975 and obtained a TESL certificate in 1975, a certificate in curriculum development and design and a certificate in spoken English in 1975.

She headed for Bristol University in England in 1977 and obtained her Advanced Diploma in Education in 1978 and a masters degree in education in 1979.

Ebrima Abdoulie Mbye RGM, 61 has had a wealth of experience in the public service. Before his new appointment, he served as the director of administration from 2004 - 2007 and also as an education officer from 2000 - 2007. Hitherto, he had also served in the civil service as a principal education officer, senior education officer, teacher and headmaster. He was decorated with the insignia of the Medal of the Republic of The Gambia (RGM) by President Yahya Jammeh in 1994.