Four new Secretaries of State: Neneh Macdouall-Gaye, SoS for Communication, Information and Technology; Kabba Sanyang, Attorney-General and SoS for Justice; Ismaila Sambou, SoS for Local Governments and Lands and Ousman Sonko, SoS for the Interior, were yesterday sworn-in at a ceremony presided over by the President Yahya Jammeh at the State House.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Jammeh thanked the appointed Secretaries of State for accepting to take up the challenge. He noted that the cabinet is a family and that its members have a task and responsibility to perform, as their sectors are equally important and critical in the proper functioning and delivery system of the government.
President Jammeh stated that the purpose of the swearing-in is meant to ensure honesty, sincerity and loyalty to The Gambia and warned that if one decides not to uphold what he/she has been sworn-in for but rather the interest of foreign forces, God will not help them.

“ It is important for us all to do our utmost best to deliver to the expectations of the people that we serve. If we work in sincerity, we can deliver as fast as we wish, provided that we work as a team and are loyal and patriotic and also if we fear Allah. Swearing means that you will sincerely execute the functions for which you have been appointed. I can’t accept for one to wait to be told what is going wrong in their departments and after being told they don’t take appropriate actions to remedy the situation”, he noted.

Jammeh challenged the Secretaries of State to take all necessary disciplinary actions against anybody who works in their departments and is bent on doing things detrimental to the interest of Gambians.
He reminded them that they have sworn to execute their duties without fear or favour and that it was incumbent on them to report or take lawful actions against such and not to give deaf ears or close their eyes to them, adding that there is no perfect human being and that all are bound to make mistakes but that those that are committed deliberately under the diguise of mistakes will not be accepted.

“If we are sincere and love this country, we will all have one objective and that will be to develop The Gambia as everybody is a member of the government”, said Jammeh.

President Jammeh, did not hesitate to make it known that he does not find any pleasure in dismissing people but is rather obliged to do so when Gambians work in furtherance of foreign interest to the detriment of the Gambian people.
He stressed that he will live and die for The Gambia and that no matter where Gambians go, they will remain Gambians. Therfore, he said, it requires Gambians to make The Gambian what it should be: a highly developed country that all its citizens will be proud of. He warned that there will be no compromise this term and that Cabinet members are expected to deliver the goods or they will part company.

The Gambian leader asserted that no foreign force will develop the country for us. “ No matter what outsiders tell us, they have no interest in the development of our country. They lecture us about democracy and human rights and yet they exploited us. After robbing us of what they used to develop their nations, they now castigate us for our poverty and backwardness. It is a fact that we have a lot of problems but 98 percent of these problems are not our creation but the legacy of colonialism. The West found us living peacefully and they decided to bring division amongst us, not even considering the tribal, ethnic and cultural entities that existed amongst us”, President Jammeh revealed.

President Jammeh then observed that the west preach human rights and good governance and yet they would not allow sons and daughters of Africa to travel to their countries freely, despite the fact that they were illegal immigrants and robbers on our continent, for 400 years, robbing us of our riches, identity, culture and even the languages.
He then noted that it was high time for Africans to wake up to the challenge and to realise the reality on the ground and work towards developing our countries, stay in it and be respected because as Africans we have nowhere to go. He further opined that Africans have a choice to choose between being freeborns, sincere and patriotic citizens, who will toil for the national interest or whether to become slaves and serve foreign interests. He added that those who choose the latter end up paying the pay the prize.

The President additionally stressed that The Gambia will be governed in the interest of Gambians, based on our culture, dreams and collective aspirations in order to gain the respect that her people deserve.
He stated that if we all endeavour to do our best for the nation, Allah will protect and guide us, but that if we want to betray our beloved nation in furtherance of foreign interests, we will become the laughing stock of the west and we will ultimately lose. He then added, “Let us develop our country, live in it and be respected and not to serve foreign interests and live in poverty. Africa is the richest continent in terms of mineral resources and yet we are backward. They do not have the right to tell us how we should live, after they have robbed us of our riches and would not allow us to go to their countries, even on vacations. They came here when nobody asked them their names and it is now much more difficult for an African to travel abroad than even face the toughest race. Perhaps what they should do is to compensate Africa and liberalise the world trade system so that Africa can have a right to what they produce. Any developing country that is independent, they put under scrutiny. My government will work to maintain law and order in the interest of Gambians regardless of what the west say. They sponsor criminals to destroy developing countries that have mineral resources to ensure instability and yet they talk about democracy”.

President Jammeh stated that if the west where really genuine and interested in the development of Africa, they would not have been bothered about Africans going to their countries.

For her part, SoS Macdouall-Gaye, who spoke on behalf of the other three Secretaries of State, thanked President Jammeh, for the confidence he has in them. She observed that the cabinet is the highest decision making body in the country and that for them to be appointed to it, is a big challenge that they will face in full swing. “Our appointment demonstrates the confidence you have in us. We will strive to the best of our ability and by the help of Allah, execute our duties. As you have always said that we are servants of the people we will do our best to serve our beloved nation”, SoS Macdouall-Gaye stated.

She noted that President Jammeh’s achievement in changing the mind sets of Gambians is a manifestation of his patriotism and that he does not have tribal interests but that of the whole nation. SoS Macdouall-Gaye added, “we will bear in our minds the interest of the nation, not group interest, tribal interest but that of Gambians. In so doing, we will pay you the allegiance you so deserve”.