GAMBIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW CABINET

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000652

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF, AF/W

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/20/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GA
SUBJECT: GAMBIAN PRESIDENT APPOINTS NEW CABINET

REF: BANJUL 648

BANJUL 00000652 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: CDA C. Patricia Alsup, Reason 1.4 (b and d)

(U) 1. On October 19, only one day after dissolving his
cabinet, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh named ministers for
all but four cabinet positions. Most of the announced
appointments represent re-appointments of ministers to the
positions they held before the cabinet's dissolution. There
are two ministers new to the cabinet and one minister has
moved from one department to another. The new list of
ministers is as follows:

-- Vice President and Secretary of State for Women's Affairs:
Mrs. Isatou NJIE-SAIDY (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs: Mr.
Mousa Gibril Bala GAYE (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare: Dr.
Tamsir MBOWE (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Communication, Information, and
Technology: Mrs. Neneh Macdouall GAYE (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Forestry and the Environment :
Captain (rtd) Edward SINGHATEY (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Interior: Col. (rtd) Baboucarr
JATTA (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Local Governments and Lands: Mr.
Ismalia SAMBOU (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Youth, sports and Religious
Affairs: Mr. Sheikh Omar FAYE (reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Education: Mrs. Fatou Lamin FAYE
(reappointment)

-- Secretary of State for Fisheries and Natural Resources:
Captain (rtd) Yankuba TOURAY (formerly SOS for Agriculture)

-- Secretary of State for Agriculture: Mr. Kanja SANNEH (new
to the cabinet)

-- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs: Mr. Maba JOBE (new
to the cabinet)


2. (U) The four ministries for which no Secretary has yet
been named are the Department of State for Justice, the
Department of State for Trade, Industry, and Employment, the
Department of State for Tourism and Culture, and the
Department of State for Works, Construction, and
Infrastructure.


3. (U) Mr. Maba Jobe, the new SOS for Foreign Affairs is a
retired army Major, who was Commander of the Army under the
Jawara administration and later deployed by that
administration to the Gambian High Commission in London as
First Secretary. Following the 1994 coup that brought Jammeh
to power, Jobe was appointed The Gambia's High Commissioner
to Nigeria where he served until 2001 when he resigned to go
into private business. The new SOS for Agriculture, Mr.
Kanja Sanneh, until his appointment was a senior official at
the well-respected National Agricultural Research Institute
(NARI).


4. (U) The two former cabinet members who have been replaced
-- Lamin Kaba Bajo, former SOS for Foreign Affairs, and Bai
Mass Taal, former SOS for Fisheries and Waterworks, are not
expected to receive new appointments. Mambury Njie, who had
been Secretary General, has also been replaced. The new
Secretary-General is the former Secretary to the Cabinet,

SIPDIS
Mrs. Ya-Elli Harding.


5. (C) COMMENT. There were few surprises in the cabinet
appointments, though we had expected more new faces. One
surprise was the failure to reappoint Susan Wafa OOGO, former
SOS for Tourism, along with all of the other reappointments
given her long-standing (from childhood) friendship with
President Jammeh. She was widely believed to be untouchable
and may yet be reappointed. Given all of the reappointments,
it seems very likely that the dissolution of the cabinet was
primarily a show of power by Jammeh. Post does not believe
that this cabinet shuffle will result in any policy change on
the part of the Jammeh administration. We await word on
appointments to the four remaining cabinet positions. The
Attorney General/ SOS for Justice appointment will be
particularly important given the several high profile trials

BANJUL 00000652 002.2 OF 002


pending as well as the upcoming National Assembly elections.
END COMMENT.
ALSUP