Gambia: Minister fired for challenging telecoms sale
The abrupt 50 per cent sale of Gambia's telecommunications company, Gamtel, and its subsidiary company Gamcel shares last month has been creating row within the government circles, with the government accused of pursuing the challengers of the deal. Already, some heads have started rolling, the minister of forestry and environment being the first casualty. Rtd Captain Edward Singhateh was fired as the general secretary of the ruling APRC of president Yahya Jammeh. Singhateh's dismissal was contained in a mere terse press release issued by the office of the president.
Highway Africa News Agency
The abrupt 50% sale of Gambia's telecommunications company (Gamtel) and its subsidiary company Gamcel shares last month has been creating row within the government circles, with the government accused of pursuing the challengers of the deal.
Already, some heads have started rolling, the minister of forestry and environment being the first casualty. Rtd Captain Edward Singhateh was fired as the general secretary of the ruling APRC of president Yahya Jammeh. Singhateh's dismissal was contained in a mere terse press release issued by the office of the president. The government failed to disclose the reasons for the dismissal, but according to official sources, the leadership was enraged by Singhateh's criticism during a cabinet meeting when the sale of Gamtel and Gamcel was disclosed. He could not swallow his fury over the way and manner the deal was concluded.
Sources allege that the cabinet was informed only after the deal had been sealed, much to the consternation of Singhateh. Singhateh, an ex-military official with Gambian and United Kingdom citizenships, was among the key architects of a military coup that brought president Yahya Jammeh to power on 22 July 1994. He has since then held several ministerial port-folios, including the vice presidency.
He was out of the country when news of his dismissal was announced. The 50% shares of Gamtel and Gamcel were sold to a Lebanese company, Spectrum Group.
Key oppositon political kingpins also blamed the government for secretly concluding the deal without inviting tenders or informing the citizens. Though it would not comment on why the deal was done in camera, the government had however issued a statement, saying that the sale was genuine. The government said the "strategic partnership' with Spectrum was meant to "inject the necessary capital to increase coverage and improve quality of services."
"Gamtel over the years has deteriorated greatly in terms of service provision, service quality and accessibility," Nenneh Macduall-Gaye, the minister for communication told parliament.
"It experienced stagnation in network expansion at a time when population increase, boom in business and transforming the economy into a technology-driven one require robustness, dynamism and strong competitiveness for any operator in the business of telecommunication," she said, adding that Gamtel lacks the technical, managerial and organisational competence to achieve the government's objectives of universal telecommunications access for all. Deputies expressed fears that the sale might create redundancy, but the government maintained that there would be no loser in the partnership.