I had the privilege to engage the Honorable Abdou Sara Janha sometime last year as part of the ongoing conversations. I like to have with my fellow citizens across the broad spectrum of Gambian life.

Mr Janha served The Gambia Government from 1962 to 1994 when the coup prematurely terminated his long and distinguished career at which time he had risen to be Secretary General of the civil service.
 I wanted to understand both the man and the position he ended his service at as he filled the big footsteps of his two remarkably able predecessors, Dr. Christensen and J.O Langley. Here is Mr Janha in his own word.   
 
When did you joined the civil service?

I joined the civil service as a qualified teacher in 1962. I joined the Administrative Service of The Gambia Government in 1969.
 
What academic training did you have? Did you go straight for studies or did you go after joining the Gov’t?

I earned a BA Degree at Lincoln University in 1969, Masters in Public policy and Administration, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Diploma Commercial policy, GATT, Geneva, Diploma General Management, Henley College of Management, United Kingdom.
 
When did you become permanent secretary and how long did you served in that post?

I became a permanent secretary in 1979. I served as permanent secretary from 1979 to 1984. In 1984, I was appointed as Chairman and Chief Executive of The Gambia National Investment Board. I served the board for four years before my appointment as Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service in 1988 to 1994.
                          
When where you SG?

response in Above
 
How would you describe the roles and functions of the Secretary General? What was a typical day at the office for you? (Please take as much time and latitude you need to give a sense of the functional aspect of the job)

The Secretary General  is :
•Principal Adviser to the President and as such ensure that policy papers brought before the President conform to government policy framework and proper consultation were carried out with relevant ministries before the papers were given consideration by  cabinet.

•Ensure that cabinet decisions are implemented.

•Coordinate the work of government departments at PS level and keep the government machinery working.

•Advise the President on the appointment of senior civil servants and managing directors of corporations and members of public sector boards.

•Drive the development of new policies and programs.

•Prepare briefs and position papers for the government.

•Chair the joint Intelligence Committee which reports to the President.

•Day to day interaction with permanent secretaries, ministers, diplomats, members of the public etc.
 
The typical day at the Office of the President entails daily interactions with the President, civil servants, ministers, review of policies and programme implementations, coordinating the work of different departments and normal routine administrative work.
 
Is the Public Service Commission outside the supervisory responsibility of the Secretary General?

The Public Service Commission is independent and therefore outside the supervisory responsibility of the SG.
 
Does the Secretary General have statutory authority to remove a permanent secretary or did that require Presidential approval?

The Secretary General did not have the statutory authority to remove permanent secretaries. Permanent secretaries are appointed and removed by the President on the advice of the Secretary General. The process at some point may require the endorsement of the Public Service Commission.
 
How did you handle policy differences between a permanent secretary and his minister?  (I am particularly interested how you as the SG navigated both the politics and the substance of the issue at hand)

The Permanent Secretary’s role is principally to give the best possible advice to his Minister on Policy matters. It is the Minister who ultimately decides and assumes full responsibility for his decisions. Even where a PS feels strongly about an issue contrary to the position taken by his Minister, all he could do is record his advice. He could use his channel to the Secretary General and call his attention to the issue. The SG could in turn advise the President. However before the matter is brought to the President’s attention, the SG in his vantage position could iron out the differences between the PS and his Minister.
 
Did the President directly intervene in personnel matters or did he generally differ to the Secretary General and Public Service Commission?

The President had drawn a strong line between the civil service and politicians. The civil service was deemed to be a professional service and its management was governed by explicit rules, government orders and financial regulations (GO&FI) as well as PSC regulations in terms of appointment and promotions. The President and his Ministers rarely intervened in personnel matters and when they did, they channel their complaints, misgivings through the system which protects the civil servant from arbitrary and erratic decision making which could have deleterious impact on his career.
 
In your experience has there ever been a Permanent Secretary with no prior experience in Gov’t even if the person had a Phd?

There was never a permanent secretary appointed without some prior experience in government in the period I served in Government. The non-appointment of outsiders in the permanent secretary cadre was not an explicit government policy. The practice has some virtue and some disadvantages which are open to debate. However, the Civil Service encouraged Gambians with higher qualifications and relevant job experience to join the civil service at higher grades and levels but never as head of a ministry for a start. However their appointments at relatively higher levels should give them an advantage over time in reaching the top. The vision and plan that was being developed would have allowed people with exceptional abilities and skills to be absorbed into highly remunerative careers other than the civil service. The senior civil service positions were attractive only for lack of other profitable avenues for achieving one’s personal development.
 
What would you say was your highest priority in the management of the civil service?

The highest priority was to keep the civil service as professional and as independent as possible. I gave a lot of attention to capacity development through training and intense engagement of the professionals with the work of the government. Senior civil servants were held accountable in implementing government programmes and ensuring that outcomes are achieved with the minimum of risks. The integrity of the service had to be safeguarded in terms of good human resources development and management and strong civil service ethics which frowns on corruption and prides itself on rendering service to the public.
 
What specifically did you do as SG to retain able civil servants with both the academic credentials and institutional memory to help run a stable Gov’t?

I tried to retain able civil servants by giving them challenging assignments and encouraging them to think outside the box and become innovators in the restricted setting of the government machinery. I also believed in continuous training and consultations. We were therefore organising retreats of all kinds to ensure coherence in government’s policies and programme and development of a vision that could secure The Gambia a small niche in the world that would propel its development. I was personally fascinated by small countries that have managed to develop despite their small size and poor resource base like Singapore, Malta, Dubai and even the Scandinavian countries.
 
We were in the process of developing new ways of providing incentives to the best and brightest in the public service. We were trying to develop a leaner and more professional civil service, properly remunerated and accountable.  In the unique situation of The Gambia, it was the view that that the senior civil service cadre should be thoroughly professional and forward looking. We were studying systems in places like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and New Zealand where civil servants were remunerated on the basis of performance. We had already started experimenting with the contract system with public enterprises, like Gamtel  and the Ports and some system of fixed term contracts for permanent secretaries would have been introduced and renewable only on the basis of performance.
 
What were some of the mistakes you made as Secretary General?

I am sure I made many mistakes as SG but we had established checks and balances among the institutions of government that allow for such mistakes to be corrected before they became overblown. This notwithstanding, the government had failed to make sure that the system we were trying to institute was protected through proper security. The security system was loose, undermined by tribalism, unbridled political ambition and weak leadership. I failed in persuading the powers that be that without a good state security system, all the talk about development is just pipe dream.