No wonder, all the major print news media outlets in the country have captured it. ‘Shake-up at GRTS’ was the fitting headline that no newspaper missed in the front pages of their Wednesday December 21 publication.  
However, all the newspapers, including The Daily News, fell short in providing details of what led to this dramatic changes at the state-owned Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS). 
The ‘shake-up’, as newspapers lavishly reported, saw the current GRTS boss, Momodou Sanyang’s long time assistant, Momodou Joof, reduced in position from deputy director general to director of administration.
Mr Kebba Dibba has also been demoted to the position of a producer from programme manager. 
Delighted are Mr Malick Jones, who has been promoted from the position of director of current affairs, documentary and sports to the position of deputy director general; and Mr Lamin Manga replaces Kebba Dibba as programme manager. 
As professional colleagues, this paper can attest that those promoted are people whose dedication to the profession, love for the country, intellect and professionalism cannot be questioned. In fact, they have got all it takes to man their various positions. 
However, these qualities are not missing in those moved down from those positions.  
What has Momodou Joof done to deserve such a demotion? What has Kebba Dibba done to be relegated to a position he seems to have passed some years ago with flying colours? 
It has been reported that the changes are meant to promote efficiency at the state broadcaster. But were Joof and Dibba inefficient?  
These are questions that Gambians have been asking ever since the news broke out. We have taken it before those who could give answers, yet no one volunteers to publicly comment on it. 
But at least word has been in the rumour mill that Kebba Dibba has gone out of Gambian president Yahya Jammeh’s favour while analysing the elections results on election night of the just concluded presidential polls.
 Mr Dibba, it is being rumoured, has expressed opinion that the ruling APRC party could not win in Kiang West constituency. Or at least he doubts it.  
When the results were announced, and ARPC claimed victory in Kiang West, president Jammeh is said to have phoned, ordering Mr Dibba to leave the panel. 
Although this paper could not have official confirmation to this allegation, what is clear is that Mr Dibba had unceremoniously left the panel, despite been the host. 
If this allegation is true, and it is what led to Kebba’s demotion, should the president interfere in affairs of that nature? Since no official statement has been made to the effect yet, what is the director general or the board’s take on the changes? Who should effect such internal changes at GRTS?  
GRTS is funded by the tax payer. It therefore owes it primary obligation to the tax payer. It should not be used by politicians to satisfy their individual and selfish aspirations. 
 Therefore, journalists working at the state broadcaster should be allowed to observe the minimum professional standards. They should not be remote controlled, especially by those who do not understand how we apply our 5Ws and the H. 
GRTS should be responsive and the journalists there should be professional journalists and not government propagandists as most of them have already reduced themselves to. 
With continued political interferences in the way GRTS is being run, the efficiency the shake up seeks to achieve will be hard, if not impossible to come by. 
While wishing Jones and Manga all the best in their new positions and pray for them to achieve higher, we also hope that, if those who effected changes truly believe they are the right men for the job, they should allow them to operate with no undue political interferences. 
This will be very important for GRTS as a public institution, though there is a fear that whether GRTS will be the same again. 
This is a justifiable fear given the unfortunate lessons learned over the years from such moves. Clear examples are the chieftaincy and alkaloship (village head) where one would be dismissed only to be replaced by a brother or someone from another clan, thereby breeding acrimony and hatred.