The news that The Gambia’s head of state, Yahya Jammeh has dissolved his entire cabinet on Thursday 2 January came as a shock to many Gambians and non-Gambians alike.

Apparently, even after Foroyaa newspaper had earlier pointed-out to the illegitimacy in cabinet ministers continues occupying of their various offices, after the presidential inauguration, many were at a loss to understand why president Jammeh has to dissolve his entire cabinet.

And those of us in news business have our cell phones inundated with text messages and voice calls by people from different walks of life, seeking clarity as to what in the world a president would dissolve his entire cabinet. Some other concerned persons have resorted to using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

It is rather unfortunate that the press release which carried the news of the dissolving of the cabinet fails to spell out why the president dissolved his cabinet. This is typical of the current regime, anyway. 

The terse and unacceptably incomprehensive statements reads as follows: “The Office of the President hereby informs the general public that His Excellency the president of the Republic of The Gambia, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh has dissolved his Cabinet effective Thursday 2nd February 2012 and the Office of the President will oversee all the ministries.

“On behalf of His Excellency the President, we wish to seize this opportunity to sincerely thank all former members of the Cabinet for their invaluable services rendered during their tenure of office.”

Our dear readers, this was not another cabinet reshuffling or shake up, which as a matter-of-fact characterises life the current administration which treats hiring and firing of public officials as a pastime. Instead, the constitution of the Gambia, section 71 (4) to be more precise, decrees that the office of the minister shall become vacant on the assumption by a person of the office of the president.

The president was re-elected on November 24, 2011. He took oath of office on January 19, 2012. If the interpretation of section 71 (4) of the constitution is anything to go by, cabinet ministers ceases to be ministers upon the inauguration of the president.

And as Foroyaa newspaper had rightly pointed out, the president had two months after his re-election to determine who to appoint in his new cabinet and to whom to bid farewell to.

Ideally, the president could dissolve his cabinet and name a new cabinet on the very day or immediately after his inauguration. That is the best practice.

While it has been established that a newly elected head of state or government often finds it difficult and controversial to fill-in all the vacancies in his cabinet, that however should not necessarily be the case for a re-elected head of state or government.

In president Jammeh’s case, therefore, since he was in charge during the past five years, it may not afterall be a matter of renewal in its absolute sense. He has an option of continuity without reinventing any wheel. 

Even if the cabinet should be revamped, it should be done in a manner that there will be no jittery nerves on the part of the cabinet ministers. The rest of the cabinet  ministers should know their fate the soonest possible time. It is unfair to leave them in suspense even for a day.

Besides, although the president heads the executive branch of government, the day-to-day implementation of national development policies and programmes is directly in the hands of the various cabinet ministries.

Some cabinet positions are so critical that there should be a political leader to direct affairs there. Even more critical is the position of a vice president. As Americans say, the position of the vice president is ‘ a heart beat away from the Presidency’. That means in the event of the death or incapacity of a president, the vice-president assumes the office of the president.

While we welcome the appointment of vice president Isatou Njie Saidy, who doubles as women’s affairs minister; Fatou Mass Jobe Njie of Tourism and Culture ministry; Mambury Njie of Finance and Economic Affairs, and Ousman Sonko of Interior: we look forward to knowing the fate of other cabinet ministers and the fill-in of other cabinet positions as soon as possible.