Breaking News: Alieu Mboge is New Tourism Director

By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief

Unassailable sources at State House say that Alieu Mboge (a.k.a Als.) is the newly appointed Director of The Gambia Tourism Authority replacing Khaliba Senghore who was sacked last Thursday during a massive firing scheme that swept through the entire senior management cadre of the Authority. Senghore was sacked while in the UK holidaying.

Until recently, Alieu Mboge, the erstwhile Managing Director of the bankrupt and defunct Gambia National Trading Corporation (NTC) in the PPP regime of Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, was appointed Ambassador to the United Arab Emirate a decision that was rescinded amid much negative reflection and acerbic criticisms of Mboge’s alleged financial impropriety leading to the creation of Al’s-Trading seen by many as a bye-product of graft and corporate corruption. In the prelude to the Banjul Mayoral elections, Alieu Mboge was appointed interim Mayor and Nancy Njie appointed as his Deputy Mayor. Now at least, the duo who are reportedly “very close friends” have been rewarded with dividends. She is the newly appointed Tourism Minister following Thursday’s high profile Cabinet cleansing and he is the new Director of The GTA.

Argues a keen tourism observer, “the President can change Ministers every week but that would not bring progress. When will he realize that tourists are not coming because: a. the exchange rate that he has artificially hiked up is not attractive to tourists from the west? They can go to other places and get more value for their money. B. The Gambian rip-off culture stops many tourists from returning. The bumsters are getting cleverer now and a lot of people I know say they will never come back here because of the greed…not the poverty but outright greed. C. President Jammeh himself makes so many anti-western remarks that people prefer to go to countries where they feel safe and appreciated”

Says our most credible State House operative, don’t be surprised if we return to work Wednesday with new changes as the Big Man may be tinkering over the recent changes during this long Gambian holiday that started last Wednesday. There is still, room for changes as his relations with some key lieutenants appears pretty tense for the past three weeks.All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this article or any other article or image, or portions thereof, in any form or context without the expressed permission of The Gambia Echo Newspaper.