Hi!
    Thanks a lot Joe for forwarding this article. It is a very interesting one and the reasons forwarded as possible causes for Jammeh's failure to appoint a cabinet rather enlightening. The impact of insecurity of tenure on the productivity of civil servants is also very important to bring up for debate. The writer's basic premise is however erroneous when he asserts that the Constitution does not require Jammeh to form a new cabinet. He wrote: 

"However, I am not quite sure that Section 71 (4) (a) that some people are
quoting has really compelled the president to appoint a new cabinet after
being sworn in. They seem to misinterpret that section, which simply says
that "The office of secretary of state shall become vacant (a) on the
assumption by a person of the office of president". As far as my limited
knowledge of the law goes, the provision simply refers to a serving and not
to the president - elect assuming office. Therefore, as far as I know, there
is no specific provision in the 1997 Constitution, which compels the
president to appoint a new cabinet on assuming office."

This very provision ends the tenure of secretaries of state and requires the president-elect to form a new cabinet. What it basically says is that when a person assumes the Office of the President, the offices of the current secretaries of state become vacant thus making it incumbent upon the new president to appoint a new cabinet. This new cabinet does not have to comprise new members. It can be the same cabinet but it has to be named and presented to keep up with this constitutional requirement. Failure to do this means that the country is technically without a cabinet. 

Another issue is that secretaries of state are required to take prescribed oaths before assuming office. The ones serving before Jammeh's assumption of office after being elected in the October elections took the oaths when they were appointed in 1996 but that appointment expired when Jammeh assumed the Office of the President for his current tenure. What this means is that we have a whole cabinet serving without taking the required prescribed oaths. What this in effect means is that those carrying out the functions of secretaries of state pending the appointment of a cabinet by the President, do not have a legal basis for their functions because they have not been appointed and they have not taken the prescribed oaths and since this translates to the fact we technically only have a President and no cabinet, there is a constitututional and government crisis. Thanks and have a good day.
                                                                                                    Buharry. 

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