As part of his visit to Departments and Agencies under his purview, the new Minister of Information Dr Ismaila Ceesay, last week visited the Department of Information Services (DOIS) along Kairaba Avenue in Fajara.
Minister Ceesay’s familiarisation visit accorded him the opportunity to have first-hand information and knowledge about the Department’s mandate, challenges and to discuss way forward.
Right after the conducted tour of the Department, the newly appointed Minister had a brief meeting with senior management of the Department.
Speaking on behalf of the Director, Deputy Director Njie took the opportunity to congratulate Dr Ceesay on his appointment as a state Information minister and wished him well in his new assignment.
He explained the mandate of the institution, as an integral part of the Ministry of Information responsible for government information management and dissemination to the public.
Here we work as a team member, learn from each other and assured the new Minister of the department’s support to him.
Principal Information Officer at DOIS, Mr Madiba Sillah, joined the Deputy Director in welcoming Minister Ceesay and briefed him on the work of the Department.
“As the technical arm of the Ministry of Information, the Department executes the policies and programmes the Ministry formulates, carries out public information campaigns, and publishes news and information from and about government,” he explained.
He introduced to the minister The Gambia Daily, the official weekly government newspaper; and The Gambia News Agency, a web-based newswire undergoing revitalization; both managed by the Department.
Mr Sillah went on to highlight some of the achievements of the institution included successfully concluded public information campaigns, deployment of Information Officers in the government ministrie
For his part the Information Minister said information is the most critical service any government can provide. He called on the team to work cohesively in the provision of relevant information for public consumption, as well as create the enabling environment for information requesters to contribute towards meeting this specific objective.
He acknowledged the role record keeping and information service delivery play in ensuring transparency and accountability in any administration. He advised the Department to digitalise the library, harbours materials of high historical significance, including newspapers that predate Gambia’s independence.
He assured of his commitment to injecting a system that will be durable to serve the best interest of The Gambian populace.
Minister Ceesay thanked the team for exposing him to what the institution is doing
The new minister was accompanied to DOIS by the Permanent Secretary Mr Yankuba Saidy, Deputy Permanent Secretary Mr Fanding Kinteh and Principal Assistant Secretary Mr Ebrima Sankareh.
