Monday, September 2, 2013

Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo, Gen. Pathe Seck, Ndure Cham and stuff

Abdoulaye Daouda Diallo is the new Interior Minister.  General Pathe Seck will be retained as Minister of State or Senior Minister in the new government of Prime Minister Toure.  This is important development because it signals that MFDC and Jammeh will still be the major preoccupation of Macky Sall as he struggles to build a record that will make him re-electable in 2016.

By creating two separate departments within the Interior Ministry - Security and Elections - Macky is delineating the two missions of the Interior Ministry for better focus on each separately but intensely.  Enters General Seck, on national security matters with the Casamance conflict still the predominating factor.  The drug scandal has dealt the General a heavy blow but, obviously, not a fatal one. So expect him to be a key player on matters of national security especially now that Macky is 'retooling' the military.

On a related matter, my sources in Dakar are telling me stories about Ndure Cham that run contrary to what's being reported out there.  I must, therefore, verify, check and double check.  This story is still inconclusive as far as I am concerned, and I hope that all will exercise restraint in reporting.  Before I am misconstrued again, I am not, in any way, questioning the veracity of what's been reported or journalistic integrity of others, but simply saying I have a different set of information from sources that have always leveled with me.  If I am to chose between what's being reported out there and my sources, I will go with my sources, every time.