The Minister of Health, Ms. Saffie Lowe-Ceesay, has issued a statement of apology to doctors and dentists who are on a sit-down strike. The strike began last week Wednesday after the doctors demanded her resignation following “defamatory comments” they alleged she reportedly made against members of the medical fraternity. In the statement released today, the minister said her comment on 28 February 2018 “was not made out of malice,” but intended “to turn around the negative image that the ministry” has gained notoriety.
Her statement, taking responsibility for the comment, seems to contradict one made in her defense by the minister of information, Mr. Demba A. Jawo, who said that the comments attributed to Minister Lowe-Ceesay in the media story were not accurate.
In the statement, Minister Lowe-Ceesay wrote “as custodian of the sector and in the interest of the population, I extend an apology to anyone who may have been offended by the statement.” However, she indicated that the ministry under her stewardship “will continue to work in earnest and in close collaboration with all health personnel and ignore the undue distraction to put in place a desired drug accessibility system and better service delivery for the Gambian population who deserve better.”
Last week Tuesday, the doctors gave a twenty-four hours ultimatum that the minister retract her statement, apologize to them, and resign from office or they will begin a strike. After the deadline came and passed without meeting their demands, the doctors began their sit-down strike. Dr. Pa Amadou Sohna, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), of the Gambia Association of Resident Doctors (GARD) told The Gambia Times that “we don’t feel it’s an apology” because the minister’s statement lacks direction as it is neither addressed to anyone, nor expressed remorse.” He reminded the public that they had three demands a “retraction, an apology and resignation.” He continued that they are “expecting to meet with the Office of the President (OP) tomorrow,” which he added, however, will not change “our plans as we believe the government is not attaching any seriousness to this matter.”
Dr. Ya Fatou Jobe, Assistant PRO of GARD, also told The Gambia Times that she believes the minister’s statement “is not an apology” because it “still says that we are thieves and we are stealing the drugs and taking them to our pharmacies.” It “seems like she was forced or compelled to write the so-called apology just to get it over with,” said Dr. Jobe. She asked the rhetorical question “who are we trying to kid here?” as “we all know how an apology letter is written and this is not one.”