Madi Ceesay, Founder EFSCJJ and Dr. Ismaila Ceesay Minister of Information
By Fatou Sillah
The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, has questioned the legitimacy of the Edward Francis Small Center for Rights and Justice, stating that it does not exist as a formal institution but rather operates as an individual initiative.
Dr. Ceesay made the remarks while responding to criticisms by activist Madi Jobarteh on issues of transparency and governance. He argued that the entity described as a “center” does not meet the basic requirements of an established organization.
“What I’m saying is that a center means it has an office, it has staff, it has computers, it has a server, and it has a website. This is someone who is an individual who just created something and calls it a center, and he is the only one you see; he is the only one who writes. I have not seen any website, I have not seen an office, I have not seen any staff, I have not seen anything,” Dr. Ceesay said.
According to the minister, presenting an individual platform as a center misleads the public and creates a false impression of institutional credibility. “Every day all he does is write, and he calls it a center. I think that is disingenuous; that is deception, pure and simple. You are deceiving society of the existence of something that does not exist,” he said.
Dr. Ceesay further suggested that the activist should more accurately describe the nature of his platform instead of portraying it as a fully established organization. “Madi should really have a self-check and rename his institution as Edward Francis whatever individual for rights and justice,” he said.
The minister also used the opportunity to defend the government’s record on transparency and accountability, noting that significant legal reforms have been introduced to strengthen openness in public administration.
“We have passed the anti-corruption law, we have established the commission, and we have brought laws to the access to information law to promote more transparency to know how your government is spent,” Dr. Ceesay said.
He added that public institutions are guided by established procedures when responding to requests for information and that failure to follow those procedures can affect the outcome. “There are laws, there are request procedures; if you don’t follow those procedures, you won’t get the desired outcome,” he said.
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