Dr Adama Sallah, Former Board Chairman EFSTH
By Buba Gagigo
Dr. Adama Sallah has confirmed his removal from the position of board chairman at the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) in Banjul amidst an ongoing corruption investigation.
A heated confrontation occurred between Dr. Sallah and Deputy Chief Medical Director Dr. Abubacarr Jagne, centered around serious corruption accusations at the hospital.
During an interview on Freedom Radio, Dr. Sallah accused Dr. Jagne and other senior officials of engaging in unauthorized travel, improper procurement practices, and blatant corruption without consulting the board. Dr. Jagne denied these claims and countered by accusing Dr. Sallah of having conflicts of interest and engaging in nepotism.
Confirming his dismissal to Kerr Fatou on Thursday, Dr. Sallah stated, “I was going to resign; what I said was I wanted to wait until the exercise was over, and I resigned honorably, but on a similar thought, I said when I resigned in the middle of the investigation, they might think I am running away. They themselves decided to terminate me as board chairman yesterday. It has come earlier than I was planning.”
Dr. Sallah also accused the Minister of Health, Dr. Samateh, of attempting to politicize the issue, emphasizing that it was not about politics.
“I have been on this board for 42 years on and off. When I got back from Europe as a consultant, the Minister himself was 10 years old, and the deputy CMD was 3 years old. The minister was in primary school, and the deputy CMD didn’t even start school. I have been the chairman for 15 years, nine years under Jammeh the most difficult period, and 7 years under Barrow, so really I am not on the board for anything but for God and country. To make a meaningful contribution to the development of the country, especially the development of the EFSTH to become a standard teaching hospital. They are politicizing it, and this is not politics; this is about saving the hospital. I had the minister at a political rally, and he was accusing me of sabotage,” he said.
Regarding his dismissal and the CMD’s suspension, he commented, , “Both sides cannot be wrong, so if you want to penalize both parties, then something is wrong with your judgement, that’s all I can say.”