THE STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES REGULATORY COMMISSION
By the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs
September 4th, 2023 done at the Quadrangle, Banjul
BACKGROUND
The SOE Act was enacted on the 25th of April 2023 to establish the State-Owned Enterprise Regulatory Commission to make provision for the efficient governance of state-owned enterprises and the monitoring of their performances, restructuring, appointment of their boards, defining their powers, duties and functions; and connected matters.
Acting on the powers vested on him under Section 6 (1) of the State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) Act, 2023, His Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia has appointed six (6) Commissioners for the Commission. The Commission, pursuant to Section seven (7) of the SOE Act, 2023 is expected to commence immediately with Commissioners having a tenure of office for three (3) years with consideration for reappointment for a further term.
MANDATE OF THE COMMISSIONERS
The Commissioners of the SOE Commission have been mandated to perform the following functions as per the provision of section 13 (1) of the SOE Act, 2023: In this provision, the Commissioners shall:
Monitor and provide oversight of the primary objectives, statements of corporate intent, business plans, memorandums of understanding, and performance contracts including those provisions relating to public service obligations and asset management plans of state-owned enterprises,
Oversee the reorganization, dissolution, and liquidation of State-owned enterprises in accordance with section 104 of the SOEs Act,
Coordinate and monitor the operations of state-owned enterprises, ensuring alignment and consistency with the national development policies and programs,
Review the strategy and produce and publish annual performance reports of all state-owned enterprises, and evaluate and provide recommendations to Cabinet regarding the performances and determine the rationale and relevance of state-owned enterprises, to ascertain whether such entities should be reorganized, merged, streamlined, abolished or privatized, in consultation with the Ministry, department or agency to which a state-owned enterprise relates.
Support the President and the Public Service Commission in appointing qualified members of the Board of Directors of State-Owned Enterprises by vetting applications of candidates for appointment as members of those Boards in accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Act.
APPOINTED COMMISSIONERS
MR. OUSAINOU NGUM FMAAT, FCCA, MBA (Chairman)
Mr. Ngum is bilingual in French and English, currently working as an independent international consultant. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Gambia International Airlines and First Bank Gambia amongst many other current directorships in both national and international organisations.
Mr Ngum is a Chartered Accountant with an MBA in Change Management with expertise in transformational change management in private, non-profit, and state-owned enterprises. He has served as a CEO for 21 years in a major international development organization.
Mr. Ngum has published numerous articles and position papers on international finance and organizational transformation and actively participates in international debates on technology-driven change, disintermediation and disruption in modern business.
SAGAR C.T.TWUM
Mrs Twum is a legal practitioner with over 18 years of professional legal experience. She founded Harriet Martha N’dow Law Chambers and is the Legal Advisor and Company Secretary on the Board of Directors and Board of Governors of Ndow’s Schools Company Limited. Mrs. Twum has worked as a state prosecutor, magistrate, and private legal practitioner, and for a decade served as the Head of Litigation at the Fajara Chambers. She was also appointed as Legal Counsel at the TRRC and also served on the board and executive committees of several national and international organizations/institutions.
Mrs Twum attained a Law Degree from the University of Buckingham, a Bar Final Certificate from Sierra Leone Law School, Enrolled as a Barrister and solicitor–legal counsel, in The Gambia, and a Master of Laws in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex in Colchester.
MR. ADAMA DEEN
Mr Deen is currently the CEO/Chairman of Links (Logistics) Co., Gambia Ltd. – a mobility as a Service (MaaS) logistics and consulting company based in Banjul, Gambia. He was hired as part of a team of national freelance consultants to lead the formulation of the infrastructure (Transport, Energy, and ICT) Sector Frameworks of the Resource-focused (Rf), National Development Plan (Rf-NDP 2023-2027).
Mr. Deen holds a BSc degree in Economics (Hons) from California State College of Pennsylvania and a Master’s Degree in Transportation Planning from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. He has worked in various capacities at various places with a career experience spanning over thirty (30) years.
As an Operations Analyst and later, Senior Planner, Mr. Deen spent three (3) years working for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rail Transit Authority (MARTA), responsible for the planning and operations of bus and rail network systems in the US.
Back in The Gambia, Mr. Deen spent fourteen (14) years working in the Civil Service and parastatals serving in various capacities: Transport Planner; Principal Planner; Director of Transport Planning; Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works and Communications; Director of Traffic Operations and Managing Director, GPTC; Deputy Managing Director, GAMTEL; and Managing Director, Gambia Ports Authority (GPA).
Furthermore, as a transport planning professional, Mr. Deen spent another three (3) years working as a Transportation Planner at URS Corporation. He also spent eleven (11) years at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) leading the drafting, formulation and implementation of the AU Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) (2010-2020). Later, he was re-designated as Senior Advisor to the CEO, AUDA-NEPAD, and also appointed Project Manager for Agenda 2063 – Continental High-Speed Rail Network Programme.
MR.BABOUCAR SOMPO-CEESAY
Served for 22 years in The Gambia Public Service, Mr Ceesay Started as a Cadet Planner and rose through the ranks to become the Director of Planning in the then Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development.
He served as a Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs, and Trade, Industry and Employment and as Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism, Information and Culture.
For over a year, Mr. Ceesay served as a UN International Staff to UNMISET and UNOTIL as a Senior Policy Adviser on Financial and Budgetary Affairs to The Minister of Planning and Finance. He participated actively at the highest level of policy decision-making including the supervision and preparation of the Second Five Year Development (1980/81-1985/86) for Economic and Social Development, three-year Rolling Development Plans, Public Investment Programme (PIP), monitoring the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Structural Adjustment Programmes. Finally, Mr. Ceesay served two (2) years as Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
MS AMIE NJIE
Ms Njie is the Director of Finance and Administration at the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) where she previously served as the Head of Finance and Administration. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and an MSc in International Accounting and Finance from Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
With a career spanning nearly two decades, Ms Njie made significant contributions to the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in various roles. During her initial four-year tenure, she served as an Audit Clerk, responsible for overseeing tasks such as the verification of bulk fuel supplies and stock balance validation, among other duties. Following that she held the position of Internal Audit Supervisor for four years, Internal Auditor for a period of five years and as Internal Audit Manager.
Concluding her tenure at the Authority, Ms Njie dedicated three years as the Director of Internal Audit. In this capacity, she played a key role in preparing the quarterly audit plan and conducting risk assessments for Banjul International Airport operations, among other critical functions.
MS CECILIA BALDEH
Ms. Cecilia Baldeh is an international education and development professional with a career spanning over two decades. Ms. Baldeh’s journey in the field of education commenced as a Principal Education Officer at The Gambia’s Ministry of Education, where she spearheaded curriculum research and development. She played a pivotal role in designing and implementing national programmes focusing on critical areas such as Girls’ Education and Population and Family Life Education.
Ms. Baldeh holds a Diploma in Science Education and an MA in Education (Curriculum Studies) from the University of London, UK.
Currently, Ms. Baldeh holds the position of UNICEF Regional Education Adviser for 24 countries in West and Central Africa. Prior to this, she served 12 years as an Education Project Officer in key locations such as The Gambia, Asmara, Kigali, and Harare and another 12 years as Chief of Education in Khartoum, North Sudan; Kinshasa, DRC; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In these capacities, Ms. Baldeh engaged in planning, managing, implementing, and monitoring education programmes that aligned with UNICEF’s overarching goals as well as providing policy and technical guidance, ensuring quality assurance, and overseeing UNICEF-supported country programmes.
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