Shortly after declining his new appointment as deputy executive secretary at the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat, many Gambians took to social media to thank Mohamadou Manjang for his service to the country.
Manjang was the managing director at the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC), where he was able to put the cooperation back on its feet with a growing income from D265.5m in 2016 to D309,5m in 2019 and bottom-line operating profit from D1.5m loss in 2016 to D138m profit in 2019.
The State House is yet to give reasons for his redeployment to foreign service, but journalist Fatou Camara suggested they were angry with Manjang for denying them access to the national pension fund to purchase new buses from TK Motors.
Popular gender activist and author, Ndey Jobarteh was among the first to thank the former SSHFC MD for his dedication, commitment and service to the nation.
She wrote on Facebook: "Thank you for giving us hope that it can be done with dedication and determination. Thank you Manjang for turning an almost death institution to an institution that we can see hope and be proud of."
Sidi Sanneh, a well-respected economist, also wrote: "Those responsible for showing him the door - and we know who they are and their intent - must prove to pensioners, contributors and Gambians that the corporation will continue to be in good, honest and competent hands."
Former newspaper editor, Nanama Keita said: "I don’t know the guy, but it looks like the recently redeployed Social Security MD, isn’t your quintessential Gambian civil servant who’s unprincipled and can do anything to keep that government position, any government position."
He added: "We all should endeavour to be like Manjang by having in us that positive self-belief that makes us feel empowered and confident and indubitably principled even in the face of likely joblessness."
Thank you, Mohamadou Manjang!