Director of Press and Public Relations Office of the President, Amie Bojang Sissoho, yesterday declared that she has not evolved away from her activist instincts despite her new role as purveyor of information for the State House.
Photo: Amie Bojang-Sissoho - Press Director, Office of the President of The Gambia
Speaking in an interview with The Everywoman show, she disclosed: “I will want to see a Gambia where in our structures, women are recognised and well represented. A Gambia where women professionals would demonstrate what they can and they demonstrate it in a very positive way, a Gambia where men and women would realise that we are partners, we are citizens and that we can work together to make a difference in this country. “ I am an activist and even the Head of State knows that I am an activist and there is no doubt about that. I know people want me to be commenting on things that means they want to hear my personal views, but they have to know that it is no longer Amie Bojang Sissoho the private person.I am no longer Amie Bojang Sissoho alone, whatever I say is weighted against what the President says and what the opposition says, so it is very important for me to be conscious of that. I know we are at a different level but does not mean that we should lose our principles, but we only have a different way of doing things. I am an activist and still an activist”. A Gunjur native, Amie Bojang touted her record in the campaign against FGM and other forms of violence against women, while asserting a determination to build a system in her new post that will endure long after she is gone.
She postulated:
“In my position as a Director of Press and Public Relations I want to leave a legacy where the next Director of Press and Public Relations will not have to struggle to set up or to continue from where we left but to continue from where we left. A legacy that we have been able to open the Presidency more to the people, a Legacy that we have been able to engage more with the media, a legacy that we have been able to establish the unit with professionalism, to be one of the units that we can be referred to as one of the strong foundations for democracy, human rights, promoting social cohesion and to expose our ability as a nation to work together in peace and harmony”. This medium recently published an article which featured comments by an anonymous source accusing Amie of lobbying the president in favour of Golden Lead, a Chinese factory accused of environmental destruction in Gunjur. When contacted, she declined to comment branding the allegations as lies.
She later commented on the publication on her personal Facebook page which generated 18 shares and 36 comments at the time of going to press, clarifying to her followers : “The problem is not reminding public servants their duties but saying lies about things, which is different from having opinion on an issue. Official response to that will be at an official forum. My response was about lying about me. I rest my case on this issue. Thanks for the engagement”.