tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69682907820141667062024-03-10T20:22:29.168-07:00Gambia Business UpdatesFor All Informations On The Gambia Economy, Business Trends, Market, etcGambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-54998993539281638242011-02-21T10:14:00.001-08:002011-02-21T10:14:57.570-08:00National Assembly seeks over $14 million from donors; gets less than $1 millionThe National Assembly of The Gambia is currently seeking, from both local and international donors, an amount of $14,388,097 representing 55% of the total amount of $26,253,812 that they need to finance the ‘Strategic Investment and Development Plan of the National Assembly 2009 – 2014’.<br />
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The other 45% is to be financed by the government of The Gambia.<br />
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In other to raise funds to finance this five year programme, the National Assembly on Wednesday held an official resource mobilization, dubbed donors’ roundtable conference, at Kairaba Beach Hotel, geared towards soliciting the support of donors and development partners in implementing the first ever Strategic Investment and Development Plan of the National Assembly. <br />
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However, the total financial pledge that was made public at the occasion was less than $1 million, most of which is from local institutions and individuals. This is due to the fact whilst there are many international donors, in the country, who work in the field of governance, the number of donors working specially on the issue of parliamentary development is limited. Also, majority of these donors are bilateral donors who may or may not be active in promoting good governance in The Gambia.<br />
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Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the President, the Vice President, Dr. Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy, said the government has always been fully committed for a vibrant, robust and pro-active legislative that is responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Gambian people.<br />
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Though no international donors, present at the occasion, made any significant pledge, the Vice President applauded them saying “your support and contribution in virtually all the sectors of The Gambia’s economy, including notably, the support you give or, are willing to additionally give towards strengthening legislature and governance, has our recognition.”<br />
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The VP said the Investment and Development Plan is one that sums up in a single documentation the strategic direction that the government wish to follow, to promote lasting excellence in parliamentary functions and capabilities.<br />
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“The development of such a Strategic Plan, which is by our standard, holistic and reflective of our needs, is therefore very important. It is also very timely in that its implementation will become an added impetus to the huge capital investments that my Government has undertaken in recent times for the National Assembly,” she said, adding: “The most notable example here is, the ongoing construction of a multi-million dalasi, state-of-the-art National Assembly complex in the city of Banjul. This complex, when completed will be second-to-none in Sub-Saharan Africa.”<br />
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She disclosed that the government has demonstrated attention to the National Assembly by effecting an increase in budgetary allocation to the National Assembly from D3 million in 1996 to around D40 million as at January, 2011.<br />
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The Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Abdoulie Bojang, said the total cost of the Strategic Development and Investment Plan, which is over $26 million, includes the building and resourcing of new-state-of-the art National Assembly, to which the government of The Gambia has already provided funds for up to $10 million.<br />
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<b>Pledges<br />
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At the end of the programme, some local institutions and individuals has pledged in cash and kind including capacity building programmes and technical services to the National Assembly. The pledged was open by Minister of Justice, Edu Gomez, who pledges D5000, though he is yet to fulfilled a D10,000 pledged he made to the Young Journalist Association of the Gambia since the first quarter of 2010.<br />
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The Gambia Bankers Association, pledges D500, 000; Social Security and Housing Finance Cooperation (SSHFC) D300, 000; National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) D500, 000; Action Aid - The Gambia D100, 000; Pro-Poor Advocacy Group pledges capacity building package for the Parliamentarians for the next five years to the tune of D500, 000.<br />
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Mass Axi Gai, Gambia’s Ambassador to Guinea Bissau pledges D2000; KMC Mayor Yankuba Colley D2000 and Matarr Baldeh of Education for All Initiative pledges to give D1000 annually for five years.<br />
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The National Assembly’s five years Investment Plan, which if fully funded, is expected to strengthening the capacity of the National Assembly to deliver its core functions and to ensure that legislations proposed by the government are scrutinized in a transparent manner.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-44502046495932136502011-02-21T10:04:00.000-08:002011-02-21T10:04:55.093-08:00'Public' rejects NAWEC’s proposed tariffs incrementMost of the people at PURA’s Public Hearing held on Saturday at Father Farrell Hall in Westfield vehemently condemned the proposed tariff increase by National Water and Electricity Company Limited (NAWEC), the sole provider of electricity, water and sewerage services in The Gambia.<br />
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The Public Hearing, which was organized by the Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA), was meant to obtain public comment on an application that they (PURA) received from NAWEC to increase the current tariffs of electricity, water and sewerage services.<br />
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“PURA received an application from NAWEC on 27th December 2010 for an increase in electricity, water and sewerage tariffs,” said Mr Maleh Saine, Officer-In-Charge of PURA.<br />
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He explained that PURA Act 2001 and the Electricity Act 2005 mandated PURA to consult with all stakeholders on matter of such importance and sensitivity that affect both the operator and the consumer. “Initial consultations have also been held with Central Government, industrial and commercial consumers,” he said. <br />
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Mr Saine said PURA is mandated specifically under Section 18 of the Electricity Act 2005 which states that “the Authority may in accordance with the provisions of the Regulatory Authority Act determines, review, approve, modify or refuse the tariff and the terms and conditions of the service provided by licensees.”<br />
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“Through hearing your views it will enable us to arrive at a proper decision in ensuring that we have available, affordable and accessible services in respect of electricity water and sewerage services,” said Mr Dodou Bammy Jagne, the Chairman of PURA Board of Commissioners.<br />
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Mr. Alhagie Jallow, Finance Director of NAWEC, said the company is proposing certain prices for the different services; for Greater Banjul Area (GBA) “we are proposing 36% increment for electricity, 26% for water, and 27% for sewerage.” He said the objective of NAWEC is to provide affordable electricity, water and sewerage services to Gambian peoples. “We know if we are to charge very high prices, under normal circumstance, it will not be affordable, and the objective of providing these basic services is to make it available and affordable to the people who are going to use them,” he explained.<br />
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When the Moderator of the occasion, Mr Peter Gomez, opened the floor for comments and questions relevant to the proposed tariff increase from the people, one speaker after the other strongly condemned the tariffs increment, but NAWEC said they are left with no other option given the ever increasing cost of both light and heavy fuel and lubricants, increasing cost of energy purchased from the Intermittent Power Producer (IPP), and high of cost labour and maintenance.<br />
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NAWEC officials said if the company is to remain in operation, they have to increase the tariff because “the current revenue base of the company is not able to sustain the company’s operational obligations resulting them to short term borrowing from commercial banks at exorbitant cost.”<br />
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Later on, as the program was coming to an end, the Moderator announced that those who are in support of the proposed tariff increase to raise their hand, but unfortunately, only two people raised their hands in support of the increment.<br />
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The comments and concerns of the people are to be incorporated for due consideration in accordance with Section 20(C) of the Electricity Act in making a final determination.<br />
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The Public Hearing is the sixth of the nine steps that PURA is to take before final tariffs come into effect.<br />
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However, shortly after the Hearing many people who spoke to Marketplace said that NAWEC has already reached a decision to increase the tariff, “so whether the people agree to it or not it will be increased, this is just a formality”, Ousman Gibba said. “I know they will increase, but if they do that it is going to affect average Gambians, because many people are already struggling to pay for the current tariff as it is,” said Demba Jarju.<br />
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The last three steps before the new tariffs come into force is for PURA to take a decision with regard to the increment, publish the new tariff, and finally the tariff come into force.<br />
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Given the fact that the proposed tariffs increment was received with a strong condemnation from the general public will PURA give NAWEC the go ahead to increase the tariffs?Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-71693277407748500142011-02-21T10:00:00.000-08:002011-02-21T10:00:36.737-08:00Gambia gov’t orders civil servants to open salary accountThe government of The Gambia, through the directorate of National Treasury on Monday issued a public statement urging all civil servants within the Greater Banjul Area from grade 2 of the government integrate and above to open a salary account, “through which their salaries will be paid.”<br />
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“This is in line with The Gambia government’s financial management reform objectives, and which are riding on a platform of efficient and effective services delivery,” the statement says.<br />
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“All civil servants who comply with this requirement are required to submit their account details to their respective accounts sections to effect the necessary changes on the government payroll,” the statement added. <br />
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According to the statement, this move will help to expedite the salary payment process, reduce the risk of cashier handling bulk cash, as well as providing civil servants the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of banking.<br />
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However, the statement did not indicate any deadline for opening the account, and it is not clear whether there is any repercussion for those civil servant who are eligible but do not open.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-39932574120437221062011-02-21T09:58:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:58:25.154-08:00GTBank in ‘duel’ with former employee over D500,000 wrongful termination claimGuaranty Trust Bank has continued to contest a D500,000 claim by its former employee Mam Nabou Sambou, who has sued the bank to court for wrongful termination of her services.<br />
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Mam-Nabou Samba, who was contracted to work for GTBank as transaction officer, is claiming special damages of D500,000 general damages for breach of contract, interest, and cost.<br />
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The ongoing trial between the plaintiff and the defendant proceeded on 7 February at the Industrial Tribunal in the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Dayoh Small Dago with the testimony of one Neneh Njie, a bank official at GTBank. <br />
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Asked by the defence lawyer Christopher C.E. Mene to explain when and how appraisal are done in the bank, since on the evidence of the plaintiff, her immediate boss is responsible for her appraisal; Neneh Njie, who claimed to be the immediate boss of the plaintiff, denied the point, saying that in GTB, appraisals are done every June by members of the bank.<br />
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“It is a process and in that process the appraisee, appraiser, a group head, MD, and an appraisal committee are involved,” Mrs Njie said, adding: “In this process, my recommendation is not the final stage but part of the process.”<br />
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At that juncture, reports were tendered by the defence to the witness to confirm whether they were the appraisal reports on the plaintiff, but Ms Njie said she would not call those reports appraisal reports since some of the exhibits were not complete. <br />
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The report on exhibit H, she said, stopped only at where she made her comments on her own evaluation of the plaintiff’s performance but had not covered up to where the final stage would end.<br />
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After the evidence of the witness, the case was adjourned until 15 February 2011.<br />
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Guaranty Trust Bank, through its Orange Rules, is committed to the growth of the individual and societal capital, the bank’s corporate statement states, saying the rules include simplicity, professionalism, service, friendliness, excellence, trustworthiness, social responsibility and innovation.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-75471048747232537242011-02-21T09:53:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:53:34.583-08:00Ministry of Economic Planning changes as government reshuffled the cabinet Ministry of Economic Planning and Industrial Development, which was created last year, is being reconstituted and brought under the Ministry of Finance as departments while the Ministry of Finance is re-named Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the government announced.<br />
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This development comes as the President of the country; Yahya AJJ Jammeh reshuffled the cabinet. A news released from the office of the President stated that “His Excellency The President of the Republic of The Gambia Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J Jammeh, acting under the provision of section 71 (1) and 71 (3) respectively, of the Constitution of The Republic of The Gambia has effected a Cabinet Re-shuffle.”<br />
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Minister of Economic Planning and Industrial Development, Hon. Mambury Njie, has been re-assigned to the Ministry of Finance as Minister, while Minister of Finance, Hon. Abdou Kolley, re-assigned to the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment as Minister. <br />
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In the same vein Hon. Yusupha Kah, Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment has been re-assigned to the Ministry of Works, Construction and Infrastructure, which was under the president’s office, as Minister.<br />
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The release urges all Ministers are urged to live up to expectations of their portfolio so “as to ensure maximum delivery of the national development programs set in Government’s Vision 2020 Blueprint, as time is ticking fast.”<br />
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“Therefore, all are reminded that there will be no room for complacency. Ministers are however assured of the executive’s maximum support to ensure that we collectively achieve our development aspirations,” the release stated.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-43644029086937490432011-02-21T09:52:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:52:00.875-08:00Businesswomen gearing up to tap the int’l marketGambian businesswomen are setting up a cluster that will bring businesses, particularly women businesses that are export-ready, to export to the international market, the American market in particular.<br />
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“This cluster will help us come together, put our resources and expertise together to access the international market,” said Amie Ceesay-Jaiteh, the proprietor and general manager of C J Enterprise, a company mainly involved in the business of exporting foodstuff (mostly fish) to the UK and America. She opined that when this cluster is ready there will be much foreign exchange coming into the country.<br />
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“Exports make the economy more viable,” she said, adding “the American Embassy in the Gambia is helping us in that regard; they are encouraging us to export more into the US market.” <br />
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With many years experience in exporting, Amie said the American market is huge, so when exporting there normally they will ask for about 4-5 containers, which is very difficult for individual businesses in The Gambia to provide but with such a cluster, “we can put together our resources and expertise to export in larger volume”, and take advantage of such a huge market.<br />
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<b>Challenges of exporting <br />
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Amie recounts some challenges she encounter in exporting: “Actually there are challenges because we take fish abroad most of the time that it is difficult. Sometimes we take the fish to Europe, supply to the customers and some of them don’t pay on time. Sometimes you are there for a short period, say, two weeks. Some of them cannot gather your money and give it to you before you leave; they ask you to go, then they will transfer the money to you. You have to be calling them to send the money. That sometimes holds us back.”<br />
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Asked how easy it is be exporting, Amie said: “I would not say it is easy because before you venture into export you need to get the market, you need to go and find your customers to be able to sell your products. So if you don’t have the market it is difficult to venture into it. If you see me doing it and you think you can also do it as well, you should have it in mind that it involves a whole lot of things being put in place. You have to get customers who are ready to buy from you anywhere you want to export to.<br />
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“Before venturing into business you have to do research and market feasibility study to see what product you would be interested in selling. If you want to be an exporter it is even worth travelling abroad just to look for a market; you also have to go to the internet and search for wholesalers.”<br />
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The proprietor of CJ enterprise said exporting fish and agricultural products is something that she find “very interesting”. “I was running my own restaurant after I returned from UK where I studied Tourism and Hotel Management and Catering,” she said.<br />
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Mrs Ceesay-Jaiteh continued: “The time I was operating the restaurant I used to go to the market to buy fish and vegetables to sell in the restaurant; I used to meet fishmongers and vegetable sellers; I saw the constraints they were facing at that time. For instance, when you want to buy tomatoes in the market you discover there are abundant tomatoes at some point because they are all harvested together at a time, the same thing holds true of other vegetables. The market also used to be flooded with fish sometimes.<br />
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“So I use to think of ways of helping these people; incidentally when I went to UK, somebody approached me and said they needed fish in their shop, so I started buying fish and packing them in suitcases for export to the UK, until they made a law in Europe that we have to pack them properly. So we started air-freighting the fish, but we were doing it through establishments that had export permit. As the demand increased, we started exporting in containers. We started with 20-foot containers, but now we use 40-foot containers because the demand is increasing by the day.”<br />
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<b>Advice to Gambians <br />
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At the moment “things are very hard”, businesses are experiencing very difficult times globally. When things are difficult, “I think Gambians should help each other; if a Gambian is in business, let’s support the person”. Amie opined that this is the only way the country can move forward and improve our lives.<br />
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She called on all and sundry to support Gambian businesses because Gambians are going into lots of businesses that would have been dominated by foreigners. Gambians are in supermarkets, minimarkets, import and export, so let us support each other. If a Gambian makes money, it stays in the country; it makes the economy more viable.<br />
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For example, she said, there is a Nigerian shop in London, Nigerians are so proud of going to that shop to buy instead of going to other shops; they will support their fellow Nigerians. So let’s do that - look at each other and support each other. That will take us from this level and probably it might reduce poverty because Gambians will be investing more in The Gambia and invest more in their families and that will lead to the growth of the economy. That is something that we are lacking, let’s give that support to each other.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-3410579330595789272011-02-21T09:49:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:49:25.169-08:00Gambia’s GDP growth slows downThe growth of The Gambia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the total monetary value of all goods and services produced domestically in the country over a specified period, has drop from 6.3 per cent in 2008 to 5.6 percent in 2009. GDP includes income earned domestically by foreigners, but does not include income earned by domestic residents on foreign ground.<br />
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The growth of GDP from one period to another is an indication of how healthy the country's economy is.<br />
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The latest report of the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG), explained that the contraction in the country’s GDP growth “was due to the decline in the growth of agricultural output and the impact of global economic crisis”. “However, this growth rate was higher than the International Monetary Fund revised forecast of output growth of the world economy, which is -0.8 per cent and 1.6 per cent for sub-Saharan Africa in particular,” the report states. <br />
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The CBG report, which was recently presented to the National Assembly, by the Governor of Central Bank of The Gambia, Amadou Colley, noted that the Macroeconomics performance in The Gambia was solid in the past three years, evidenced by GDP growth rates of 6.0 per cent in 2007, 6.3 per cent in 2008 and 5.6 per cent in 2009.<br />
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“These growth rates are also within the 6 – 7 per cent range commonly used as a marker, if a country is to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of reducing poverty by 2015. Given the population growth rate of 2.8 per cent in 2007, average per capita growth for the past three years (2007 – 2009) was 3.2 per cent,” the report noted.<br />
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The Gambia has maintained macroeconomic stability amidst the global economic crisis with a flexible monetary policy, implementation of structural reforms and technical and financial support from development partners.<br />
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<b>Growth in agriculture<br />
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</b>The report indicated that agriculture, which is the mainstay of The Gambia economy, employing about 60 – 70 per cent of the workforce, grew on average by 6.2 per cent between 2001 and 2009. “Low domestic production against the backdrop of myriad of factors including low agricultural technology, lack of inputs, and challenges involve in marketing the produce implies that the agricultural sector has not been able to address the food needs of county. With a population growth of 2.8 per cent, average agricultural GDP growth was only 3.4 per cent,” it says.<br />
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<b>Food inflation decelerates <br />
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Food consumer price inflation declined markedly from 8.6 per cent at end-December 2008 to 2.9 per cent in December 2009, attributable to the removal of import duties on some basic food items, and also enhanced supply.<br />
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The report observed that at the beginning of 2009, food consumer price inflation was 8.8 per cent. It decline to 8.3 per cent in March, 6.7 per cent June, as well as 2.7 per cent in September, before edging up slightly to 2.9 per cent in December 2009.<br />
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<b>Non-food inflation<br />
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Non-food consumer price inflation, which was at 4.7 per cent in January 2009, has increased slightly to 4.8 per cent at end-March before declining to 3.9 per cent in June and 1.9 per cent in September 2009. “Non-food inflation rose gradually to 2.8 per cent in December 2009 albeit lower than 4.4 percent recorded the same period last year,” the report saysGambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-45263615106099322122011-02-21T09:46:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:46:55.345-08:00SSHFC to roll out more homes for GambiansSocial Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC) has revealed plans to roll out more housing projects in Tujereng, Jabang and Brikama Jamisa.<br />
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Corporation has been providing affordable housing for thousands of Gambians through the numerous housing projects its housing finance fund is executing.<br />
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Some of its housing projects executed are the Bakoteh project, the Kanifing project and the Brusubi project.<br />
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The Bakoteh project provided 200 housing units of two and three bedroom houses that were allocated to Gambians under a mortgage arrangement of 25 years, though the period of the arrangement, which started in 1985, has elapsed.<br />
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Under the Kanifing project, 754 properties were also given under mortgage arrangement on a 25-year term. All the three phases of the Brusubi project provided close to 3000 housing units, which were also allocated to Gambians. <br />
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“Currently we are working on housing projects in Tujereng, Jabang and in Brikama Jamisa,” the Corporation’s Estate Manager Alhagie Fatty, said.<br />
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The Tujereng, Jabang and Brikama projects, whose works are ongoing, will collectively provide about 3000 properties, says Mr Fatty.<br />
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Land banking <br />
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As part of its strategy to decentralize its operations to other parts of the country, which is in line with the government’s Vision 2010 blueprint, the Corporation has embarked on land banking across the length and breadth of the country.<br />
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“We are extending our tentacles to other parts of the country,” Mr Fatty said. “We have already banked 19 sites and within few months’ time will be adding two more sites to make it 21 sites across the country - in all the growth centres for that matter - in cognizance of the fact that land is a scarce resource; so it is ideal that we start banking it now for our future uses.<br />
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“We are doing all these to close the gap of housing as this is the only avenue that some people can have access to housing, especially those within the low-income bracket, because if they should go to the open market, prices are high there, with arrangement they cannot satisfy. Most of the private real estate companies often ask for one-off payment or an installment payment, which many people cannot afford. In our own case, you put a deposit of 20% of the cost and then the balance we allow you to pay over the period of time.”<br />
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The SSSHFC housing scheme has benefited a lot of Gambians, especially owing to the manner and conditions the property are mortgaged to them. “The housing projects have benefited a lot of Gambians because when you look at Kanifing and Bakoteh very closely, likewise all projects that we have executed, you will definitely find people there who obviously if they were allowed to compete in the open market would find it difficult to own property in this country,” Mr Fatty said.<br />
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It is not only property owners who benefit from the Corporation’s housing projects but also the satellite communities around those areas, because whenever the corporation does a project, it also provide essential amenities in the area, which benefit all those living there, and contribute to making the property appreciable.<br />
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“When we bring road there, we bring electricity there, and we bring water, to help the people in the area,” he added, saying: “Our success stories include Brusubi. Those of you who know Brusubi in those days will definitely know that it is the Social Security project scheme in Brusubi that has turned things around in that area, and the coastal road that was built by the government contributed a lot to enhancing those areas as well.”<br />
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He reiterated: “The Brikama, Jabang and Tujereng projects will follow the same trend. The moment those projects are fully operational, people will derive lot of gains from those projects, not only the prospective property owners but also people who live around those areas, because they will have their properties upgraded in terms of value.”<br />
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Criteria for land allocation<br />
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SSHFC has criteria in place in allocating land cardinal among them is citizenship; that is being a Gambian national.<br />
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“In a nutshell the rest is based on need and affordability,” Mr Fatty said. In assessing your need, we try to be sure that you don’t own a property within the Greater Banjul Area and also verify whether you are really in rental property and in congested family dwelling. We also look at your family size and consider your living status in the Greater Banjul Area.<br />
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“On affordability, we make sure that you are in gainful employment. It does not necessary mean you have to be in the civil service, but you must be doing something from where you earn your living, whether in business or whatever, in order to be able to demonstrate that you can pay the down payment when we allocate you a property as well as to be able to pay the monthly mortgage fee and also develop the land. This is because we don’t want to give you a land and it continues to lie fallow for the rest of your life. So obviously we make sure that you have the capability to develop it. We determine that by checking whether you have access to bank loan, access to loan from your employer, and whether you have savings. Then we look at your status; that is the total family income - your monthly salary, your wife’s monthly salary, whether you have kids who are earning and how much they earn at the end of the month; we look at all these to judge your affordability.”<br />
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<b>Clarification on costing <br />
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The Corporation also considers the cost of providing amenities in an area in pricing the property they mortgage to interested citizens.<br />
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Factors mainly consider include bringing basic amenities, such as electricity, road, and portable water, to an estate, which cost the Corporation a lot.<br />
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“When we acquire the land we naturally do the infrastructure. Normally these lands are virgin land and they are far from social amenities and other services. We therefore make sure that we use our own resources to bring the services over there; that is water, electricity and road. We make sure that we really facilitate the water distribution network, distribute electricity across the estate to the doorsteps of all the people there, and also the road network, we make sure that we do the road network to standard,” Mr Fatty said.<br />
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He continued: “When you go to Brusubi you see a network of tarred road there; all these things cost money and also when there is an issue of compensation, we foot the bill these are also other expenditure we incur.<br />
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“So, at the end of the day, these are the expenditures that we look at closely and add a little margin to it, to be able to arrive at the price that we charge for a plot. We add a margin there because this is an ongoing process; so without any margin we will not be able to continue and replicate what we are doing so that those who are on the queue can have property from the SSHFC as well.”Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-66013933052926978382011-02-21T09:43:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:43:46.458-08:00Takaful to improve its model, hit the market with ground-breaking initiativesTakaful Gambia Limited is poised to further improve on its operations and introduce innovative and ground-breaking initiatives after a-two member delegation of the company returned from Sudan, the father of Islamic insurance in the world, where they were exposed to improved ways of Islamic insurance.<br />
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The Managing Director and Head of Operations of Takaful, Mr. Momodou Joof, and Mr. Adama Marong respectively recently returned to Banjul after a two week working visit to Shiekan Insurance and Reinsurance Company Limited in Sudan. The aim of the visit, among other things, was to familiarize themselves with the operations of the company and to learn best practices from them so as to replicate it in The Gambia in order to take Takaful’s operations a notch-higher. <br />
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“We had learnt a great deal of weight to improve on our model and we promised our participants and the whole country at large that we are coming to apply a little bit of changes into our model to make it more transparent, more viable and more profitable,” the Managing Director said. “I cannot reveal everything to you at this point but I can tell you we are looking at a possibility where even the board of the company will include representative of the clients, the participants who gave us their money, so that they know how much we are making, what we are doing, and also to know our mission and vision.”<br />
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He continued: “Again as part of the changes to the model, we are saying not only those who do not suffer accident in the year will benefit from the profit of the company. As Islamic insurance belongs to the policyholders, those who insured with us, when that is the case if there is any profit generated it must reach everybody whether you suffered an accident or not in the year, because it was not self designed for you to get involved in an accident. Thus, profit generated by the company in 2011 will be distributed to all our policyholders even those who suffered losses during the period will still be invited to participate to the profit that we generated.”<br />
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Mr Joof said his three-year old company is coming up in a greater grand style to prove to “this nation that Islam has it all” and that the beauty can only be found best in it.<br />
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<b>Products to roll out<br />
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The two-week visit to Sudan, which was fully funded by Shiekan Insurance and Reinsurance Company Limited - there host in Sudan, serves as a morale booster for Takaful as the management has revealed plans to inject new policies in addition to the existing ones “in order to make sure that we cover more people”.<br />
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Takaful MD said: “Among the things that we had learnt from that ‘mature market’ is that if we limited our self to providing the usual classes of insurance like motor insurance, general accident, fire insurance etc, we are only addressing the wealthy members of the society, those that are rich enough to think of insurance. So we have to think of ways to actually consider how to operate in such a way that we accommodate SMEs, those poor members of the society who are doing business but at a very low scale, how to reduce our premium and give them cover that will benefit them.<br />
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Now we are coming with policies that will make it possible for us to cover every cadre of the society including the poor members. So now we are not only leaving it to that traditional system where only the rich can afford insurance, we want to bring it as low as covering the poor members of the society.”<br />
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He disclosed that they are also looking at the possibility of coming up with an agricultural insurance policy. Agriculture has been a key issue of attention to the government, but unfortunately there is no insurance policy to back it up, now Takaful Gambia is looking into the possibility of coming with a policy on agricultural insurance in order to make farming a more sustainable and lucrative venture.<br />
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Mr. Joof, who recently served as a facilitator to the ‘regional course on rudiments of Islamic banking’ organized by West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management and held Lagos, Nigeria, said: “We will not also relent in our endeavor to make sure that we are not limited to Gambia, this is the first Islamic insurance company to register in West Africa and we must make sure that we give the market all that they need. We are even looking at the establishment of a live section, where we will cover live insurance. We are also looking into the possibility of expanding out of our national territory; these are all part of our plans.”<br />
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<b>More profit to distribute <br />
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Takaful is the first insurance company in The Gambia to pioneer the process of profit sharing at the end of the term. At the end of 2008 there was no profit for the company to distribute, as promised, to its clients, due to obvious reason that they started operations in that year and had many establishment expenses. In 2009 the company distributed over D2 million to its policyholders. “So we are very happy to say that we had delivered in 2009. Since inception, we promised the people, we promised the market that this concept of Islamic insurance is a very fair concept whereby returns or profits generated by the company belongs to those who provided the capital, the insures,” said Mr. Joof, adding that apart from the D2 million distributed to the policyholders, the company also distributed ‘Zakat’, alms, between 8 high schools as part of its corporate social responsibility. He said: “Though we are yet to distribute the profit for 2010, I can certainly tell you that it will be higher than the D2 million and we are working hard to pay it earlier this year.”<br />
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Commenting on their trip, Adama Marong, Head of Operations, said Sudan is where Islamic insurance started in the whole world, “so we feel it necessary that if you want to do what is correct you have to go to the root that is why we visited Sudan”. “Upon our arrival there we found out that Islamic insurance is doing well there in fact the whole system there is Islamic financing. We visited many places there including their refinery, and the national insurance company that is owned by the government,” he said.<br />
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He said the visit to Sudan has further enhanced and deepen their knowledge of Islamic insurance. “We had copied best practices from them, in terms of their operations, policies and the like, that we are going to replicate in the Gambia. You know the practice of insurance is such that it’s not static, it should be flexible. We have come with policies from Sudan that we will modify to suit the need of the society in The Gambia and this is what we will embark on in not distant future,” Mr. Marong explained.<br />
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He added: “We are going to roll out many innovative products that will really suit our customers and there are many things in the offing all for the benefit of the customers so all that want to say is that let people come to Takaful and they will really enjoy the value for money.”Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-88874741927861473762011-02-21T09:41:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:41:30.222-08:00Five more customers of SCB beam with delightFive more customers of SCB beam with delight <br />
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Written by Yankuba <br />
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 14:08 <br />
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Customers who emerged winners of Standard Chartered Bank ‘Together To Win’ 4th monthly raffle draw, held in December, had recently beam with delight after receiving their various prizes.<br />
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Buba Barrow, Sulayman Touray, Mrs. Sainabou Jammeh, Bakalilou Kebbeh and Harriet Sonko received Qcell dual SIM phone, Qcell Muslim phone, Qcell USB data card, Qcell dell laptop with USB data card, and Qcell 32” plasma TV with a home surround system respectively. These proud winners received their prizes during the fifth monthly draw, where the bank selects another set of five lucky winners, held on 12th January 2011 at the SCB Serekunda branch in Westfield.<br />
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The winners of the fifth monthly draw will received their prizes during the sixth and the mega draw, to be held in April. <br />
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The SCB ‘Together to Win’ promotion underpins the bank’s philosophy of rendering essential and efficient services to its customers, who continues to win various prizes of substance on a monthly basis from the campaign, which started in July 2010.<br />
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“In Standard Charterer’s quest to becoming the world’s best international bank, its innovative marketing team conceptualized this campaign to recognize and reward customers for their loyalty with the bank,” a statement from the bank indicates. “Customers got coupons for every D10, 000 they deposited into their accounts and maintaining the funds on their accounts for at least a month makes one eligible for that month’s draw. This is for both new and existing funds.”<br />
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Richard Mendy, the Excel Relationship Manager, in his welcoming remarks, reaffirmed the bank’s ‘here for good’ brand promise, which he said “reflects on Standard Charterer’s belief in developing long-term and deep relationships with our customers and clients”. He further encouraged the customers to continue to leave their funds on account to be eligible for the mega draw in April.<br />
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The lucky winners for the 5th monthly draw are Ebriam Jaiteh who won a Qcell Muslim phone, Daniel Able Thomas, a Qcell dual SIM phone, Omaru M.Z. Lamin, a Qcell USB data card, Bintou C. Keita won a Qcell laptop with a USB data card, and Pa Modou Njie won a Qcell 32” plasma TV with a home surround system.<br />
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At the end of the ‘Together to Win’ campaign, SCB will hold a mega draw with a grand prize of a D1 million investment account. To qualify for the mega draw, customers need to deposit or maintain a balance of D200, 000 or more in their account for at least three months.<br />
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Customers are also encouraged to introduce their friends and family and become eligible to be part of the monthly draws.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-45164716498025166452011-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:38:58.219-08:00Gambia’s airport to be positioned as a regional hubBanjul International Airport - the one and only international airport in The Gambia – is to be upgraded and positioned as a regional hub that will link the West African sub-region with the rest of the world, the Director General of Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Mr. Fansu Bojang revealed on Wednesday while submitting the activity report of the Authority at the National Assembly.<br />
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“The GCAA is vigorously working towards achieving this objective,” he told the Lawmakers. “The Authority has put in place various incentives to encourage the creation of a home-based airline, a key requirement for the realization of a hub-and-spoke system. Running parallel with this, the Authority is also actively and progressively pursuing other existing major carriers with the view of luring them into Banjul.”<br />
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He said The Gambia has signed an Open Skies Agreement with the United States of America, and Banjul International Airport (BIA) has approved to serve as a Last Point of Departure for flights into the United States of America.<br />
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“In addition, it is hoped that major in-roads would be made in convincing major carriers, such as Delta Airlines and Ethopians Airlines, into serving Banjul as a destination in the very near future,” he said.<br />
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Mr. Bojang further said works that were executed in 2009, particularly within the context of BIA, continued to address the infrastructure requirements necessary for the realization of this goal.<br />
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“Now that the industry is breathing a bit of fresh air, following what was arguably, a financially suffocating period; the GCAA will continue to pursue discussions with government leading to the restoration of airport tariff to their pre-June 2007 levels as well as the introduction of, at least, the Airport Development Fee (ADF) in the fee structure of BIA,” he said.<br />
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He added that investments being made by the government in terms of expanding and renewing airport infrastructure and facilities make the generation of revenue through the introduction of a development levy compelling case.<br />
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He continued: “This will literally subsidize the cost of operating the Airport in order to maintain the desired level of international standards. This resulted in huge financial burden on the Authority while at the same time not achieving its anticipated result of attracting more carriers into BIA. Hence lifting of the hold would see the Authority gradually ease back onto a sound financial footing while maintaining international standards and continuing to reinvest into major developmental areas for the continued modernization of BIA.”<br />
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He explained that Phase 1 of the Banjul International Airport Improvement Project is nearing completion. To this end, he said the GCAA through the Gambia Government secured additional funding from international funding agencies; in particular the Kuwait Fund, Saudi Fund and OPEC Fund for International Development for the implementation of Phase II of the Project.<br />
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“This Phase shall include works for the expansion of the current apron, construction of an ultra-modern fire and rescue service station, replacement of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) as well as refurbishment and possible expansion of the existing Passenger Terminal Building. This Phase will automatically kick-in following the completion of Phase I, and it will also cater for the infrastructural needs of the Authority for the foreseeable future and thus putting BIA on a competitive footing in attracting major carriers into the country” he noted.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-31384600585766237492011-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:002011-02-21T09:29:42.412-08:00Gambia’s Human Development Index Ranking DropsThe UNDP’s 2010 Global Human Development Report 2010 has placed The Gambia 151 out of 169 countries ranked in its Human Development Index.<br />
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The latest ranking means the country has dropped by one per cent from its 2009 ranking.<br />
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The Human Development Index (HDI) measures a country’s average achievements in three basic aspects of human development. These are health, education and income.<br />
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The HDI ranking is part of the UNDP’s Global Human Development Report 2010 on the theme ‘The Real Wealth of Nations: Pathways to Human Development’. It was launched by the Vice President, Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy on Wednesday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel. The 2010 HDR is the 20th anniversary of the edition. The report was launched at global level by the UNDP Administrator Helen Clark on 4th November 2010.<br />
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The Gambia is ranked below many countries in the region including Ghana (130), Benin (134), Nigeria (142), Senegal (144), and above some countries such as Sierra Leone (158), Mali (160) and Liberia (162). <br />
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The HDI was introduced as an alternative to conventional measures of national development, such as level of income and the rate of economic growth. The HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone.<br />
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In her launching statement, the Vice President of The Gambia, Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, said: “An analysis using the gender inequality index, as stated in the 2010 report, noted that investments in girls and women to have equal educational and employment opportunities, access to health services, participation in decision-making at all levels, is a catalyst to a nation’s human development given its multiplier effects.”<br />
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Against this backdrop, she said, The Gambia is poised to achieving universal primary education by 2015 “as parity was attained at this level as early as 2003”. “The Net Enrolment Ratio rose from a low of 45 per cent between 1991/1992 to about 75 per cent in 2008/2009,” she added.<br />
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On health, the Vice President said that some significant progress have been made focusing on the three health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5, and 6 and relevant targets such as child and maternal mortality, and morbidity; HIV/AIDs; and Malaria reduction.<br />
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She continued: “Overall, there has been considerable achievement in child survival as infant mortality rate according to national census dropped from 217 per 1000 in 1973 to 75 per 1000 live births in 2003. Maternal mortality also declined from 1050 per 100,000 in 1990 to 730 per 100,000 in 2001 and 556 per 100,000 live births in 2006.<br />
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On the other hand, the prevalence of HIV infection dropped from 2.8 per cent in 2006 to 1.4 per cent in 2007, whereas, HIV 2 dropped from 0.9 in 2006 to 0.5 per cent in 2007 receptively.<br />
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On malaria, recent data from the six sentinel sites showed that the incidence of malaria has been declining in the country. “The number of under-five year old children sleeping under insecticide treaded bed nets has increased from 15 per cent in 2000 to 49 per cent in year 2006,” she said.<br />
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The HDR 2010 adopted the holistic approach by using a variety of information related to different aspects of human life, concentrating on what remains to be done, and focusing on key priorities such as climate change, mortality and morbidity, poverty and deprivation, as well as inequality and insecurity, with room to accommodate new concerns and considerations including forecasts of the natural levels of the Human Development Index.<br />
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Janis James, who spoke on behalf of the UNDP resident coordinator, Ms Chinwe Dike, and the Vice Chancellor of the University of The Gambia, also spoke at length about the report and its significance.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-7887663002569317772011-02-04T02:07:00.000-08:002011-02-04T02:13:12.473-08:00GAWFA: Building safety net for the poor<b>The Gambia Women’s Finance Association is on the onward match of building a safety net for the poor and promoting the economic empowerment of Gambian women. Lamin Jahateh reports the call on the general public of its new finance company to buy its shares up for sale, in a drive to building the company’s equity and capital for sound business operations.</b> <br />
The latest financial institution to be launched in The Gambia is calling on the general public to join its cause of building safety net for the poor and promoting the economic empowerment of Gambian women by buying its shares to provide an opportunity to change a woman’s life<br />
Established in 1987 as a not-for-profit NGO, the Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA) recently launched its own financial institution called GAWFA Finance Company, to provide trade finance for Gambian women who would like to expand their businesses or establish new ventures. <br />
“The c<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQ1oNAEgztF0HgoB0IRpoMtxJE77daOzAE7rSaKvnk5cPJaaE1WCapvDzGmOektWPi1GIqISlqUBYjJ9ZS5tgdG447e5p1aXTsHER5Dotq9SEhE6v6enuk_B3VRUOjP6eBkpv8PAmyx4/s1600/SAM_0133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggQ1oNAEgztF0HgoB0IRpoMtxJE77daOzAE7rSaKvnk5cPJaaE1WCapvDzGmOektWPi1GIqISlqUBYjJ9ZS5tgdG447e5p1aXTsHER5Dotq9SEhE6v6enuk_B3VRUOjP6eBkpv8PAmyx4/s320/SAM_0133.JPG" /></a></div><b>Pic: GAWFA CEO, Oley Njie Mbye<br />
</b>Company has 6,100,000 ordinary shares for sale, at ten dalasis (D10) per share,” says GAWFA’s chief executive officer Oley Njie Mbye. “I urge you to please reach out and get GAWFA shares today and not tomorrow. Please help build safety nets for the poor and promote the economic empowerment of Gambian women.”<br />
Mrs Mbye calls on the general public to review the company’s prospectus, complete an application, make a sound decision and invest in GAWFA’s shares.<br />
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She said: “With GAWFA shares you are providing an opportunity to change a woman’s life one day at a time, providing safety nets for the poor, empowering women at the socio-economic level and creating the opportunity to make positive changes to a new generation. <br />
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“In addition you are contributing to make GAWFA sustainable both financially and institutionally to reach the mission and vision of the organization,” <br />
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Hannah Davis, chairperson of GAWFA board, said by purchasing the shares of GAWFA Finance Company one is providing an opportunity to contribute to the economic empowerment of Gambian women. “I urge you to buy GAWFA Finance Company limited shares,” Mrs Davis says.<br />
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Beatrice Allen, a board member of GAWFA, added: “The shares of the company are up for sale to the general public but specifically for women, because really we want to be able to do for women what nobody else has done for them so we want to encourage the women first to buy. Nonetheless, we have got some allocations for other members of the public, both companies and individuals, who want to buy shares.”<br />
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“We encourage strategic investors both national and international level to invest and buy GAWFA’s shares,” a statement from the company says, adding: “GAWFA is the first and the largest microfinance institution in The Gambia established since 1987 and an affiliate of Women’s World Banking network headquartered in New York. GAWFA’s activities are intended to promote social and economic changes in The Gambia.”<br />
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Brief background about GAWFA<br />
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GAWFA’s vision is to build a sustainable financial institution that meets the aspirations of women in the vanguard of an evolving financial system, and to regain market leadership by 2020 with a share of at least 50% of the market represented by low Gambia women. <br />
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The association has it mission to offer an innovative financial solution that contributes to lasting economic and social benefits for low income Gambian women and their families; and create value for our shareholders and stakeholders.<br />
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GAWFA was incorporated in September 1987 with the main objective of catering for the financial needs of the poor and low-income women of The Gambia. The association was the first micro-finance institution to be licensed by the Central Bank of The Gambia. <br />
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Over the years, the association has grown from under 100 members to over 48,948 clients, over 90% of whom live in the rural areas. <br />
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GAWFA provides financial service to low-income women engaged in income generating activities, such as farmers, traders, and handicraft. It continues to provide services that are innovative, flexible and meet the needs of each category of its clients as they grow in a profitable and sustainable manner. <br />
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Between 1994 and 2007, GAWFA disbursed over D127 million as loans. The association was also able to build a culture of savings among women with more than 48,000 clients accumulating a net savings of D12 million. <br />
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GAWFA offers three loan products - individual loans, solidarity group loans, and large group loans. Group loans represent 65% of GAWFA portfolio and are concentrated outside Banjul. Individual loans represent 35% of GAWFA disbursement in 2006, and Greater Banjul accounts for 83% of the individual loans disbursed in 2006. <br />
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GAWFA achieved a high growth in both credit and savings operations over the past five years, but the credit operations have increased more rapidly than the savings.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-50330447495070155542011-01-28T08:22:00.000-08:002011-01-28T08:23:45.310-08:00SSHFC IN GOOD STEAD<b>MD urges managers to keep up the momentum<br />
</b> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVDLD8fUMjL8ilBUSb3JOCKIUO-QTy4HVe7OMa0jEsZ8Zy1gFGCW0Kd0P8CHXzwHpL9VWRXljt0vGd6z6UhCLSbtNyc7lpr6USHwFumoNQT6EGzOdzkvl92NBEZ8NSKV7miQrLRIBb6U/s1600/SSHFC+MD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVDLD8fUMjL8ilBUSb3JOCKIUO-QTy4HVe7OMa0jEsZ8Zy1gFGCW0Kd0P8CHXzwHpL9VWRXljt0vGd6z6UhCLSbtNyc7lpr6USHwFumoNQT6EGzOdzkvl92NBEZ8NSKV7miQrLRIBb6U/s320/SSHFC+MD.jpg" /></a></div>The Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation is in good stead in terms of performance, in terms of how government thinks about the institution and in terms of corporate governance, Mr Tumbul Danso, Managing Director of the institution, reveals. <br />
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<b>Pic: MD Tumbul Danso<br />
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“In terms of performance, you will recall that during the 2010 budget speech the performance of the Corporation has been one of the best among the parastatals. Two years ago, we made a surplus of over D97 million at the end of the year,” the managing director told the media practitioners on Thursday during a day-long sensitization organized by his institution for journalists from both the print and electronic media and held at their head office in Banjul. <br />
He said the ‘wonderful performance’ of the Corporation has been recognized by the government in the sense that about two years ago “we were paid a national bonus payment of three months because we have this bonus agreement that we have entered into with the government”. At the end of every year the Corporation is assessed and bonus is paid base on performance, which is a demonstration of the wonderful performance of the institution. <br />
The 2010 budget statement has indicated that the consolidated gross income of the Corporation increased from D268.7 million in 2007 to D502.05million in 2008 while recurrent expenditure increased from D98.7 million to D255.33 million. Thus, the corporation recorded a consolidated Net Surplus of D97.1 million. Total Net Assets grew from D3.09 billion in 2007 to D3.5 billion in 2008.<br />
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MD Danso explained that a couple of years back the Corporation was also promoted by the government from being category three institution to category one institution.<br />
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He said in terms of corporate governance, they continue to manage the affairs of the Corporation to the best of their abilities. <br />
“All these has gone to demonstrate that the Corporation is in good stead in terms of performance, in terms of how government things about us,” the Managing director noted. “So I will definitely urge the managers of different section of the Corporation to ensure that they keep up the strength to make the Corporation reaches higher heights.” <br />
He said: “We want to make sure that we keep ourselves involved in all the best practices just like it is done in other advance countries. I believe if other countries can do it, we in Africa can also improve on our system. <br />
The Corporation is considered as one of the best in Africa and this had been demonstrated in terms of how many sister institutions has sent staffs on attachment to our institution, to come and study our system so that they can also replicate that in their institution.”<br />
MD Danso told the media practitioners that Corporation has two main components that is the housing component and also social security component. The corporation is mandated by the government through an Act of parliament to provide social security services to the general public through membership it is also mandated to implement housing projects on behalf of the government. “Since 1982 we have been doing exactly that,” he said. <br />
He explained that each of these two components has sub-components. Under the social security component there is the national provident fund, federated pension scheme, and the industrial injuries compensation fund. The housing finance fund under the housing component is to implement housing projects on behalf of the government. <br />
He described the relation between the Corporation and the press as “mutual”. “It’s one of a symbiotic relationship for the mutual benefit of both parties. The corporation needs the press to help in its education campaign because we are involves in a whole lot of educational campaign and we need the press in that regard. The press also needs us to give them information to enable them to disseminate that information to the general public.” <br />
He told the journalists: “We welcome any journalists anytime you want to visit us, our doors are open to you anytime you need our services. We are available at any point you needs us to give information on any aspect of our activities.” <br />
The training was meant to create awareness, enhances compliance, and informs the media practitioners on the regulations that govern various schemes of the Corporation.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-37523523712549876312011-01-28T08:05:00.000-08:002011-01-28T08:18:37.336-08:00GAWFA heralds new beginning for Gambian Women<b>The new finance company launched by the Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA) to provide trade finance for women could be the start of better days to come for the country’s hardworking women. Lamin Jahateh reports.</b> <br />
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Gambia Women’s Finance Company has launched its own finance institution – GAWFA Finance Company – to meet the business and trade finance needs of Gambian women in line with women economic empowerment. <br />
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The launching of GAWFA Finance Company, with celebration of joy, pride and victory, is a clear testimony that GAWFA is on the verge of achieving its vision of building a sustainable financial institution that will meet the aspirations of women in the vanguard of an evolving financial system, and regain market leadership by 2020 with a share of at least 50% of the market represented by local Gambian women.<br />
“This is a timely and a very important move by GAWFA towards the economic and social empowerment of women and the development of the country at large,” said Aja Ida Faye Hydara, Executive Director of Women’s Bureau, while launching the GAWFA Finance Company on behalf of the Vice-President and Minister of Women’s Affairs, H.E. Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy, on Wednesday at the GAWFA headquarters in Kanifing. <br />
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“Launching GAWFA Finance Company today is a welcome move as the company is here to contribute to the empowerment of Gambian women,” she said, adding that though GAWFA has contributed and continues to contribute to the development of a lot of women in the country, “there is still a long way to go”.<br />
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<b>Pic: CEO of GAWFA, Olie Njie Mbye, delivering her statement<br />
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GAWFA’s Chief Executive Officer Oley Njie Mbye, in her remarks, said: “At GAWFA we promote self-sufficiency, empowerment and capacity building which are integral not only for economic empowerment but also to human services and development in general. Having the resources for strategies alone is not enough but effective outcomes and sustainability are also fundamental for the advancement of women.” <br />
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The launching of GAWFA Finance Company is seen by many as a step in the right direction as it will provide banking services to that segment of the society who are hitherto “left out by the commercial banks” thus unable to access loan. Majority of these unbanked population are women many of whom are poor.<br />
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Gambian women are faced with the challenge of what is considered the “poverty trap”. The poor women are striving to escape from poverty but are limited to do so by using the meagre resources they own. The challenges of obtaining loans from financial institutions can be attributed to many factors of the “poverty trap”, but without loans or advances to augment their businesses and realise returns that can transform their economic conditions they would continue to wallow in the vicious cycle of poverty. <br />
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The GAWFA CEO, who has been a bank executive with over 16 years of diverse leadership experience, said: “Women are the most impoverished and underprivileged in the world. But we save bigger long term goals and are more committed to make positive changes in our lives progressively. We have effective leadership skills in managing scarce resources and can start something small and grow it big for better economic conditions. <br />
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She added: “It is therefore a moral obligation as global citizens not to lean back and ask what our governments are doing or can do; we need to get up and stand firm on our feet, roll our sleeves up and do our own part. We have our own part to play and ask ourselves what we can do for our country and the world in general to contribute directly or indirectly in many ways to socio-economic development.” <br />
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Mrs Njie-Mbye highlighted the unprogressive notion that women are generally expected to take secondary, passive role in obtaining credit, but major role in the household. “We are usually considered less suitable than men for higher responsibility on loan acquisition. It is paramount we solidify our own institution through microfinance, and have the ability to influence, or make decisions that affect our lives and be independent.”<br />
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The launching of GAWFA also witnessed the presentation of an award by staff of GAWFA to their CEO Njie Mbye, for being a wonderful and a competent leader who always lead by example. <br />
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According to Hannah Davies, chairperson of GAWFA board, GAWFA is the leading and first microfinance institution established since 1987 in The Gambia with over 48,948 members and over 13,682 active borrowers. “We also have several branch offices spread in the rural areas in The Gambia,” she said.<br />
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Aja Adulette Sey, a senior member of GAWFA, said GAWFA is here to uplift the status of women to eradicate poverty, as women are at the bottom of the poverty pyramid.<br />
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GAWFA delivers a bouquet of corporate services to its clients including capacity building through its partners and interrelated organizations.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-41893597640173972672010-12-30T09:14:00.000-08:002010-12-30T09:14:01.455-08:00Finance Minister counters Sidia Jatta’s comment on agricultureThe Minister of Finance, Hon. Abdou Kolley has countered the claimed by Hon Sidia Jatta, National Assembly Member for Wuli West, who said there is no growth in the agricultural sector in 2010 because the 2011 budget statement has it that national output from crops, livestock, forestry and fishing activities is projected to grow by 4.6% in 2010 compared to a growth of 9.8% in 2009. <br />
“To me there is no growth, there is downward trend because in 2009 agricultural growth was 9.8% and 2010 it was 4.6%, so if I understand this statistic, agriculture is going downwards, it is not going upwards,” Hon. Sidia Jatta said at the National Assembly in Banjul during the adjournment debate on the 2011 budget statement.<br />
The Finance Minister, Hon Abdou Kolley, in response, said when you look at growth from one year to another, to say that because in the previous year you have 9.8% growth and this year you have 4.8%, so there is no growth, “I disagree with that analysis”. <br />
“You can say yes, there is growth but at a lesser pace compared to the previous year why because if you look at agriculture from where we were coming from, we had several years of drought and low agricultural production as a result, then come 2008 and 2009 with good rain and bumper harvest, so we had a big jump in agricultural production and growth, once you have a jump in agricultural productivity and growth, the subsequent years will not be that significant because you are already at a solid base and moving forward, that those not mean there is no growth,” Hon said.<br />
Gov’t calls for private sector participation in agriculture<br />
The Gambia Government has called for greater participation of the private sector in agriculture saying that agriculture should not be seen as a part time business activity but a real time business venture that can generate wealth and income just like any other business. <br />
Hon. Kolley said the private sector should invest in productive sectors of the economy like agriculture, which would eventually bring about a structural transformation of the economy given the contribution the agricultural sector makes in terms of creating employment, raising farmers’ incomes, improving food security, increasing foreign exchange earnings and tax revenue. <br />
Hon. Kolley was responding to concerns raised by the National Assembly Members that despite many resources been devoted to the agricultural sector yet still the expected impact is not been felt. <br />
The Finance Minister said government cannot do it all alone, the private sector should also come forward and invest in agriculture. He said provisioning of farm implements and fertilizer is among the many areas that the private sector can invest into, as the government is moving towards the commercialization of agriculture.<br />
“We all know that the current form of agriculture, which is subsistent and rain feed agriculture will not and is not the solution to our agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture is cognizant of this and this has been adequately highlighted in the GNAIP and the main thrust of that Program is the move towards the commercialization of agriculture and greater involvement of the private sector,” Hon. Kolley said.<br />
He said the Gambia National Agricultural Investment Programme (GNAIP) if successfully implemented will go a long in modernizing the agricultural sector so that it will be able to contribute the desired level as expected by all. “It is also in this drive the government has decided to increase the funding to the sector to help the sector in meeting most of its requirements or objectives.”<br />
The government has doubled the budget allocation to the agricultural sector from 3 percent in 2010 to 6 percent in 2011.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-45439519457016110742010-12-27T08:18:00.000-08:002010-12-27T08:18:19.485-08:00Central Bank to revoke some banking licensesSix out of the fourteen banks in country are at risk of having their banking license been revoked by the Central Bank of The Gambia due to their inability to raise their minimum capital requirement to D150 million by December this year, as directed by the Central Bank of The Gambia <br />
Two years ago, the Central Bank of The Gambia raised the minimum capital requirements of commercial banks to D150 million and D200 million to be observed by end December 2010 and 2012 respectively “in order to strengthen the country’s banking system”.<br />
Hitherto, the minimum capital requirement was pegged at D60 million. <br />
The Minister of Finance, Hon Abdou Kolley, while tabling the budget statement and economic policy financial year 2011 before the National Assembly in Banjul on Friday, said the latest assessment indicates that eight of the fourteen banks had already met the capital requirement of D150 million. <br />
“The six banks that are yet to meet the requirements are being rigorously monitored by the Central Bank of The Gambia,” he said.<br />
Although the Central Bank of The Gambia is optimistic that all banks would observe the capital requirement, the Finance Minister said: “The CBG is resolved not to grant request for forbearance if a bank fails to meet the requirement and to mitigate systemic risk that may arise from the revocation of a banking license, the CBG shall take the following actions: invoke section 45 of the Banking Act 2009 and take over the bank, thereafter the CBG may invoke Sections 48 and 51 of the Banking Act 2009 and place the institution in conservatorship to be sold, merged or restructured, and apply to the High Court for compulsory liquidation under Section 52 of the Banking Act as a last resort.”<br />
While announcing the increment of the minimum capital two years ago, the Central Bank says the action has been taken in view of its desire to deepen the financial sector and "in pursuance of the Gambia’s Vision 2020 aim of transforming the country into a financial centre"<br />
Thisday, a Nigerian newspaper has reported that the Managing Director of GTBank said the new capital base had increased the challenges of banks operating in that country.<br />
Mr Lekan Sanusi said only the creative financial institutions were likely to survive the industry competition and deliver returns commensurate to the expanded capital base.<br />
The Gambia, which used to be serviced by less than four commercial banks until a few years ago, has in recent times been affected by the phenomenon of an upsurge in the number of banks registered here, mainly from Nigeria.<br />
GTBank MD said the Gambia could only take a certain number of banks. <br />
He was quoted as saying: "But do we really need as much as 14 banks in a relatively small country like The Gambia? If you divide the number of banks in this country by the population of about 1.7 million, you have an average of 100,000 people per bank. Revenue is going down. What I know is that in the long run, people will count their numbers.<br />
At the end of the 2009 financial year, the Gambia’s banking industry recorded total loss of about 45 million Dalasis. Ten of the banks declared losses.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-79667060272758830852009-11-21T07:04:00.000-08:002009-11-21T07:07:08.437-08:00GAMBIA: FDI Takes A Nosedive As Recession Hits HardAlthough the Gambian banking sector has so far escaped unhurt and has registered growth in investment and performance, investments in other sectors have been hard hit by the world economic downturn, as foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped significantly. Business Digest's Mariam Saine reports the findings on the Gambian investment climate.<br />Foreign direct investment into The Gambia has reduced by 60 per cent lower than forecast in 2008, even though it remains the most important form of investment in the country. <br />According to a recent report of a survey by the joint effort of the Gambia government, the Development Finance International (DFI) and the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, investment in real estate and tourism and exports of goods and services also took a nosedive, save for the banking sector which remains unhurt and has recorded "significant investment and growth" because banks in the country have not relied on borrowing from their European and United States counterparts to fund growth, but have raised capital domestically. <br />This drop in foreign direct investment is widely linked to the global economic crisis, which caused the country's growth to decelerate to 6 per cent in 2008. <br />For instance, international tourism declined by eight per cent in the first quarter of this year, prompting the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to revise its forecast for the full year 2009, which now stands between -6 per cent and -4 per cent in 2009, as the pace of decline is expected to ease during the remainder of 2009. Real estate is also said to have suffered badly at the hands of the credit crunch and economic recession.<br />Trade sector, in particular, contracted by 12.9 per cent reflecting primarily the decline in re-exports and retail trade," said Gambia Central Bank Deputy Governor Basirou Njie, who delivered a speech by Governor Momodou Bamba Saho at the seminar, held recently at the Paradise Suites Hotel, at which the report on the findings on investment climate in The Gambia was disseminated and discussed. <br />Despite the rebound in agricultural output, growth in real GDP is projected at 3.6 per cent in 2009 reflecting reduced foreign direct investment, tourism and remittance flows.<br />In 2001, the Government of The Gambia with the support of the Development Finance International (FDI) and the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management decided to conduct a census on foreign private capital and investor perception with the objectives of obtaining accurate data for the formulation of appropriate macroeconomic policies; improving the balance of payments (BOP) statistics as well as providing International Investment Position data ( that is, the stock of external assets and liabilities); using the information generated to promote and facilitate investment as well as assets investor confidence; and strengthening public/private sector dialogue on the investment climate in The Gambia. <br />Since then, two surveys have been conducted and seminars organised to share the findings with the government, the private sector and other key stakeholders. The current report draws its facts from the third and final phase of the project, whose findings state that "foreign direct investment into The Gambia was 60.0 per cent lower than forecast in 2008", and that "investment in real estate and tourism and exports of goods and services also fell". <br />"A fundamental business truth is that capital is a coward and shuns high-risk countries," Mr Njie said, adding that where the business environment is favourable, entrepreneurship flourishes, and overseas companies thrive, strengthening the local economic fabric, and spurring growth and economic development. <br />He said: "Although sound, coherent and consistent policies are needed to create the favourable conditions for investment, there is a recognition that policymaking is more effective if done in consultation with business. I, therefore, wish to use this opportunity to encourage a more robust public/private dialogue bearing in mind that what is good for business is good for the country." <br />The deputy bank governor commended the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom for adequately funding the project and DFI and WAIFEM for their technical support. "We are also grateful to all those who participated in the survey," he noted.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-3326477423158980282009-11-21T07:02:00.000-08:002009-11-21T07:04:10.290-08:00Report reveals mixed results for MDGs, PRSPThe Gambia's efforts towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper objectives have so far produced mixed results.<br /> The country made a modest achievement of only 3% from 2003 to 2008 in reducing overall poverty. Unemployment, particularly among the youths, and the quality of social services remain a great challenge to development and poverty reduction efforts. <br /> The biggest challenge lies with income poverty and food security, for which agriculture is the only solution for a greater proportion of the population, said Alieu Ngum, chairman of the National Planning Commission (NPC) at a just concluded two-day donor roundtable conference on the Gambia National Agricultural Investment Programme (GNAIP) held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Senegambia. <br /> The conference brought together development partners, potential institutions and stakeholders who are actively involved in agriculture to discuss the GNAIP to secure the required financial support for the implementation of the investment programme, estimated at $266 million for a period of five years, to revitalise the agricultural sector. <br /> “Despite the challenges, the country achieved an annual average growth rate of 6% from 2003 to 2008 above the 5.5% target in the PRSP," Mr Ngum also said. "Considerable progress has been made in the social sectors such as high level of enrolment at primary education - more girls than boys at the primary levels, 85% of population has access to water supply and some positive achievements in infant mortality. <br />"Cognizant of the important role agriculture has in enhancing economic growth and poverty, the Government of The Gambia did not hesitate to respond to the AU/NEPAD formulated CAADP by developing a well elaborated national programme for agricultural growth and investment to reduce poverty in the country.” <br />Despite the rebound in agricultural output, growth in real GDP is projected at 3.6 per cent in 2009 reflecting reduced foreign direct investment, tourism and remittance flows.<br />In Africa increased agricultural growth will play a key role in addressing the current food crisis, in contributing to overall economic growth and in helping to achieve the MDG1of halving the proportion of the poor and hungry people by 2015, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Employment said while delivering his speech on the occasion. <br />Hon. Yusupha Kah, the newly appointed Trade Minister, said the challenge of meeting the MDG1 under the current circumstances is “considerable”, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. <br />He expatiated: “Investing in agriculture is the key to reducing poverty and hunger in developing countries like The Gambia and it’s an essential element in addressing the current food crisis. Importantly, investing in agriculture also means investing in the rural population to enhance the human capital foundations of development.” <br />Modernizing agriculture is crucial to development, industrialization and food security in Africa and it also supports sustained poverty reduction and integration of Africa into the global economy. <br />Hon. Kah described agriculture as the “beacon of hope in Africa”, saying the sector provides 25 to 30% of Africa’s gross domestic income in rural areas. <br />"In The Gambia, the agricultural sector employs over 70% of the population and contributes about 26% of the GDP," the Trade Minister said. "This indicates that agriculture remains the backbone of our economy, and should in no way be left behind in the national agenda." <br />The importance of the agricultural sector in reducing poverty and serving as an engine of growth was demonstrated throughout the green revolution in Asia, particularly in India and China. Africa therefore cannot bypass this development pathway, as the majority of the African population lives in the rural areas. Despite this reality, the agricultural sector in Africa continues to be neglected. The ECOWAP/CAADP programme, however, has been designed to address agriculture as a priority for development.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-32513373492360453632009-11-21T06:59:00.000-08:002009-11-21T07:01:20.091-08:00'NIGERIAN BANKS IN THE GAMBIA ARE SAFE'The Governor of the Central Bank of the Federal Republic Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, has given a clean bill of health to Nigerian banks in The Gambia, saying they are all safe, sound and strong, as the institutions are working within the ambits of the law and are not operating contrary to rules and regulations.<br /> The problems with some of the Nigerian banks in Nigeria did not affect their subsidiaries, Mr Sanusi said while speaking to a large crowd of high-profile bankers and other business moguls in The Gambia at the Sheraton Hotel and Spa in Brufut during a one-day visit to the country. "We have not allowed any bank in Nigeria to repatriate money from their subsidiary banks,” the CBN Governor said. <br /> “Our message to the Nigerian banks operating in The Gambia is that they should consider themselves Gambian banks, they should operate under the regulations of the Central Bank of The Gambia, they should train and employ Gambians, they should try and share the partnership with Gambians and they should show a clear commitment to the growth and development of the Gambian economy.” <br /> Governor Sanusi said this is the role Nigeria wants to play in integrating and serving as an agent of change of the development in Africa to ensure the capital that is available in Nigeria is used for the betterment of the African people. <br /> Sharing with stakeholders in the country’s banking sector the details of what is happening in Nigeria to reassure Gambians that banks in Nigeria are safe and strong, Governor Sanusi said: “The actions we took were geared towards averting a major crisis." <br /> He continued: “We are here to discuss among other things ways and means of building some form of cross boarder supervision and comparison of notes to increase the level of communication and information so that together we can ensure that the financial system in our various countries are protected.” <br />Despite the rebound in agricultural output, growth in real GDP is projected at 3.6 per cent in 2009 reflecting reduced foreign direct investment, tourism and remittance flows.<br />He reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigerian parent banks to operating professionally in The Gambia and to working with the Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia for cross-border solutions in support of growth and development in the country. <br />Hon. Yusupha Kah, the newly appointed Trade Minister, said the challenge of meeting the MDG1 under the current circumstances is “considerable”, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. <br />The sister country bank governor also assured the Government and people of The Gambia that there is no illegal activity being undertaken by banks operating in The Gambia, with Nigerian ties. <br />“We have brought down the management of eight banks in Nigeria," he remarked. "We have disclosed that they did not have enough capital but not a single depositor has lost a single penny, not a single bank defaulted to a creditor and not a single correspondent bank has shut its licence in Nigeria,” Governor Sanusi clarified. <br />He explained further: “It is the determination of the Government of Nigeria that any one found guilty of any act of corruption or fraud, must face the full consequences of the law. <br />We have reached a stage as a country where it is no longer about banking; it is about sending clear signal that we are ready to hold people accountable for not doing things the right way and we expect our bankers to regulate themselves and to understand that if they break the rules, the day they are found out they will face the consequences of the law.” <br />The governor also mentioned the illegal banking transactions that were taking place in different banking institutions which, as reported, was costing the Federal Republic of Nigeria huge sums of money consisting billions of US Dollars, as well as that nation’s credibility and integrity. <br />Lamido Sanusi took the decision to prevent banks from collapsing and thereby rescued tens of thousands of Nigerians and other employees from suffering job losses.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-79419786831773854412009-11-21T06:57:00.000-08:002009-11-21T06:58:44.733-08:00Vice President Urges GCCI To Increase International Exhibitors: As 2009 Trade Fair Kicks OffGambian Vice President Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy has urged the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to work hard to increase international participation in the next editions of trade fair. <br />This is because interaction between local and international companies is one of the best ways to promote The Gambia as an investment destination and to forge linkages between local and foreign companies, Dr Njie-Saidy said while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 12-day trade fair that is underway at the Independence Stadium in Bakau where there are over 200 exhibitors, both local and international, exhibiting goods and services, as well as techniques of production, processing and preservation, and packaging.<br /> Organised by the GCCI, and sponsored by Africell, with Global Properties as the official partner, the trade fair is held to bring wide range of economic operators into close contacts to build effective partnerships that will positively impact development of the private sector towards sustainable growth and development.<br /> Over eighty-seven companies, nine banks, nine parastatals, four NGOs and four private radio stations and GRTS Television and Radio stations are part of the exhibitors at the trade fair. There are also ten companies, two national business enterprises and two small and micro enterprises from Taiwan. [read article overleaf]. Other international exhibitors include Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, and Benin. <br /> The vice president said further: “The interest manifested by exhibiting companies in The Gambia's trade fair, despite the economic downturn the world is going through, is a testimony to the confidence that these companies have in our economy for the opportunity it provides for the private sector to realize its potentials. Above all, it as a testimony to the sound and prudent macroeconomic policies anchored on the promotion of the private sector as the engine of growth.” <br /> It is sad to note that Africa, despite its immense natural resources weigh a little in international trade. The Gambian vice president said the reason for this situation after so many years of independence, is that Africa has not been able to set on an industrialization path but keep on exporting natural resources in their raw form and buy them back after they have been transformed into consumable products. <br />“We should keep in mind that we pay for every quantum of value added into those products whilst undergoing transformation, when we import them after they have been transformed. So do we enrich those nations and reverse that trend if we want to play a significant role in international trade relations and get our people out of the poverty trap. This requires a fairer multilateral trading system, where no country or group of countries are bent on exploiting others countries,” she reiterated. <br />According to Ambassador Wells, The Ambassador’s Special Self Help Project Fund (SSH) is only one of the first links between individual communities and the U.S. Embassy. <br />For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of GCCI, Mam Cherno Jallow, expressed delight that the trade fair has earned an international recognition, which he said is manifested by the participation of the international companies.<br />“We have many international companies who wanted to participate but due to space constraints we have no other option than to limit the number in order to give room for more local participation as the main purpose of the fair is to give the local companies the opportunities to showcase their products and services,” he said, adding that this year the number of stands has increased by 15%. <br />The projects went through a very selective and competitive process, the Ambassador said, adding: “We went through nearly 100 applications that were submitted from around the country, and selected yours. I have no doubt that the projects selected will advance our mutual development goals.” <br />Hon. Ousman Sonko, Minister of Interior, who represented the Minister of Trade, Industry and Employment, Yusupha Kah, said the Gambia government continues to engage in a business reform with a view to enhancing trade and private sector growth. <br />He cited frequent border closures as one of the main challenges of trade in the sub-region, saying it is our collective responsibility to make sure that we have a free flow of trade in the region.<br />For the president of GCCI, Bai Matarr Drammeh, trade fair is one of the greatest tools to achieve the ECOWAS trade integration.<br /><br />BY: LAMIN JAHATEHGambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-26190835627812608552009-11-21T06:52:00.000-08:002009-11-21T06:56:19.029-08:00Trade and investment sealed between Taipei and BanjulA new trade and investment relation between Taiwan and The Gambia has been signed under the aegis of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).<br /> <br />The deal, which will create immeasurable business opportunities for both countries’ private sectors, took place at the First Taiwan-Gambia Joint Business Councils Meeting and the Signing of Cooperation Agreement between Taiwan’s Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) and the GCCI, on Monday at the Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi. <br /> <br />“The meeting is the first of its kind between The Gambia and Taiwan in The Gambia,” GCCI’s president Bai Matarr Drammeh said. “The purpose of the meeting is for members of the private sectors of both countries to come together and do business.” <br /> <br />The 15-member delegation from Taiwan, who have various types of businesses, had come with “a very effective team” to The Gambia through the GCCI 2009 Trade Fair to form trade relations, partnerships and linkages such as corporations, ventures, trade and investments. <br /> <br />The GCCI president urged members of The Gambia private sector to learn from Taiwan and take advantage of the business opportunities inherent in the cooperation agreement. <br /> <br />“We are blessed to have Ambassadors from Taiwan who are committed, dedicated to the development of The Gambia,” Mr Drammeh said. “We are lucky to have such ambassadors and cooperation from Taiwan; let’s take advantage of that.” <br /><br />He also commended The Gambia Ambassador to Taiwan, who, he said, is committed and always ready to take care of Gambians in Taiwan. He said: “I want to encourage all of us to do something with this opportunity. <br /><br />Taiwanese visitors are here to do business and not as tourists. The delegation is here through the trade fair to do business and to assist The Gambia in trade expansion since The Gambia is a gateway to trade in the sub-region.” <br /><br />The Gambia's macroeconomic position was amply explained to the Taiwanese potential investors who, from the look of excitement in their faces, are all but interested in the enterprising spirit of the Smiling Coast of Africa. <br /><br />According to GCCI Chief Executive Officer Mam Cherno Jallow, over the past years The Gambia's economy had been growing by 6.5 % and in 2009 it is expected to grow by about 5% due to the world economic and financial snag, while inflation is said be in the region of 4.5%. <br /><br />The country's 2008 macroeconomic figures for some of the main sectors of the economy were also featured by the GCCI CEO. According to the paper presented by Mr Jallow, agriculture employs 70% of the Gambia's population and constitutes 33.3 of GDP; services, which include the banks, IT providers, tourism and transportation, contributes 59% to the country's GDP, while industry contributes 7.6 % to the GDP. <br /><br />As regards employment and the labour force, Mr Jallow said agriculture takes the lion's share of 70% of the country's labour force while industry and services carry 19% and 6 % respectively. Although the services sector contributes 59% to the country's GDP -- more than every other sector, it however employs less labour compared to other sectors such as agriculture and industry. <br /><br />"Exerting the growth of agriculture is very important," the GCCI CEO said, adding: "It is labour intensive and takes more labour force."<br /><br />Gross Fixed Investment, Mr Jallow noted, contributes 28% to the country's GDP, although "availability of investment funds is a limiting factor as many investors who want to invest cannot access funds".<br /><br />"The country has high interest rates," the private sector chief said, adding that as government borrows from the banks, for outlay, the situation leads to tight funds or no funds for local investors and eventually leads to high interest rates. <br /><br />CORDIAL RELATIONS BUT…<br /><br />The Gambia and Taiwan have had cordial and fruitful relations and friendship over the years, but there is more room for cooperation between both countries' private sectors as members of the Gambia private sector are also keen to make sure trade and investment flourish in the sub-region, particularly in The Gambia.<br /><br />"Opportunities will always remain the bridge that will close the gap between The Gambia and Taiwan," said Kebba Njie, Chief Executive Officer of The Gambia's gateway to investment and trade, GIPFZA. <br /><br />"Our two governments are also making efforts to bring together the two private sectors," the GIFZA boss noted, adding that "there is still room for improvement".<br /><br />He expatiated: "GIPFZA [the Gambia Investment Promotion and Free Zones Agency] is very much keen in terms of making sure that Taiwan and The Gambia become a strong bond of trade and investments, as we have very shrewd, dynamic business groups in The Gambia."<br /><br />He added: "There is also partnership between the two private sectors at a low key, so we -- GIPFZA -- have to fuel it or make it a reality."<br /><br />Mr Njie also told the Taiwanese private sector members that The Gambia, through GIPFZA, has very attractive incentives such as tax holiday of up to five years for investors.<br /><br />In his remarks on the occasion, the Chairman of the Taiwan Africa Industry Development Association, who is also the leader of the Taiwanese delegation to the GCCI 2009 Trade Fair, Mike Hung, said: "GCCI encouraged us to come to The Gambia and we are going to come here again and again. We have many investments - we can do food, packing machines, IT and other important businesses in the cooperation."<br /><br />Mr Hung, who is also the president of Mike Hung Products Co. Ltd in Taiwan, said further: "We want to maintain a bilateral trade agreement between The Gambia and Taiwan. This meeting should pave the way for more relations and opportunities for trade and development. We want to encourage more Gambians to visit Taiwan. The future investment of The Gambia is good."<br /><br />Relations between Taiwan and The Gambia is very close but the business of trade and investments will bring it closer, noted the Taiwanese Ambassador to The Gambia, H.E. Richard Shih, who, together with the Gambian Ambassador to Taiwan, H.E. Maudo Juwara, graced the occasion.<br /><br />"This country - The Gambia - there is political stability, economic prosperity, great potential; so take advantage of your business positions; try to integrate and mingle with one another to find business opportunities," Ambassador Shih told his compatriots from the private sector in Taiwan.<br /><br />"There are very successful men and women in The Gambia to interact, integrate and mingle with," he told the 15-member delegation that travelled all the way from Taiwan to The Gambia to witness the GCCI 2009 Trade Fair.<br /><br />"This is the first Taiwan-Gambia business conference, and it is not the last," the Ambassador noted, saying: "I want to see a very dynamic movement in practice; I want to see the successful cooperation between members of the two private sectors."<br /><br />The Gambian Ambassador, H.E. Juwara, for his part, said: "Cooperation between the two private sectors should commensurate with the cooperation between the two governments."<br /><br />Both ambassadors have agreed to support trade promotion between the two countries and private sectors, Ambassador Juwara noted.<br /><br />"Promoting trade cooperation between the two countries will pave the way for a successful mutual beneficial cooperation of the two private sectors," he said.<br /><br />"There is prospect and enormous business opportunities between the two private sectors. What we want from Taiwanese business people is their experience and expertise. Taiwan is the 16th largest trading country in the world. <br /><br />"I would like to invite the talented and able Gambian businessmen and women to take advantage of the business opportunities between the two private sectors and countries.<br /><br />"I would like Taiwanese business people who are not here to be informed and encouraged to show interest in The Gambia and come and invest."<br />BY: OSMAN KARGBOGambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-40493496434716864382009-11-21T06:41:00.000-08:002009-11-21T06:51:05.995-08:00TRADE AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY MADE BARE FOR GAMBIA PRIVATE SECTORThe US Embassy in The Gambia on Tuesday held a business forum at the Coconut Residence Hotel in Kerr Serign to discuss ways to promote trade between The Gambia and the US, increase financing opportunities, entrepreneurial empowerment, and provide a platform for dialogue and networking. <br /> <br />Speaking on the occasion, the Minister for Trade, Industry and Employment, Yusupha Kah, said the meeting was not the first time the US Embassy had taken such a laudable initiative. <br /> <br />“The Government of The Gambia, through my ministry, is immensely grateful to the Government and people of the United States of America," Hon Kah said. "The US Embassy and His Excellency the Ambassador have consistently tried to complement the efforts of the Gambia government in enhancing the capacity of the private sector particularly the SMEs and sharing valuable information with them in a bid to raise awareness on the market access opportunities in the US.”<br /> <br />The trade and investment forum, the trade minister said, would bridge an important information gap and instill more confidence in both countries' private sector operators to venture into the US market. <br /> <br />"I am aware that our private sector operators who are regularly exporting to the US are here with us today at this forum to share their experience. This will go a long way in demonstrating that accessing the US market is not an ever elusive dream but can be a reality,” he noted.<br /><br />Mr Kah said further: “My understanding is that this forum is not just another information session, but it is also meant to be an opportunity for interaction and networking. The US market is huge, with an endless list of goods and services that could be exported. However, it is disheartening to note that US trade with sub-Saharan Africa is still very minimal and overly dominated by petroleum products. <br /><br />"In The Gambia, our national statistics confirm this trend. Our total trade with the US is around a paltry 2%. The Gambia’s total trade with the US amounted to D785.4 million in 2008 accounting for 10.5% of The Gambia’s total trade. Our mid-year trade statistics review in 2009 shows total trade with the US at D96.4 million representing 2.0% of The Gambia’s total trade from January to June 2009. The main exports to the US are crude groundnut oil, fish and fishery products and worn clothing.”<br /><br />Hon. Kah said that to encourage more substantive trade between the US and sub-Saharan Africa, the US Government in 2000 promulgated the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). "This Act, which was originally to expire in 2008, and later extended to 2015, makes it possible for eligible sub-Saharan African countries to export over 6000 products duty free into the US market,” he said.<br /><br />The Gambia became an AGOA-eligible country in 2003 and qualified for the textile visa in 2008. The Ministry of Trade and other partners including the US Embassy have been working tirelessly to help potential Gambian entrepreneurs and producers to export to the US under the AGOA initiative.<br /><br />"However," said Mr Kah, “experience has shown that the Gambian private sector, unlike their counterparts in other countries, has not made good use of this golden opportunity that is provided by the AGOA. It is our expectation that this trend will change after this forum. We encourage private operators in The Gambia to work in partnerships/groups to enhance their capacity for their exports.”<br /><br />For his part, US Ambassador Barry Wells said the purpose of the forum was to promote trade between the US and The Gambia, and continue the dialogue on how important investment is to the economic development of The Gambia. <br /><br />“Many of you already own businesses, but are not currently trading with the US," Ambassador Wells noted. "We have invited you here today to inform you that breaking into the US market is not as difficult as it may seem. The US Embassy along with FCS, WATH, and EEB at the Department of State are here today to demystify the importing process and offer resources and material to help simplify this process." <br /><br />He continued: "The US is more than 6,000 miles away, and beginning a trade relationship with the US takes work; however, there are a multitude of resources available to you that can guide you away from thinking that the US market is unreachable. That is a myth we are determined to dispel today.”<br /><br />Ambassador Wells added: “The forum is not just about increasing trade to benefit US interests. That is why we have both the FCS here (which promotes imports from the US) here and the WATH (which promotes exports to the US). This forum is for the greater benefit of The Gambia, the growth of the economic market, and overall improvement of social development. There is no question that it is investment that makes an economy thrives. It is an opportunity for you to learn how to enter the US market and ultimately impact the economic growth of your country.”<br /><br />Ambassador Wells also added that AGOA is an opportunity to strengthen commercial ties between the two countries. Currently, The Gambia’s imports and exports to the US are small and even non-existent in areas that may offer potential. <br /><br />“During this forum you will hear about opportunities under the African Growth and Opportunity Act AGOA, which has been one of the cornerstones of the US strategy to jump start Africa’s economic development and encourage pro-growth policies," he told the august gathering. <br /><br />'Through AGOA some 40 African nations have benefited from preferential access to American markets. Under AGOA there are over 6,400 products available for tax free trading." <br /><br />The Gambia became an eligible AGOA country in 2003; however few people know about its benefits or have taken advantage of them. The US Ambassador said the purpose of the forum, therefore, was to make AGOA more transparent to the public and provide resources that may foster further trade under the trade opportunity.<br />BY: HADDIJA JAWARAGambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-24875251095546394942009-11-21T06:39:00.000-08:002009-11-21T06:40:34.274-08:00Standard Chartered Bank Opens New State-of-art Dealing RoomStandard Chartered Bank Gambia has opened its brand new, state-of-the-art Dealing Room in a short but impressive ceremony today. <br /> <br />The new Dealing room which was formally opened by the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Bamba Saho and Standard Chartered Gambia, CEO, Mr. Humphrey Mukwereza in attendance, is a result of a USD100, 000 investment which is another sign of the Bank’s continued investment in The Gambia. <br /> <br />The infrastructure in the Dealing Room will allow the Bank to provide its customers with real time global macroeconomic and local indicators which will include interest rates, exchange rates and commodity prices. <br /> <br />It will also ensure that Standard Chartered Gambia provides value adding products such as commodity and derivatives hedging which will ensure that the Bank’s customers mitigate their risk and increase their rewards. The Dealing Room is also equipped with the online dealing platform (OLT3) where the customers will be able to conclude foreign exchange transactions from the comfort of their offices. <br /> <br />Commenting, Mr. Bamba Saho, Governor of Central Bank stated “a modern Dealing Room is a key component of the infrastructure necessary for successful international treasury operations. Robust trading systems give investors confidence - a top priority in the current environment”. <br /> <br /><br />The new Dealing Room will support the Bank’s global Financial Markets business, enhance our Financial Markets’ proposition across Africa, increase operational efficiency, and enable the Bank in The Gambia to operate with international treasury-dealing standards. <br /><br />Standard Chartered Gambia CEO Humphrey Mukwereza, said that “the new facilities have put the Bank’s system at par with global treasury operations standards - an opportunity that our business will readily seize. Standard Chartered’s continued investment in our systems, infrastructure and people in The Gambia is a real sign of our confidence in the long-term resilience of the Gambian economy and of the confidence we have in our business and franchise in West Africa”. <br /><br />Commenting, Standard Chartered Gambia Head of Wholesale Banking, Bai Mass Saine, stated that “as the leading international bank in The Gambia, Standard Chartered Bank will continue to lead the way in the financial services sector by providing innovative products and solutions, combined with outstanding customer service”. <br /><br />Standard Chartered Bank Gambia limited remains committed to bringing meaningful investment and delivering superior financial services while continuing to be the Right Partner in The Gambia.Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6968290782014166706.post-51019831872468168642009-11-18T10:03:00.000-08:002009-11-18T10:27:41.091-08:00Introduction To The Gambia Business UpdatesAn independent blog out to fill the vacuum of business tabloid in The Gambia, gives the most up-to-date information on Gambia economy, business trends, industry and technology, market, commodities, agriculture, commerce, and health.<br /><br />The Gambia Business Updates will provide an interactive forum for all the stakeholders in the economy to dilate on key economic issues. It will highlight notable success stories in corporate enterprises in the country as well as make a strong case for rural economic initiatives and small-scale enterprises by bringing them into the spotlight and improve their chances of getting access to micro-credit facilities. The seemingly insignificant entrepreneur of today might become the greater corporate juggernaut of tomorrow. <br /><br />The Gambia Business Updates will also advocate for sub-regional economic integration, by suggesting the best ways to make it happen quickly. Increased economic interdependence among African countries by way of more trade will go a long way in extricating the continent from the morass of underdevelopment.<br /><br /><strong>We exist for public interest!!!</strong>Gambia News Onlinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14027179728071487149noreply@blogger.com0