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JFP receives Indian model car

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 05:10:41 GMT

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Thursday, August 28, 2008

The Jammeh Foundation for Peace (JFP), yesterday, took delivery of a three-seater car, the first kind to be introduced in The Gambia.

Manufactured and assembled in India, the vehicle, called Batchcar in The Gambia and Bajaj in India, came as a donation from Batch's Investment, a business entity owned by Mr Batch Faye, who is based in India and recently arrived in the country with two of his Sri Lankan business partners.

The vice-president and secretary of state for Women's Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, who is the chairperson of the foundation, received the car on behalf of the JFP.

Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Vice-President Njie-Saidy thanked Mr Batch Fye and his team for their foresight in introducing the model to The Gambia, describing it as an appropriate technology, as it is efficient and economical.

The vice-president cited the enormous marketing potential for the vehicle, as it could be within the purchasing power of a good number of Gambians.

Elaborating on the prospect of employment opportunities the introduction of the vehicle might bring to the country, Vice-President Njie-Saidy suggested that The Gambia could be used as a spring board to the rest of the region. She hailed Mr Batch Faye for his continued support to the JFP and encouraged him and his team to consider setting up a back-up service for spare parts and maintenance facilities in the country.

For his part, Mr Faye, the head of the donor delegation, said they were aware of the good work of the president and the foundation and therefore thought it prudent to give it to the JFP first in introducing it into the country. He pointed to fuel efficiency, sustainability, and environmental friendliness as the key issues that were considered in donating the vehicle.

Apart from being used as an ambulance, he said, the vehicles could also be useful for commercial reasons, and even private purposes. According to him, the relevant authorities were already working with some banks for possible financing, in a bid to make the vehicle easily accessible to the people, saying that while the funding authorities would payi 60 per cent, the individual beneficiary would be expected to pay 40 per cent. With himself and Bai Mattar Drammeh as the major shareholders of the Gambia National Insurance Company, Mr Faye further envisaged that they would ensure that the vehicles were insured.

Ansumana Jammeh, the executive director of JFP, described the coming of the vehicle as timely, considering the difficulty surrounding fuel accessibility the world over. He said that the donation demonstrates the donors' recognition of the good work of not only the president, but also the foundation. He described Mr Batch Faye as a permanent donor to the Foundation.

Mr Ardy Sarge, the board chairperson of the foundation, uttered similar sentiments, saying that the vehicles will go a long way in solving the chronic fuel problem, and that they will also cut down on the problems they face in the day-to-day running of the affairs of the foundation.

Both Mr Bai Mattar Drammeh and Omar Gibba, members of the foundation, delved on the work of the foundation. While Mr Gibba sought to highlight the foundation's intervention in various aspects of nation building, with capacity building at the fore, Mr Drammeh disclosed that they have already working to set up a loan mechanism to help people to be able to buy the vehicles at affordable prices.

With a fuel consumption efficiency of 70 miles per gallon, the Batchcar, according to the donors, has a life span of 10 years, and it is currently priced at D95,000. Although it is currently manufactured and assembled in India, the businessmen intend to start its assemblage in The Gambia pretty soon.

In the meantime, they intend to train a Gambian driver for the pioneer vehicle and hoped that with an increasing order of importation, there was a greater chance that the cost of the vehicle might go down.

Author: by Kemo Cham

Warning for ‘dubious’ palm oil vendors

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:46:40 GMT

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Aja Ara Jatta, the president of the Serrekunda Market Committee, has vowed to clear the Serrekunda Market of vendors who trade in palm oil that are mixed with coloured powder and other unhealthy substances.

Mrs Jatta made this statement during an interview with the Daily Observer at the Serrekunda Market. She warned that anybody found selling such “bad palm oil” in the market would be dealt with accordingly, noting that they are embarking on a campaign to weed out unhealthy practices in the market.

“This is dangerous to the health of the public. There are serious health implications because the kind of substances used to mix the palm oil are not consumable,” she told the Daily Observer while urging the vendors to desist from unhealthy businesses.

On other commodities, the market committee president informed the Daily Observer that it has been brought to their attention that some foreign businessmen and Gambians are bent on hiking the retail price of a bag of bitter tomatoes from D1,500 to D2,400. According to her, the same attitude has been detected in the pricing of a bag of onions and sweet potatoes, which are usually supplied by trucks. She urged the people to desist from artificial inflation of the prices of commodities and urged those involved to put an end to it.

Mrs Jatta called on the relevant departments and security services to look into these concerns, as such practices pose a threat to the average Gambian household.

She then used the opportunity to thank President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh and his government for creating a conducive environment as well as the KMC for their support.
Nyima Ceesay, the vice-president of the committee and Fatou Sonko, the inspector general of the committee, expressed similar sentiments.

Meanwhile, Buba Sarr, the chairman of the Community Assistance Group, told the Daily Observer that his group works side-by-side with the market committee to discourage such malpractices. He further urged the authorities to look into the currency issue during Wednesday Lumos (market days) in Burreng, Jarra East, as some businessmen reject the Dalasi notes as the legal tender for the CFA.

“This should not be accepted because Burreng is in The Gambia and something has to be done about it,” he urged.

Author: by Sheriff Barry

National interest first

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 04:20:16 GMT

Friday, August 08, 2008

Gambians are aghast at the revelation by the Department of State for Trade condemning the appalling practice of insatiable businessmen who sell basic food items with stringent conditions attached.

The practice is not only unlawful, as has been reiterated by the said department, but clearly defeats moral principles. It portrays our society as a corrupt one, defying the atmosphere of decency influenced by our religious backgrounds, and our respectable traditional social values. It is also a demonstration of how crude some members of society are.

But if anything, the revelation also serves as a wake-up call for the security apparatus to take the business community to task. What we are talking about in fact transcends the business community. Business malpractices are many, and they take various forms.

While, as we said, the security will be obliged to take a stance, the business fraternity itself, under the auspices of their association (if indeed there is any such thing in existence), have a great role to play to prevent occurrences of these nature. The business community is part and parcel of the general consumer community; therefore any hitch would impact greatly on the entire society.

There is reason to believe that some people do this and turn the blame on the government, when in fact the government has absolutely nothing to do with such practices. That makes it all the more abysmal, because it is injurious to the national interest.

We do not need to empathize with government, all we have to do is put the general interest first, and that will surely safeguard national interest. That is what will make us all responsible citizens. In fact all that government does is to safeguard the interest of its people.

Therefore, any effort aimed at helping the people is complementary of the government’s efforts. And in the same vein, any effort directed towards disturbing the peace of the people is antagonistic and, if exposed, drastic action, in accordance with the law of course, should be taken.

Author: DO

Concern over price of bread

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:12:32 GMT

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The Community Assistant Group (CAG), an organisation concerned with prices of basic commodities in the country, has raised concern over the weight of bread following the increase in price of a locally prepared bread called tapa lapa.

In an interview with the Daily Observer, Buba Sarr, chairman of CAG, questioned the rationale behind the increase in the price of the bread when the price of a bag of flour remains unchanged. According to Mr Sarr, their findings revealed that within the Kombo North and Kombo Central, the same bread that weighs 6 grams and costs D4.00, costs D6.00 in the Greater Banjul Area.

‘This is unfair,” the CAG chairman protested, and added, “it is also interesting to note that businessmen buy flour in Banjul, pay for their tranportation and still go on to sell tapa lapa at a cheaper rate than in the Greater Banjul Area. What is happening?”
Mr Sarr told this reporter that in their efforts to help control the situation, they have summoned all stakeholders, ranging from bakery owners, bakers and their suppliers for a meeting, on the 3rd of August, 2008.

This meeting, he said, is meant to discuss the issue of a standard bread, among others. He however expressed dismay at the activities of some businessmen dealing in foodstuff such as rice, sugar, flour, chicken, and the like, who impose preconditions on petty traders to buy some food items like chocolate, biscuits, and eggs, before selling them the basic items.

Author: by Sheriff Barry

Manufacturers’ concern

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:16:00 GMT

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Recently, the issue of the high cost of living, precisely food, has persistently dictated the direction of global discourse.

All along the ordinary people had been chitchatting, at least for as far as we know here in The Gambia. Little did some of us know that businessmen themselves have constraints! The recent call on the office of the President by members of the Manufacturers Association of the Gambia, suggests how intricate the situation is. Nonetheless, the formation of such a fraternity was in fact a giant step towards confronting inevitable problems in the business community. The members highlighted salient issues, among them: affordability of electricity and land accessibility.

We should say lucky them, because this is The Gambia. There has never been an iota of doubt as to the APRC government’s commitment towards empowering the private sector in The Gambia. But, as the president said, the plight of consumers, who make up the majority, comes first. Surely the assembled businessmen themselves are aware of that.

The atmosphere for business in this country, especially Gambian-owned businesses, has been the must conducive in the sub-region. This is attested to by the smooth sprouting of businesses; both local and foreign-owned; while some are establishing it for the first time, others are forced to relocate to peaceful Gambia for reasons connected to instability and other factors, in their previous locations.

Promoting Gambian businesses would be in the best interests of the country and its people. Like President Jammeh said, the benefit of the many trade quotas we have unexploited can only be utilized by our business people. The idea of expatriate tax is also well placed in terms of safeguarding the employment prospects of Gambians. This is what any other government that has the interest of its citizens would do.

But the problems with our businessmen go beyond issues like electricity or land availability. Basically, it seems, we are all responsible for our present predicament. Anywhere you go in the world, locally produced products are logically supposed to be more affordable than imported goods, by virtue of the fact of the cost involved in importing from abroad. This is not to disregard the fact that there are other factors that can influence the cost of producing at home as well. Our problem in this regard is psychological. Simple!

It is worthwhile to note that it is at our best interest that we protect locally produced goods. Whatever is gotten from it is bound to remain here at home. The other point is that having been prepared at home, be they food stuff or any other products, they are items we are always familiar with, which we are more likely to relate to. In the case of food stuffs, rapid increase in mysterious health complications have constantly triggered suspicion, warranting us to question the role of some foods choices we have come to cherish so much at the expense of what we, ourselves, produce.

It is often argued that all our forefathers had known or eaten were what they produced, yet they had had an enviable life expectancy, with healthy living.

The problem, in a more general term, lies entirely in the mindset; the absurd feeling of superiority of imported goods over locally produced ones. This, among various other factors, is responsible to a great extent for the low level of business prospects in the country. If we are to stem this trend, it is imperative that we look into ways of reshaping the mindset of the people. Sensitization will certainly do a great deal of difference.

The fact that members of the manufacture’s association are themselves aware of their problems brings to mind the common adage that knowing about a constraint is a step closer to solving it.

If we, at our level, are to make any appeal, we can only remind Gambians of their moral responsibilities to support local industries. Of course, it is important to note also that our economy being a liberal one; we have a limit as to when to say no to import, and on which goods. But we are at liberty to prevail over the thinking of Gambians.

Author: DO

GPA’s model venture

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:46:49 GMT

Thursday, June 05, 2008

As far as effort of national development is concerned, it does not matter how much noise one makes, or how much noise one is capable of making. What matters truel, is what realistic contribution one has made regardless of the magnitude – either as a Gambian or a non-Gambian resident in the country. Everything counts! The principle that has been prevailing in this country has been one that appreciates whatever token is spent on its advancement.

When we talk about participation in the development of the country, we are not restricting it to the perceived areas individuals are assigned to, rather the emphasis lies on what people can offer that can make the difference in the lives of the people they are supposed to be serving. Certain institutions and individuals are so strategically positioned that they have the influence, at least even if for the short term, of either holding back the country’s progress or accelerating it.

The private businessmen, government parastatals, government officials holding key decision-making positions, carpenters, the metal workers, so on and so forth - everybody’s contribution is crucial. So the attitude of the aforementioned people and institutions determine their level of patriotism for their country, and love and empathy for their contemporaries.

GPA's intervention in the exportation of basalts, is quite an important ingredient in accelerating the development strides we are cruising through. It is one that is worth mentioning. It is indeed a model venture, and it will, we hope, serve as a template for duplication by other intuitions.

Having such a crucial ingredient at the disposal of the masses at affordable prices will not only end the endless frustration that one had to go through to obstain basalts from our immediate neighbour, it will restore the eroding condence in our contruction industry and help reduce the financial burden on the poor.

It is reassuring for Gambians to note that we have people in this country whose concerns are beyond profit making. That performance by GPA demonstrates the level of foresight and innovativeness of some of our civil servants. We need to think beyond the comfort of our shell and diversify sources of crucial resources in the interest of national development. The same model of innovation could be injected in other areas, such as metal, gas, oil, so on and so forth..

However, watching this development on GRTS TV, naturally, one would be inclined to ask key questions. But the authorities at the helm of the county’s port authority appeared so well prepared that they answered almost all the questions that one would want to ask. It was indeed good to hear that the venture was aimed at the middle income earners, not one that helps to catapult the already super rich folks.

For emphasis, we are calling on GPA to be steadfast in ensuring that greedy businessmen do not get through the net and acquire the stuff only to come and usurp the poor people of their money. The rural people, as highlighted by one of the officials of GPA, should be considered thoroughly. No matter what you intend to erect, hence your structure is in the country, you are contributing to the development of the nation.

Gambians are tired of the culture of individuals fooling themselves with shouts about their intent in transforming the country, when in actual fact their sole aim is to exploit genuine citizens.

As the development trend suggests now, there is no room for that exploitative style of capitalism in The Gambia. We’d like to take this opportunity to call on other individuals, parastatals, and government officials, to borrow a leaf from GPA.

Author: DO

Wal Fadjri Lies!

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 04:49:25 GMT

Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Senegalese vendors in the Serrekunda Market have refuted the reports aired on the Senegalese private television station, Wal Fadjir, that the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) evicted the Senegalese nationals from the Serrekunda Market.

The six Senegalese businessmen, Njogou Jagne, Alhagie Jeng, Ebrima Nyang, Sheikh Jobe, Baboucarr Khan and Papa Leigh walked into the Daily Observer offices to refute the story.

According to Njogu Jagne, the report is false and incaccurate and the reality is that no Senegalese has vaccate. He added that such allegations can break the cordial relationship between the two states.

“When we hard the news from Wal Fadjir, we where shock for the fact that it is not true. We have a very excellent stay in The Gambia and the report can therefore tarnish our images wghich we would not tolerate. We are still in the market and we have never had any problem with neither the KMC nor any Gambian” he said.

According to him, most of the Senegalese businessmen in the market spend more than 20 years in the market without any problem with the municipality. “The KMC only at one time told us to organise our places where we display what we sell, just by the road side. But they have never force us to vaccate. We are still in the market and the story carried on Wal Fadjir TV in Senegal is false.

Similarly, the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) has also reacted to the reports describing it as false.

In an interview with the Daily Observer last evening, Pa Kalifa Sanyang, the Public Relations Officer, KMC, said the report is inaccurate and insisted that the council has not asked a single Senegalese national out of the market.

He went on to explain what actually happened saying “ what happened is that we have relocated a handful of vendors in the market to create more space for others, whose current positions in the market happen to fall within a disputed area of the Serrekunda Car Park annexed as a market. We relocated them without paying attention to any nationality and the fact that

some Senegalese were affected does not mean they were a special target” he said.

According to PRO Sanyang, its a fact that in The Gambian markets,it is extremely accommodative of our Senegalese brothers and sisters doing business in all the markets and have always been treated along equal lines with their Gambian counterparts.

The council according to PRO Sanyang, is very much concerned about this report and warned that any vendor found to be relaying such malicious reports to the Senegalese media, risks losing his or her place in the market. “I believe Senegalese doing business in general in The Gambia owe a great deal of gratitude to the APRC government because Gambians in Senegal are not accorded equal opportunities in the business sector.

Gambians have been to all major markets in Senegal but don’t find any Gambian owning a pocket stall in any of those market. So I think it is best for our Senegalese brothers and sisters in our markets to learn to respect and refrain from creating undue tension” he advised.

He then observed that any Senegalese vendor who is not happy with the arrangements in the market, have an option to relocate to any appropriate place in a peaceful manner.

Author: by Alhagie Jobe

IBC to be revamped - Says new CEO

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:44:28 GMT

Monday, March 10, 2008

Efforts to overhaul the status quo of International Bank for Commerce (IBC) to restore its fading glory are in high gears, barely few months after a new management took charge, after it was bought by the Bank PHE of Nigeria.

The new managing director and chief executive officer of IBC confirmed this to stakeholders on Friday at the Sunbeach Hotel and Resort, where several dignitaries, notably the speaker of the National Assembly, Fatoumatta Jahumpa-Ceesay, and the secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs, Musa Gibril Bala Gaye, were hosted to a cocktail. Prominent Gambian businessmen and representatives of various companies also attended the cocktail.

IBC was believed to have been losing ground in the country’s looming competitive banking industry, characterised by a wide range of aggressive and innovative services in face growing customers and increasing private sector investment, including medium sized-entreprises.

In a speech delivered at the cocktail, Chuks Chibundu, the managing director and CEO of the bank, observed that the support for IBC has been growing despite all odds; despite the capacity constraints.

"We are going to revamp IBC and we are going to make it something that all of you will be proud of," he said.

According to him, IBC still remains the "prime bank" in The Gambia, adding it will be repositioned to second leading bank in the country is the next 9 to 10 months. "This is a new dawn. The changes are going to start and in fact they have started," he added.

"You work with us and we work with you. This is going to be a partnership. And the partnership is this: I know what your needs are and we are always going to be there for you," said Mr Chibundu.

The IBC new CEO said the bank will be the most innovative in terms of IT, noting that the brand will remain the same despite change of ownership. However, he expressed hope that it will be rebranded in their course of transformation.

Author: by Ebrima Jaw Manneh