Richards Shih, the Taiwanese ambassador to The Gambia, recently renewed his commitment the relation between Banjul and Taipei.

The Taiwanese diplomat made this remark in an interview with the GRTS in Banjul, after presenting a cheque for $300,000 at the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare.

Ambassador Shih pledged to do his utmost in ensuring the that relation between Taipei and Banjul is taken to a higher height.

He also used the opportunity to appeal to Gambians to give him the necessary support and cooperation to enable him achieve his mission.

"My promise is that I will work with my colleagues to do our best, but to our Gambian friends please do not hesitate to give us advice," he noted.

As part of its continued support to the country’s health sector, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) recently donated US$300,000 to the Department of State for Health and Social welfare.

The money is the second payment of Taiwan’s annual grant of US$600,000 to the health sector.

Richard Shih, the Taiwanese plenipotentiary to The Gambia, presented the cheque to Dr Malick Njie, the secretary of state for Health and Social Welfare, at a ceremony held at the Department of State for Health and Social Welfare, Banjul.

Presenting the cheque, Ambassador Shih elaborated on the importance of health in the socio-economic development of a country and expressed delight in presenting the cheque. He assured his government’s commitment to the development of the health sector in the country.

At the ceremony, Secretary of State Njie thanked the Taiwanese government for its continued support to the state department, as the grant helps in providing doctors and medical technicians for the public health facilities.

“It has always been a pleasure working with the Republic of China on (Taiwan),” said Dr Njie.

Tashawna S Bethea, political and economic officer at the United States Embassy in Banjul, has commended the Youths and Women of Mandinaba for the successes they have been registering in Kombo East, in collaboration with the US Peace Corps Volunteers.

Mrs Bethea also promised the US embassy and the US Peace Corps office's continued commitment towards supporting the community based projects and initiatives in the areas of skills development.

Mrs Bethea was speaking, yesterday, at the Mandinaba Community Library, while on a tour of projects initiated by the US Peace Corps volunteers. According to her, Peace Corps are very important in African societies, adding that they focus on developing the capacity of the local people.

Mr Kawsu Sanno, chairperson of the Mandinaba Youth and Sports Committee, said the ‘Nafaa for All Initiative’ is a project that was initiated by his committee, in collaboration with a Peace Corps volunteer, Lesley Copeland. He added that the project is in three phases, one of which was the establishment of the library.

According to him, the library project as the first phase is currently playing a pivotal role in empowerment and enhancing of sustainable quality education.

Mrs Kaddy Sanyang, chairperson of the Mandinaba Women Recycling Group (a group that engages in recycling waste plastic bags into valuable materials like bags and wallets) said Lesley Copeland, a Peace Corps volunteer in the village, initiated the group. According to her, they were trained by one Isatou Ceesay, a Peace Corps consultant who taught them how to recycle the waste plastic bags.

“With only sixteen members at first, we quickly understood the techniques used in the skills within a week,” Mrs Sanyang said. She then pointed out some constraints faced by her group, including the issue of a meeting ground and suggested the possibility of having a skills training centre.

For his part, Mr Ousman Bah, Wings of the Dawn representative in The Gambia, said that his organization is a charitable organisation based in Forth Worth, Texas, in the US. According to him, Wings of the Dawn aims at improving the level of education in African countries like The Gambia, Nigeria and Mozambique.

He went on to say that the organisation signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mandinaba Youth and Sports committee in 2007, and that since then they have donated two consignments of books to the Mandinaba community library. He said that those books have benefited almost all the Lower and Upper Basic schools in Kombo East.

Ousman Manneh, the library assistant at the Mandinaba Community Library said:  “Since the establishment of the library, it has been playing a pivotal role in the development of the schools in the area, by improving the reading standards of the students.”

According to him, the library has contributed in raising the rate of passes in examinations among students. He further pointed out that the library used to offer classes for students and organised fora for them to discuss burning issues like teenage pregnancy, the reasons for students failing their exams, and drug and alcohol abuse, which are the major problems in our society.

Banutu Business College (BBC) held, on Saturday,  its graduation ceremony. About 30 students graduated in various fields, during a ceremony held at the college grounds in Lamin Village.

The ceremony provided the opportunity to the college’ s authorities to unveil their strategic plan to start a bachelors degree programme, scheduled for September 2008.

In his address, Dr Michael Banutu Gomez,  president and proprietor of the college, gave a brief overview of the college, noting that it was established in August 2007. He then added that their main objective is not only to provide quality education in The Gambia, but also to compliment and support the vision of President Jammeh in providing affordable and quality education to the doorsteps of every Gambian.

For the success of their programs, Dr Gomez revealed that they have already secured the commitment of three Professors who will be coming in August from the USA to teach at BBC for one year. He stated that the college is currently offering a number of courses that are essentially geared towards upgrading the quality of their educattional services. In fact, he added, BBC has world class technology with complete computer and IT facilities for the conduct of research as well as a fully equipped library with over three thousand new text books.

He further advised the graduates to be more focus on world issues. Dr Gomez told them that the future needs to be accounted for in the present and the choices one will face tomorrow are a consequence of one’s actions today. “Remember individuals often misperceive or misinterpret the actions of others. But you who have attended Banutu Business College and know better how to act and become more productive”, he emphasised.

For his part, Lamin Gaye of Ecobank, who was the guest speaker, called on the graduates to realise that this is not the end but the beginning of a new phase in their lives. He reminded the graduates on the three pillars of the college- education, knowledge and action. According to him, knowledge without action can only lead to decadence. He also congratulated the graduates and urged them to always strive to live up to expectation.

The ceremony was attended by the Alkalo of Lamin village, Mbemba Bojang, village elders, parents and students from the college. The Drama group of the college provided entertainment and made a play, centred on the theme: “Efficiency in an Organisation.”

Here is His Excellency President Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh’s speech delivered by Her Excellency the Vice President Dr Aja Isatou Njie-Saidy at the July 22nd Square yesterday

It gives me  great honour and pleasure share with you the celebrations of the 2008 International Women’s Day in The Gambia.

The Theme for this year’s celebration which is, “investing in women and girls’ focusing on financing for gender equality and women empowerment is not only timely but also relevant to The Gambia context.

I would like to take this opportunity Madam Chairperson to welcome our guests from the ECOWAS Sub Region and beyond who are here to validate the ECOWAS Gender Strategic Plan under the coordination of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre.  Banjul is a beautiful city and I have no doubt that you will take time to visit places and make friends.

Let me also at the onset salute you and the Gambian women for turning out en-mass and making this day a success.  The role and contribution of women in National Development cannot be quantified.  As mothers, wives, care givers and decision makers, you continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of this country and Africa in general.

Your contribution to The Gambia’s national development cannot be over-emphasized, you have been steadfast in your support to Government in many and varied ways.

In the area of politics, you women are the engine of success; you have contributed and continue to contribute in the social and productive sectors, have occupied key decision -making positions in Government and are managers of your own businesses.

My gratitude also goes to the majority of Gambian women in the informal sector Production, Processing and Marketing. With the meagre incomes you earn, you are able to contribute to household food, health and education of your children. Today so many of us are living in good conditions because of our mothers, aunts and sisters who engaged in petty trading, horticulture or subsistence rice farming.

The challenges women face are numerous due to the traditional and cultural barriers that inhibit their participation in the major economic and political decision making processes.  That is why about sixty percent of the nominated members of Parliament are women.

My commitment to the empowerment of Gambian women and attainment of gender equity and equality is well known. I have been appointing and nominating women in decision making positions both at national and international levels.  The Gambian for the first time has a Cabinet where the percentage of women is a little above thirty. The position of Vice President, the position of Speaker of the National Assembly as well as other key positions in the Executive and Judiciary are occupied by women.

If women are given the opportunity, they tend to overcome the barriers to their socio-economic empowerment; for example, almost eighty percent of the female nominated to contest for elections in recently concluded local Government elections won as a result of my personal support and the capacity building initiatives of both my Government and Non Governmental organisations.

Also female members of the security forces have excelled in the execution of their duties and have lately benefited from promotions and training packages as well as participated in peace keeping missions.

Unfortunately women and girls, despite the numerous interventions by all stakeholders since 1975 and beyond, continue to be mainly responsible for household chores and reproductive work and are not in control of decisions affecting their life.

Therefore, my Government will continue to undertake initiatives, with the objective of ensuring that women and men have equal opportunities in political participation and decision- making as well as access to, control, and ownership of resources. This is because the gaps between men and women are too wide, and requires urgent action by all stakeholders in the public and private sector as well as donor partners.

The Gambia has signed and ratified major International and National  instruments such as the CEDAW and Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa geared towards promoting women’s and girls rights. The Gambia Government in 1980 established the National Women’s Council and Bureau in response to the implementation of the recommendation of the International Conference in Mexico in 1975.

The Gambia also participated in the 1995 Conference of Women in Beijing and soon after that, the First Policy on the Advancement of Gambian Women was formulated and enacted by Parliament. However, effective implementation of the policy is challenged by lack of adequate human, material and financial resources which are not unique to The Gambia alone.

To ensure the effective implementation of CEDAW and the Protocol to the Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, a review of all laws related to women and gender was conducted and a Women’s Bill drafted.

It is worth noting that it is one thing to draft and enact a piece of legislation; however, its effective implementation must be ensured through regular monitoring and evaluation, training, public sensitisation and education. I therefore, urge all stakeholders to work together to make sure that the set goals in these legislations are achieved.

In tandem with policy development, Government will continue to implement projects and pursue programmes that are gender sensitive. In education, for example, gender parity at Basic level is achieved and a Gender Unit has been set -up at the Department of State for Basic and Secondary Education.

In the area of Health, I have since last year made Maternal health services free to all women; a Reproductive Health Policy is being implemented and, the reduction of maternal and child mortality and morbidity continue to receive priority attention by my Government. Infrastural development in health service delivery has also received marked improvements.

Public awareness through  education and advocacy towards the promotion of gender equality and women empowerment has received a big boost as it is not only supported by Government but most non-state actors.  I salute you all and encourage all of you to work together in a more coordinated manner to ensure maximum benefit.

Madam Chairperson, International Women’s Day is an event during which women gather to celebrate their achievement, identify y challenges and come up with forward-looking strategies to overcome the challenges.

You would recall that during the Silver Jubilee in 2006, women undertook a series of activities and proposed key projects geared towards the advancement of women and the attainment of Goal 3 of the MDG, Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

During the meeting with women on that auspicious day, I assured gambian women of my full support to the implementation of the action plan presented to me and this promise was fulfiled. The mid term review of the Women’s Policy was conducted.

A Women’s Bill drafted, a National Study on the feasibility of establishing a women multi- purpose centre conducted, and the final report after validation submitted.  A number of selected women’s vegetable gardens will also be rehabilitated and labour saving devices budgeted under the UNFPA Project. These are a few examples of the activities of the Silver Jubilee and the achievements registered so far.  Furthermore, the Maternity Ward at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital was completely rehabilitated including the provision of bed sheets for baby cots, and mother’s beds.

Women are now more than ever involved in state matters. The women’s Bureau and Council benefited from infrastructure development, a capacity building project that provided among other things training, a study tour to Senegal, and monitoring of women’s projects.

Madam Chairperson, in short, most of the recommendations have been implemented; but as a Government we need to further reinforce our efforts and do more in the areas of effective gender mainstreaming, particularly gender budgeting and implementation of a national gender-based violence programme.

At this juncture, I would like to appeal to the school children to work hard and contribute towards the bridging of gender gaps. This can only be realised if you concentrate on your education and make sure that you attend school, and partake of the quality education provided to you at the highest level possible which is key to gender equality. As you already know, gender inequality is mainly a result of women’s and girl’s lack of adequate and relevant education.

Finally Madam Chairperson, before concluding, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those institutions, which have facilitated the participation of their staff in this occasion; I would also extend our thanks and appreciation to the UN system for their support and collaboration in the organization of this event.  Let me once more re-iterate my government’s commitment towards the social and economic upliftment of Gambian women, and the total elimination of the gender gap.

It is always a pleasure to be with you and to work with you and I look forward to being with you tomorrow at the opening ceremony of the ECOWAS Ministers of Women’s Affairs meeting.

I wish you a happy and enjoyable 2008 celebration , May Allah (SWT) Bless you all.