Editor,

Please allow me some space in your daily newspaper to send this message to the authorities at the post office.

The post office really needs improvement, and it ought to take care of its customers.

Many people are afraid to post letters or send their parcels by post to The Gambia, because they fear that it would never reach its destination. I have sent a package since the 29th May but it  is still nowhere to be seen or received, and when I went to the post office in the UK, they told me many people go there and complain of lost letters and parcels, which is a big shame.
 
I and all the other victims will be very, very grateful if things go back to normal.

Ali Hydara

U.K

Commit Information Technology, one of the leading players in The Gambia’s IT Industry, on Saturday, gave awards to various institutions and individuals in recognition of their invaluable contribution to the company over the years at a ceremony held at the company's premises in Kotu.

Among the institutions awarded were The Gambia Ports Authority, Gambia Telecommunications Company Ltd, Gambia Teachers Credit Union, Reliance Financial Services, and OK Gambia. Individuals who were also awarded included Bai Gaye of GPA, Seedy Njie of Reliance Financial Services, Alhagie Sanneh of OK Gambia, and Ada Musu of RWSSP.

In the same vein, the company also inaugurated a showroom at its office complex that displays varieties of the latest IT equipment.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr Amadou Scattered Janneh, managing director of Commit, said the day was conceived to show appreciation to their customers, noting that the modest success so far achieved could not have been possible without their support.

According to him, his company, which is registered both in The Gambia and the United States, is dedicated to the provision of high-quality and affordable information and communication technology products and services to institutions and individuals in West Africa. “We are proud to say that the company is a leading player in The Gambia’s IT Industry. From supplying computers for the 2006 Banjul AU Summit to setting up networks as well as providing computers and printers for an array of institutions, Commit’s performance is second to none. The company will remain in the forefront of technological advancement in the country and the sub-region at large,” he said.

According to Dr Janneh, his company has in stock all types of modern IT equipment and other home entertainment devices, noting that they are backed by a team of professional engineers with a state-of-the -art technical support facility to provide the best after-sales services.

He saluted the staff, describing them as seasoned professionals with solid backgrounds and experiences. He then stated that his company is on the verge of embarking on a new project in the country.

At the end of the occasion, all the guests were given a brand new Sony memory stick.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Aminata Jagne, administration manager, and Rohey Conateh, 2007 Face of Africell contestant, who moderated the program.

By 2009, NAWEC’s electricity tariff will be drastically reduced for customers with a special concession to industries operating in The Gambia.

This was disclosed by President Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh yesterday in the afternoon during a meeting with members of the Association of Gambian Manufacturers at State House in Banjul. During the gathering,  the  association’s president, Muhammed Sillah of Sankung Sillah &Sons, pointed out a number of issues hindering their smooth operations ranging from electricity charges to land aquisition.

This reduction forms part of a package of incentives government is considering for industries to enable them to expand and consolidate their operations in the country in order to be able to meet government’s aims and objectives for the private sector.

According to Dr Jammeh, the tariff reduction comes on the heels of the major breakthrough in the energy sector which has been revamped over the past three years. He emphasised that government will give all the necessary support to the industrial sector saying “without industries we (Gambians) cannot boast of a robust economy”.

The Gambian leader revealed that other remaining suggestions proposed by the association will have to get cabinet’s blessing. He said that The Gambia has a lot of trade quotas externally which it is unable to meet due to the lack of manufacturing industries for such commodities.

Corporate tax

Dr Jammeh said government will consider giving special concessions on corporate tax only if Gambians do not have the qualifications needed to handle a position which leaves the firms with no option but to go for a foreigner. He said the tax is being introduced to stop the employment of foreigners in positions that can be handled by Gambians citing the situation occurring in most supermarkets as a typical example.

Restriction on imports

According to him, government will only restrict imports on commodities made locally if companies are in position to supply the market demand  and ensure that the price and quality commensurate with the imported items. He added that “in as much as we want to encourage industries, we should put the consumers (plight) into consideration”.

Land

The Gambian leader informed the gathering that government will create a new area strictly for industries. But in the meantime, he went on, SSHFC have secured an area from government for industrial development within Kanifing and potential buyers could secure it from the cooperation.

He, however, expressed dismay over the transformation of some sites in the Kanifing Industrial Area to warehouses in contravention of the purpose of the allocation.

For his part, Yankuba Touray, secretary of state for Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, said the formation of the association is timely as it enables the industrialists to form a united front thus helping them to achieve their aims and objectives.

He reminded them of the laws governing investment in the country which provide a lot of incentives to the private sector to enhance their operation.

SoS Touray urged the association to restart the stalled investment forum to enable them to discuss issues of relevance to their operations and forward them to government for it ‘be willing’ to listen to them. He defended the introduction of expatriate tax to curb the employment of foreigners at the expense of Gambians.

Abdou Kolley, SoS for Trade, Industry and Employment, gave a detailed and comprehensive report on the earlier meeting he had had with the association and steps taken by his department to address the problems and concerns raised.

Momodou Kotu Cham, SoS for Forestry and  Enviroment also spoke at the ceremony which was attended by Secretaries of State Nancy Njie, Fatim Badjie-Janneh and the secretary seneral and head of the Civil Service, Teneng Jaiteh.

Guaranty Trust Bank, the first Africa bank to be listed in the London Stock exchange, in its relentless efforts to meet the banking needs of its regional customers, has introduced a new GTBank International Money Transfer (GTMT) service.  

The GTMT, which will start within the West Africa sub-region, will enable customers as well as non-customers of the bank to receive and send money with ease and speed.  With the presence of GTBank in four countries across West Africa, the GTMT would also squarely solve the perennial problems associated with money transfer within the sub-region.

This new product would enable customers and non-customers of the bank in Nigeria, Gambia, Ghana and Sierra Leone to walk into any of the various branches of the bank in any of these countries to receive and send money.

“The product has a number of advantages and benefits over existing modes of money transfer such as instant and secured as a customer only needs to walk into any of the branches with cash and within minutes, the sender would be given a pin code for the receiver to use in collecting the transferred funds. Secondly, it’s relatively cheaper than other existing modes of transfer as it charges a flat rate of 3% on amounts above $300, while a flat sum of $10 is charged for amounts below $300.

Thirdly, the service is available to both account and non-account holders of all Guaranty Trust banks in Nigeria,  the Gambia, Sierra Leone and Ghana. Additionally, there is a fixed exchange rate as the payment and receipt of funds is in US Dollars unless the recipient requests the local currency. Fifthly, GTMT users could make a huge transfer of up to a limit of $10,000 per transaction,” the release indicated.

According to Lekan Sanusi, the managing director of GTBank (Gambia) Ltd, the fixed exchange rate would eliminate the high risk of customers getting huge losses as the exchange rate of the US dollar changes almost on a daily basis. He assured customers of his bank’s readiness to always satisfy its customers. He added that with the large presence of Nigerians, Sierra Leoneans and Ghanians in The Gambia, GTMT would be highly welcomed.

Bolaji Ayodele, general manager of GTBank (Gambia) Ltd, who also heads the operations division, said the new service is devoid of any shortcoming as it immediately notifies the sender of the transaction by email. “When the receiver finally receives the money, an email message is automatically sent to the sender for notification of receipt of the money,” he concluded.

Editor

NAWEC is a company which belongs to the people of the Gambia and their purpose is to improve the standard of living of Gambians, including all those non-Gambians living in the country. Their service provision is indeed nationwide.

But to my own suprise some people fail to understand this.

However, it is disheartening to note that the glory of this giant is continually being frustrated by a few crooked people who are hellbent on engaging in illegal connection of electricity supply into houses of people who have been found wanting in terms of payment.

Genuine and patriotic Gambians should stand at all cost and stop those engaged in it. I, therefore, urge all Gambians as well as non-Gambians living in the country, to stand as community police and report anyone trying to practice this.

May Allah continue to shower His blessing on our beloved country, The Gambia. Keep up the good work, NAWEC.
                                                   
Mustapha Drammeh

Editor,

I have said earlier, in one of my articles published in your paper, that in a democratic state every good citizen is a concerned citizen, and therefore has the right to expound views and ideas pertaining to the state, which views and idea may either boost the economy or alleviate a certain hardship, if put into consideration.

Today, I am going to make a casual reference to the telephone companies operating in this country.  The game of chances in which these companies are engaged is not pertinent but rather controversial with the current intuition prevailing in this country.

The whole country, and not one person, contributes to the achievement of their goal.  It is therefore not fitting that the efforts of a whole people be given out as a reward to one lucky person.  

There is nothing that hurts more than watching a teenager appear on the TV saying I am the so and so millionaire and my so and so number is my lucky number, patati, patata, bla, bla, bla...  Some one who may not even know the value of a million dalasi!

If these companies really want to be seen as philanthropic, they should aim at satisfying and pleasing all their customers, country-wide.

The ten million dalasi, the cost of the beautiful brand new cars, the hajj tickets, etc, could be paid into government coffers to cover cost of customs duty on imported food item, such as rice, sugar etc.

This will enable the government to control the selling price of such imported items since nothing was paid on custom by the importer.  If prices on food commodities are controlled, every average Gambian will be able to purchase for his family.

It is preferable to all Gambians to see a senior government official appear on the TV and tell the whole nation, from Katong to Koina, that each telephone company operating in this country has offered ten million dalasi to government, to cover customs duty on imported rice, thus bringing the cost of rice down to the purchasing ability of every all.

The combined efforts of a people should be the reward of the people and not the reward of one lucky person.  

It sounds and appears like a child’s gain in such hard times.

Finally, I want to close up by saying, it is not out of hatred or jealously that I wrote this article.  But I love criticising people and I love to be criticised.  Criticism is the very essence of life.

Abba Faal

Brikama

The Indigenous Business Advisory Service (IBAS), one of the leading micro-finance institutions in The Gambia, on Thursday, concluded a two day training workshop at its head office in Bakau.

The training, which aimed at equipping the staff with the requiste skills to enhance micro finance service delivery, brought together IBAS staff from all regions across the country.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Demba Bah, the deputy manager of IBAS, who spoke on behalf of the Managing Director, stressed the need for the staff to remember their duties and responsibilities, and to address problems professionally.  He however gave a brief background of the institution, stating that IBAS was piloted way back in 1975, and that it was enacted by parliament in 1976.

“The institution was mandated to assist and promote small scale activities including the provision of financial and technical support to small and medium scale businesses as well as to provide extension services like training, consultancy services and counselling,” he said.

Mr Bah further highlighted the constrains the institution encountered over the years, citing the lack of resources to encourage and motivate the staff. “We also face the difficulties of recovering our loans from customers and we do give grace period to pay loans,” he said.  He further revealed that IBAS is also engaged in viable projects that creates employment for the Gambian youths, such as carpentary workshop, welding and fabrications, food processing, retail business, poultry farms, animal husbandry, horticultural gardening and others.

Mr Bah then urge people to patronise the institution to enable Gambians to realise their dreams.

Amadou Samba, chairman of the Board of Directors of Guaranty Trust Bank, Gambia Ltd, has disclosed  that the bank registered over 100% growth in 2007 and that it would continue to be the pace setter in the banking industry in The Gambia.

According to him, at GTBank, getting closer to the customers, finding out their specific needs and tailor-made prudent solutions were their priority.  

Mr Samba made these remarks yesterday at a press briefing held at the bank’s Head Office, centered on the financial performance of the bank in 2007, and the way forward. He stated that the year under review had been monumental in terms of performance and expansion, and that it would continue to set standards with smart strategies in adding value for greater returns.

On expansion, Mr Samba said the bank would continue to make strives in reaching the four corners of The Gambia, adding that they were working relentlessly to set up branches in some of the major towns and villages in The Gambia.

He added: “The high performance registered would not have been possible, without the relatively stable macro economic fundamentals of the country. GTBank has grown to seven branches, and was rated in 2006 the third largest bank in The Gambia and since then it continues to be a pace setter in the banking industry”.

At international level, he stated that GTBank was the first African Bank to be listed in the London Stock Exchange and that it was also the first African bank, in its generation, to be licensed to operate as a full fledge commercial bank in London, UK.  He observed that recently, GTBank had been named the “Bank of the year” in an event organised by a leading Nigerian Daily Newspaper (Vanguard Newspaper).

Olaletean Sanusi, managing director at GTBank, said that GTBank had introduced a number of products and services to its customers aimed at raising convenience to another level as ATM allows customers to have access to their balance at anytime.

He added that GTBank had introduced a new service that no other bank has, citing the Electronic Notification Service (GeNs) as an example. He also noted that GTBank formerly operate D50 Million equity and now it increase to D100 Million equity.

“GT Bank has D200 Million in shareholders fund.  The biggest banks Standard Chartered and Trust Bank has the similar figure making the competition so high” he concluded.

This paper has learn through authoritative official sources that the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has decided to take possession of Bayba Financial Services and Savings and Credit company with effect from April 25th2008.

In a notice issued to the general public, CBG informed that acting under section 42 of the Financial Institutions Act (FIA) has seized the said Financial Services with a view to assuming overall managerial role over it.

The arrangement, our sources went on, is tailored to give “the Central Bank of The Gambia full and exclusive powers of management and control with to view to ensuring that the two institutions operate in a sound manner.”

This development has come within weeks after this paper carried a story wherein Bayba customers expressed dissatisfaction over the slowness of the process to receive monies remitted to them.