S&D: Can you please tell me about yourself sir?

Bampha: I was born in 1968 at Njabakunda, in Centre Badibou in the North Bank Region. I attended the Njabakunda primary and went to Armitage from 1979 to 1984. I joined the teaching field for two years at the Kossemar primary in the Upper River Region and was affected by the retrenchment programme in 1986 under the then PPP government.

S&D: Did you think that was the end for you in searching for self-sufficiency?

Bampha: No! When the massive retrenchment programme affected me, I joined the hotel industry and served as an Assistant Beverage Storekeeper and eventually Storekeeper at the ABC Stores. In 1990 I traveled to Germany and stayed there for two years. I joined an NGO called ASYLEV, established to fight racial discrimination and to fight for the rights of immigrants and I was their mouthpiece. When my asylum was revoked I decided to return home and establish business, initially in textiles at the beginning of my business career. Beside my business I have another talent in poetry and I have written a number of poems and articles in the Observer Newspaper in 2005.

S&D: Can you give me a line of one of your poems?

Bampha: SaharaDesertOh, Valiant desert, Sahara deserts angry desert. Subdue thy anger And halt impeding!

S&D: What happened after this?

Bampha: By the end of 2005, I decided to establish my carpentry workshop, known as Wallo Kunda Carpentry Workshop situated at Bakoteh Sanchaba High Way, to mainly uplift the unemployment scale of the country. I have seven paid staff and one watchman. About fifteen young men are under training in carpentry.

S&D: How can you rate your enterprise?

Bampha: It is a small business enterprise but as we progress we look forward to contributing our quota to national development. And this is not far from us again. We have our patronisers in the companies of Cityscape and Coconut Resident. We are thankful to them and we are asking others to join in so that they will also enjoy our handwork, a real Gambian taste.

S&D: Is there anything that puts you ahead of other carpentry shops in the country?

Bampha: Yes! We have the latest technology in woodwork like Plaining, Designing, Mortising, Ribbit Turning and more. We have powerful machines to satisfy our customers at all times and in different areas of satisfaction. We have had a tremendous improvement in all areas because of the fact that we expose quality, which sells us and we have maintained our position since our inception. My workers are happy because I always motivate them to love the job my other area is flexibility.

S&D: What is your relationship like with people as I see people gather to see you for one thing or the other?

Bampha: In any human interaction one has to be patient to attract or win public confidence and business in particular. Yes, I am flexible with my customers and all human beings I embrace everybody.

S&D: Have there been challenges from the beginning that you have overcome now?

Bampha:There were big challenges that hampered our job, one of them was electricity or power cuts. But with the coming of President Jammeh as the SoS for Energy and Power, everything has changed and customers do not complaint now for waste of time as in the past. Market outlet was another problem. Before we did not have customers as we do now. Anyhow as I told you, one has to have compassion. To win the heart of others is better than having their wealth. One has to be focussed, committed and trustworthy above all with a dependable character. My policy is sharing. I have done a lot of jobs for my customers that have earned me good name especially for Coconut Resident and Cityscape. With all these, I have only one regret that is, a long time ago one of my workers had a minor injury due to the complexity of the machines. It was only a minor thing.

S&D: What aspect of carpentry do you do here?

Bampha: We do general carpentry, comprising all aspects especially construction, roofing and furniture. My men are good at all these but for now we are concentrating on furniture because customers are not coming for the other areas. People should just try us to see what we can do. They tried us in furniture and they have seen, others have tried us in other areas and they have stayed with us, others should come and see and stay with us. The caliber of my workers is high due to their desire for their job. This should be able to help others come to experience the real Gambian touch in carpentry. Putting all their talents together we are able to do the modern carpentry comprising all areas in carpentry.

S&D: Do you have any advice for your fellow carpenters?

Bampha: My advice to my fellow carpenters is that they should stand up and form an association so as to help other carpenters and ourselves. It can be done by establishing an executive to run the affairs of the association. This is a concept, we have to write to those in the trade to come together and make the concept work. The time will come when this would be made possible for all. This will help us unite and create customers and make customers know us by our approach and work for them.

S&D: Any advice to your workers?

Bampha: I advice them to remain committed to work and to continue making good name. To treat customers with care and to create love for one another which will enhance productivity and self-reliance. And to our customers that they should not forget these numbers to call and other carpenters to contact: 9953004/7020256/6953004.Let customers pick between good and bad service and promote our local carpentry products by promoting us.

S&D: I thank you for the interview.

Bampha: You are welcome. You are too kind to have come all the way. Thanks and God bless your work.

A five-day sub-regional seminar on the prevention and control of Avian Influenza Incident Command System opens at the Paradise Suites hotel yesterday.

The seminar, organized by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services through the US Embassy in Banjul in collaboration with the National Agricultural Development Agency brought together participants from Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegal and The Gambia.

Declaring the programme open, Mr Kekoi Kuyateh, Permanent Secretary at the Department of State for Agriculture, noted that in spite of continued efforts by countries and their partners to prevent, control and halt the spread of Avian Influenza, the disease seems to be spreading to more countries.

“Avian Influenza posses a real threat to the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world, to the economy and human health. Cognizant of this fact, the Gambia commits itself to harmonized, coordinated and partnership building approach as the most effective way in dealing with the disease,” Mr. Kuyateh added.

According to Mr. Kuyateh, since the first outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Nigeria in 2006, the disease has now spread to 10 more African countries. This, he added, emphasizes the need for more efforts in dealing with the disease.

Jerma Beach Hotel, which was dragged to court by H.M. Enterprises, has breathed a sigh of relief when its counsel told Magistrate Mbackeh of the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court that he had approached the representative of the plaintiff to settle the case out of court. H.M. Enterprises filed the suit to claim for D152, 350 being cost of electrical materials it had supplied or made available to Jerma Beach Hotel in Kololi.

Senior Magistrate Abdoulie Mbackeh asked the representative of H.M. Enterprises, Ebrima Faye, whether he had something to tell the court concerning what the counsel for the defendant had told the court. Mr. Faye then confirmed to the court that the counsel for the defendant had approached him to settle the case out of court.

Magistrate Mbackeh then adjourned the case to 14th July, 2008, for both parties to report back.

A five-day workshop is currently underway for the trainers of fishing vessel personnel at the Paradise Suites Hotel. The training has been organised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in collaboration with The Gambia Maritime Administration and the Department of State for fisheries and National Assembly Matters.

The training aims to improve the safety of those who work in the area and also help prevent pollution. The training will provide guidance and a uniform level of education that will prove useful in enhancing the standards of fishing vessels.

In his address Mr. Milton Baron, the technical officer, maritime training and human element section, noted that the fisheries administration must ensure that fishing vessel personnel not only receive a sound education and training but also be able to demonstrate their competence.

He then spoke on the urgent need to implement a recognised standard of education and training. All these things, he said, are geared towards enhancing personal safety and preventing injury and loss of life. The measures will also help to reduce the pollution generated by the industry.

The deputy permanent secretary at the Department for Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, Mr. Suwareh Jabai, emphasised the importance of enhancing personal safety and the standard of equipment in the sector. He said it would contribute greatly to the socio economic stability of the nation. He therefore stressed the need to protect our precious fisheries resources. He said this could be achieved through the implementation of an up to date mechanism for the monitoring, surveillance and control from the air, land and sea.

The director general of the Gambia Tourism Authority (GTA), yesterday said that shopkeepers whose stalls were demolished by soldiers on the directives of the GTA, were illegal occupants of the areas concerned.

Alhaji Alieu Mboge said the demolition was carried out following a site visit and complaints recieved from the hotel, that taxi drivers and the people around the vicinity werecausing disturbances by virtue of the noise  they generate through loud music. To arrest that situation, he said, the only remedy they had was to drive them away and demolish the structures.

Mr Mboge maintained that the occupants had no permission from the GTA.

According to him, people move to the beach and erect structures without permission from the GTA. He reminded the public that the GTA controls the Tourism Development Area (TDA) and that illegal occupation of spaces within the GTA was improper.

The strike action by employees of Palm Beach Hotel on Tuesday has reportedly galvanised the management of the hotel to terminate the services of those involved in the Tuesday protest.

After receiving their salary arrears of over four months, a number of staff were sent home after being issued what was deemed by the management as a redundancy letter. The act is considered by those affected as high-handed, tantamount to a backlash to their Tuesday action.

The Point’s no.2 Garba Jahumpa Road office was yesterday virtually overwhelmed when the aggrieved staff stormed the paper’s newsroom to vent their dissatisfaction.

In a three paragraph letter signed by the hotel’s Human Resource Officer and issued to all the affected staff, the management of the hotel expressed its appreciation to the services rendered by the said staff but expressed regret to have had to terminate their services.

“We have come to the end of the tourism high season of business, which has consequently reduced the sales and profitability margin of our company and a corresponding increase in our operational and overhead cost.

“Management therefore wishes to inform you that your services have been highly appreciated, but regrets to have your services redundant,” the letter indicated.

“However,” the letter went on, “Management would consider your services at any point in time whenever situation deems it fit.”

In response, the aggrieved staff denounced Management’s decision, saying that they have been already sacked and replaced by some other staff from Badala Park hotel.

“I have been working here for five years nine months now but I have never received a redundancy letter. So the Management’s decision is that they have sacked us indirectly. We have not done anything wrong. We are just claiming for our rights and that is our four months salary,” said one of the affected staff.

A house-keeper who was also issued a letter, said the situation is not new to him as it has been going on for quite a long time now. “Lai Mboge (manager) has not been paying his staff for quite a long time now. This has been going on for many years,” he said.

“I don’t know what is the essence of his trip to Mecca. He treats his staff very badly. Even to rest on public holidays is a problem. We have not even benefited from the recent salary increment by the President. We want to meet and sit with the President and discuss this problem with him,” said another security guide.

Another angry staff said: “Enough is enough. We have been suffering for many years in this hotel. How can you employ someone without even issuing him with an appointment letter?”

“Some of us have been working here for more than five years now but even to apply for a leave is a problem because if you do, the management will in turn issue you with a redundancy letter”.

When contacted, Mr Madani Baldeh, Human Resource Officer of the hotel, who himself signed the letters, said the management’s decision to issue redundancy letters to some of its staffs has nothing to do with the Tuesday commotion.

According to Mr. Baldeh, it is a normal scenario that every end of season, hotels do issue redundancy letters to reduce some of its staff for a period of time or so.

“Everybody knows that this year’s season has been a very lean season for the tourism industry,” he said, adding that it is not the management’s wish to sack any of its staff.

“We just ask them to sit for a while and whenever we need them, we will call them back,” he explained.

It is disheartening to learn that toiling employees of a hotel have not been paid salaries for up to about four months. With food prices on the rise on a daily basis, one cannot imagine how a family breadwinner could manage without his monthly salary, which in many cases is the only main means of survival.

Take the case of one of our today’s front-page stories concerning the unpaid salaries of staff at Palm Beach hotel. According to our reporter who mounted an investigation into the matter, the proprietor, Mr Mboge, himself confirmed the allegation of owing his employees a total of four months salaries and that he was at the time negotiating with a particular bank to get an overdraft to pay his staff. But the question is what prevented Mr Mboge to take an overdraft on time in settling such arrears before things degenerated to this level. One can imagine the frustration of any employee in such a situation, which more often than not results in the downing of tools in protest, just as Palm Beach staff have done to drive home to the hotel’s management the message that enough is enough. Interestingly enough all the proprietor concerned has to say is that the problem is a common one in many hotels. Fortunately or unfortunately this does not detract from the fact that it is unacceptable to keep someone working without paying for his services. It is rank injustice and, to say the least, insensitive.

When people are not properly remunerated or paid on time they can resort to other avenues like stealing as in the case of a school teacher who stole the money of his students reported in one of our last week editions.

We only hope that the matter would be quickly addressed, if only to serve as an eye opener to other hotels and institutions that are in the habit of not paying their staff on time.

The bank last Thursday held its 30thAnnual General Meeting(AGM) at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.

Madam Kumba Samega Janneh, Company Secretary, read the agenda of the meeting as: to receive and adopt the accounts to 31stDecember 2007 together with the reports of the Directors and Auditors, to declare dividends and to authorise the Directors and fix the remuneration of the auditors and Directors.

In his report at the meeting, Mr. Momodou B.A Senghore, Chairman Board of Directors SCB, stated that as a result of the banks performance, the board is recommending a final dividend of GMD72 million or 120 Bututs per ordinary share; in addition to the interim dividend of 50 Bututs per share already paid out in September 2007. On the banks future outlook, he stressed that the bank is in good shape for future growth and performance continues to be strong. “Our group intent to remains unchanged: -to be the world’s best international bank leading the way in Asia, Africa and the Middle East,” he said.

For Mr. Humphrey Mukwereza, CEO and Managing Director of SCB Gambia limited, “ the results for the year ended 31stDecember 2007 reflect the high performance of the bank in a highly competitive environment”. He said that the bank delivered a strong set of results and achievements in the year under review, adding, “we won the Best Foreign Exchange Bank Award” from Euro Global.