The Arab Gambian Islamic Bank (AGIB), on Thursday, held a press conference at its headquarters in Banjul. The ceremony marked the inauguration of the new management of the bank, which is now set to operate in partnership with a Nigerian bank, Finbank.

Speaking at the press conference, the outgoing managing director of the bank, Mamour Malick Jagne, highlighted the significant role AGIB has been playing in The Gambia’s financial sector since its establishment,12 years ago.

The shareholders of AGIB, he said, had considered it appropriate to link up with a strategic partner who would provide additional capital and bring technological and human resource improvements to the bank.

"AGIB is lucky to have Finbank as its strategic partner," he said. Finbank, which holds 70% of AGIB shares, according to Africa Business Magazine, is the 30th strongest bank in Africa. The outgoing MD informed the gathering that Finbank would run the bank purely on Islamic principles.
 
He thanked President Jammeh and the Central Bank of The Gambia for their support and cooperation.

For his part, the incoming managing director, Zakari Abubakar, declared that AGIB is the most successful Islamic bank in the whole of West Africa. This, he said, prompted their investment in the bank. Mr Zakari also commended The Gambia government as well as the Central Bank of The Gambia for their support.

Editor,

Praise where praise is due. The improvements made at the Daily Observer are very good.

Your coloured pictures, and the fact that you can make them bigger have all contributed to the excellent work.
Well done to the management. I look forward to seeing many more pictures of our great president in colour.
Thank you.

Ebrima

When it comes to entertainment in The Gambia, a name Hurricane rings a bell. However, in the recent years, the country music industry has witnessed a rapid improvements especially with the existence of the new emerging  breeds in the dancehall force.

Although many are also force to quits the rap industry due to reason or the other. Some financial constraints to developed their stuffs some are based on reason best known to them Hurricane is undisputedly another upcoming dancehall star struggling to reach international stardom.

The Brikama -based Sainey Cessay widely known by his music sobriquet as Hurricane, was born in 1986 to a music loving Dad and Mum.

However, his career in music dates back as far as his childhood time when he use to performed at cultural dance.

He was inspired into music by one Bobb (Jah Nalage), a loyal and devoted son of Senegambia.

His has a smooth infectious voice that can move a whole crowd when he perform on stage. His singing voice is just great.

Since, then the young dancehall star rapid rise to stardom has catapulted to the length and breath of the country. As a teenager he rebelled and began to sing reggae & deep afro.  It was during those years when he develops his liking of creating thought of cultural songs .

According to Onegambia.com, the young prolific reggae dancehall star put on his first public performance at very tender age.

Although skepting at first, it was at age of 20 when Huricane recorded his first hit tape (Take it slow) which rock the airwaves at that time and still remains a hit tune. Few months after the release of this audio tape, his popularity and music began to spread his all over especially in the Kombos.

His voice drenched with soul, sincerity and romanticism is the fundamental factor that forms a strong bond with any who hear him singing.

An invitation into musical world, Huricane requires an intriguing geography lesson. The sensuous singer, who earlier make his recording debut with the late show-bix hero M.J. (Bulldoff Record), later gave him this chance quickly became a believer and incorporated with multi-faceted project roots reggae & dancehall music aptly title (Cant Run Away ) .

“The title song a talk about where I'm from and it's my hope that everyone who listens feels that I have brought them into my world as a special quest. It's a happy moment, and fun to people of the world,”he said.

He observed that , African artists have often sung of the struggles of life in and out of the land adding that his songs speak of yearning for home, looking back with hope and contribution that will make our mother land and the  an Africa a better place.

The leader of the opposition National Democratic Action Movement (NDAM), a nominated councillor of the Brikama Area Council (BAC), has disclosed that his council has registered with tangible improvements in both the revenue collection and social service delivery.

Lamin Waa Juwara made these remarks in an exclusive interview with the Daily Observer at his Brikama residence. Juwara also acknowledged the commitment of the councillors to dealing with the welfare of the people. However, he stressed that there should be no room for complacency in managing public affairs.

Mr Juwara outlined that the performances of the current administration headed by Sunkari Badjie, chairman of BAC and the councillor for Somita Ward are incomparable to the previous councils in the history of BAC. According to him, the BAC chief executive officer, Momodou Jallow and his team of councillors are preparing to operate more transparently.

He recalled that in November, 2007, when the interim management committee led by governor Abdou FM Badjie was appointed, they found out that the council cannot not even pay its staff salaries, despite the rates and taxes collected by 50 collectors and an additional 35 commission collectors. Juwara, who was also a member of the interim committee, recalled that the 35 commission collectors were terminated because they were serving as "disincentives" for the involvement of the chiefs and Alkalolu in the collection of rates and taxes. "Today, rates and tax collection are being vigorously pursued and the council’s revenue base is getting healthier day by day," he confirmed.

He further underscored that the other impressive performance of the council is the regularisation of its staff appointments, which was preceded by a staff audit by the Personnel Management Office. He said the exercise was carried out because the current administration felt that there were excess ‘baggages’ and lot of irregularities in appointments. "There were a lot of mess in the operation of the Brikama Market also, which are now being put under control", he asserted, adding that positive moves have been taken, which will usher the proper operation.

The plain-speaking veteran politician went on to further add that the council’s recent involvement in the Welingara Market Project in which BAC had pumped in over D560, 000. "This was possible because the sensitisation of the people on the importance of rates and tax payment was a continuous process at the council," he noted.

According to Juwara, BAC is currently having a budget that could meet the needs of the people. However, he observed that the council is currently facing some constraints, as there are areas where the council in its capacity cannot deliver the services as efficiently as intended. He noted that such are the areas of electricity supply, which is extremely expensive.

Mr Juwara further mentioned that the royalty payment from the sand mining has also ceased due to the public controversies surrounding the management of the sand industry. He stressed that these are important resources of the Gambian people that need to be effectively managed.

"If BAC could not manage them, it would be prudent to allocate them to a sector that can get the better of it. But of course, BAC can ensure appropriate management of these resources," he noted.

Juwara then assured the rate and tax payers that the new estimates of the council will cover the maintenance of roads, as well as the education sector through the provision of scholarships the most needy students.