National budget portrays mixed performance of public institutions

The 2012 national budget of The Gambia government has revealed the performance of the government institutions in the country.  Whilst some performed impressively well, delivering good financial results, others performed rather oddly accumulating millions of dalasi in losses and deficit.

According to The Gambia’s 2012 budget, read by the finance minister in December 2011 to the nation from the National Assembly, all but Gambia Radio and Television Services, Asset Management Recovery Corporation, and Gambia Civil Aviation Authority performed well in 2011.

For the year ended December 2010, the audited account of the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) shows that it recorded a total income of D54.32 million, with total expenditure of D65.92 million resulting in a net loss of D11.57 million.

TWO-THIRD OF GAMBIAN GRADUATES NOW LIVE ABROAD - Gambian-born ICC Chief Prosecutor

The International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor-elect, Fatou Bom Bensouda, has called on the Government of The Gambia to pay consideration to Gambians abroad in relation to housing schemes and job opportunities, as well as create space for them to be able to contribute to the country’s political development, saying “Almost two third of Gambian graduates now live and study abroad.”

Madam Bensouda, ICC Chief Prosecutor

Mrs Bensouda, who was elected unopposed last month to head the ICC as chief prosecutor after the  term of the Argentine-born Luis Moreno Ocampo, was speaking on behalf of Gambians in the Diaspora during a two-day consultative meeting between the Government of The Gambia and Gambians in the Diaspora, held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Senegambia.

The theme for this first-ever held meeting between the government and its citizens abroad - “Harnessing Diaspora engagement in support of enhanced socio-economic development in The Gambia” - sought to create an environment conducive for meaningful cooperation between them.

Citing a recent World Bank publication, the Gambian-born ICC icon said The Gambia is “second only to Cape Verde” in the number of African states’ graduate nationals living abroad, adding that this is not necessarily an adverse situation; rather “it serves to point out the considerable potential that is out there which could be brought to bear in favour of The Gambia’s development agenda.”

TAKAFUL ENJOYS INT’L RECOGNITION FOR OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE

Company's MD Airlifted to Global Conference on World Peace

Mr Momodou Joof, Managing Director of Takaful Gambia Ltd

Momodou M. Joof, Managing Director of Takaful Gambia Limited, has left The Gambia for Malaysia to attend a three-day international conference aimed at providing a platform for stakeholders from across the globe to converge and help chart a roadmap towards galvanizing the voice of the moderates to “ensure a just and durable world peace”.

To be held on 17 through 19 January 2012 in the Malaysian city of Kuala Lumpur, the International Conference on Global Movement of Moderates is organised by the International Islamic University of Malaysia Alumni Association (IIUMAA) in conjunction with the International Islamic University of Malaysia on the theme: "In Pursuit of an Enduring and Just Peace".

The conference is said to have received strong encouragement and support from the Government of Malaysia, and His Excellency Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Razak has kindly agreed to be the patron and to deliver the opening keynote address. Internationally renowned high calibre of people like US secretary of state Hilary Clinton and the president of the Islamic Development Bank will be delivering presentations at the forum.