Powering Gambia on solar energy can lower electricity bills

The use of solar energy as an alternative to fossil fuel can greatly reduce heavy electricity bills on Gambian consumers, a report by the International Energy Agency states.

The report has it that the development of reasonably priced, inexhaustible and clean solar technology will have significant long-term benefits for The Gambia’s electricity tariffs.

Solar energy could be Gambia’s predominant source of energy for decades to come and perhaps a lasting solution to the country’s energy problems, the report added.

It also states that solar energy will increase the country’s energy security, reduce pollution, lower costs of tackling climate change and keep fossil fuel prices lower than otherwise.

West African accountants urge to cooperate with other authorities to tackle money laundering

Dr Abdullahi Shehu, DG of GIABA

Accountants in the West African sub-region should cooperate and collaborate with relevant authorities in their countries to curb the menace of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (ML and FT), said the director general of the Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

Dr Abdullahi Shehu said accountants across the sub-region should cooperate with authorities like the police, lawyers, and other law enforcement agencies in customer identification, and record keeping and reporting of suspicious transactions.  This is cognizance of the fact that the fight against the twin evils of ML/TF required concerted efforts.

Dr Shehu made this statement on Wednesday in Banjul during the beginning of a two-day regional training on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML and CFT) requirements for accountants.   

The training, which is organised by GIABA, is being attended by accountants from English-speaking countries in the sub-region namely Ghana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.  It is meant to enhance the capacity of participants to enable them fulfil their obligations to adopt and implement AML and CFT measures.  Such measures include risk assessment and application of the risk-based approach to AML and CFT implementation.

Dr Shehu noted that if the expertise of accountants is provided to a criminal enable them (the criminals) to legitimatise their illegal funds through money laundering, the process of legitimisation of illegally acquired money in order to hide its true source. 

“It is therefore critical that accountants and accounting professionals are aware of and thus, are required to exercise due diligence and consistently monitor transactions of their clients to ensure accurate and meaningful disclosures of suspicion of illegal activity,” the GIABA DG said.

As financial professionals, accountants cannot afford to be complacent when it to being involved in the laundering or criminal proceeds. 

GIABA DG told the accountants: “You are expected to be on the lookout for possible criminal activities because, even if you are judged to have been unaware of the full nature of a client’s shady business, you will still be subject to legal or professional penalties at the end of the day.”

Almost 600 million Africans rely on kerosene lamps and candles for lighting

Six out of every ten Africans, representing 600 million people, rely on dangerous fuel-based lighting like kerosene lamps and candles, Lighting Africa Progress Report has stated.

“This large proportion of Africans who lack electricity spends US$ 10.5 billion a year on kerosene which is the dominant source of lighting,” the 2013 annual report of Lighting Africa says.

It notes that kerosene is used as a primary lighting source by 53 per cent of Africa’s population.

The report also states that resorting to expensive and dangerous fuel-based lighting poses fire hazards and causes pollution.

It suggests that the continent should consider shifting to other sources of energy like windmill and solar.

WAICA Re enhances skill of insurers on marine and aviation insurance

Cross section of the participants

Insurance practitioners from various companies in West Africa are undergoing a weeklong international training course on advance marine and aviation insurance in The Gambia.

The training that started on Monday is organised by the West Africa Reinsurance Corporation (WAICA-Re), a sub-regional reinsurance company based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. 

It is being attended by about 50 participants from various insurance companies in English-speaking countries of West Africa namely Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.  It is underway at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.

The course was declared open by the governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, Amadou Colley, who was represented by Mr Saikou Gassama, a senior officer at the Bank.

The participants are being train on modules such as marine cargo underwriting, marine cargo and hull reinsurance, aviation insurance underwriting, and aviation insurance claims and adjustments.

Speaking on the occasion, the managing director and chief executive officer of WAICA Re, Mr Abiola Ekundayo, said marine and aviation are chosen to be main theme of the training because there are obvious challenges in underwriting those two classes of insurance in the sub-region.

“We know there are challenges in these fields in the sense that we do not have many marine and aviation underwriters.  Also, if you look at the insurance industry in Africa generally, the old people are going out and the younger ones they are leaving are not well versatile when it comes to underwriting skills, particularly marine and aviation insurance. 

“So we are trying to develop them, the younger ones, in order to prepare them for the future so that the industry will not collapse even if all the old ones retire.”

WAICA Re CEO claimed that at the end of the training, by the time the participants listened to various experts, the facilitators, they will also be versatile in underwriting the two classes of insurance – marine and aviation.

In Gambia, people are afraid to speak

Source:  unitedpatriotsworldwide.com

Opinion is said to be the cheapest commodity in the world – because every other person has one.  This might not be very true of The Gambia where people with contrary views on controversial issues are not able or willing to speak their mind.

Not only on controversial issue but people are mute on things like healthcare delivery and other social issues which they could comment on.

People are afraid of drawing attention of the authorities to some of the issues affecting their lives and livelihood including existing human rights problems and abuses and persuade the government to take action on them. 

Instead, most of the times, people only open their mouth in public to praise the government - sing the praises of the big men and women - but keep mute on real issues affecting them as if everything is ok. 

However, in principle the Constitution of the land has it that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion … and the freedom to express, impact opinion without interference.  In practice, this is far from the reality due to various restrictions that are continuously being enacted by the government. 

Citizens with divergent views on some of the national issues are either really afraid or legally not allowed to speak their minds.  People are getting more and more scare from speaking their minds on national topical issues.  Or if one is so strong with his/her opinion and cannot help button it, the person has to greatly censor him/herself.

People are afraid of speaking their mind for one of two reasons, or both.  Some are afraid that in the process of commenting, giving their view on something, they may be seen to be going against the government in which case they could be labelled as an opposition. Though being an opposition is not prohibited anyway! Besides, others are afraid they may fall foul of one of the various laws in the country that limits people’s expression and in which case they will face dire punishment.

It has got to a stage that even when you want discuss certain things with people on phone, you will simply be reminded that “please you are on phone”, as if somebody is listening to everything.  Whether that is the case, is another thing but this is an indication that people are afraid even to speak particularly if they hold a divergent view on a controversial topic.

The people have opinions but would not speak.

Fuel-wood energy threatens Gambia’s forest cover

Heavy reliance on the forest cover for fuel-wood (firewood and charcoal) continues to destroy The Gambia’s forest cover.

A report by the National Planning Commission says the over-reliance of the major urban centres on fuel-wood is destroying the country’s forest cover, causing deforestation and environmental degradation.

Consequences of deforestation

Continuous cutting down of trees for fuel-wood is contributing to desertification and low food production in the country and this could lead to increased hunger and poverty.

The report further states that valuable trees are fading away in The Gambia which can be used for medical purposes.

Rapid loss of forest

According to UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the forest zone of The Gambia is 48 per cent of the country’s land area.  But from 1990 to 2010, the country lost an average of 1,900 hectares per year which is 3% of the forest cover due to fuel wood consumption.

Briquettes as an alternative

Lenja Guenther, the project coordinator at Green Tech, an environmental solutions company, said the use of renewable energy like briquettes can be a suitable solution to the threats fuel-wood consumption is posing on The Gambia’s forest cover.

Groundnut shells can be used as briquettes to substitute firewood and charcoal, she said.

Gambia Speelt Mee donates classroom furniture to Aunty Dorricing’s Nursery school

A Dutch foundation, ‘Gambia Speelt Mee’, has donated sets of tables and benches to Aunty Dorricing’s International Nursery School in Brufut Ghana Town.  The handing over ceremony of the furniture was held at the school’s ground on Monday.

The foundation donated 36 set of tables and benches 24 of which are sponsored by Madam Therese Min, the wife of the initiator Gambia Speelt Mee, Mr Bert Min.  The rest, 12, was sponsored by A.D.I. Funds for Schools, a UK based charity organisation established to support Aunty Dorricing’s Nursery School.

Each of the donated tables and benches can be used by three pupils.  Initially, the pupils of the nursery school used to sit on empty crates and some dilapidated benches – without tables. 

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the chairperson of the ceremony, Susana Baiden, said the school teachers and the pupils welcomed the support as it will contribute to the progress of the school.   She noted that the furniture will further enhance the quality of education being delivered by the school. 

“Now, we are assured that more children will be comfortably seated to pay attention to lesson,” she stated. 

Mrs Baiden told Mr and Mrs Min that the pupils of the nursery school see them as great providers for putting smiles on their faces. 

The principal of Aunty Dorricing’s International Nursery School, Mr Alexander Mensah, stressed that he is so pleased to receive the furniture because the pupils have not been sitting on good furniture for the past four years.  “So I am really honoured by this gesture,” he said. 

The school started operations in 2009/2010 academic year and since then none of the six classrooms in the school have good seats.  

The school principal said, before now, the pupils used to sit on empty crates.  Then the school later got some carpenters to help with some temporary benches but even those benches are dilapidated now. 

“So when Bert visited the school during the last academic year to install the playgrounds equipments – three swings - he was touched to see the children sitting on empty crates to attend lesson,” Mr Mensah said.  “This is why when he went back to Holland, he talked to his wife to see what they can do and thank God the wife decided to sponsor the school with some tables and benches through the foundation – Gambia Speelt Mee.”

Bert Min, initiator of Gambia Speelt Mee, said he is very pleased that his foundation is helping the pupils with the essentials that they need to attend lesson comfortably. 

He said initially, he donated the school and other schools with playground equipment because he did not know that the pupils do not even have the essentials classroom furniture.    

Gambia Central Bank to reduce money supply in the economy

To control price stability and reduce inflation

The Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has issued a directive raising the amount of money that commercial banks in the country have to hold as reserve - amount of cash that they should not loan out to customers. 

Governor Amadou Kolley of the Central Bank

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBG has raised the reserve requirement of commercial banks by two percentage points to 12 per cent, a press release from the Bank on Monday stated.  

 
The higher the reserve requirement is set, the less cash banks will have to loan out, leading to lower money in circulation.

The rationale behind this impromptu decision is to withdraw excess Dalasi liquidity out of the economy and thus help preserve price stability, the release affirmed. 

This is one of the additional measures the CBG has taken to restore stability and transparency in the foreign exchange market.

The decision follows a recent decision of the MPC, early this month, when it increased the policy rate by two percentage points to 14 per cent.

The measure was intended to enhance the attractiveness of Dalasi assets and to dampen inflationary pressures.

 
At that time, the MPC also indicated that it would closely monitor developments as well as take additional measures it deemed absolutely necessary.

According to the press release, the MPC in its monitoring has observed that activities in the foreign exchange market continue to exert pressure on the change rate of the Dalasi. 

Such activities like disorderly market conditions, characterised by high exchange rate volatility and wide bid-offer spreads, create inflationary pressure and stifle economic growth

IMF allocates $2m to Gambia for poverty reduction

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the disbursement of US$2.3 million to The Gambia government to support programmes and structural reforms necessary to reduce the high rate of poverty and boost economic growth in the country.

 

The disbursement is following the IMF executive board’s completion of the first review of the government’s economic performance under a programme supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement, according to a press release from the IMF-Gambia office on Thursday.

 

This last disbursement makes the total disbursements under the arrangement to about US$16.2 million.  

 

In May 2012, the executive board of the IMF approved a three-year ECF arrangement with an amount equivalent to about US$28.3 million for The Gambia to support the government's economic programme.

 

Economy still recovering

 

“The Gambian economy is still recovering from the severe drought of 2011,” Naoyuki Shinohara, deputy managing director and acting-chair of the IMF, said following the Board’s discussion of The Gambia.

 

The government’s policies and the support of the international donor community played an important role in enabling the recovery in agriculture to take hold, he noted.

 

However, he said there are downside risks related to The Gambia’s economic recovery such as the high domestic debt burden, weaknesses in the balance of payments, and inflationary pressures.

 

The domestic debt of the government increased to D11.3 billion, as at end-March 2013.

 

“High public indebtedness continues to pose risks to macroeconomic stability and significant costs to the budget,” Mr Shinohara affirmed.

 

Dutch couple renovates Batokunku Nursery School in Gambia

Front view of the new roof
After it is repaired

Géke Lagerburg and her husband Simon, both from Holland, have renovated the roof of Batokunku Nursery School which was in a very dilapidated condition.

The couple changed the entire roofing - the timber and corrugates - of the building which consists of two classrooms and the headmistress’s office.  The timbers of the previous roof were all eaten by terminates and the corrugate was very rusty.

The officials of the school said the condition of roof was such that if not refurbish, the government was going to close it down. That aside, if the rainy season meets the roof in such a bad state, small wind can blow the entire roof off or even without that when it rains, the corrugates leak like a sieve.

Inside of the new roof

It was because of the dire situation of the school that one of the teachers, Momodou Dambelle, has decided to prepare a donation paper to go to the hotel areas to look for sponsor who can come to the school’s aid.

It was in this process that Mr Dambelle met the Dutch couple, who were in the country for tourism, vacation.

Front view of the school
Before it is repaired

“When I show them the paper, they said they want to see the school for themselves,” Dambelle said.  “So we had an appointment for them to come to the school and they came to the school on the appointed day.”

He said many people, tourists, have promised to come to the school to give a helping hand but they never came.

“So, when they came here, they asked us what we want, the help we want,” the headmistress of the nursery school, Jalika Kassama, said.  “We told them that our urgent need is to help us make the roof.  Roofing is our headache now.  If the roof is not made, the children are going to suffer before the closing of school for summer holiday.”

Inside of the old roof

She said the couple then promised that they will do all they can to help the school to renovate the roof.  According to the headmistress, the couple also promised that if the roofing is successfully completed then they may give the school other relevant help needed.

In fulfilment of their promise, the couple sent in the money for the renovation of the roof through their contact in The Gambia, Amadou Demba. 

Now the work is completed, the school is having a new roof now. 

Baboucarr Jatta, a senior teacher at the school, said the help of the couple came at a very good time.

All the officials of the school thanked the couple for their “timely intervention” for making the school environment conducive for learning, once again.

Amadou Demba, who was the one representing the couple in the country, said he is happy because the entire process of the renovation was very successful.

“Also, I am very happy because though I am not a native of Batokunku, I see that the project is not helping only the natives of Batokunku but the whole Gambia,” he said.

He thanked the teachers and the carpenter for their cooperation during the work.

The Dutch couple pose with the teachers and the pupils of 
Batokunku Nursery School 

The sponsors, the Dutch couple said they supported the nursery school because during their visit to the school they have seen that the roof was in a poor condition. 

They also said during their visit they observed that the teachers are very kind and they really love the little children.

The duo said the teachers believe the kids are the future of The Gambia.

 

In this same vein, they - the couple – noted that whatever they do for the school, for the kids they are doing it for the future of The Gambia.

Now that the first engagement of the couple with the school is finished, they said they will discuss with the school officials to know what is most important to do for the school next.

However, the couple from Holland said now their plan is to involve the community in what they doing with the school so that the community can feel responsible for their own school.

Inflation increases as Gambian Dalasi loses value

Inflation - the rate at which the prices of goods and services increase, is forecasted to have increased more than the target of 5 per cent in The Gambia. 

This is primarily because the national currency, the Dalasi, continues to weaken in value against all major international currencies, the Central Bank Governor has said.

The Central Bank Governor made this remark on Monday during the opening ceremony of the ‘regional course on fundamentals of macro-economic analysis’. 

The weeklong training course organized by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) underway in Banjul, is being attended by economists from central banks in the ECOWAS sub-region and other financial institutions. 

The Dalasi has depreciated against the British Pound by 12.62 per cent, the US dollar by 11.87 per cent and the Euro by 12 per cent. 

Governor Amadou Colley said in view of this unforeseen circumstance, the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) would therefore continue to implement prudent monetary policy critical to maintaining low, stable and predictable rate of inflation.

Among these prudent monetary policies the Bank is expected to undertake is price stability so as to promote economic growth by reducing uncertainty and preventing arbitrary redistribution of wealth.

The CBG Governor said in view of the uncertain economic environment, policy actions should be indicated by the prevailing economic circumstances of the country.

WAIFEM equips West African economists for uncertain future

Economists from central banks and other financial institutions in West Africa are being train to reinforce their understanding on the working of the economy. 

The weeklong training, organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), is to prepare the economists to appropriately intervene in any uncertain economic environment.

The regional course on the fundamentals of macroeconomic analysis started on Monday in Banjul.

Speaking on the occasion, the Director General of WAIFEM, Prof Akpan H. Ekpo, said recent global financial crisis has raised serious concern about the need to develop adequate manpower base among institutions charged with managing the economy.

“It could be seen from the crisis that countries with weak macroeconomic fundamentals were more vulnerable to the propagation of the financial crisis,” he stated.

Prof Ekpo explained that the regional course seeks to offer the participants with the requisite theoretical and practical background that will broaden and deepen their knowledge and analytical skills on macroeconomic management.

The course has been designed to cover a number of key macroeconomic topics such as basic macroeconomic framework for policy analysis, openness in goods and financial analysis, the balance of payment and exchange rates, the interest rate and the exchange rate, the foreign exchange market, introduction to financial programming, and interrelations among macroeconomic accounts.

Civic education council capacitises ward councillors on Local Gov’t Act

The National Council for Civic Education (NCCE) on Thursday completed a two-day training for the newly elected ward councillors of the Brikama Area Council on the amended Local Government Act 2002 and Human Rights.

This training was held to enhance the capacities of councillors on their roles and functions as defined in the Local Government Act. 

It further strengthened the councillors’ understanding of human rights and human rights-based approach to development, thus increase their accountability to the people.

Ward councilors of the Brikama Area Council

Speaking on the occasion, Isatou Bittaye, programme officer of the NCCE, said the training is important in that good public governance helps to strengthen democracy and human rights, promote economic prosperity and social cohesion. 

The training would lead to the achievement of the objectives of decentralization in The Gambia, she said. 

The country’s decentralization has generally been considered to be a positive step towards making Local Governments more accountable to the poor by moving decision-making as close to the scene of action as possible.

The aim of the decentralization is to redistribute power, responsibility and resources to the local level.  It also redefined the division of labour and responsibilities between the central and the local governments. 

Enormous task ahead

For the acting-chairman of the NCCE, Alhaji Modou Joof, the tasks ahead of the newly elected councillors are enormous and expectations are very high. 

He noted that challenges and opportunities are evident but with self-reliant, faith and patriotism there will be light at the end of the tunnel. 

He told the ward councillors that with dedication, determination and hard work they will triumph against all odds and detractors.

Take risks

Mr Joof also told the councillors that they should not be afraid to take risks or being criticized.

“If you do not want to be criticised do not say anything, do anything or be anything,” he said.  “Do not be afraid of failing.  It is through failure you learn to do things right.” 

Teaching of Gambia constitution should be compulsory in schools

The teaching of the Constitution of The Gambia should be made compulsory in all schools in the country, the chief of Kombo South has said.

Alhagie Mustapha Touray said if the primary schools are too “junior” to start receiving teaching about The Gambia constitution, then the exercise should start from junior secondary schools up to the university. 

Chief of Kombo South, Alhagie Mustapha Touray

The tutors should come from the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE), he added. 

Chief Touray noted that it is only through teaching of the Constitution in schools that people will be more aware of their civic rights and responsibility.

The Chief made these statements during a two-day training on the amended Local Government Act 2002 and Human Rights for ward councillors of the Brikama Area Council, organised by the National Council for Civic Education (NCCE). 

The training started on Wednesday at the complex of the Brikama Area Council in Brikama.
His comments came shortly after the ward councillors outlined their expectations and objectives for attending the training. 

Most of the ward councillors said they are expecting to be conversant with the Local Government Act so they can perform their duties based on the Act. 

Chief Touray pointed out that if people are aware of the Constitution then understanding of the laws in the country would not be difficult hence it is necessary for the Constitution to be taught at school.

The Cleric Was Neither on a Vigil, After All

Imam Baba Leigh
Source: Front Page International blog

By Saikou Jammeh, a Gambian journalist 

The ‘disappeared’ Gambian Islamic scholar, who had been wildly speculated to have died, has finally
appeared, alive and ticking. But, after all, the astute cleric had neither been on a vigil. In fact, the past five months that he’d been away, whether he was regularly saying his prayers, is a question that is subjected to his confirmation.

For, Imam Baba Leigh was being kept against his will, arbitrarily, in a secretly-shrouded place where not even his wife could access to him. The Gambian state authorities, who had all along been telling the public, unfaithfully, that the imam was not in their custody, is the culprit here.

The prolonged detention wasn’t just a violation of the rights of the scholar, but it breaches Gambian constitution, which prohibits detention of suspects, even of a common criminality, beyond 72 hours. Yet more shocking is the government’s failure to give any genuine justification, legal or moral.

No wonder when Baba Leigh, visibly weak and frail, was paraded on the state-TV on Friday 10 April, following his release, he was a mere shadow of his former assuming self.

The outspoken cleric is no stranger to arbitrary arrest and detention, which in today’s Gambia, has become a norm rather than an exception. It seems however, that the near a half year of detention, without access to even a lawyer, is the stroke that perhaps not broke, but painfully lacerated the proverbial camel’s back.

Uncharacteristic of him, Imam Leigh was economical of the truth of the circumstances that surrounded his saga. He ironically praised the state that put him under the trauma of detention, apparently in jails whose conditions had been generally described as inhumane and degrading.

He even heaped blame on himself, and admittedly allowed to be left holding the bag of guilt, for a ‘crime’ which the state authorities were unable to muster courage to spill out, even after wallowing in Dutch courage that was the apparent stage-managed episode.

‘I am a human being and mistakes cannot be avoided, but the best human being is one, who makes mistakes, knows it and tries to rectify the mistake,’ Baba Leigh was quoted as saying. The imam however, left the ‘mistake’ unsaid. So did the Presidential Affairs minister, Njogu Bah, who as the cliché goes, roamed the bush before making his point, when he said:

‘When you comment on issues that you don’t have clear facts on, whatever happens to you, you are the cause of it…In the event that we cannot stay away from commenting, let us say things that will add to the peace and stability in the country, but not to comment on issues that can destabilise a country.”

Gambia gov’t in cash shortfall

By Lamin Jahateh

Gambia national flag

The Gambia government is currently in financial shortfall as its revenue and grants have decreased by D4 billion in one year, from March 2012 to March 2013, a data from the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has indicated.

According to the quarterly report of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBG – released on Tuesday, provisional data on government’s fiscal operations in the first quarter of 2013 indicates that revenue and grants amounted to D1.5 billion, lower than D1.9 billion in the same period in 2012. 

Expenditure and net lending amounted to D1.9 billion, a contraction of 14.5 per cent when compared to the amount registered in 2012. 

As a result of the shortfall in revenue and a need for more expenditure, the government has increased its borrowing from local sources, such as the commercial banks in the country, to balance the difference.  

In this vein, the MPC’s quarterly report of the state of the country’s economy has it that the domestic debt of the government increased to D11.3 billion, as at end-March 2013.

Even with the increased local borrowing, the government’s overall fiscal deficit, including grants, increased by over D130 million – from D200 million registered in the first three months of 2012 to D330.4 million deficit in the first quarter of 2013.

However, though the overall revenue of the government decreased, domestic revenue has increased from D1.2 billion recorded in the first quarter of 2012 to D1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2013.

Treasury bills, through which governments borrow money, account for 77.2 per cent of The Gambia government’s debt stock.  It has increased to D8.7 billion, an increment of 23.5 per cent.   

Dalasi continues to lose value 

The national currency of the country, the Dalasi, continues to weaken in value against all major international currencies.

The MPC report said the Dalasi depreciates against the British Pound by 12.62 per cent, the US dollar by 11.87 per cent and the Euro by 12 per cent. 

“In Nominal Effective Exchange Rate terms, the domestic currency depreciated by 2.6 per cent in March 2013 compared with an appreciation of 0.4 per cent a year earlier,” the MPC said. 

However, the depreciated exchange rate provides an opportunity for the export sector to become more competitive in a challenging global environment.

Inflation projected to further increase

‘Working hours should be reduced for women workers’

By Lamin Jahateh

The Gambia National Trade Union Congress has appealed for the reduction of working hours for women workers to enable them to return home to do their domestic chores.

“On behalf of the women workers, we appeal to the Honourable Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment to consider reducing the hours of work per day to facilitate them to return home on time for their domestic chores,” the secretary general of the National Trade Union Congress said.

In January 2013, President Jammeh effected a change in the official working days and hours of The Gambia.

In that vein, since 1 February 2013, official working days in the country have reduced from five to four, Monday through Thursday, and working hours increased from eight to ten hours; that is from 8am to 6pm. 

Hitherto, official working days in the country are from Monday to Friday, and hours from 8am to 4pm.

The Gambia is now one of the very few countries in the world with a mandatory four-day working week. 

The country is now shut down for a whole day while most of the rest of the world continues doing business and financial markets remain active. 

The reason advanced by the Office of the President for this sudden move was that Friday will be a rest day, a day Muslims can use to worship Allah.  Also, people will have more time to do their agricultural work as part of the President Jammeh’s call for Gambians to “eat what you grow and grow what you eat”.