The credit union of the insurers has made some
progress and registered achievement within one year of its establishment
despite facing some difficulties in the beginning.
The Insurance Association of The Gambia Cooperative
Credit Union (IAGCCU) on Friday held its maiden annual general meeting (AGM) at
the Laico Atlantic Hotel in Banjul where the executive of the union disclosed to
the members the modest achievements made by the union in the face of
adversities.
The executive members of the association said they
found it difficult initially to have the confidence of the insurers to be
members of the credit union.
Lamin Yarboe, chairman of the executive committee of
the credit union, said that at the beginning, they found it very difficult even
to have working capital for the credit union.
“We approached all the companies in the industry but
none of them was willing to give us the needed money,” he said.
He noted that the one-year journey was not very smooth
but by dint of hard work, dedication and determination to succeed, coupled with
the support of the members of the credit union, they were able to make it.
Mr Yarboe thanked Henry Jawo, secretary general of
the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG), for his support, words of
courage and wisdom during the difficult times of the credit union.
“When we started the credit union, we did not have a
penny but thank God today we are giving loans, which is a testimony of how far we
have gone,” said Raymond Ceesay, vice
chairman of the credit union.
The treasurer of the credit union, Sirrah Jammeh,
said the total savings of the union for the year under review is D220,200.
She said the credit union has started giving loans
and gave D81,400 in 2012, and from January to 15 February 2013 it has disbursed
more than D90,000 as loan.
The byelaws of the IAGCCU state that members are
only entitled to loans or withdrawals after six months of regular savings, and
the loans of the credit union attract an interest rate of 1.25% per month. All the loans given by the credit union as of
now are on short- and medium-term basis.
