Gambian installed as president of sub-regional Insurance Association

Mr Dawda Sarge

Mr Dawda Sarge, managing director of Prime Insurance Company Limited, has been installed as the new president of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) for one year (2012/2013), succeeding Mr Fatai Lawal, a Nigerian. 

Mr Sarge’s investiture was held on Tuesday during the closing dinner of the of the two-day annual general meeting and educational conference of WAICA, which brought together about 200 insurance professionals from all over West Africa, held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi from 16  - 17 April 2012.

Dressed in traditional African fabric, Getzener Bazin, Mr Sarge took the prescribed oath of office pledging to discharge his duties faithful to the best of his ability and in accordance with the Constitution of WAICA and law.

Shortly after taking the oath, before the WAICA executive committee members and the general membership, as well as family members and well-wishers, Mr Sarge said: “I wish to thank my colleagues in the Gambia insurance industry especially the executive committee members of the association (Insurance Association of the Gambia) for your magnanimity and confidence which you demonstrated by nominating me into the (WAICA) executive and as the president for 2012 – 2013.”

Providing Safe Haven For FDI in West Africa

West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is set to create and establish an agency for the protection of foreign direct investment in the sub-region against the uncertainties of political and other related risks.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of WAICA hosted in The Gambia by the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG) on 16 and 17 April, the secretary general and chief executive officer of WAICA, William B. Coker, said the idea of establishing the agency, dubbed WAICA/ECOWAS Investment Guarantee and Reinsurance Agency, is prompted by the fact that safety and protection of investment is a major concern to all current and potential stakeholders, especially investors, in West Africa.

 “This venture is another vehicle that can be used to facilitate regional economic integration, which is the aim of both WAICA and ECOWAS,” Mr Coker said, adding that the agency is a private sector player which will be run and managed as a commercial venture; “therefore the issue of bureaucracy will not be there”.

The reinsurance aspect of the project will be taken care of by WAICA Reinsurance Corporation, which is a new reinsurance company set up by WAICA, Mr Coker disclosed.

When operational, the agency will give potential investors worldwide the opportunity to invest in West Africa knowing that they are protected against political uncertainties and other related risks that might ruin their investment.

Analysts say a major factor inhibiting the flow of foreign direct investment into the ECOWAS region is the unstable political environment of its member states and their very weak democratic governance structures.