‘Public Private Partnership should be strengthened if Gambia is to develop’

The Gambia private sector players have strongly observed that the only way to maintain and further strengthen the economic development of the country is to make stronger the partnership between the public and the private sectors.

This statement was made at a day-long forum on the ‘Prospects and Opportunities of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in The Gambia’ organised by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) held at the Coco Ocean Resort and Spa Hotel in Bijilo.

The forum attracted stakeholders from both the public and private sectors to discuss ways and means to strengthen the partnership between the two sectors.

Almami Taal, CEO of Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Speaking on the occasion, Almami Fanding Taal, chief executive officer of GCCI, noted that PPP has the advantage for government in the areas of resource mobilisation, access to expert skills, increased efficiency, and would also ease the burden on public budgets, and improve delivery of services.

When strengthened, PPP can increase access to markets and job creation.

He stressed that a well-planned PPP can sustain the economic growth of the country which will also benefits all sectors of the economy.

Bai Matarr Drammeh: “The greatest enemies of the GCCI are the membership”

Bai Matarr Drammeh, outgoing GCCI president

The outgoing president of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and industry (GCCI), Bai Matarr Drammeh, has noted that the greatest enemies of the Chamber are the members who keep on blaming the Chamber for not doing anything while they don’t bring any issue that needs solution from the Chamber.

Mr Drammeh’s comment was prompted by many questions, comments and concerns as to the efficiency of the GCCI raised by the members present at its annual general meeting held on 5^th October, 2012 at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi,

Pa Sulay Secka of Pass Trading Enterprise said the GCCI should be doing more to protect the indigenous businesses for them to be able to growth and create more employment opportunities. 

Ousainou Dambell of DBC said it will be difficult for the indigenous businesses to compete with the powerful and well established businesses if they are left like that - without any protection. “The businesses should be protected first for them to stand on a strong footing to compete internationally,” he said.  He claimed that many local businesses in the country are suffering from lack of protection.

Both Mr Secka and Dambell claimed that the GCCI is not doing much to protect and create conducive environment for local businesses to flourish.

For Papa Yusupha Njie of Unique Solutions businesses in the country are “facing very difficult times” and that the Chamber should be doing more to support its members. 

Mr Njie said when the Senegalese chamber of commerce wants to meet the president of Senegal to table their constraints, they can see him within 24 hours because they are very proactive and working for their members “that is the type of chamber we want in The Gambia” – a chamber that is very active and working for the needs of its members.  Papa Njie’s comment was applauded by the members. 

In response to Papa Njie’s comment, Bai Matarr Drammeh said Senegalese chamber can meet the president of Senegal within a very short notice because the leader, (the president of the chamber), is appointed politically, like many other francophone countries within the sub-region.

He said:  “I think the issue of Senegalese wanting to meet the president of their country and within a couple of hours they are able to that is because they have political appointment.  The president of the chamber of commerce is appointed politically (by the government).  In The Gambia, we are private sector totally without any funding by the government and therefore we will see government when they have time for us.” 

GCCI undergoing financial constraints

 Unable to fulfill missions towards members

The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), apex body of the private sector operators in the country, is undergoing difficulties constraint hence not able to meet its needs, fulfill its missions toward members, and also unable to hire more professional staff to be part of the team to run daily affairs of the Secretariat effectively, Gambia News Online can reveal.  

GCCI CEO, Almami Fanding Taal

“In adequate financial resources has been a major setback for GCCI in terms of addressing the growing demands of the private sector,” the annual reports and financial statements for the years 2006 – June 2012 of the Chamber has stated. 

Due to financial predicament, the GCCI membership training has not been conducted for quite some time owing to the cost involved; it was difficult to mobilize interested participants.

The report, presented at the annual general meeting of the GCCI held on 5th October, 2012 at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi, said the dinner lecture series of the Chamber was suspended due to lack of follow up and financial support.

The Gambia News Online understands that some members and partners of the GCCI were becoming reluctant in sponsoring or being part of GCCI activities organized for the membership, causing financial constraints for the Chamber.

Due to lack of effective implementation of its missions towards members as a result of insufficient finances, the Chamber is finding it difficult to retain current membership and also recruitment of new members is a daunting challenge.    

Gambia: Vast investment opportunities but inaccessible by private sector

Economic operators in The Gambia have noted that the country has vast opportunities for investment but government stance of not opening up for intervention into some strategic areas by the private sector has hindered the ability to make more investments in such areas.

Some of the vital sectors for investment have been tried in vain by members of the private sector due to government’s protectionism, which makes it difficult for investor capital to find their way into them.

Mr Touray

For instance, the major infrastructural sectors are really not open to private sector participation, the president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Abdoulie Baks Touray, has said in an interview with this paper.

Mr Touray observed that one of the key areas the government has refused to open up for private sector participation is the ferry services. 

Some time ago, he noted, some members of the private sector including himself did a feasibility study for possible investment in sea transport, such as ferry services, and found out that there are untapped potentials in this area the private sector can explore.

But, according to the business and financial analyst, they were later made to understand that ferry services is a no-go area for the private sector. “It is reserved for the public sector intervention,” Mr Touray said.

Gambia private sector told to grow from toddling

Economic operators in The Gambia have been urged to form mergers to maintain bigger companies and corporations if they are to contribute meaningfully to the economic development of the country.

Abdou Kolley, minister of finance and economic affairs

Finance and economic affairs minister Abdou Kolley has said small individual enterprises cannot make substantial progress in the development of the country.

“The best way for the private sector to make an impact in this country is that they have to be willing and ready to open, join together and form larger corporations,” Minister Kolley said.

In this way, even government’s support to them will be easier because it is easy to support a few established companies than thousands of individual small companies, he says.

“So it is better for them to really come together and work with government in order to help us achieve the objective set for this country,” he added, saying:  “There are great potentials for growth for the private sector, but this cannot be tapped by individual companies simply because they may not have the adequate financing to expand into the untapped areas but if they form conglomerates they will have solid capital for significant undertakings.”

GCCI to stage mini-trade fair for youth entrepreneurs in Brikama

The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry is set to stage the second edition of its mini-trade fair, ‘Marche Jula’, from 11 to 20 October this year in Brikama to promote youth entrepreneurs and enterprises, after interacting with young enterprising men and women in the country over the months.

Almami Taal, GCCI CEO

To be held on the theme “Promoting Sustainable Youth Enterprises and Self Employment”, the aims of the event, first staged in 2011, include exposing youth enterprises, promoting self-employment, increasing sales for youth enterprises and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), showcasing innovations in science and technology, and complementing Trade Fair Gambia (TFG), held every two years.

An impeccable source close to this paper has said the target businesses are youth enterprises, MSMEs, science and technology innovations, and self-employment initiatives in agriculture, arts and craft, construction, electrical and electronics, fashion, food and beverages, furniture, renewable energy, tailoring and other undertakings. 

This year’s Marche Jula will provide a platform for young people to showcase their skills, talents and innovation, particularly in science and technology, thereby giving them more business opportunities and market power.  

GCCI schedules date for Annual Business Awards, increases number of prizes

The prestigious annual business award of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), in which businesses and individuals in the private sector are recognise and celebrated for their outstanding performance, is scheduled to take place on 1^st June and four new categories of award are add to the ten categories awarded last year.

During the awards a new breed of economic operators would be awarded for excellence in doing performance.  The aim of the event is to promote and nurture business excellence, and motivate business entities to do more for the economic growth and social development.

This year’s award night will witness the award of hotel, restaurant, tourism, and insurance ‘Company of the Year’ in addition to the ten awarded categories given last year.

Alammy Taal GCCI CEO

According to the Chief Executive Officer of the GCCI, Almamy Taal, the annual awards also seeks to draw public attention to  the role of the private sector and realize the innovativeness of entrepreneurship in the sector. 

Mr Taal, who was speaking to journalists on Tuesday at a press conference held at Kerr Jula, the GCCI head office located in Bijilo along Bertil Harding Highway, said the dinner is meant to recognise the efforts and gains made by the business community in the country in contributing towards the socio-economic development of the nation.

He explained that the proceeds from this year’s awards night will be used to help the farmers.

To attend Annual Business Awards Night Dinner, individuals and institutions pay money in form of buying tables of different categories – gold, silver, platinum – the proceeds of which the GCCI used to fund some of its activities, but the CEO of the Chamber emphasized that “greater part of this year’s annual dinner award proceeds will be given to Gambian farmers in support of this year’s crop failure”.

BOOMING TIME FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR

ENTERING 2012 WITH HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS
The Gambia Government has launched a project to provide matching grant support to qualifying Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and eligible private enterprises to become more competitive, grow their businesses, create jobs and increase household incomes.

The launching of the Matching Grant Facility on 27 December,  according to the Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, “signifies that we will be entering 2012 with hopes and aspirations to become better entrepreneurs with resolutions of creating employment, better services and sustained wealth for improved livelihood of the Gambian people”.

Gambia's Trade Minister, Hon. Kolley

In his launching statement at the Kairaba Beach Hotel recently, Trade Minister Abdou Kolley said the project would help The Gambia’s private sector to successfully partake and grow in the domestic and international market.

The Matching Grant Facility (MGF) is a sub-component of the World Bank-funded Growth and Competitiveness Program.  It seeks to confirm long-term sustainable job creation and income generation by providing enterprises in The Gambia with the necessary assistance to facilitate growth of their business in a planned, business-savvy manner.

Economic summit calls for enhanced productive sector

The just concluded Third National Economic Summit organised by the Gambian government together with other private sector stakeholders has emphasised the importance of developing the productive sectors of The Gambia’s economic base to accelerate growth and employment in the country. Gambia News Online filled in this report from the two-day discourse.

The Government of The Gambia, under the Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, has held a national economic summit under the theme: 'Developing the productive sectors to accelerate growth and employment in The Gambia'.

The third economic summit was held in collaboration with the Gambia Chamber of Commerce (GCCI), the UNDP, the Gambia Growth and Competitiveness Project (GCP) and the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GIEPA), at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.

The two-day summit, attended by development partners, senior government officials and representatives of NGOs discussed pertinent issues regarding the agricultural, insurance and the informal sectors of the economy.

The summit has been held at a time The Gambia government is pursuing a new socio-economic framework called Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment (PAGE) which, according to President Yahya Jammeh, focuses on "growth and employment".

At the summit, President Jammeh was represented by the vice president of The Gambia, Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, who said the importance of productive capacities for economic growth and employment with consequential impacts on poverty reduction is evident in the development experience of developing countries which have managed to achieve sustained and substantial poverty reduction over the last 30 years.

“Various reports that analysed the nature and dynamics of poverty in the least developed countries (LDCs) have argued that the under-development of productive capacities is the missing link between the expanding international trade which many LDCs have achieved in recent years and the sustained poverty reduction which remain elusive in most of them,” the vice-president says.

“The overdependence on a few primary commodities for our export earnings is part of the reasons for the vulnerability and instability of the economies of most LDCs. Consequently, our economies remain fragile due to their excessive vulnerability to various shocks, and this could be arguably linked to our weak productive and supply capacities."

VP Njie-Saidy also called on the NGOs, the private sectors and other development partners, saying: "We must therefore come together to build a genuine partnership that would enable us to face the daunting challenges of socio-economic development."

While calling on Gambians to champion the development of the country, VP Njie-Saidy reiterated President Jammeh’s statement: "I must emphasise that the development of this country cannot be anchored on the benevolence of others. We must look within and make maximum use of our available resources - human, material and financial."

Hon. Kolley Trade Minister

In his remarks, Abdou Kolley, Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, said the outcome of the summit would serve as a tool for accelerating growth, reducing poverty and creating further employment.

He highlighted the positive outcome of the last economic summit held in 2003, saying eight years ago, the central themes of many fora was ‘availability’ of basic facilities such as electricity and telecommunications, but the focus now has been shifted to "affordability".

The president of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) emphasised the importance of the agricultural, insurance and informal sectors, saying the three sectors play a vital role in the economy and key growth areas.

Bai Matarr Drammeh also says, relating to agriculture there are 49 LDCs with a population of more than 800 million people, who represented the poorest and most vulnerable segment of humanity and are at the very epicentre of development emergency.

International trade market opportunities are also changing, with growing integration of global agricultural supply chain and the emergence of large economies, he notes.

On insurance, the GCCI president says it is considered an infrastructural pillar of the financial services sector and the economy. "Insurance companies form a growing part of the domestic financial sector and closely linked with macroeconomic factors such as inflation, currency, controls, and the national income.”

Speaking further, Mr Drammeh said insurance improves people’s quality of life and increases social stability by way of individual health and life insurance, pension funds and workers compensation.