‘President Jammeh’s women empowerment initiatives motivated me to come back home,’ Says GAWFA Boss

In an interview with thegambianbanker.com, the Chief Executive Officer of the Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA), said President Jammeh’s women empowerment initiatives motivated her to come back home. Oley Njie-Mbye, who has been in the US for more than a decade, observes that there have been “lots of women empowerment initiatives in The Gambia since 1994”. Mrs Njie-Mbye gave a comparison of Gambia before and during the era of President Yahya Jammeh. She said: “When I was in The Gambia, before I went to the US, I did not see these much positive impact in development and empowerment of women but since the coming of the Jammeh administration there have been more positive contributions and development towards the advancement of women.” Most of these developments are self-evident, she says, adding that the government has registered significant achievements by putting in place legislative policies and strategies that support the empowerment of women and the girl child in an environment of equity, fair play and justice. Women have and continued to occupy key decision-making positions in the Jammeh administration over the past 16 years, and the GAWFA CEO believes the contribution of this trend to nation building is “immeasurable”. “We cannot sit here and mention all, it’s evident. We have seen that there are more women in parliament now, more women are economically active now, and more women are empowered now than 16 years ago,” she said. “These efforts really caught my attention with much enthusiasm and motivated me more to take the courage and make a decision to return home and contribute to the development of our beloved nation.” The level of women empowerment in the country “is quite amazing, motivational, and inspiring” not only for her but also for many Gambians living abroad, Mrs Njie-Mbye says. “This is why I decided to come back home to contribute in the little way I can towards the advancement and empowerment of Gambian women and together we can build the nation,” she explained. “When I was writing my Master’s degree I wrote about microfinance in The Gambia, though I had an option; I could have written about where I was (the US.) to make it easy for me to complete,  but because I have an intention to come back home, I decided to write about my own country. Similarly, my doctorate also, I decided to write about the NGOs and the economic empowerment of Gambian women.” The finance and business guru said further: “So I am ready to give everything I could, I am ready to help and volunteer in many areas that I can to complement the government’s efforts towards the empowerment of women and national development. “I was born and bred in an environment of social entrepreneurship where you can be an entrepreneur at the interest of the society. My mother was an entrepreneur. Even though I have worked in the corporate world, and I have a regular full time job, I can still contribute, mentor and help women in many capacities to contribute in their advancement.” Profile of GAWFA CEO Oley Njie Mbye is a bank executive with over 16 years of diverse leadership experiences. Before acquiring her higher education at universities in Africa, Europe and USA, Oley attained her GCE O’ level certificate at Muslim High School where she was the Head Girl and later pursued her Advance Level Certificate at St. Augustine’s High School. Oley enjoys life’s challenges and vicissitudes and views them as opportunities for growth and development, even after earning a Diploma de Langue Practique from Dakar University, Senegal, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with Marketing and Management concentration and a minor in French from Coker College, Hartsville, South Carolina, the US. She completed her MSc degree in Social Development Policy and Management in Swansea University, Wales, the UK. Oley is also a doctoral student in the field of Human Services and Public Service Leadership concentrating on Management and has attained her PhD Certificate of Advance Graduate Studies (CAGS) this year from the US. The experience she has on the ground as a social entrepreneur in Africa and the US; the knowledge gained in public affairs from the US Federal Government, the Peace Corps and in Resolution Management with the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO); and the special skills and competence that she brings in on gender equity and women empowerment are all plus to GAWFA and the women empowerment drive in the country. Apart from being bi-lingual, her ability and understanding of the local languages in the country further prepares her for the kind of assignment for which she has been hired. Above all, she has an open door policy which encourages a free flow of information and communication in her workplace. She enjoys volunteer work and has a strong passion in the advancement of women empowerment through micro-finance and institutional capacity building. Oley has therefore joined GAWFA with a wealth of knowledge and experience acquired both at the local and the international levels. This, it is believed, will further enhance the growth and development and image of the new finance company under the auspices of GAWFA.

ECOWAS takes new approach to development, integration

The ECOWAS Commission has taken a new dimension to development and integration of the region by initiating the formulation of Community Development Programme (CDP), which puts greater emphasis to participatory and inclusive approach to development through active involvement of Non-State Actors (NSAs). With the formulation of the CDP, ECOWAS is bent to transform the current ‘ECOWAS of States’ into an ‘ECOWAS of Peoples’ which is part of its Vision 2020 that was adopted by the Authority of Heads of States and Government in June 2007. To successfully achieve the Vision, ECOWAS has launched a survey in all its Member States to collect data on NSAs.  The aim of the survey is to build a comprehensive database and assess NSAs contribution to sub-regional activities, build a comprehensive directory and to enable ECOWAS to have a better understanding of the needs and aspiration of NSAs towards ECOWAS programmes. In this light, the ECOWAS Commission, with the financial support of European Union and other partners, on Wednesday, organized a-day long sensitization and launching of the regional survey on Non-State Actors in The Gambia at Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi. The overall objectives of the workshop include promoting better understanding of NSAs by collecting data on their activity in order to efficiently assess their potential contribution to the development of the region. It also aims to develop a comprehensive database of NSAs in ECOWAS region. In his opening statement, Serign Cham, permanent secretary two at the ministry of finance and economic affairs, noted that the NSAs have an important role to play in policy debates and development of the region, “given their political and social legitimacy as well as their greater flexibility”. “I would like to reiterate the support from the authorities of our country whose leadership and commitment to the cause of African integration in general, and integration in West Africa, in particular, is known and appreciated by all,” he said. Prof. Lambert N Bamba, commissioner of macroeconomic policy at the ECOWAS Commission, noted that if ECOWAS is to be successful in transforming from ‘ECOWAS of States’ to an ‘ECOWAS of Peoples’ then the Commission and Member States should take ownership of this new vision.  “This requires a good knowledge of Non State Actors and a better understanding of how they operate,” he said. The basic issue in achieving this laudable objective is how to transform our respective countries to better meet current developmental challenges.  The forces of globalization and instability have made West African countries to be susceptible to adverse economic conditions. “It has become quite obvious that ECOWAS Member States must adapt to these new realities in order to achieve sustainable development.  This change could better appreciate by analyzing the global environment and by finding new partners that could sustain a viable position,” Prof. Bamba said. He noted that the NSAs may be the new partners, “given their flexibility and proximity to larger population, as well as their ability to develop new small-scale projects and to replicate their success stories at national and regional levels”. John Charles Njie, executive director of Pro-Poor Advocacy Group, who spoke on behalf of the NSAs, said the world recognizes the role of NSAs in realizing West Africa’s economic potential. “West Africa is indeed endowed with abundance of human and natural resources, a coastal location coupled with an impressive land mass and huge potential for strong growth , yet our society has realized very little of its potential,” he said. He explained that the workshop was designed to develop an independent process to enhance the efficient organization and contribution of NSAs to the CDP process. The workshop was focused on the study of the contribution of NSAs to the regional development process, the collation of information required to create the database of NSAs, and setting up of an institutional framework for monitoring the survey in The Gambia.

“Gambia beefs up machinery to combat money laundering:” Governor, CBG

As various reports on the money laundering situation of the Gambia indicates that the menace is increasingly a major problem in the country, the government “has made significant efforts at beefing up its machinery to combat the social evils of money laundering and terrorism financing”, said the Governor of Central Bank of The Gambia.  File Pic: CBG Governor, Amadou Colley Hon. Amadou Colley said The Gambia has in place various interventions towards combating money laundering and other financial crimes which include the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2003 and the Anti-Terrorism Act 2002. However, Gambia’s Anti-Money Laundering Act falls short of expectation as it designated only 13 predicate offences for money laundering and this falls short of the minimum 20 designated categories under the recommendation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is the principal international standard body setting on money laundering and terrorist financing. The CBG Governor was speaking on Monday at the opening ceremony of a five-day regional course on combating money laundering and other financial crimes organised by West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) with the technical support from the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), a sub-regional body set up by ECOWAS to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. Held at Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi, the course was meant to equip participants with critical skills in tracking money laundering and financial crimes perpetrated through the financial system in the sub-region. The training brought together senior officials of central banks, deposit money banks, and other institutions responsible for ensuring compliance with anti-money laundering, from various countries in the sub-region. Governor Colley said the Central Bank of The Gambia, which is one of the two institutions responsible for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing Terrorism (AML/CFT), through the Financial Intelligence Unit, is working closely with the banks not only in putting measures in place for customer due diligence but the detection of suspicious transactions for reporting purposes. Like the previous report, the 2009 report of GIABA indicates that the laundering of illicit money is increasingly a major problem in The Gambia. However, “its magnitude or severity remains relatively difficult to determine.” It added that porous borders, weak controls, prevailing poverty, dominance of cash transaction, massive inflows of tourists and anecdotal evidence of increasing drug-related and other criminal activities are all factors contributing to increase money laundering risk environment in The Gambia. The Central Bank Governor said money laundering can occur in any country and it could have devastating effects on national economies, particularly for developing countries. “This is so because developing economies tend to be small and, therefore, more susceptible to disruption from criminal influences,” he explained. “Money laundering also has adverse macroeconomic effects and affects exchange rate through large transfers and capital flows.  Unchecked, money laundering may engender contempt of the law, thereby undermining public confidence in legal system and in the financial system, which in turn promotes other economic crime such as fraud, exchange control violation and tax evasion,” he added. Prof. Akpan H Ekpo, director general of WAIFEM said money laundering is a key threat to financial stability in any economy “more so to small and fragile economies in our sub-region”. He said financial system stability is a major prerequisite for economic growth and development. He noted that a number of predicate offences for money laundering are common in our region.  These, he said, include drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms trafficking and currency counterfeiting.

Trade Minister disagrees with Parliamentarian on Gambia’s re-export trade

The Minister of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, Abdou Salam Secka, has disagreed with the Hon. Abdoulie Sanneh, National Assembly Member for Banjul Central, who argued that The Gambia’s re-export trade is declining over the years. “Our trade statistics stood at D23, 274 million and then increased to D1, 042, 623 billion in 2009,” Trade Minister said while responding to question raised by Hon. Sanneh during the question and answer session of the National Assembly. However, Hon Sanneh argued that evidence on the ground, at The Gambia’s seaport in Banjul, shows that re-export trade is decreasing. About 80 percent of Gambian merchandise exports consist of re-exports to the sub-region. The Gambia’s economy and especially its public finances are highly dependent on this trade because imported goods destined for re-export pay the normal import duties. The Trade Minister explained that in the first half of 2010 trade statistics revealed that re-export amounted to D530, 897 million compared to D362, 309 million in 2009. “This statistics therefore do not attest to the declining re-export trade,” Mr Secka said. He added that re-export trade is a sector that is not completely within the Nation’s control. “One of the reasons is that other ports in the region are improving on their efficiency and therefore reducing the competiveness edge that we used to enjoy. Secondly the Region is moving more and more to harmonizing policies, including fiscal policies which means that our taxes in the region are supposed to be the same,” he said further. Mr Secka went on to say that his Ministry is collaborating with all relevant Ministries for increased domestic productions, more value addition, more diversified exports, more earnings and therefore improved livelihoods for the citizenry. “The Gambia is a liberal economy with a trade policy that encourages the creation of an enabling environment for trade throughout all sectors,” he said He also added that they are currently engaged in a process of developing the Medium Term Plan for the implementation of the Trade Policy 2011 with a view to addressing issues of how to improve the domestic productive capacity, putting in place the institutional requirements to mainstream trade in relevant sectors and increase our competitiveness in terms of attracting investors, increasing and diversifying exports, and improving ease of doing business in The Gambia

Lemon Creek Hotel Rated Top in ‘Customer Satisfaction’

Lemon Creek Hotel has again topped the list of hotels in The Gambia in ‘customer satisfaction’, according to a rating done by Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, one of the leading tour operators in the world. In the 2010/11 ranking of customer satisfaction, Lemon Creek scored 4.3 out of a total mark of 5 points.  Early 2010, the hotel scored 4.26 points while in the 2008/9 ranking it scored 4.2 followed by the Kairaba Beach Hotel and Sheraton and Spa, each with 4 points. “At Lemon Creek, we place emphasis on satisfying the guests and we always go the extra-mile to give them special treatment,” said the new general manager of the Hotel, Hanna Danielsson, who took over the hotel early this year. “We are trying our best to satisfy our guests, because if we don’t satisfy them, they will not come back any more; so customer satisfaction is our primary goal,” she said. Mrs Danielsson gives the credit to staff of the hotel saying they are “the biggest asset of the hotel”. “They are the ones making the biggest difference for the guests; they are the ones who make sure that the guests are always satisfied,” she explained. “Besides, at Lemon Creek, the staff  have the chance to know all the guests and I also have the chance to get to know the guests; so that makes the guests to feel at home.  Mainly what the guests say is that ‘the staff are caring’ and they make them [the guests] to always feel at home while in the hotel.” As the new GM of the hotel, Mrs Danielsson says if she has to change or modify any aspect of the operations of the hotel, it will probably be to give the staff more responsibility “because they are very capable”. “I see my job as someone who guides the people - my staff - but to tell them what to do; they know what to do,” she reiterated. Commenting on the season, she said that at the beginning of the season things were not good, as there were not many tourists coming; up to around December that was the time things turned to be good and it has gradually picked up.  “So I can now say that towards the season things are good for us,” she said. All-year-round operations The Lemon Creek managing director disclosed that this year, Lemon Creek is going to be open throughout, even in the off-season. “We want to try, for the first time, to see how year-round operations will be, but I can tell you that we are very optimistic about it. We have just contracted a Dutch tour operator that will be bringing Dutch throughout of the year for us, even in the off-season.  And we may have other tourists from other countries that can come to The Gambia in the off-season. “I have learnt from my staff that the summer is also very beautiful; everything is green, everything is natural and people at home (in Europe) always think it’s always raining in the summer, which is always not the case.  So I think when we make them to understand that it is a beautiful, but slightly different, season, then I think they will come.  There are many unexploited tourism potentials in The Gambia.” Lemon Creek Hotel is located about 2km from the Senegambia area, a 20-minute drive from Banjul International Airport. It is set on a perfect golden beach lapped by the Atlantic Ocean, and enjoys complete peace and harmony. With 40 en suite rooms, all with sea-view terraces, and set in mature tropical garden, Lemon Creek hosts many different varieties of wildlife and colourful birds. One can recline in a pool bar, a relaxing spot under the shade of 400-year-old baobab trees and rustling palms, bask in the sun or take a dip in azure blue waters.  The immaculate smiling staff that cater for your every need offer delicious snacks and cool long drinks. Lemon Creek also offers comfortable conference room facilities for 20-25 people, ideal for private meetings and workshops. There is also the “Big Tree Restaurant” serving delicious international cuisine as well as local delicacies, where you can sip a cocktail while watching the sunset and listening to the ocean. Guests’ taste buds are thrilled by the creations of the team of chefs who are dedicated to delight all human senses, while an experienced therapist offers traditional massage, aroma massage, pedicure, and manicure.

GAWFA captures global award to Gambia’s pride

Gambia Women’s Finance Association (GAWFA) has, for the first time, emerged victorious at a global competition that focuses on how to manage risk in an uncertain economic climate while continuing to meet the needs of women entrepreneurs. Pic: GAWFA CEO Njie-Mbye Held in New York, USA, from 5 to 8 April this year, the 9th annual competition attracted participants from all over the world. Known as the Capital Market Conference and Investors Forum, the competition was organised this year on the theme “Liquidity Management" by the Women's World Banking, in collaboration with JP Morgan-Chase, one of the largest financial institutions in the United States. GAWFA took first in the first round of the competition and came out second in the final round, a step behind Xac Bank of Mongolia. Oley Njie-Mbye, who represented GAWFA at the conference, told Marketplace that the conference brought together over 400 men and women from different countries around the world to celebrate women entrepreneurship and to support financial inclusion for the poor. GAWFA’s chief executive officer, who was accompanied to the conference by Bakary Dibba, accountant at GAWFA, said the conference gave the participants the opportunity to share best practices in the field of management, gender and finance. Mrs Njie-Mbye stated that the agenda of the conference focused on issues at macro and local levels, challenges facing the sector as well as panels on product diversification and risk management. She said the snapshot of the competition included GAWFA products, offering financial highlights, client segments, key statistics and thorough analysis of GAWFA. CEO Njie-Mbye credited the staff of GAWFA for their team work, dedication and support. “This is why we won the award,” she said, adding that it was the support and encouragement of the staff that resulted in the company winning the award and making the whole of Gambia proud. “The award is not a victory for GAWFA alone but for The Gambia as a whole, because considering the size of the countries that participated in this competition, GAWFA becoming the champion is a great history for The Gambia,” she said. GAWFA is committed to building upon the existing strength as its remediate weakness to confront an increasingly competitive environment, Mrs Njie Mbye noted,  while calling on investors both individuals and institutions in The Gambia and beyond to invest and buy GAWFA’s shares at D10 per share. GAWFA, the first and largest microfinance institution in The Gambia, was established in 1987 and has been an affiliate of the Women’s World Banking network (WWB) headquartered in New York, USA. The vision and mission of GAWFA is the transformation of the financial and social system of The Gambia “to assure an equitable distribution of productive resources between men and women”. The association aims to build and maintain a viable and sustainable women’s organisation that will continue to serve as a financial intermediary to enhance the entrepreneurship development of low-income women, promote capacity building, eradicate poverty, and increase women’s participation in the socio-economic development of The Gambia.

Employers warned to desist from unscrupulous employment

The Gambia National Trade Union Congress (GNTUC) has called on employers who are fond of employing people without any appointment letter, paying without any pay slip and deducting their employees’ salary in the name of Social security without paying it, to desist from such dishonest, unscrupulous and corrupt practices. Pic: Secretary general of GNTUC, Ebrima Garba Cham “Precarious terms and conditions of work, such as wrongful termination or dismissal, redundancies, harassment, insolvency without compliance with Section 57 of the Labour Law by unscrupulous investors and default in payment of Social Security contributions are rampant in the country,” secretary general of GNTUC, Ebrima Garba Cham, said on 1st May, Workers Day, celebration held at the Independence Stadium in Bakau over the weekend. Mr. Garba Cham, who was reading a Resolution by Workers in The Gambia on May Day, pointed out that most of the pension workers have died without enjoying the sweat of their labour as many employers are in default and yet their survivors cannot receive their claims from Social Security. “There exist also, inequality of treatment and opportunity in employment. There exists, where a worker goes to toilet and asked to write an apology for spending a few minutes at the toilet,” he said. Some workers spend decades on grade one  without promotion, some are denied the right to collective bargaining and finally terminated under no just cause, because they engaged management into collective bargaining and finally to a claim, he stated. Cham also revealed that for 24 months, some employers are reluctant to pay claims on annul leave, public holidays worked and overtime units. And when they wrongfully terminated their service was the time when the management was willing to pay their claims, thus, such cases are still pending. Cham maintained that most of the workforce is not provided with adequate social protection particularly those in the informal economy. Some died, some are handicapped as a result of industrial accidents which is a loss to society and industry and were not compensated, because workers in the informal economy are not covered by social protection legislations. “Is it that the conducive environment we advocate for is to encouraged investors to enslave us, neo-colonise us or encouraging apartheid? If yes, it will not be tolerated. If no, we have to change our attitudes, and be honest, sincere, committed and dedicated to enforce the rule of law without fear or favour. Add love and service, subtract hate and fear, multiply faith and courage, divined by truth and cheerfulness and build a better future for upcoming generations,” he said. The GNTUC SG also said salaries and wages should be increased by 500 percent without inflation on price commodities. He said this will remarkably contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan (PRSP), the Project for Accelerate Growth and Employment (PAGE), and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Minister for Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, Hon. Abdou Colley said employers should realize that enhancing employability and employment of labour is a collective enterprise, in which they also have a critical role to play. “The employers should recognize that the workforces do have members who want to be careerists over time. Such workers should be given opportunities to develop their respective careers in furtherance of self-development and for attainment of organizational goals,” he said. He urged employers to conduct on-the-job training when necessary, given that a well-motivated workforce is more likely to deliver better, and it will contribute significantly to the socio-economic development of a nation if it is in respect of universally acceptable work ethics, professionalism, and amenable negotiation when aggrieved on accounts of bad working conditions, and  paltry remuneration. 1st May, commonly called Workers Day, is set aside for workers around the world to reflect on their achievements and challenges and take new steps to improve and overcome such challenges.