Gov’t won’t relent against poverty - VP assures private sector

President Yahya Jammeh has reaffirmed his desire and commitment to ensuring that all Gambians are free from the shackles of poverty, saying his government would continue its drive towards making The Gambia a developed city-state in Africa.

This statement of His Excellency, the President, was delivered on Friday by Her Excellency, Vice-President Haja Isatou Njie-Saidy on the occasion of the 2007 Business Awards Gala Night held at the Sheraton Resort and Spa Hotel by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) – the apex body of the private sector in The Gambia.

"My government will not relent in its effort to getting Gambians out of poverty and making The Gambia a developed country," the Vice President said.

"In line with our philosophy that the growth of this economy rests on the shoulders of the private sector," the Vice President stated, "my government has introduced, since 1994, important legal and institutional reforms that are aimed at creating the right environment for the private sector to take its rightful role in economic development as manifested in our Vision 2020."

VP Njie-Saidy said HE President Yahya Jammeh and The Gambia government were happy to be associated with an event that recognizes the good performance of the private sector operators for the past 12 months.

She also congratulated the deserving winners of the awards and encouraged all the private sector operators in the country to continue to register good performance, more quality products and sound services to the public, as well as to contribute positively to the national economy and the social wellbeing of the country.

The award for the Business Person of the Year, and the award for the Young Entrepreneur of the Year were both won by Mr Baboucarr Khan, Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Financial Services Company Limited. The SME of the Year award was won also by Reliance Financial Services Company Limited.

The award for the Service Provider of the Year was won by Africell; the Industrialist of the Year award went to GAMBEGA, and the Partner to the Private Sector award went to SSHFC - Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation.

"To those who have been nominated this year and have not been able to win, I say well-done and keep up the hard work so as to be among the winners come next year," the Vice President said.

She also told the gathering that the development of The Gambia should equally be the objective of the private sector and urged the private sector to work hand in hand with government towards achieving a developed Gambia.

She said: "It is in this connection that we see the organization of the annual business awards as a step in the right direction as it would stimulate innovation, investment and most importantly, competition in producing the best in the private sector.

I would like to congratulate the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry for taking the initiative to organise the awards and I would urge you to make it more and more competitive so that it would yield the desired goal of always rewarding excellence and innovativeness.

I have noted with satisfaction that something has already been done in that direction, this year, by making the nomination process more participatory and most importantly, by introducing quantitative and objective criteria that are meant to give more emphasis to employment creation, employees welfare, investment, profitability, productivity  and contribution to economic development.

In this era of globalization where competition has no boundary and where small and less developed countries are forced to fight for their survival, it would be important that we become more creative and more efficient to be able to remain a global player."

The Vice President also said The Gambia has "undeniable advantages" to be a leader in the sub-region and beyond.

"Our geographical location, the peace and stability, the sound macro-economic fundamentals, the hospitality of our people and most importantly, our small size are some of the advantages that we should harness," she said, adding: "For those who may be wondering how our small size could be an advantage, just think of The Gambia as a city-state, which is one of our plans."

She continued: "We also believe that we have a card to play with the regional integration. We want to position The Gambia as a production and distribution centre covering the entire ECOWAS region.”

But all these efforts by government, the Vice President further said,  would not be entirely beneficial to The Gambia and the Gambian population if the private sector "is not there to offer quality products and services,  and compete aggressively"  in the regional market.

"I therefore believe that this Awards ceremony is one way of encouraging companies located in The Gambia to thrive and become international players," she said. 

She also urged all private sector operators to unite behind the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry as the apex private sector body. "GCCI is your organization and no one but you can make it what it should be," she noted.

Speaking earlier, the President of the GCCI, Bai Matarr Drammeh, conveyed heartfelt greetings to HE President Yahya Jammeh and his government for their remarkable support to the private sector in The Gambia.

He said: “Your Excellency, may I convey our congratulations to the President, His Excellency Dr Alhaji Yahya AJJ Jammeh, on the Local Government elections that just took place. Also, Your Excellency, may I convey our heartfelt congratulations to the President for the medical strives that he has been making on the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other diseases in this country; we are very much pleased to be associated with the work he has been doing."