There has been a change in hands at GambiaChamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), the apex body of all private businesses
in the country.
On October 5, delegates put an end to the
terms of the serving president of the GCCI and its board members by electing a new
president and a new board of directors who are tasked with the responsibility
of steering the affairs of the body for the next two years.
Former president Bai Matarr Drammeh and his
board members are accused of overstaying after their term runs out over six
years.
No AGM’s had been held during this period,
and The Voice newspaper understands certain members were unhappy with what they
called a “total violation of GCCI Constitution.”
“Let me begin by apologizing to the entire
membership for the delay in conducting the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for a
couple of years,” said outgoing GCCI President Mr. Bai Matarr Drammeh, CEO of
Gambia National Insurance Company, GNIC.
He admitted there has been a rebranding of
the GCCI to correct the “unfortunate” situation his team found themselves in.
He also called on all members to further commit themselves to the affairs of
the GCCI “to enable us to harness our resources in order to yield fruitful
results.”
Perhaps, the most notable achievements of
Mr. Drammeh and his cohorts in six years are the establishment of the “Kerr
Jula”, the permanent home of the GCCI in 2012 and being able to register as
members most of the businesses dealing in essential commodities, and its annual
trade fair , and business awards.
The later have been criticized in some
quarters as being “unfair” as some of the sponsors and certain companies
continue to win year-on-year.
Muhammed Jagana, an ex-board member was
elected the new president of GCCI during its annual general meeting held at the
Kairaba beach hotel in Kololi.
Mr. Jagana, a business-oriented Gambian, is
the chief executive officer (CEO) of J-Fin, a financial establishment engaged
in Money Transfer activities. He won 208 votes, leading by a margin of 52 votes
as his challenger Mrs. Fatou Sinyan Mergan, a top official of the brewery
company, Julbrew and an ex- treasurer of the GCCI board secured 156 votes.
Meanwhile, Mr. Papa Yusufa Njie, CEO of
Unique Solution, an internet service provider, Mr. Papa Liegh, a cooperate
affairs of the GSM company, Africell and Fatou Ndong of the oil company, Total,
were elected as 1st and 2nd Vice Presidents and Treasurer unopposed.
Work
hard
In an acceptance speech, the new president
expresses delight on the confidence put on by the delegates. “I will work hard
to meet the hopes and desires of the members in pushing the Chambers to a higher
level and try to address all the constraints we inherited from outgoing board,”
he said.
Mr. Jagana promises to work with all
members to promoting unity and dialogue among the businesspeople, create room
to accommodate new members and increase the revenue-base of the chambers, their
main source of income.
“We will work hard to meet all bilateral
organizations, institution such as government, the United Nations agencies, Non
Governmental Organisations, and Civil Society who have a role to play in
promoting a healthy and smooth private sector in the country,” he said.
He also promises to continue discussions with
the Gambia Government to reduced taxes for the private sector and also the cost
of electricity and as well the protection of private businesses, which is the pillar
of all business operators in this country.
He also stress the need to mobilize more
resources increase the capacity of staff and members in short and long terms. “We
will create new projects and programmes for members on training and empowerment
of small scale enterprises (SMEs) to increase their revenue-base and create
more employment opportunities for the youth in this country,” he said.
Mr. Jagana, whose term expires in two
years, hailed the outgoing president and his team for a “job well-done” by
putting the Chambers on a sound footing and enabling members benefit from contributions
to the chambers.
He also gives assurances of their readiness
to work closely with the former board, hoping to learn from their successes and
challenges.
Source: The Voice
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