ACCESS BANK HOLDS AGM WITH TOTAL ASSETS, CONTINGENTS GROW AT D991 MILLION

Access Bank (Gambia) Ltd on Wednesday held its fifth Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the bank’s head office along Kairaba Avenue. Started with a required quorum, the meeting witnessed the Chairman board of directors of the bank, Bai Mattar Drammeh, declared total assets and contingents to have grown by 7.7% from dalasi 920 million in 2010 to dalasi 991 million as at end December 2011. “The bank implemented turnaround strategies that resulted to operational profit (before credit loss) of GMD3 million compared to a loss of GMD16 million in [the] year 2010. However, the high level of non-performing loan was a challenge and resulted to further provision,” he said. Mr Drammeh pointed to the global economy slow recovery and said fears of recession “remained prevalent with a rash of sovereign rating downgrades across Europe”. However, as emerging and developing markets like Gambia continue to outperform the global economy growth benchmarks, Mr Drammeh pointed that the country’s economy in particular was “challenged with the poor harvest season” that left thousands of Gambians surviving on bread and water. The Gambia’s central bank was not left out in creating a climate of steady economy growth, despite u-turn global economy growth. Mr Drammeh was clear when he added: “The year was characterised by government policies that ensured better fiscal discipline to tackle the decline in government revenue. “This reflected to improved fiscal position that has moderated inflation, interest and exchange rates. GDP grew by 5.4% and inflation hovered around 5% in year 2011.” Oladapo Fajemirokun as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Mr Drammeh continued: “The year continued to be challenging for banks as they focused on cleaning up their balance sheet due to high level of non-performing loans. The focus of the banking industry is to meet the new regulatory minimum capital of GMD200 million by [end] December 31, 2012.” Bai Mattar Drammeh, who also serves as the president of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry went down memory lane to accentuate some of the undertakings Access Bank Gambia Ltd has been able to carry out. “The bank continues to demonstrate strong leadership role in discharging its Corporate Social Responsibility in the areas of education and health.” At the climax of the meeting, the Board appointed Oladapo Fajemirokun as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. Mr Fajemirokun, who has fifteen years of experience in corporate, development, commercial banking, and oil and gas, replaces Mr Oleka Ojiogo, who has worked six years with the bank in the country, two years of which he serves as a managing director.

GTTI EXHIBITION: GAMBIAN STUDENTS SHOWCASE TALENTS

Whilst technical education is taking upward swing, burgeoning into a well-embraced venture, the young ones that have joined the enterprise have proven the necessity of the course. Few days ago when the students of Architect and Draughtsmanhsip of the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) held their 2nd annual Arts and Architectural Exhibition at the institute, The Gambia was made to see that Gambian students have talents. A drawing that depicts Aminata Hydara The head of Architectural Draughtsmanship Section, Mrs Aminata Hydara, said time was ripe for the draughtsmanship discipline to produce technicians for the country, save for the fact that discipline was lagging behind, compared to other areas of technical studies. With the realisation of the importance of architectural education on the “creative and aesthetic processes”, she pointed, “it was thought necessary that the architectural draughtsmanship programme be commenced in the institute”. The exhibition exposed talents and creativeness of Gambian students, who brought in spotlight drawings, designs and earth-constructions viewed by thousands of people. The course is broad, but more significantly, it is an avenue for self-employment among the teeming youthful population of the country, Mrs Hydara said. “While also developing students’ creative abilities and understanding, the primary emphasis of this course is building technology and the communication of the design and production [of] information. “This course prepares the student to operate as an independent practitioner as well as to work as a member of a team. The graduate will be qualified to work within organisations on both the design and sides of the industry. “To prepare the student for a particular vocational role and at the same time lay the foundation for cultivating the abilities for a higher level of studies. The necessity of being properly informed the power of rational thought and creative imagination and the importance of understanding the broader context with regard to society and the environment will all be incorporated. By being stimulating and challenging, the course will offer the student the opportunity to develop both personally and professionally,” she opined. Architectural Draughtsmanship is growing into being one of the most marketable disciplines, because many have cherished the embodiment attached to it: a well-regarded course with a potential of self-employed venture. In an inspiring speech, Kris Powers (Amie Ceesay) a third-year Peace Corpse Volunteer who lectures in the school, told students to bear stoical and work hard, knowing that the longest day will come to an end. She advised the students, saying: “The world has many lessons to teach you. I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school and our lives the classrooms. And sometimes lessons on this Earth come dressed up as detours or roadblocks, and sometimes as full-blown crises. “It’s being able to walk through life eager and open to self-improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve, because that’s why we’re here, to evolve as human beings, to grow into being more of ourselves, always moving to the next level of understanding, the next level of compassion and growth.” Amie Ceesay, Aminata Hydara and Minister Jammeh on the high table In what appeared to be one of her last public speeches before ending her voluntary service, Amie Ceesay said: “I chose to join the U.S. Peace Corps to serve my country. What I’ve learned from working here with all of you, is not only am I serving my country, I’m also serving yours as well. All of you have taught me many things about life, things that you can’t learn from a book and I hope that you have also learned a few things from me. The Gambia has become my second home.” Youth and Sports Minister Alieu Jammeh was among the dignitaries that graced the annual occasion.

FATE OF SUN BEACH HOTEL IN LIMBO

While the management of Sun Beach Hotel and its staff have failed to break barriers over demand for forced-vacation and salary payment, the hotel manager has said he would “close the hotel”, a source closer to MarketPlace has revealed. According to our source, the manager said he would close the hotel and if the matter is taken to court, it would prove futile. The source also said that majority of the staff have spent almost 10 years working in the said hotel but are still paid a paltry D930. “We used to call our salary ‘half past nine’ because we are paid only D930 a month,” the source explained.

Sun Beach Hotel What used to be an environment conducive for Chefs, barkeepers and cooks in a hotel with one of the best beaches of all the resorts coupled with a picturesque curve of fine white sand with thatched umbrella shades, is on the verge of closing. Our source said the junior staff have resolved that “no staff will go on unpaid leave”, but must be paid their entitlements if the hotel is to be closed. “It is just like history is repeating itself. Last year, some staff went for leave without being paid and when they resumed, their services with the hotel were terminated,” the source noted. The Management has told more than one hundred staff of the hotel to “go” on vacation for almost half year without their pockets being filled with rewards for their labour. Now the hotel management is in bad times, as reports have it that the hotel “cannot operate”, and management is considering “closing the hotel”, which used to have one of the best tourist accommodations in The Gambia, blending in with its surroundings, brightly and colourfully decorated.

A panorama view from the hotel Whilst the Management is considering a redundancy and ultimately closing the hotel, the fates of some of the staff are hanging on the balance as on Monday 21 May 2012 a meeting was convened with heads of departments, which resulted in the heads of departments informing the junior staff that Modibo Taal – the manager -- made a decision that staff should proceed on vacation for five months without salary until October 15, 2012 – this is the last straw that broke the camel’s back. It would be recalled that an online newspaper reported a letter supposedly written to President Jammeh by the staff of the hotel, alleging poor working conditions. Daily Observer was quoted as reporting: “A crisis broke out Thursday (exact date not confirmed) between the management and the junior staff of Sun Beach Hotel and Resort at Cape Point in Bakau, after the manager of the hotel, Modibo Taal, told 104 staff to go on vacation for five months without salary.” “The generator is faulty and the swimming pool sometimes has problems. The pool does not contain chlorine, that is why tourists are running away from the hotel,” Dembo Camara, the barkeeper, who has worked with the hotel for the past ten years, was quoted by the Daily Observer as saying. The Sun Beach Hotel started in 1971 under the name of Sunwing which was one of the Swedish Vingresor's portfolios. This changed in 1999 when Airtours, having acquired Vingresor, had it re-named. It was designed by Peter Gibbons and renovated in 1989. Sun Beach, located in the Cape Point, has some facilities such as a mini-market, craft market, a few small restaurants, exchange bureaus and a tourist market, within walking distance. Whilst the Atlantic Ocean and beaches have become major impetus for hotels in the country, Sun Beach Hotel has enjoyed lots of opportunities over the years, as it is situated in a hoteliers' ideal location, facing the Atlantic Ocean's beach and the river-mouth. Meanwhile, efforts to reach the manager were unsuccessful. However, when approached, the internal manager, Hamat Bah, said the issue “is an internal matter”, according to Daily Observer. Mr Tall has however denied the allegation of mistreating workers, describing it as untrue, false and misleading. “I spend my money and time just to keep them [the workers] at least for the season but what they are saying is totally wrong,” he said. “I work twice with the hotel but the shareholders are not contributing and I alone cannot operate the hotel,” he explained further, adding that he had even written to the shareholders about the situation of the hotel but there was no response. The only alternative is to close during off-season, which is something, he added, is un-peculiar to Sun Beach Hotel alone. He explains further: “What I said was since the hotel is not having customers, the staff should go for a voluntary leave. Some accepted and others did not. I personally reported the matter to the Labour Department to look into the matter to make sure that the staff rights are secured and protected.”

REPORT HOLDS AFRICAN GOV’TS RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTINENT’S MISFORTUNES

Chronic food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa stemmed from decades of poor governance. Regimes bent on amassing wealth absorbed the region’s resources into patrimonial power structures. Self-serving elite, quick to amass wealth from graft and patronage, have stood between leaders and the people, monopolized state revenues and emptied the countryside, but they have provided neither employment nor industry. These are among the highlights of the latest UNDP-Africa Development report. The report was made available on May 15 after its embargo elapsed. Africans are not fated to starve - provided that governments move decisively to put in place appropriate policies and support mechanisms. Famine, starvation and food insecurity are preventable. The shameful scenes of feeding tents and starving children that have been associated with sub-Saharan Africa for far too long can be eliminated once and for all, Tegegnework Gettu, UNDP Assistant Secretary-General and Regional Director, Bureau for Africa, was quoted in the report as saying. The report, which is the work of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), argues that sub-Saharan Africa can extricate itself from pervasive food insecurity by acting on four critical drivers of change: greater agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers; more effective nutrition policies, especially for children; greater community and household resilience to cope with shocks; and wider popular participation and empowerment, especially of women and the rural poor.

Tegegnework Gettu Gettu said: “A well-nourished and empowered population, in turn, is more likely to seek education, participate in society and expand its productive and human potential. With the right policies and institutions Africa can sustain this virtuous cycle of higher human development and enhanced food security.” The report highlights African governments’ lacunae, whilst laying emphasis on daily violation of people’s dignity, “with many governments not fulfilling their basic responsibilities of protecting their citizens from hunger”. The chain of food security that runs from availability through access to use comes under constant stress in a region vulnerable to the impacts of erratic weather, volatile food prices, and conflict and violence. Agricultural productivity remains low— much lower than in other regions. Many sub-Saharan African countries are net food importers and even depend on food aid during all-too-frequent humanitarian crises, the Report explains. The report, entitled ‘Toward a food secure’, observes that misguided policies, weak institutions and failing markets are the deeper causes of sub-Saharan Africa’s food insecurity. “For decades the policies of national governments and international institutions neglected sub-Saharan Africa’s rural and agricultural development in favour of urban populations,” the report states. “Their damaging legacies include ineffective postcolonial industrialization plans that exhausted development resources, leaving agriculture behind. Structural adjustment programmes aimed to close budget gaps but instead created large human development deficits, especially among the vulnerable poor and skewed allocations of national revenue and foreign aid that overlooked agriculture and nutrition.” Despite some improvements since the mid-1990s, the report holds governments responsible for sub-Saharan Africa’s smallholder farmers’ giving up the struggle to compete against the world’s most formidable agricultural systems, citing heavy subsidies and other factors as bottlenecks. “African governments continue to [put] burden on domestic agriculture with high, arbitrary taxes while bestowing subsidies, incentives and macroeconomic support on other sectors. Meanwhile, many developed countries have moved the other way, heavily subsidizing agriculture long after its role as a development driver has passed, giving their farmers a tremendous advantage in international trade. Sub-Saharan Africa’s smallholder farmers, sidelined by biased policies and squeezed by failing markets, long ago gave up struggling to compete against the world’s most formidable agricultural systems.” How Food Insecurity Persists amid Abundant Resources? The report argues that despite sub-Saharan Africa’s rich land and water resources, yet hunger and starvation are widespread. “This contradiction stems less from the continental availability of food and more from glaringly uneven local production and access and chronically deficient nutrition, especially among the poorest.” Food systems in a region vulnerable to the effects of erratic weather, volatile food prices, and conflict and violence, are some of the dynamics undermining the three interrelated components of food security: availability, access, and use.

Measured by agricultural production, food availability has gradually improved, but agricultural productivity remains low – much lower than in other regions. Most sub-Saharan African countries are net food importers, and many depend on food aid during all too frequent humanitarian crises. Even where food is available, millions cannot afford it or cannot acquire it because of underdeveloped markets and weak physical infrastructure. “But food security goes beyond availability and access. Proper use of food determines whether food security sustains human development. Insufficient access to safe water, energy and sanitation conspires with diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria to perpetuate food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Vice President calls for proper planning to avert replica of food, disaster crises in neighbouring countries

The unfolding food crisis coupled with the recent floods and current political turmoil in Mali and Guinea Bissau have become eye-catching regional phenomena that have arrested the attention of policymakers and governments in the sub-region, as The Gambia’s vice president calls for the promotion of “resilient-based approach”. VP Isatou Njie-Saidy was speaking recently during the validation of the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) capacity assessment report, held at the Paradise Suites Hotel, when she said “disasters are becoming more frequent, complex and trans-boundary in nature”. “The 2010 floods in West Africa, the current Sahel food crisis, the current political and security situation in Guinea Bissau and Mali to name a few are clear testimonies to the vulnerability of the sub-region and [therefore] necessitate the urgent need to promote a resilience-based approach with the required capacities to emergencies and disasters.”

Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy She added: “Promoting a resilience-based approach therefore is now considered the best approach to address humanitarian and emergency issues whilst at the same time addressing the structural causes of vulnerability within the country and communities.” She emphasises the need to have in place appropriate meteorological and early warning systems that are responsive to the environment and have the ability to predict existing hazards, as complex emergencies and disasters are inevitable. “To address the weather-related disasters, I call on the department of Water Resources to expedite the reform of the meteorological unit, which I presume will lead to improved services to the public including more accurate predictions/forecasts on the weather and the onset of rains,” the vice president notes.

She is also the Chairperson of NDMA While the country remains vulnerable to climate change and its vagaries, Dr Njie-Saidy says it is imperative “we build resilience of our infrastructure, economy, communities and services to withstand pressures from any future hazards”. She cited the DRR programme in government’s development blueprint – the PAGE, saying: “In fact the full and early attainment of the MDG targets and the promotion of sustainable growth and development will be an illusion if the DRR is ignored in our national development agenda.” This is all the more reason why disaster risk reduction is well encapsulated in the PAGE - Programme for Accelerated Growth and Employment as a cross-cutting pillar in support of national development efforts, The Gambia’s vice president said.

PURA WARNS GSM SUBSCRIBERS TO COMPLY WITH PHONE REGISTRATION EXERCISE

Officials of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) have called on subscribers to officially register their SIM cards of Gamcel, Africell, Comium and QCell. The deadline for SIM Card registration is fast approaching. By mid-June PURA “aims at 100%” blocking of all unregistered SIM Cards from making calls. Unregistered subscribers can only receive calls and make or receive text temporarily until such a time when their lines will be eventually deactivated, says Abdoulie Jobe, PURA’s director general. Mr Jobe was speaking to a team of journalists on Saturday at his institution’s office on Kairaba Avenue, in a press briefing. The move will mark an end to more than a year’s campaign that takes the form of a countrywide mission aimed at registering SIM cards for security and safety reasons. As the mission draws to a close, Mr Jobe says it is essential journalists as information disseminators are kept abreast of the progress of the SIM Registration, which is an executive order. He did recognise the part to be played by the Media in the achievement of the mission, whilst reminding the public that the project PURA has embarked on in the last four months and half “is not” a PURA-initiated move, but a national project.

“This is not a PURA’s project; it’s a national project for the benefit of all residents in the country,” he says. DG Jobe explained the stages his institution would undertake in the SIM card registration campaign, saying the first step is registration of all SIM card users; second, the data is sent to PURA, as the regulatory body, and finally PURA will forward the data to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the Immigration Department. After verifications are made by the two institutions, they will return the data to PURA who will then send it to the GSM operators, who will send text messages to their customers that the registration of their SIM cards has become successful. However, it remains unclear over what will happen if false data are returned to a particular GSM operator. This hangs some people’s fates in the balance, as the IEC or the immigration department may not have some users’ information in their information desks. As answer to this doubt lingers on, concerns are that some subscribers will have their SIM cards blocked, since the potential for a false data cannot be ruled out. The telecoms engineer at PURA, Sally Bittaye-Janneh, disclosed that upcountry sim card registration tour is in progress and that currently they have covered over 250 villages in 21 districts. She says the tour will continue to other areas that are yet to be covered come next week “We felt the need to take the project to the people as some subscribers cannot easily access the GSM operating centres,” she says, adding that result of the exercise is “so far so good”. Knowing very well that the “success of the project depends on the people,” Mrs Bittaye-Janneh also notes the help of the Media in successfully informing consumers about the importance of the executive-initiated project. She also advised all holders of SIM cards to register their lines since it is all geared towards enhancing national security. Other speakers on the occasion included Sampo Ceesay, deputy director of electricity regulation, and Solo Sima, director of consumer affairs at PURA.

AFRICELL SEALS DEAL WITH ‘WORLD’S TOUGHEST SATELLITE PHONE’

A pacesetter in the GSM industry of The Gambia has once again beaten the market by signing a deal with Thuraya, the world’s toughest satellite phone company, to revolutionise the way people communicate in their daily routine. On 10 May this year, Africell, the leading GSM company, in terms of customer-base, sealed a partnership deal with Thuraya. Headquartered in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thuraya is a leading provider of innovative, affordable, and high-quality satellite communication solutions for the worldwide broadband satellite market.

The deal will see Africell have its already-wide network coverage further expanded, thus increasing its grip on the mobile communication industry. “This partnership is motivated solely by Africell’s passion and dedication to not only provide the best GSM services, but also to push the country forward in terms of achieving world-class communications in all aspects,” says Badara Mbye, Africell’s Chief Executive Officer. “The world’s toughest satellite phone, Thuraya XT, was designed to withstand the harshest of environments and the most extreme conditions to ensure you stay close, however remote the location,” a Thuraya statement says. “The combination of advanced voice clarity technology and an omni-directional antenna ensures an uninterrupted signal even during non-stationary calls, offering users a real ‘walk & talk’ experience.” Thuraya is already partnering with Africell in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Congo. Mr Mbye continues: “Thuraya makes use of three sophisticated technologies, which are ‘Satellite, Global Systems for Mobile Communication (GSM) and Global Positioning System (GPS) in order to provide satellite phones that can operate beyond terrestrial boundaries, that is, in areas where local networks are unreliable or non-existent, as well as, areas with harsh weather conditions. Thuraya products and services are widely used and the company’s network coverage spans through Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia.”

For the Africell Gambia boss, sealing the deal with Thuraya would be not only a boost to his company’s revenue, but also “a great boost for both the public and private sectors as investors from every corner of the world will be highly Africell’s goal for sealing the deal is three-fold. These include bringing advanced and emerging technologies to the country; complementing communications efforts in the country; and saving cost and time of acquisition. With Thuraya-Africell partnership, customers of the consecutively three-time winner of the GSM of the year award will have network coverage in wider areas of the country. This move gives impetus to travellers familiar with moving around the countryside, where network in many areas are either ‘unavailable’ or ‘limited’. Roen Evan Menezes, Thuraya’s Area Manager, noted with satisfaction the partnership with Africell, saying Thuraya XT is the only satellite phone in the world to meet the industry’s highest criteria for splash resistance, dust resistance and shock proofing. “Wherever you are within Thuraya’s extensive coverage area, however remote the location, Thuraya brings you close to where you need to be,” he says. Thuraya’s phone will be available at Africell’s head office, at a cost to be announced later, Papa Leigh, Africell’s head of corporate affairs, says. “However,” Mr Leigh said, “the cost will be reasonable given the fact that Africell is here to mitigate the burden of hardship on its customers.” The launching was attended by cabinet ministers, head of the civil service, diplomatic and consular corps and members of the private sector.

Agric Ministry Gives FSCA a Pat on the Back

The Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture has expressed his ministry’s keen interest in the activities of the Italian-funded project -- Food Security through the Commercialisation of Agriculture (FSCA), saying “so far we are happy with the achievements of the project and hope that the project serves as a good food security model that can be considered by [the Government of The Gambia]”. Sana Dahaba was speaking recently during a four-day training programme on ‘Communication for Development’ organised by the FSCA, for communicators and media practitioners, at the Ocean Bay Hotel in Cape Point.

The training, centred on communication for development, was part of the four components of the FSCA. This fourth component is a three-year Italian-funded project being implemented in two regions – North Bank Region and Central River Region. It is aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, market output and incomes of project beneficiary farmer-based organisations, and small-scale agro-processors on a sustainable basis, resulting in improved livelihoods and food security. For Mr Dahaba, the government places food security high on its development agenda. He said the country has the “potential and opportunities to address food security issues in the ANR sector as a whole if we put in place the right policies and the right intervention”. The policies, he says, is to include the use of an “efficient communication programme”, adding that discipline has always played a decisive role in promoting human development.

Dr Babagano Ahmadu, FAO country rep While giving the Italian-funded project – FSCA -- a pat on the back for organising the training, Mr Dahaba was quick to pinpoint communication as society’s greatest tool to promote technological improvements through research and extension services. “Through the agricultural extension service and the agricultural communication unit, we have created awareness, changed attitudes and improved farmers’ practices in crop and livestock production,” he says. “Let me thank the Italian government and the FAO for supporting the food security efforts in West Africa.” Dr Babagano Ahmadu, country representative for Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says capacity development is at the heart of FAO’s mandate, hence its vision of strengthening the national capacities of member countries to achieve their own goals in food security and agricultural development. While he recognises the importance of engaging the media as an important partner in development, Dr Ahmadu notes that communication is a driver of change and a key factor for development. Climate change and the current food crisis call for new approaches to foster sustainable solution, hence the reason for organising the training by FSCA.

The project is helping rural Gambian women to become food secured “As we highly appreciate the important role of the Media throughout the implementation of the FAO-FSCA communication strategy, we believe that the participation of these young men and women in this training will make them more efficient in their work,” he said. According to the trainer, who is also a communication and development officer for the FAO in Rome, technology has improved the life of humankind. He however said caution is needed to avoid losing the communication dimension, which serves as “the foundation of our human relationships”. “We have an important role to play in recognising communication is an investment, not a cost, to ensure that communication receives the needed attention in our day to day work,” he says, adding that despite the revolution in technology, many farmers in rural Africa still fail to benefit from this change, mainly as a result of lack of communication.

MENDING THE DENT IN OUR AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM

The latest farming season crop failure in The Gambia and the apt appeal for assistance by the Gambia government has sparked some unprecedented responses from donor agencies, individuals, NGOs and private sector players to extend a helping hand to the government and farmers in the country in order to mitigate the impending food shortage and rise in food prices that hang over the head of the nation. In as much these interventions are highly needed to mitigate the looming food crisis in the country, and we would like to profoundly thank and commend all those who have rendered assistance for their invaluable aid to our national food crisis, we want to say that our current rain-fed agricultural system has grown rapidly inadequate and unreliable in meeting our food demand and land productivity. Rain-fed agriculture will not reliably do the work for us. We have to graduate from rain-fed agriculture to irrigated agriculture so that we can have all-year round crop production. It will be difficult for The Gambia to attain food self-sufficiency under the country’s current state of food production, which is based on rain-fed agriculture. While the rest of the world has availed itself of scientific advances to triple its food production, Africa’s output is stagnating. It imports more food than it grows and three quarters of its farmland is degraded. With the price of basic foods such as maize, wheat and rice increasing on a daily basis, millions of people around the world are suddenly facing a very bleak tomorrow. The money in their pockets is not enough to purchase the same quantity of food as before. Each day of their lives they are struggling to fill their stomachs. Gambian farmers heavily rely on rainfall for crop production and the pattern of rain is now becoming more and more erratic due to the climate change phenomenon.

Irrigated agriculture, which permits for all-year round crop production, is the answer many agriculturalists have attested to the fact that The Gambia can feed herself sooner rather than later when this method of food production is operationalised. The development of irrigation would provide the basis to develop a productive, sustainable and diversified agriculture, to achieve the desired food self-sufficiency and the development of a rice-based export-oriented agriculture, and to increase the foreign exchange earning capacity of the country. “To put the rice situation in The Gambia in its proper perspective, there is need to appreciate that available data indicate there is sufficient land to expand production to the level required for the attainment of food self-sufficiency,” said Malcolm Duthie, former World Food Agriculture representative to The Gambia, has said “However, because of the predominantly subsistence rain-fed production system, increased rice production and productivity has been severely constrained by the vagaries of the climate.”

Rain-fed agriculture is more risky now because of the consistent onset of late rains. Some times there is a decline in rainfall in the middle of the season, an early end to the season or end-of-season drought, increased variability in annual rainfall, and an increased frequency of intensive rainfall and runoff, resulting in severe floods. “The Gambia imports most of her food requirements, particularly grains, and produces not more than 20% of its rice requirement, which makes it very vulnerable to rise in prices and reduction in supplies from the international market as the country depends heavily on importation.” Mr Duthie says. He notes: “There is a need to improve the country’s agricultural production. The country should therefore promote more non-rainfall agriculture, because one of the problems in the past years has been reliance on the weather and farmers can’t do much because the weather does not corroborate some times.” This is the simple message of Abba Sankareh, Director of Planning Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture, quoted in one of our lead articles. Non-rainfall agriculture means boosting irrigation, better management of agriculture and other appropriate mechanisms. Let’s, therefore, apply it, to mend the dent in our agricultural system.

TWO TEENAGERS, ONE ADULT WIN MORE THAN HALF-A-MILLION IN AFRICELL’S EXTREME BONANZA PROMO

Africell – one the country’s most outstanding GSM operators --, has ended its much-talked-about promotion, which began on the 1st of April, drawing the attention of the public to an incredible life changing enterprise with extraordinary cash prizes of more than two million Dalasi won during the entire period of the promotion. Whilst the promotion drew to an end, Omar Sarr, an 18 year-old boy from Mbolleth village in CRR won himself two-hundred and fifty thousand dalasi (D250, 000); Fatou Sanyang – aged 15 - of Farato, West Coast Region won one hundred thousand (D100, 000); and Abubacarr Bah from Bullock village in Foni went home with a whooping sum of five-hundred thousand dalasi (D500, 000).

The promotion sparked immense excitement across the nation as the entire country geared up for the much awaited grand raffle draw of eight hundred and fifty thousand (D850, 000), a release from the GSM operator reads. “This unique structured promotion was designed to increase the chances of all Africell subscribers. Hence every two weeks, a set of new series were drawn from which lucky winners were selected through a raffle draw held live on GRTS tv.” The release continues: “The Xtreme Bonanza is one of Africell’s benevolent gestures geared towards the empowerment of the people of this country. In addition to the above mentioned grand prizes, 12 other lucky winners were presented with 50, 000 dalasi each during the course of the month of April.

“This is a major increase as compared to the 5 winners who were awarded with the same amount during the 1st two weeks of the Xtreme Bonanza thus, showcasing Africell’s commitment to offering greater opportunities. Hundreds of winners were also given mobile phones and free Africell credit.” Beside the tough and competitive environment GSM operators are faced with, Africell has been able to navigate the headwind and continued to demonstrate its exceptionality in providing equal opportunities subscribers across the country. Speaking shortly after the ceremonious handing of the cheques, Fatou Sanyang, one of the three winners, commended Africell for what she described as “magnificent gesture”. She urged customers to keep loading, whilst the wind of luck continues to blow across the country. She admitted being a long-time subscriber to Africell, and that she has lost several phones, but never gives up using the Afrciell line. She was seen covered with veil of smiles in front of cameras whilst her presumed husband joins her on stage to push the boat out with her. Young Omar Sarr who is a ten-grade school going boy was enthusiastic going home as a different person to-be in the society. In his own words: “I will use the money to pay my school fees, help my father and mother.” Abubacarr Bah who went home with a lion share of the prizes, gave Africell a pat on the back for uplifting him from the current economic status quo. “During the night I was called by Africell that I’ve won myself a prize, I couldn’t believe it at first. I was told [by the caller] to tune to the television, but I told him ‘I don’t have a TV in my home’. The caller told me to tune the radio. I did as he says. When I heard my name, I had to jump from my sitting position. The entire village of Bullock is happy with Africell,” he quipped.