GAMBIA: TOURISM SECTOR SHINES DESPITE BOTTLENECKS IN GLOBAL ECONOMY, SAHEL REGION

The Minister of Tourism and Culture of The Gambia has appreciated the trend of the tourism sector saying it is undergoing “tremendous transformation”, despite the turbulence in the global economy, exacerbated by political turmoil in some parts of the Middle East, North Africa and in the Sahel.

Minister Fatou Mas Jobe-Njie was speaking during the recent Ecowas Tourism Ministers’ Summit hosted by The Gambia at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi, where she said “this tremendous transformation” came as a result of the dynamic changes at the global level, which has necessitated the adoption of certain reforms at both global and national levels to meet the challenges and stay competitive.
The global economic meltdown coupled with regional and sub-regional crises have affected tourism in many parts of the world, albeit its resilience in some countries, she added.

Fatou Mass Jobe



Despite this situation, the tourism minister said, it is gratifying to note that at the level of ECOWAS, some very pragmatic, robust programmes and projects have been ongoing and are underpinned by a consistent consultative process.
Commenting on the level of development of the tourism sectors of ECOWAS states, Minister Jobe-Njie noted that while some countries have relatively successful tourism industries that contribute significantly to the national economy, others are only beginning to experience some modest development in their tourism sectors, with some being affected by ongoing conflicts.

“In spite of these disadvantages, the potentials for our sub-region to emerge as a hot spot tourism multi-destination remain huge,” she added.
In terms of experience, the minister said The Gambia hopes to be at the forefront in terms of sharing best practice and experiences.
“This is borne out of the fact that Gambia has over the years laid a solid foundation for its tourism sector and over the course of time accumulated a wide range of expertise in terms of tourism management and planning as well as in responsible tourism development.”

Hon. Jobe-Njie said a lot of strides have been registered in responsible tourism, citing the development and setting in train of a “responsible tourism policy, to articulate a functional eco-tourism policy”.
This is also vital since The Gambia is serving as host to the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT); and institutionalising an interactive and unique partnership between the public and private sectors in terms of responsible tourism partnership.
The event availed sub-regional tourism authorities the opportunity to share best practises on some of the nomenclatures of tourism in the continent.

EU SACLES UP AID TO THE SAHEL AMIDST FINANCIAL SAGA IN EUROPE

Despite the ongoing financial crisis that has made it difficult or impossible for some countries in the eurozone to re-finance their government debts without the assistance of third parties, the European Union, which is in the epicenter of this crisis, has buried its heads under the rubble and gone ahead to increase its humanitarian funding to the Sahel by €40 million.

This aid package, known as humanitarian aid, has come just weeks before the food crisis is set to peak across the region where 18 million people are in danger from hunger.
This package brings the European Union’s response to the food crisis in the Sahel to €337 million.

The funding increase has come just as the European Commission is hosting a high level gathering on the Sahel hunger crisis.
International donors, representatives from Senegal, The Gambia, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and Nigeria, as well as international and local organisations are in attendance.

Among the delegates are Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, and Nancy Lindborg, assistant administrator for Democracy at USAID.
The meeting intends to launch a new partnership on strengthening the resilience of the Sahel to future crises. The initiative, called AGIR Sahel (Alliance Globale pour l’Initiative Resilience), has one core aim: to make sure the people in the Sahel can better cope with future droughts – a catch 22 situation that has left many Sub-Saharans reeling in poverty and hunger.

Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation,
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, said: “This funding is about saving lives in an emergency. It is our last chance to get to people when the crisis peaks. Right now people across the Sahel are starting to scrape the bottom of empty grain stores.
“Their only remaining options are to sell their animals, farm tools and eat the grain they should now be planting for the next harvest. This funding is aimed at preventing people having to make these desperate choices. The result is that they will be more resilient for future shocks that may occur.”

Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs



Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs added: “In today’s world, it is difficult to accept that some people don’t have enough to eat. This can be prevented by working with Sahel countries and international partners to put in place sound agricultural systems to prevent future crisis. Yet such resilience cannot be built overnight. The AGIR Sahel Initiative will bring together all the key players in this challenge and give people in the region hope for a more stable future in the long term.
The EU will play its part by focusing its aid on agriculture and food security in the coming years. ‘This is one of the key foundation on which we can build sustainable and inclusive growth.”

The European Commission is the leading humanitarian donor in this year’s Sahel food crisis. It has reached nearly 7 million people with its funding. The Commission provided support as soon as the warning signs for hunger began to flash in 2011, and has remained at the forefront of international efforts to reduce emergency needs leading up to the peak of the crisis in the coming weeks.

The €40 million of funding proposed today will go towards blanket feeding programmes for children and distribution of food to the poorest households. Where food is still available on local markets, the funding will be used to distribute money to people to buy food for themselves.
Part of this funding will also help to provide food, water, health care and shelter for the estimated 400,000 Malians displaced by conflict.

THE SITUATION BACK HOME IS ALARMING

Gambians are grappling with inflation in food prices at local markets, amidst reports that the raining season has delayed this year. People are finding it difficult to keep their heads above water and electricity availability – which may help minimise poverty by an iota – has become a chimera.

However, the European Commission has contributed €6 million (D240 million) to the World Food Programme in The Gambia and Senegal to address the rapid deterioration of the food security and nutrition status of the countries’ most vulnerable people.
The funds will pay for the distribution of five thousand metric tonnes of rice in The Gambia, where the WFP estimates that approximately 206,000 people in the 19 most affected districts are in need of emergency food assistance due to crop failure exacerbated by high food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty levels, sources revealed.

Targeted food distributions will take place from July onwards. The rice will be provided by Brazil as part of a “twinning” project, allowing developed and developing countries to cooperate to maximise the impact of WFP contributions.
Cargo of Brazilian rice will arrive more rapidly and is up to 30% cheaper than rice bought through regional or international procurement.
The National Disaster Management Agency will be involved in the implementation of this emergency response, which will focus on the West Coast Region, North Bank Region, Lower River Region, Central River Region and Upper River Region.

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.