From the onset in my manifesto, I recognized that whilst our main objective is to strength business and the private sector, we must also strengthen government and the communities.
To strengthen government it is important that GCCI encourage and reward its members for tax compliance. This is not only altruistic gesture, because tax compliance is important to level the competitive playing field and engenders innovation and employment. To strengthen the community, we believe that the principal indicator would be employment, demonstrated by the payment of social security.
1.The GCCI working with GRA to this end have compiled a list of the biggest tax payers. This list would be published in due course, stating amounts of taxes paid and their ranking, for the purposes of transparency.
2.Pensioner Poverty: GCCI have been engaging the SSHFC management and the government authorities on the state of pensions and Pensioner poverty.
3.Youth Bulge: I have said before that the youth bulge is not, in and of itself, a hindrance to development but a natural endowment, which must be converted into useful resources through education and training. Africa has all the elements of the period table and yet remained shackled by these endowments i.e. gold, silver, diamond, oil, land etc.
4.For the first time in the history of the Chamber, GCCI included cash prizes for youth and women entrepreneurs during our Business Awards Night 2019.
5.Also for the first time, GCCI in conjunction with the European Union (EU) signed a project to promote Investment in Culture, Creative Arts and Sports to enhance resilience against Climate Change in local communities.
6.In April 2020, the EU funded Youth Empowerment Project in partnership with the GCCI and the Lord Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council, Mr. Talib Ahmed Bensouda. The one Million Dalasi (GMD 1,000,000) Challenge Fund is to sponsor youth-led business solutions that can help overcome the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
7.GCCI Launched Business Against Covid-19
a.Telethon raised 20 million Dalasis to support government Covid-19 National Emergency Response Plan
b.Refurbish the Sanatorium as the covid-19 hospital
c.With UNDP partnership we provided the prisons with a brand new 30 seater van with 6 months fuel cost.
d.Provided 1.6 million Dalasis to Local Government Authorities with each of the 8 Regional Authorities receiving D200,000 to provide relief and support to their various communities
e.About to commence work on the Poly Health Clinic in Banjul
f.Provided EFSTH with PPE
8.GCCI Board of Directors organized the first ever SeneGambia Economic Forum bringing together the Private and Public sectors of the two countries to discuss the issue of AcFTA agreement, ETLS and other regional trade protocols and to encourage more trade with Senegal. The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, estimated that the potential for intra-African trade under the AcFTA Agreement will increase by up to $70 billion by 2040. For us in the Gambia, the ACFTA, like the ECOWAS before it, is purely a SeneGambia problem, as we have only one neighbor in Africa. The Gambia is not a landlocked country but it’s one of the most isolated counties in the world. GCCI intends to prepare the ground for our members and the private sector generally to take advantage of emerging trends in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, particularly with Senegal.
9.Own Ground: GCCI Trade Fair would henceforth be held on our own grounds and the Annual Trade Fair would now become a quarterly event at the minimum, post Covid-19.
10.Our Board of Directors formed an Advisory Board, comprising of all the Past Presidents and CEOs of the GCCI to leverage their experiences in our drive to make the Chamber more responsive and representative.
11.Relationship Turkey-Gambia: We made a presentation to visiting Turkish business leaders during President Erdogan’s recent visit to the Gambia and strengthen the existing relationship with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and to highlight investment opportunities in the Gambia for their members.
12.GCCI was part of a delegation of Gambian Ministers and a cross-section of Gambian Businesses made an overture to lure French Companies based in Dakar to cross over to Gambia in order to explore local business opportunities.
13.The Chamber continues to work with the Guinea Bissau Chambers of Commerce, to resolve the constraints related to re-exportation of cashew and the transit trade.
14.The President of the GCCI, participated in the Russia Africa Summit held last year (2019) in Sochi part of a government delegation headed by H.E President Adama Barrow
Plans for 2020 and beyond
1.Visa facilitation for GCCI members with important Trading Partner Countries
2.Compile a list of TOP 100 major companies based on their tax and Social Security payments
3. Build trade fair ground as nucleus for Brusubi Commercial Business District
4.Co-Locate with the Youth and Women Chambers of Commerce at Kerr Jula, the home of Gambian Businesses
5.Create an Economic Analysis and Statistics Unit to inform businesses and investors of emerging business environment and trends
6.Increase employers and unions involvement in SSHFC for the benefit of their members
7.Quarterly cocktails and networking events for members to interact
8.Amend the GCCI Constitution to streamline the various functions of the Chamber and to make it more efficient, responsive
9.Launch a Magazine (Periodical) to showcase Gambian Businesses, disseminate technical research findings; to inform, educate and empower.
10.Develop, promote and monitor a defined Action Plan for the Gambia government to subscribe to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) defined within the EITI proposal
11.Decentralize the activities of the Chamber by having offices in all the regions across the country
12.Increase development partnerships within and outside the country with wider stakeholders
13.Develop more partnerships with other Chambers of Commerce around the world to facilitate bigger networks and business opportunities for our members.
Culled from Edirissa Mass Jobe’s Facebook page
