By Sarjo M Camara
As part of his familiarisation exercise, the Vice President Mr Badara A. Joof last week received in audience, the Director General and staff of Food Safety and Quality Authority (FSQA).
The Food Safety and Quality Authority of The Gambia (FSQA) was established by an act of Parliament called The Food Safety and Quality Act, 2011 and became operational in 2013.
The Director General of FSQA Mamudou Bah acknowledged that Office of the Vice President has been very supportive of their quest for food safety and quality assurance in the country.
Having highlighted his office’s numerous gains as of recent, Mr Bah informed that they are working on establishing regional offices across the country. He said they have also secured support to develop a National Food Safety policy and strategy.
He however lamented that they were challenged by the government’s inconsistent and inadequate subventions; which he said hindered their programme interventions.
Considering the high cost of rent of office space, Mr Bah appealed for the government to allocate them land so that they could use the money they are paying for rent to build an office complex for FSQA.
In his remarks VP Joof assured the team of OVP’s support in promoting the agenda of maintaining food safety and quality standards in The Gambia. He assured that his doors are open to everyone as much as they promote the country’s development agenda.
The Vice President thanked the FSQA boss and board members for actively pushing the agenda of national interest.
The board chair of FSQA, Dr Amadou Sowe said the journey was not easy for them at the beginning and that it took a little while for the management to settle down for a more serious job.
He noted that food is everybody’s business and so concerted efforts are needed to meet the agenda of FSQA.
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Permanent Secretary, Saikou JK Trawally, who thanked the FSQA management for calling on the Vice President.