The Minister of Information and Communication Infrastructure, Ebrima Sillah, has delivered the 12th weekly report on the activities of various government ministries through press conference. Below is the report for selected ministries:
The Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources has been putting together initiatives towards the improvement in fisheries subsector. In collaboration with the food and Agriculture organization (FAO,) an improved method of fish smoking called FAO Thiaroy Technology (FTT) was introduced at Gunjur which is being replicated elsewhere to transform all hazardous traditional smoking method to FTT for widespread adoption. FTT produces high-quality smoke fish product and is considered health and Environment friendly.
In the same vein Inland transportation of coastal fishery products have improved remarkably. Access to off-road communities has improved through feeder roads. An estimate of more than 500,000 metric tons of fish was transported to rural areas this year.
The Ministry of Environment Climate Change and Natural Resources (MECCNAR) is currently validating four technical reports of the Pilot Program Climate Resilience (PPCR). The Gambia is among countries advocating against global climate change and has benefitted from the World Bank climate investment fund (CIF) which enabled the government to prepare a strategic programme for resilience under the Climate Resilience project.
This will enable the Ministry of Environment through the Government of the Gambia as a developing country to build resilience to the impacts of climate change by preparing and implementing a strong strategic investment plan of climate change intervention which is a 25-year plan.
The Ministry of Environment has also concluded a regional consultation with the Belgian Consulting firm AGRER on Climate Change which targeted administrative regions of the Gambia including a diverse range of stakeholders to determine the challenges faced in relation to climate change.
During the technical review period, the four strategic documents will be reviewed and validated which will be compiled into a national document being implemented by the Ministry of Environment.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs requested for a Supplementary Appropriation Bill (SAP) to support institutions that have been negatively impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. So far, support has been extended to the following:
• A full payment of D91.2 million was between August and September to bail out five Public Enterprises for the payment of their three month salaries; • Full payment of D5.6 million for the settlement of GT Board’s Operational License for the Hospitality Industry; • 30 million paid for extended duration of the closure of the Malaysia and Algeria missions and also factoring the repatriation of recalled diplomatic personnel; • D20 million paid in September for the construction of the Basse Market, out of D40.3 million approved in the SAP; • D300 million paid in September for the construction of Rural and Urban Road Projects out of the D800 million approved in the SAP; • A full payment of D77 million was made in September for Land Compensation for the Gambia Electricity Restoration and Modernization; • A full payment of D100 million was made in September for the Post Covid Recovery Plan for The Tourism Industry; • D31.4 million was paid in August and September as support to Councils to pay Salaries; out of D46.8 million approved in SAP; and • A full payment of D15 million was made in October for Media Subsidy.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports recently trained about 80 young entrepreneurs in different parts of the country in entrepreneurship. The training was organised by the National Enterprise Development Initiative (NEDI) for mainly women and youth.
These training are meant to strengthen capacities of women and youth to improve their business ideas as part of a memorandum of understanding signed on the Implementation of the youth revolving fund and loan scheme (YRLF) between the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYS) through National Enterprise Development Initiative (NEDI) and Social Development Fund (SDF).
The purpose of the MOU is to assist in the implementation of the Youth Revolving Fund component of the Youth and Sports development levy to disburse loans to eligible youths, provision of grants training and monitoring services.
As part of efforts to promote domestic tourism and bringing tourism to the doorsteps of Gambians especially in the rural Gambia in the form of decentralization, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture through the Gambia Tourism Board is deploying staff to all regions of the country as tourism representatives to help various Regional Governors primarily to promote and develop tourism in the regions.
These representatives are expected to work in close collaboration with the relevant authorities and communities especially the National Center for Arts and Culture, Forestry, Parks and Wildlife and to promote community-based tourism through available cultural and historic assets as well as Forest Parks and Wildlife.
Currently, the Deputy Permanent Secretary and staff of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, the Director-General of The Gambia Tourism Board, the Director-General of The Gambia Tourism and Hospitality Institute and other senior staff of the National Center for Arts and Culture are on a countrywide visit to meet with Regional Governors of the various regions to formally introduce and explain to them the role of the Tourism Representatives in their regions.