By Yusef Taylor, @FlexDan_YT
The Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) will conduct elections for members of their Executive Board on 2nd September 2022 at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center. GCCI is the country’s recognised private sector representative and Employer’s Association.
A press conference held on Friday 12th August 2022 by the GCCI Advisory Board notified the media about the upcoming elections which will see the President, Vice President, Treasurer and an additional five (5) co-opted members from various business sectors up for elections in early September.
According to the former GCCI President Abdoulie Touray and Chairperson of the Advisory Board, the “five additional members should come from these various sectors; Tourism, Construction and Real Estate (1 member), Large Employers (more than 100 employees – 1 member), Agriculture, Agroindustry, manufacturers, Exporters (1 member) and Youth (not older than 35 years old – 1 member)”.
However, an additional sixth member is on the Executive Board for the Banking, Insurance or Financial Services Sector. In addition to this, three positions are reserved for the Gambia Ports Authority and the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency as Ex-Officio Members and the GCCI CEO who is employed by the 11-member Board, thereby completing the 12-member GCCI Board.
The current President, Vice President and CEO of the GCCI are Mr Edrissa Mass Jobe, Mr Baboucarr Khan and Ms Sarata Conateh respectively. Chairperson Touray explained that the Executive members have a term limit of two-three years term, making it a maximum of six years. Mr Touray added that members cannot qualify more than twice.
Speaking to members of the media former CEO Almamy Fanding Taal delivered the welcoming remarks and noted “some latest development about the Constitutional Arrangements of the GCCI”. According to Mr Taal, Constitutional Amendments were done in 2021 and “an advisory council was established as an organ of GCCI. It is in that regard that past Presidents of the GCCI and past CEOs are Ex-Officio Members of the GCCI”.
Speaking on the importance of elections Mr Taal noted that “the credibility of elections has always been a source of conflict”. In an effort “to avoid any controversy whatsoever that is why the mentor President Alhagie Abdoulie Touray commonly known as Bax is the Chairman of the GCCI [the IEC of the GCCI],” said the former GCCI CEO. Mr Taal was the GCCI CEO from 2011 to 2013.
Mr Touray who was a former GCCI President from 2002 and 2006 is also the mentor to the current GCCI President and also heads the Advisory Board as Chairperson. He started his speech by thanking the “visionary leadership of the GCCI for thinking and deeming it fit to galvanize the vast experience and expertise that has been accumulated by former Presidents and CEOs of the Chamber of Commerce, to mainstream them into the new Constitution of the GCCI”.
Chairperson Touray believes that other organisations should follow this example because he has “always posited that in the Gambia once you cease to be in office, they basically take you to the Bakoteh Dumpsite and leave you there in oblivion. But when you’re in office you want to make an impact and when you leave office you want to see your legacy flourish and this is what GCCI has done by bringing together former Presidents and CEOs to serve in an advisory capacity”.
Speaking on the elections regulations and the importance of the GCCI, Chairperson Touray noted that “GCCI is the apex umbrella body for private sector development and all related activities pertaining there too and they are expected to hold an annual general meeting every year”. He added that “every three years they are expected to hold an annual general assembly to also coincide with the elections of new officers”.
On ensuring gender balance Chairperson Touray says that the GCCI also believes that “it is important to have affirmative action. So, in the Constitution 30% of the members of the Executive must be women and that is something that we take very great pride in”.
According to provision 15.1 of the GCCI Constitution “to be eligible for election to the Board of Directors, a candidate must be fully paid-up member of the Chamber and must not be in arrears on their annual subscription fees, within the three years prior to the date of the elections. Furthermore, any candidate nominated by a company must present their employer’s audited financial statements and in the case of an individual a tax clearance for the same period will suffice”.
Another provision 15.2 of the GCCI Constitution also notes that “any member who wishes to contest in the election for the office of the President of the GCCI, Vice President and the Treasurer of the Board of Directors, shall do so by completing a prescribed Nomination Form, supported by the endorsement of five paid-up members of the Chamber”.
When journalists asked for the number of GCCI members that can vote in the elections the Chairperson highlighted the various category of members that are eligible to vote and they are as follows.
Category A Extra Large Business – Six (6) Votes
Category B Large Business – Five (5) Votes
Category C Medium Business – Four (4) Votes
Category D Small Business – Three (3) Votes
Category E Micro Business – Two (2) Votes
Category F Start-Up – One (1) Vote
Composition of Advisory Board
When asked to identify the members of the Advisory Board, Chairperson Touray responded to explain that “the Advisory Board is composed of all living, past Presidents and CEOs” and they are;
Former Presidents; Charrbell Elhajj, Bai Ndongo Faal, Abdoulie M Touray, Bai Matarr Drammeh and Muhammed Jagana.
Former CEOs; Kebba Njie, Ma Cherno Jallow, Alieu Secka and Almamy Taal.
