The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Amadou Jallow
24 June 2009
Amadou Saine, deputy permanent secretary, Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, yesterday presided over the official inauguration of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) sponsored sustainable fisheries project for The Gambia and Senegal, at a ceremony held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.
The project seeks to harness information sharing about fish and fisheries products between the two countries as well as bring to possibility the efficient usage and management of the fisheries sector, thereby improving on the benefit of fish and fisheries products for the people. Two organisations are taking part in the implementation of the project - Ba Nafaa (Mandinka for benefits of the river) located in The Gambia, and Wula Nafaa (Mandinka for benefit of the forest) also located in neighboring Senegal.
In his inaugural statement, Deputy Permanent Secretary Saine said that the fisheries sector plays a vital role in the enhancement of a country's economy. "In The Gambia, it contributes an estimated 4% of the country's Gross Domestic product," he said. DPS Saine informed the gathering that the Government of The Gambia has over the past years accorded high priority to the conservation and management of its marine products. He however noted that there are still challenges which 'linger in the sector'. He thus called for positive and responsible approach in order to improve on the fisheries sector.
Saine went on to say that such challenges cannot be overcome while the fisher folks remain underpowered to efficiently understand their responsibilities for the sustainability of the sector. The current situation of the sector, he observed, calls for more active involvement of the private sector in ensuring an equitable and efficient management of fish and fisheries products. Deputy Permanent Secretary Saine then thanked the United States government through the USAID for sponsoring the project and hoped that the it will improve on the livelihood of the beneficiaries to the latter. He also expressed The Gambia Government's resolve to support the improvement of the fisheries sector.
Erron Bronnel, USAID representative in Senegal, observed that there are many challenges facing the fisheries sectors of the two countries, which he hoped the project would address. Like DPS Saine, the USAID Senegal representative is also with the hope that the project will actively build up efforts to ensure sustainable management of the fisheries sector of the two countries. Bronnel used the occasion to congratulate the governments of The Gambia and Senegal for the successes they have registered in their fisheries sectors over the past years. He also called on the two countries to take ownership of the project in the interest of development.
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