The National Water and Electricity Company Staff Association (NASA) on Friday staged a splendid musical extravaganza at the famous Senegambia Beach Hotel Garden in Kololi, to raise funds to support the various development initiatives in The Gambia.

Being the third of its kind since the establishment of the Association in 2010, the gala dinner that featured prominent Gambian international Kora maestro, Jaliba Kuyateh, and the Senegalese musical sensation, Assan Ndiaye, as well as Abou and Fafa, attracted scores of people including cabinet ministers, who were there to lend support to a worthy cause.

The proceeds of the show, according to the organising committee of this annual musical programme will be used to support the President's Alternative Medical Treatment Programme (PAMTP), as well as support communities to have greater access to clean and safe drinking water, in line with the Gambia government's development objectives.

It would be recalled that since the formation of the Association three years ago, it has been instrumental in the promotion andwelfare of the staff of the company, as well as supporting development projects in the area of water and sanitation. Most importantly, the Association has managed with time, to promote cohesion and unity among the work force of the country's utility company, and this was manifested during the Friday show.

"The main purpose of organising this gala is to support The Gambia government's development crusade in the health and other sectors, as well as to help our staff," the president of the Nawec Staff Association, Ousainou Ceesay told the Daily Observer.

Ceesay said since the onset they have been doing their utmost to promote the welfare of the staff, and to this end,the Association has opened a consumer shop where the staff of the company can getbasic commodities like rice, sugar, among others, on a loan basis,which ispayable within a given period. This, he said, is part of their staff welfare initiatives.

The NASA president further asserted that proceeds derived from their shows go back to the people in the form ofsupport to health initiatives and other benefits, citing their renovation workat the NAWEC ward of the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) as an example. He also spoke of their intention to support the Gambian leader's treatment programme given its importance to the lives of many people, as well as to extend their development schemes beyond the Greater Banjul Area to the provinces.