The on-going developments within the financial industry in the West African state of Nigeria begs for more questions than answers in terms of the challenges that the banking sector is going through to win the hearts and minds of their esteemed customers - don't mind everything is under control.
By injecting money to save five of the country's many banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria now wants to put some sanity into the ulcer that is seemingly tearing the lives of many customers. The reactions of the authorities in the case has further heightened tensions in the country, and many people are wondering when will this end?
But in a country, where big and small incidents do not stop the traffic from moving, Nigerians are asking themselves why do the big guns got entrapped in this mess?
For those of us in the Gambia, the proliferation of banks over the years is seen as a welcome development, the fact that 13 banks are now operating in the country could not have come at a better time when The Gambia is tagged in some contexts as an emerging economy in the region.
While, many countries on the continent are witnessing series of security problems, the peace and political stability continue to be one of the biggest assets The Gambia can boast of. Suffice it to say the increasing number of tourists who come to The Gambia has made it possible for investors to come in numbers.
Forget about the small size of the country, economic analyst beleive in the coming years there will be more banks and more companies in The Gambia.
The only lesson perhaps: We must not allow what happened in Nigeria to prevail in The Gambia, that will not only tear the hearts of customers but to a large extent dissuade potential customers from putting their monies into the bank.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Trust in machines
Trusting technology to carry the message
Thanks to advances in information technology, we hardly write and post letters through the post office. Why waste your time and energy? Reason: The Internet is faster, but unreliable at times.
In The Gambia, recent development within the telecommunications sector has once again put the nation on a firm pedestal when viewed from the information technology prism. When business tycoon Muhammed Jah widely known in the area of Computers and Internet Service Providers, launched his GSM company recently, it highlighted two significant developments: the first Gambian owned GSM Company. And secondly, the company has come with it, one of the latest and perhaps one of the most sophiscated ICT products that have not been use by clients here. It goes to show how fast telecommunication is growing a country of 1.6million people, with a percapita income of close to five hundred dollars.
Another area that has seen massive investment is the financial sector, the latest bank to be inaugurated in The Gambia brings to thirteen the number of banks operating in the country. So within fifteen years, 13 banks. And at a time the Gambian President His Excellency Sheikh Professor Dr. Alh. Yahya Jammeh is urging Gambians to unite and work harder for the betterment of the country; another product is being promoted by Trust Bank which if it start may likely make a lot of people happy.
It’s called email and text alert from Trust Bank, this system tells you about the transactions involving you and your accounts. The message will pop up informing you, that your salary has been credited in your account, so and so has paid money into your account. It has been happening to a lot of people to go the bank, only to be told that their salaries have not been credited into their accounts.
Trust Bank wants to let the customers to trust technology to carry the message, while you concentrate on other things.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
A Nepalese has done it
After treking seventy-five thousand kilometres, Lok Bandhu Karki, the Nepalese cyclist who is determined to visit the world over, says his mission will take four more years to complete.
Lok Bandu Karki's arrival in The Gambia brings to sixty-five the number of countries, he has so far landed. He left his native country in 2003, after abandoning his career as a high school teacher in Nepal.
Karki said traveling around the world with his bicycle is one of the biggest challenges entrusted to him by God.
Karki told the Indian community that assembled at the Jewel of India restaurant that he wants to see an end to violence in the world.
Since his arrival in The Gambia six days ag0, the amazing Nepalese man has been residing with the Indian community in The Gambia. The Indian Counsel in The Gambia, Ram Mohan said the coming of the Nepalese cyclist to The Gambia is not by accident, he says The Gambia is one of the most peaceful countries in The world, something that has inspired the cyclist.
-By Ebrima Baldeh
Lok Bandu Karki's arrival in The Gambia brings to sixty-five the number of countries, he has so far landed. He left his native country in 2003, after abandoning his career as a high school teacher in Nepal.
Karki said traveling around the world with his bicycle is one of the biggest challenges entrusted to him by God.
Karki told the Indian community that assembled at the Jewel of India restaurant that he wants to see an end to violence in the world.
Since his arrival in The Gambia six days ag0, the amazing Nepalese man has been residing with the Indian community in The Gambia. The Indian Counsel in The Gambia, Ram Mohan said the coming of the Nepalese cyclist to The Gambia is not by accident, he says The Gambia is one of the most peaceful countries in The world, something that has inspired the cyclist.
-By Ebrima Baldeh
Notes from a development journalist
By Ebrima BALDEH
Another batch of Development Journalism is currently underway at Indian Institute of Mass Communication. No wonder, some people say time and tide wait for no one, which means that so many things can happen within a relatively short period of time. And you start asking how it all started and ended.
This latest batch is the 54th since the course started in the 1960s. By the time, we arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, my colleague Pierre YS Sylva was equally worn out after a long and laborious journey to the Indian subcontinent. It was at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa that we started to question the vagaries of the weather in Asia, and how it was going to shape our minds about a place that remains enigma – at a time when the attack on Mumbai was fresh in the minds of every Indian. So what are we going to do in New Delhi?
My first encounter with this question started years back when I was still a small boy watching Indian films, about love struggles, war and horror. It was the facial beauty of her people and the magic that sparked my interest in Indian films, I realized that unlike other films, the Indian films are undeniably striking and mostly sub-titles because the Indians would like to maintain their identities to stand out.
So upon arrival at the IGI airport, I touched down, expecting to see something exciting and different from I was coming from, The Gambia, with a population of one million and 600 thousand people.
I saw massive buildings especially the ones close to the airport, the roads were also in fantastic shape. Security was not as heightened as the some TV channels reported few weeks before we embarked on the journey. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication officer who was at the airport to welcome us, Mr. Tiwari, did not encounter some problems meeting us, the Ethiopian flight that brought us had a two hours delayed in Addis Ababa so I wonder how he managed to wait at that busy airport. I don’t know whether it was by provident, in a matter of minutes four African brothers namely Chukwudi, Temwa, Pierre and me stood before Mr. Tiwari who had realized that we were the newest IIMC students. We decided to shake hands, exchange pleasantries; it was just like we have signed to strengthen relations between Zambia and Nigeria when we found that we were all in Delhi for the same mission. Temwa from Zambia had sported a black sweater, while Chukwudi from Zambia was there talking to our handler, what’s next?
We passed dozens of taxi drivers, and ended up in a vehicle that took us to the IIMC campus, while I was anxious to reach the campus, I was watching the places that had constantly attracted my attention, road construction. I was trying to reconnect with the volume of work that I had left in The Gambia, the road construction projects embarked upon by the President Jammeh administration. There were series of sign boards indicating construction work was going on.
By the time I arrived at the campus, I felt that I have had useful lessons already; if anything I have started compiling notes and I thought that would help me to reconnect with whatever lessons offered in the IIMC lecture room.
@ Priya market
My first outing was at Priya market with Jesus Hector Betancourt, a Mexican who like Chabby Barasa from Tanzania where the first to arrive at the school, so I went with Jesus to change some few dollars to Rupees, so that I can buy some basic necessities before I receive my monthly allowance from the Institute. It was the masala tea at ‘My passion’ restaurant that provided the unique opportunity for me to discover a new friend in Delhi, Jesus.
While on a rickshaw, (batch car) we call it in The Gambia, we headed to the campus, and suddenly I saw some people on top of what look like a small hill living in squalid houses, I did not say anything, I suspect that my Mexican had realized this that’s was why he asked me ‘do you have such conditions in The Gambia. I told him that we don’t have people in slums in the City, not even in the village. Of course, we have very poor people there, but they have at least shelter they call home.
But this was one of the contradictions you face when you are studying development, you come across all sort of challenges, of course such things will always present themselves, for example the best roads in India’s capital have been described by the press as ‘killer highways’. Yet, when the society would call it development when roads are constructed to facilitate the growing number of road users.
Some people are becoming richer every day, while others believed they have had enough, they want to end their lives once for all, since they could not get what they want.
[To be continued…
Another batch of Development Journalism is currently underway at Indian Institute of Mass Communication. No wonder, some people say time and tide wait for no one, which means that so many things can happen within a relatively short period of time. And you start asking how it all started and ended.
This latest batch is the 54th since the course started in the 1960s. By the time, we arrived at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, my colleague Pierre YS Sylva was equally worn out after a long and laborious journey to the Indian subcontinent. It was at the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa that we started to question the vagaries of the weather in Asia, and how it was going to shape our minds about a place that remains enigma – at a time when the attack on Mumbai was fresh in the minds of every Indian. So what are we going to do in New Delhi?
My first encounter with this question started years back when I was still a small boy watching Indian films, about love struggles, war and horror. It was the facial beauty of her people and the magic that sparked my interest in Indian films, I realized that unlike other films, the Indian films are undeniably striking and mostly sub-titles because the Indians would like to maintain their identities to stand out.
So upon arrival at the IGI airport, I touched down, expecting to see something exciting and different from I was coming from, The Gambia, with a population of one million and 600 thousand people.
I saw massive buildings especially the ones close to the airport, the roads were also in fantastic shape. Security was not as heightened as the some TV channels reported few weeks before we embarked on the journey. The Indian Institute of Mass Communication officer who was at the airport to welcome us, Mr. Tiwari, did not encounter some problems meeting us, the Ethiopian flight that brought us had a two hours delayed in Addis Ababa so I wonder how he managed to wait at that busy airport. I don’t know whether it was by provident, in a matter of minutes four African brothers namely Chukwudi, Temwa, Pierre and me stood before Mr. Tiwari who had realized that we were the newest IIMC students. We decided to shake hands, exchange pleasantries; it was just like we have signed to strengthen relations between Zambia and Nigeria when we found that we were all in Delhi for the same mission. Temwa from Zambia had sported a black sweater, while Chukwudi from Zambia was there talking to our handler, what’s next?
We passed dozens of taxi drivers, and ended up in a vehicle that took us to the IIMC campus, while I was anxious to reach the campus, I was watching the places that had constantly attracted my attention, road construction. I was trying to reconnect with the volume of work that I had left in The Gambia, the road construction projects embarked upon by the President Jammeh administration. There were series of sign boards indicating construction work was going on.
By the time I arrived at the campus, I felt that I have had useful lessons already; if anything I have started compiling notes and I thought that would help me to reconnect with whatever lessons offered in the IIMC lecture room.
@ Priya market
My first outing was at Priya market with Jesus Hector Betancourt, a Mexican who like Chabby Barasa from Tanzania where the first to arrive at the school, so I went with Jesus to change some few dollars to Rupees, so that I can buy some basic necessities before I receive my monthly allowance from the Institute. It was the masala tea at ‘My passion’ restaurant that provided the unique opportunity for me to discover a new friend in Delhi, Jesus.
While on a rickshaw, (batch car) we call it in The Gambia, we headed to the campus, and suddenly I saw some people on top of what look like a small hill living in squalid houses, I did not say anything, I suspect that my Mexican had realized this that’s was why he asked me ‘do you have such conditions in The Gambia. I told him that we don’t have people in slums in the City, not even in the village. Of course, we have very poor people there, but they have at least shelter they call home.
But this was one of the contradictions you face when you are studying development, you come across all sort of challenges, of course such things will always present themselves, for example the best roads in India’s capital have been described by the press as ‘killer highways’. Yet, when the society would call it development when roads are constructed to facilitate the growing number of road users.
Some people are becoming richer every day, while others believed they have had enough, they want to end their lives once for all, since they could not get what they want.
[To be continued…
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