All the issues we've talked about here are reflectedin this article from the
Observer below. I hope the govt. comes up with concrete plans to improve the
performance of the many economic sectors of the country.
I am very perturbed by this report from the Observer.
Combination of factors blamed for Dalasi’s decline
An official of the Standard Chartered Bank has asserted that the pressure
exerted on The Gambian local currency the Dalasi, which depreciated by 12.4
percent against the US Dollar and 5 percent against the sterling resulted
from the poor performance of the tourist industry, reduced cross border trade
and serious difficulties in the marketing of groundnuts. Momodou B.A.
Senghore one of the bank’s Board of Directors in a typical ‘state of the
bank address’ told the 24th annual general meeting of the bank’s directors
at the Kairaba Beach Hotel last week that the relative decline in tourism
activity, the absence of a vibrant cross border trading and the groundnut
marketing crisis meant that the local currency performed dismally and led to
a rally for the dollar and the pound.
According to him interest rates on treasury bills declined during the first
half of the year to 11.75 percent, but rallied in the second half of the year
to around 14.6 percent. However, not all suggest a bleak picture. Mr.
Senghore revealed that Standard Chartered Bank the longest serving bank in
the country has scored GMD 108 million pre-tax profits in last year’s
business calendar, which according to him comes despite the difficult market
environment. He said the bank’s profit before taxation has risen by 8 percent
to GMD108 million compared to GMD 102 million in 2000, adding that its profit
available for distribution increased by 7 percent to GMD 70 million.
He added that their customer deposit has also risen by 35 percent to GMD 917
million and earning per share increased by 7 percent to GMD 7.88. He added
that as a result of these satisfactory results the board has decided to
recommend a final dividend of GMD 1.00 paid earlier on which they will bring
the total dividend payment for 2001 to GMD 6.50 with an 18 percent increase
over that of 2000. Mr. Senghore added that as the banking industry in the
country is becoming highly competitive and customers are increasingly
demanding sophisticated solutions tailored to providing their individual
requirements, the bank is committed to providing its customers with world
class banking products and services to meet their needs.
He noted that the bank has embarked upon the Emerging Market Model (EMM) and
Africa Enterprise Network (AEN) projects, which are designed to provide
state-of-the art information technology to enable them deliver more
effectively and efficiently to their customers. On the economic environment,
Mr.Senghore stated that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to grow
by 4.6 percent in 2000, which is below the target growth rate of 5.5 percent.
He added that the sectoral development on agriculture in the past year is
forecasted to grow by 8.6 percent whiles manufacturing is expected to grow
marginally by 1.7 percent and the trade sector registered a contraction of
4.1percent with total contribution decline from GMD78.1 million to GMD74.9
million.
In the foreign exchange market, Mr.Senghore said transaction volumes
increased by 18 percent to GMD6.8billion by September 2001. Having done
business in the country for over 100 years, he said the bank identifies
strongly with the community in which it operates. He said as a result of this
they have given generously to worthy causes in youth development, health,
education and environmental sectors. He added that as a result of the bank’s
strategic focus on customers and their investments in new technology, they
have laid the foundation for maintaining their leadership position in the
banking industry in the country.
On his part the Bank’s chief executive Onesimo J. Makumba stated that the
significant progress the bank experienced in the challenging environment was
as a result of its commitment and the introduction of wholesale and consumer
banking, which are aimed at supporting technology service delivery and human
resources, which played a key role in helping them to achieve their business
objectives. Other speakers at the ceremony included the Lamin K Manjang
secretary to the board among others whilst the current board has been
re-elected for another term. Meanwhile as part of the ceremony honored ten of
its outstanding customers who have been banking with Standard Chartered for
over 40 years.
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