Fatou, The conflicting issues confronting OGIS in Sweden is identical to Those of Gambian organizations in the USA, and else where Including back home.Your <http://home.Your> boldness in posting it on this platform Is progressive considering Gambians do not usually share their Shortcomings they would rather hide it under the pretext of something Or someway. I share your suggestions to possible solutions, first and foremost We need attitudinal change, which accounts for most of our ineffectiveness Organizational wise and this propagates itself to the current situation on the Ground at home; be it in political and religious circles. Beran -----Original Message----- From: fatou [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 1:56 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: GAMBIA ORG CONFERENCE PAPER NR 1 THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED BY BROTHER BUHARRY AT THE GAMBIAN ORGANISATION CONFERENCE IN STOCKHOLM SWEDEN, SUNDAY 2 APRIL 2000.FROM THE ELECTORAL COMMITTEE. THANK YOU. ---------- Från: MOMODOU BUHARRY GASSAMA Datum: den 4 april 2000 22:11 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------- The situation of Gambians in Sweden has since the arrival of the first Gambians in the country not been an enviable one. This is due to a variety of factors. Factors such as tribalism, sectionalism, disunity, materialism, laze, greed, illiteracy etc. can be cited to have been and continue to be strong impediments to Gambians' advancement within the Swedish set-up. The attendant implication has been the stagnation of Gambians within the society compared to other immigrant groups. To address these issues and remedy the plight of Gambians, the Organization of Gambians in Sweden (OGIS) was formed. The organization however fell victim to the above vices plus mismanagement, political infighting, embezzlement etc. from its very inception. This has rendered it incapable of achieving the goals it was set up to achieve. Successive administrations have tried to rid the organization of the vices that have kept it from realising its aims as envisioned by its founders. The results of these attempts have however not been impressive leading to the current attempt to find ways of building a modern, effective and independent organization to address the concerns of the Gambian community. Before jumping to the issue of trying to build such an organization, an analysis of some of the problems that have plagued the OGIS since its inception needs to be carried out. One of the major problems that the organization has had deals with the lack of proper financial and accounting mechanisms to handle the monetary and other assets of the organization. There is no standard accounting system for the organization and every administration comes with its own accounting system making it difficult for successive administrations to grasp the organization's financial condition. This is coupled with the poor or non-existent system of receipt collection and organization. This has resulted in the loss of thousands and some even estimate hundreds of thousands of Kronor. Another problem that has plagued the OGIS is impulsiveness and lack of planning. Activities with heavy financial implications are undertaken without proper research and planning resulting in heavy losses for the organization. These activities have ranged from poorly planned cultural events to ineffective seminars to disastrous children's activities with the attendant implications of not only monetary loss but the erosion of the organization's credibility in the eyes of those whose interests it is supposed to serve. The third problem that has plagued the OGIS is the nonchalant attitude of its members towards the provisions of its Constitution, the organization's guiding document. The Constitution defines the procedures to be adhered to when dealing with various issues related to the organization but these are nearly always ignored. This has resulted in many problems for the organization. These problems have included arguments, divisions, legal wrangling etc. resulting in a waste of the organization's time and resources. The fourth problem that the OGIS has is its lack of credibility in the eyes of the Gambian community. This is a major problem as it has resulted in a steep decline in membership to the organization. One of the reasons for the organization's lack of trustworthiness is the lack of effective management especially in the financial realm. The poor management of the financial aspects of the organization has resulted in accusation upon accusation of financial misconduct thus undermining the OGIS' stature in the Gambian community. Another of the OGIS' problems is the lack of proper meeting procedures. This on the surface does not seem to be a major problem but a closer investigation will reveal that it is indeed a very serious problem. Poor handling of meetings resulting in disruptions, personal attacks etc. makes it very difficult for the OGIS to address the real issues crucial to its effective functioning as an organization. How can the OGIS be transformed into a modern, effective and independent organization that will be able to identify and effectively deal with the burning problems of the Gambian community? The first step should be to make a comprehensive identification and analysis of the organization's problems. Some of the issues identified above are important elements of the overall hindrances to the effectiveness of OGIS as an entity but are by no means the only hindrances. Systematically identifying and analysing the impediments to the organization's success is a very important step and has to be carried out with meticulousness. After an analysis has been done, ways of incorporating methods to counter them in the future have to be woven into the organizational fabric of the OGIS. This in short, amounts to change management, which requires that an assessment of the required change is made and the mechanisms required to manage it are created. The second step should be to revamp the organization's accounting mechanism. A standard accounting system should be adopted and all Treasurers should before being elected certify that they understand and are able to work with the system. Efforts should be made to acquire a computerised accounting system to ease the work. As the aim is to create a modern organization, the previous backward accounting system of making entries on pieces of paper and plastic bags, which cannot be found when needed, should be abandoned. A requirement that all expenses are requested using a request form and that receipts must be provided as a rule for all expenditures should be implemented. This will not only improve the organization's accounting system but it will also help restore its credibility in the Gambian community. A Financial Committee should be formed. The role of this committee will be to further strengthen the financial regulations and methods of the organization by acting as a buffer between the various committees and the Treasurer. All expenditure requests will be handled by the committee and approved before being forwarded to the Treasurer for dispensation. The committee will look at cheaper alternatives and make suggestions regarding the request before authorising the Treasurer to provide the funds. The committee will be provided with copies of all receipts so that it can keep a separate accounting profile that can be helpful to the Auditor when the Treasurer is being audited. To avoid the impulsive and oftentimes disastrous spending of the organization's funds, the organization's overall activities should be determined and budgeted for on a yearly basis. This will ensure that all activities are strategically planned and looked into. Strategically planning the activities of the organization will ensure that their goals are determined, current and future situations are analysed and that a strategic plan is produced. It will also give the Financial Committee time to look at alternative prices and come up with suggestions. This way, activities that are poorly planned will be avoided. A Legal Adviser conversant with the Constitution should be elected. It will be the Legal Adviser's responsibility to ensure that all activities carried out under the aegis of the organization are in line with the provisions of the Constitution. The Legal Adviser will also ensure that the inner workings of the Executive Committee conform to the rules established by the Constitution. The fifth step should be to create a Public Relations (PR) organ whose responsibility will be to recover the credibility of the organization. The PR organ can be incorporated into the existing committees or created as a separate entity. The PR organ should look at ways of reviving the defunct newsletter, look into the possibility of creating a homepage for the organization where all general, financial and other information will be readily available to all members and the general public. The PR organ should also work together with the other committees to create activities to promote the organization and enhance its stature in the Gambian community. The organization should also develop meeting procedures. These procedures should be in the form of a booklet that will be made available to all members so that they can behave properly during meetings to ensure the effective use of time. The procedures should determine the role of the chair and recorders, the floor etc. and identify group problem solving techniques to help reach effective decisions. To create an independent organization, the OGIS should not allow itself to be manipulated by organizations and individuals whose interests are antithetical to those of its own. The Executive Committee should ensure that the interests of the OGIS are paramount and that any attempt to thwart the aspirations of the organization and its members should be vehemently fought. The OGIS as has been seen has a myriad of problems that have hindered it from effectively tackling the issues it was created to tackle. In order for it to function as intended, these problems have to be identified and remedied and proper procedures and mechanisms put into place. Instituting new modus operandi based on the need to create a modern, effective and independent organization will take a lot of sacrifice and hard work but with dedication to the organization's ideals and guided by transparency and probity, the desired results can be achieved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------