By Eyo Nsima
The Vice President of the ECOWAS Commission, Her Excellency Damtien L. Tchintchibidja as part of a Mission to monitor ongoing activities being implemented by the ECOWAS Commission and its partners in The Gambia engaged the project team of The Gambia Pilot for the Regional Stabilization and Development Fund, to observe the status of implementation, and gather key lessons that could be useful in the design of intervention strategies for additional countries being supported under the Fund, namely, Guinea Bissau, Niger, and Mali.
She congratulated the project team (GAMWORKS and GIZ), for the work done so far, and encouraged them to expedite the implementation of the remaining activities as the project prepares to close in December 2023. She highlighted the importance of using the project to build resilience, through the provision of basic social services and the creation of sustainable economic opportunities for women and youth.
Following the engagement with the project team, the Vice President embarked on site visits to a Fish Processing Site built by the project to support economic activities of women in Brufut, as well as an 80-bed student dormitory built by the project to enhance vocational training at the Gambia Technical Training Institute (GTTI) in Mansa Konko. She observed some innovations developed by the students and encouraged the Vocational Institute to take advantage of the support provided by the ECOWAS Commission and its partners to increase access to vocational skills development for youth in the country.
The Vice President also visited the newly established National Centre for the Coordination of Early Warning and Response Mechanism (NCCRM), the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA), the Headquarters of the ECOWAS Military Intervention in The Gambia (ECOMIG) and had a working session with Mrs Miatta French, the ECOWAS Resident Representative in The Gambia, the West Africa Police Information System (WAPIS) project team and partners from the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the European Union (EU).
