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Access Bank hands over office building to GPF

Jun 27, 2014, 9:52 AM | Article By: Halimatou Ceesay

Access Bank (Gambia) Ltd has handed over the newly-built police commissioner’s office located at the Kairaba Police Station Regional Office complex to the Gambia Police Force.

The inauguration ceremony was held Thursday at the Kairaba Police Station grounds along Kairaba Avenue.

Access Bank General Manager Dato Sajenirokun, speaking on the occasion, said the project commenced sometime last year; it took a couple of months to erect, and the office building was ready in January 2014.

They were putting the finishing touches together, and took a suitable date convenient for all stakeholders, so that they could do the proper handing over, he added.

Although people should not take it for granted that crime does not exist in The Gambia, it is only because of the hard work of the men and women of the Gambia Police Force that it now seems there is no crime in The Gambia, Mr Sajenirokun continued.

According to the Access Bank GM, every society everywhere in the world has basic elements of crime, and it exists everywhere, including in The Gambia.

However, because of the vigilance and untiring efforts of the Gambia Police Force in ensuring that crime is monitored, contained and prevented; this has made people living in The Gambia to feel like they are in paradise.

There is a need for support from the members of the society, who should be vigilant and work with the police; and if they see suspicious of people or any movement they owe it to the society to report such to the police force, he went on.

Access Bank was incorporated in Nigeria about 21 years ago, and has projects in nine (9) countries across the world; the bank is linked to several organizations across the world.

The ceremony was part of the bank’s public philosophy; they have to be especially responsible corporate members of the society, the GM continued.

Recently in The Gambia, Access Bank embarked on a recapitalization exercise of $20 million, that is, about D600 million which makes Access Bank, subject to a final year audit, the most capitalized bank in The Gambia.

Alhaji Ousman Gibba, deputy Inspector General of Police, said Access Bank has edged the police closer to accomplishing their five-year plan, which includes to ensure that the working environment of the police is highly-conducive to enhance effective and efficient service delivery.

The aid from Access Bank is an achievement related to the wider efforts the police are making in bridging the gap existing between the police and civil society members.

He encouraged the Commissioner Kanifing Region and police personnel there to keep up the momentum in building a cordial relationship with the inhabitants of the municipality.

He said the police would derive the much-needed support from the public, which is not limited to giving tip-offs but also complementing the government’s efforts in upgrading the standard of the force.

Malamin Ceesay, Commissioner Kanifing Region, said the security region starts from the Oyster Creek Bridge right across covering both Bakau and Serrekunda all the way to Abuko.

He added that this area comprises 17 wards with a human population of 300, 785, according to 2013 population census.

Police Commissioner Ceesay said this qualified the region as the most densely-populated region in The Gambia, with the resultant economic and social challenges, and criminal activities such as money laundering, cyber crime, theft, human trafficking, drug trafficking and drug abuse.

He added that growing crime is of concern not only for countries where there is conflict, but also for countries like The Gambia where the economy is growing steadily.

In the past, crime detection and prevention was viewed to be solely the responsibility of the police, but today individuals, communities, and private institutions have started to realize that this function was too important to be left in the hands of the police alone, he pointed out.