Makaireh
Badjan, managing director of Royal Insurance Company, has been installed as the
president of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA),
succeeding Rotomi Fashola, a Nigerian.
Mr
Badjan took the prescribed oath of office pledging to discharge his duties as
WAICA president faithfully to the best of his ability and “in accordance with
the constitution of WAICA and law”.
He
would serve a one-year term as the president of the sub-regional insurance
association, formed in 1973 with membership from The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia,
Nigeria and Sierra Leone.
Mr
Badjan was installed on Tuesday during a dinner bringing to a close the 39th
annual general meeting and educational conference of WAICA, which brought
together about 200 insurance professionals from across West Africa.
The
annual rotating conference was hosted by the Insurance Association of The
Gambia at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.
Shortly
after taking the prescribed oath of office, Mr Badjan, a member of the UK
Chartered Insurance Institute, said: “I
stand here tonight feeling deeply honoured and privileged to accept the
presidency of our noble association, WAICA.
It is indeed a moment of grace not only for me but the entire Gambia
insurance industry.
“I
am taking up the presidency to take up a duty to play a role that is not an
easy one. The founding fathers of WAICA
had really set out some great objectives and there had been a lot of
achievements because we have had dynamic presidents, together with the
executive committee, spearheading and driving things.”
Mr
Badjan, a renowned figure in the development of the Gambia insurance industry,
said he would continue the good work that had been done by his predecessors.
“I
make my commitment tonight to continue the good work of all the past
presidents, particularly my predecessor, Mr Fashola. I have been monitoring him and he is somebody
that I have always seen to be really committed to what the founding fathers
want for WAICA,” he said.
“Ever
since he won the presidency [last year], whenever we met, he pushes hard to
really get the association to get along with the set objectives.”
A
lot to be achieved
Mr
Badjan, who has about 25-year experience in insurance, together with the
current dynamic governing council of WAICA, he is confident that he could
achieve a lot during his one-year tenure as president.
He
said one of his main preoccupations is to further enhance and promote the
cooperation and collaboration among WAICA members and Africa as a whole.
He
said he would leverage on technology to enhance the growth of the insurance
industry in West Africa.
“The
world is evolving now and one key area that we really want to get along with is
the use of technology,” the WAIC president said.
Empirical
evidence suggests that countries with better insurance penetration and high
awareness are countries that leverage on the power of technology in insurance
business.
“Today
in countries like Kenya, technology, the mobile phone is used in selling
insurance faster and wider. So it is one
area that we really want to get on with,” Mr Badjan said.
A
youth himself, the new WAICA president planned to introduce youth forum as part
of the sideline activities of the annual general meeting and educational
conferences of WAICA.
“The
youth are actually coming on and there is a lot they have to offer rather than
the old guards always coming and taking decisions,” he said. “So we really want
to encourage the youth to be having their forum so that they can come up with
good suggestions.”
Mr
Badjan said he is aware of the fact that a lot more needs to be done but he
believes in action than and “not just making promises”.
Molifa
Sanneh, secretary general of the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG),
said even though the new president is young, he is a role model for many young
insurance professionals.
He
noted that The Gambia has over the years provided the youngest candidates for
WAICA presidency.
“It
does not start with Makaireh,” he said.
“All our presidents are youngsters starting from Senor Thomas-Sowe but
the new president is the youngest.”
The
IAG secretary general said in the Gambia insurance industry, the slogan is
youth empowerment, not just women empowerment, as the politicians continue to
sing.
“In
The Gambia, our former president and this current one have all been laying
emphasis on women empowerment but in the insurance industry, we say youth
empowerment. This is why when you look
at the insurance industry, all our CEOs [chief executive officers] are young,”
Mr Sanneh said.
The
career insurer thanked WAICA for the confidence reposed in the Gambia insurance
industry for a Gambian to assume presidency.
The
WAICA presidency rotates among its five member countries – Gambia, Ghana,
Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. The
presidency of the association is transferred to the country hosting the
rotating annual general meeting of the association.
Since
the formation of the association in 1973, several Gambians have been president
of WAICA. The immediate past Gambian WAICA
president was Dawda Sarge, managing director of Prime Insurance Company, in
2012.
Before
Mr Sarge, it was Senor Thomas-Sowe, vice chairperson of Royal Insurance
Company, in 2007. It had been Pa
Alhassan Jagne in 2002, Yabor Forster in 1997, Babou Cisse in 1993, Omar B.
Dibba in 1984, and S.S. Fatty in 1989.
