The forum brought together stakeholders from government representatives, trade unions, and employers’ associations, among others.
The strategy is aim to unlock the immerse potential of the informal sector, which is a substantial contributor to our economy. With its operational action plan, the strategy is a guide for the transformation of the informal sector and it outlines the challenges faced by enterprises in their attempts to transition into formality and propose strategies, actions and initiatives the government needs to employ with its partners and to ease the entire process of formalisation.
Declaring the validation workshop open, Mr. Lamin Dampha, the Permanent Secretary at MoTIE deputising for the Minister of Trade, thanked the ILO through their national project office for supporting the development of The Gambia’s first ever National Formalization Strategy.
He described the occasion as a crucial step towards achieving inclusive economic growth, social dialogue and decent work in The Gambia through systematic approach to formalisation of economic units and informal sector workers.
Informality, he said, is persistent in Sub-Saharan Africa and The Gambia is no exception. “According to The Gambia Labour Force Survey 2023, persons employed in the informal sector constitute about 62.8% of total employment and of that, women constitute 84.7%. Based on the economic activity, employment in the agricultural sector is almost completely informal with 96.4% employment. In non-agricultural sector, three workers out of four are engaged in informal employment,” Dampha stated, noting that this shows how severe informality is in The Gambia context and these severities do not only deter economic growth and development but affect social wellbeing and access to basic services.
In conclusion, he noted that by promoting formalisation, it strives to ensure economic stability, generate job opportunities, augment government revenue, uplift living standards, and alleviate poverty. He further informed the participants that formalisation will facilitate increased investments and improved access to credit while creating greater prospects for entrepreneurship and innovation.
For her part, Ajara Jallow, the National Project Coordinator, ILO Gambia office thanked the Hon. Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof, the minister of Trade through his permanent secretary Mr. Lamin Dampha and the entire staff of the Ministry for their support and dedication throughout the consultation process. She commended the Consultant Mr Abdou Touray and the stakeholders for their contributions towards the compilation of the document as their comments were taken note of and highlighted in the document.
Mr. Omar Badjie, the Director of the Directorate of Industry and Investment Development at MoTIE, chaired the occasion and thanked the participants for attending the validation of that important document that will help informal sector workers.
Background
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment recently signed an Implementation Agreement (IA) with the International Labour Organization (ILO), through its Formalisation of The Gambia’s Informal Sector Project, to develop an integrated national strategy and an operational action plan for the formalisation and transformation of the informal sector in The Gambia. The development of the Strategy was preceded by a nationwide regional tripartite stakeholder consultation, to gauge understandings on the formalisation process especially from the perspective of the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) eco-system.
