FirstBank Gambia Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Accountant General’s Department (AGD) to boost transparency and efficiency in revenue collection.
The partnership aims to digitalize revenue collection, making the process more cost-effective and transparent.
The MOU between FirstBank Gambia Limited and the AG Department took place yesterday at the AGD office in Banjul in the presence of senior managers from FirstBank and top officials from the AGD.
The partnership aims to boost transparency and efficiency in revenue collection via FirstBank by the AG Department.
The MOU is expected to enhance financial compliance, with FirstBank committing to adhere to all terms and conditions, ensuring timely and efficient service delivery, said Gbenga Ajibola, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FirstBank Gambia Limited.
According to MD Ajibola, the collaboration is part of FirstBank's efforts to expand its services and support government’s operations.
FirstBank plans to open new branches in Brusubi, Basse, and Farafenni to improve financial compliance in the rural areas, the managing director disclosed, saying the move “demonstrates the bank's commitment” to promoting financial inclusion and supporting The Gambia's economic growth.
Giving a brief genesis of the bank, as it celebrates 132 years of operation since its establishment in 1894, MD Ajibola said: "We bought the International Commercial Bank that was owned by the Malaysians and the Indians. From that time to now, we have improved. We have made sure that we deploy more IT and digital platforms to ensure that we are able to serve the Government and people of The Gambia."
The Bank, he says, operates in other countries across the world: "We have the Bank in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Conakry, Senegal, and in the Congo. We also have FirstBank in London, which has been there for 42 years now,” he said, adding that they are also planning to go further afield in Africa.
"We are expanding very well, and we have a balance sheet of $20 billion," he said.
Accountant General Agnes Macaulay, for her part, said the partnership with FirstBank will bring real-time settlement and digital channels to everybody in The Gambia. “We should be able to access your services wherever you are present,” she challenged FirstBank.
According to her, the partnership will help the government and the bank to widen the pay points, as well as make it simple for the customer, because “the agenda is to make the customer experience as good and as simple as possible”. "We are also looking forward to instant reconciliation, to the extent that it would be better than what we have now," she promised.
She thanked FirstBank for aligning its innovation agenda with public service goals. She further commended the bank for being part of the national revenue generation digitization drive.
“We believe that automation is better than manual processes, and it will enhance the way we do things, it will enhance our processes, thereby optimizing revenue collection,” she recognizes the bank’s role in the digitization process.
The digitization scheme will bring about better customer experience and benefits to the nation, as government is enabled to offer the people better public services, she stated, saying: "Today we have signed this engagement, as we have come together to seal the efforts we have put in this agenda all this while, to begin the next chapter."
She expressed optimism in the success of the process, saying: "I'm sure by the time it is six months, we will be talking of maybe upgrading and even penetrating the hard-to-reach areas, because we also don't want a situation where us in the urban areas are sorted, but there are some people in some hard-to-reach areas that would want to access services."
She calls on the Bank management to take advantage of every opportunity they have to penetrate the market. "I want to thank you sincerely for the effort and for everything that you have put in to make this day a reality," she appreciated.
Ousman Darboe, Deputy Accountant General, highlighted the key points of ensuring seamless transfer of collected revenues to the Central Bank, which is crucial for timely service delivery.
He emphasised the importance of good customer experience and dedicated personnel to make a big difference in minimizing delays. “FirstBank's role in managing customer expectations will help make this partnership a success,” he said optimistically.
