The new facility according to Mr. Wassabo Darboe, the Principal Records Officer and head of National Archives at the National Records Service, was fully equipped and sponsored by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) to digitalize storage of records and the state archives.
In his inaugural speech, minister Baboucarr Bouy, acknowledged that preserving records on long term basis allows a country to document its cultural heritage, support efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery.
“It will also support planning, informed decision making, supports continuity and consistency and thus critical to the realisation of Government development objectives. it has recently been observed that un-digitalized records poses numerous challenges which have the potential to limited access due to high fragility of the records, destruction of the records by humidity, insect/termites, fading of the writings, over usage.”
Minister Bouy noted that the implementation of the digitization project is expected to ensure better storage capacity, easy accessibility, fast file retrieval, easier and faster collaboration, increased security, saving on resources, better data recovery and file longevity.
He therefore highlighted that furnishing the digitization room with equipment, office supplies are an essential first step in his ministry’s drive towards a full fledged digitization of all the records at the National Archives and Records Centre.
Turkish Ambassador to The Gambia, F. Turker Oba, said the items donated to the National Records Services digitalization room will support the digitalization process of the sector.
The project, he went on, was part of the 16 projects TIKA has already handed over to The Gambia Government, saying The Gambia and Turkey enjoyed excellent cordial relationship at all levels.
Lamin F. Jawara, Permanent Secretary at the Personnel Management Office (PMO), Mr. Bartholomew Marong, Director, National Records Service (NRS) and Sule Bayer TIKA Gambia Coordinator, all described the relations between The Gambia Government and TIKA as a longstanding one based on mutual trust and understating.
