The delegation was led by the Director of Technical Services at the Ministry of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, Matar Ceesay, and comprised of other senior officials from the same ministry, the Embassy of China in The Gambia, the management of the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre, and the JPC – the Contractor.
The Conference Center is being managed under the auspices of The Gambia OIC Secretariat with support from relevant government agencies such as GAMTEL, Ministry of Communications, The Gambia Police Force, The Gambia Fire Rescue Services, Ministry of Works, among others.
JPC, the building contractor, is also providing technical support and knowledge transfer to the Gambian technicians.
The team concluded that the conference center is generally in good shape, except for a few minor defects.
“I am satisfied that all is going fine. We will fix the minor issues identified during the inspection and provide the much-needed training for the local staff on the ground,” said Ms. Tina, head of the JPC team on the ground.
The exercise was also geared towards assessing the level of transfer of skills and capacity to the local team for appropriate and proper upkeeping of the facility and equipment.
The Director of Technical Services, Ministry of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, Matar Ceesay described the exercise as important, saying it accorded them the opportunity to see first-hand the state of affairs on the ground and to put in place a repairs and maintenance programme.
“We need to have a schedule of training activities which will help us to know what kind of training activity is due, whether it is Information Technology or any other kind of training so that we can identify the right personnel,” Director Ceesay said, while commenting on the need for more training for the local team under the framework of the technical contractual agreement which lasts for another year.
The Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center started operations in June 2020 and has since hosted numerous events both local and international. The Centre is set to host the OIC Heads of State and Government Summit later this year and help position The Gambia as a conference destination.
The Conference Center was grant-in-Aid support by The Government of the People’s Republic of China, which was handed in January 2020 as The Gambia prepares to host the OIC 2022 Summit.
