The Chief Executive Officer of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretariat in Banjul, Lamin F Ceesay has disclosed that, his office has projected two hundred and sixty million dollars for the upcoming Islamic conference slated for November, 2019 in Banjul.
Ceesay made the revelation at press conference held at his office in Bijilo, saying all the anticipated funds for the conference will be coming in the forms of grants from some key member states of the organization.
The Organization of Islamic Conference is the second biggest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations comprising of 57 countries across the globe mainly Islamic and Muslim countries. The Gambia will be the host for the Organization’s next biennial summit after Turkey, the current chair of the organization.
“The overall budget for the OIC from now against the summit is two hundred and sixty million dollars which is mainly coming from member states of the organization. So far Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are the countries that have intervened as far as the summit is concern,” OIC Secretariat supremo in Banjul disclosed.
According to him, the hosting of the summit in The Gambia is no longer a dream but a reality and the government of The Gambia have taken all necessary measures to hosting a successful and memorable summit in Banjul, adding that his office is mandated by the government of The Gambia to look into the provision of key infrastructural projects.
The OIC Gambia Secretariat is mandated by the office of the president to mobilize resources and embark on key infrastructural projects.
He added that his secretariat has identify five key priority infrastructural projects including the construction of a 100kilometers road with a dual carriage, construction of sixty royal and presidential villas for heads of states, construction of a four hundred bedroom five star hotel, construction of a VIP Lounge at the airport, procurement of vehicles for visiting heads of states and delegates as well as the provision of water and electricity infrastructure within the OIC residence areas among other projects.
He said out of the projected budget $80m is earmarked for the construction of the hotel, $100m for construction access roads, $15m for the construction of the airport lounge plus $13m for the provision of electricity and water, adding that his office is doing everything possible to garner the funds need for the successfully hosting of the summit in the country.
“The Secretariat has written to seventeen member states for support including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Gabon, Senegal, Tunisia, Malaysia, Brunei and Oman and out of this the secretariat has visited ten countries and consultations are ongoing to have a successfully summit,” he said.
He said a nationwide sensitization is also in the pipeline to reach out to the Gambian peoples as the nation prepares to host such a very important gathering for Muslim leaders.
Author: Kebba Ansu Manneh