By Binta Jaiteh
Medical Research Council (MRC) The Gambia Credit Union and Workers’ Union recently held an annual joint congress held at its hospital in Bakau.
Speaking during the congress, chairperson of credit union Lamin Bojang said it marked the second Annual General Meeting (AGM) since they took up office in December 2022.
“As no institution can function without proper guidance, we have taken the task of reviewing or creating policies very seriously to ensure smooth operations at our Credit Union”, he explained.
He said they were thrilled to announce that several important policy documents had been reviewed and ratified during a three-day retreat which included the Death or Permanently Disabled Policy Document, Loan policy, Retirement Package, Strategic Plan for 2024 to 2028 and others.
The Treasurer of Credit Union SaidinaBaboucarr Ceesay presented the union’s financial performance stating that the financial statements have been audited and certified by independent external auditors, Foresight Accountancy and Audit Partners.
According to him, in terms of financial performance and positioning, a steady and sustained growth in the member savings has been observed over the year ended 2022, increasing from GMD111, 526,429 to GMD118, 319,754.
“Loans disbursed moved from GMD110, 645,710 to GMD105, 213,673.
Net operating income of GMD 7,089,553 was realized and total operating expenses of GMD4, 495,053 culminating into an impressive net surplus amount of GMD2, 594,500. Overall, the total value of the credit union grew by almost 6% over 2022, with total assets increasing to GMD144, 625,442 from GMD136, 291,807 in 2022” he asserted
The Treasurer of Workers Union BaboucarrTouray also said the day-to-day operational activities of the union are funded through monthly member contributions of D50.00. The union does not have any other sources of income. “Members also contribute an additional D50 per member towards the solidarity fund this fund is dedicated to supporting staff families seeking medical attention, primarily for overseas treatment, and is jointly managed by the executive committee and MRCG management.
He disclosed that as of 30th April 2024, the union’s account balance at GTBank stands at D509k while the solidarity fund holds around D3m, which is kept with Trust Bank.
The union’s core expenses include administrative costs, such as salary for the union office administrator and an intern that assists the office admin, welfare support for members admitted to the hospital, honorarium payments to our retirees, logistics costs which includes payment of night allowances to members, and travel/credit refunds for executive meetings.
He pointed out that most expenses were covered from their credit union account, where they deposit D10k per month from members’ contributions and send the remainder to the utility account at GTBank. The current balance as of today is nineteen thousand dalasi.
“Since the current executive took office, there have been no capital expenditures incurred. The union has not embarked on major capital expenses over the past two years, as our income stream does not allow us to fund such initiatives frequently” he concluded.
