In December, the newly appointed European Union Ambassador conducted a tour of EU funded projects. The tour began on December 2nd and rounded up on December 5th 2024, with the inauguration of the first ever municipal library in The Gambia, funded by the EU in Kanifing. The new library shall address the needs of information, educational and cultural resource for the citizens of the municipality also by offering access to computers.
The journey took off with a visit to the Mbolo Association which has been the recipient of two EU-funded projects (2018-2020 and 2020-2023 ) aimed at empowering rural women in the country. The Mbolo training academy is dedicated to training women and girls in renewable energy technology, ICT, among other live skills to empower their independence through income generation and employment.
The ambassador also participated in a radio show at the Brikama Community Radio and visited the “Investment Support and Technical Assistance for the Gambia Sustainable Energy Project” in Jambur which, amongst others, provides electricity generation capacity through an on-grid utility-scale solar photovoltaic plant.
Providing energy to more than 1000 schools
The EU funded 23Mega Watt solar plant located in Jambur, the country’s biggest clean-energy facility, is generating and transmitting power through NAWEC’s distribution grids. The project will among other things provide energy to 1,100 schools and health facilities.
The ambassador stated: “As a new ambassador-designate I am thrilled to go up-country to discover the beauty of The Gambia, its culture and people but also to see first-hand the extent of some of the results so far of the strong and long-lasting EU-The Gambia partnership.”
She added: “The EU accompanies The Gambia in numerous sectors from job creation to agriculture, governance or education. We are, alongside the government, local authorities and various partners actively supporting a green, sustainable, social and economic development of The Gambia”.
A new infrastructure to support the fruits and vegetables chain
On Day 2 of the tour, she visited Lower River Region, where a trade facilitation project to process, store and package Gambian fruits and vegetables for export, is underway in Jenoi.
The Jenoi Agri-food Platform is an EU funded project under the Rural Infrastructure for Employment program implemented with Tekki Fii and Gambia Investment and Export Promotions Agency. Once completed, the industrial facility, located on the TransGambia Highway trade corridor, will provide 60 direct jobs to young people, and multitudes of entrepreneurship opportunities within the fruits and vegetables value chain industry.
The project officers from GIEPA, and Tropingo Foods who are overseeing the implementation, took the Ambassador on a conducted visit of the facility, that is designed to handle 54 tonnes of mangoes and vegetables daily. From picking, separation, peeling, slicing, drying, processing or storage, the facility will handle both exports of fresh and processed products to European markets, following strict certification protocols.
The Ambassador later in the afternoon had a stop at the Soma Community Radio where she was hosted to a one hour talk show, discussing the EU-Gambia Relations before proceeding to the Central River Region for a night stop.
Promoting food security, food safety and citizens’ security
EU ambassador Roca I Corté also visited the EU-funded food safety laboratory at Bijilo, implemented through UNIDO, where she was taken on a visit of the facility by laboratory scientists following a meeting with the heads of Food Safety and Quality Assurance Authority, the Gambia Standards Bureau and the Lands Protection Services. The laboratory plays pivotal role in phytosanitary testing and certification process for imported and exported foods, plants and fertilisers into and out of the country, in association with its partner institutions. This is the first standard laboratory of the country.
In the morning of 4 December, the first stop was at Brikama Ba Community Radio for discussions on EU-Gambia relations, followed by a trip to Jahur women horticultural garden, where a joint EU-UNIDO supported “Onion Curing, Packing and Storage Facility” is helping some 175 women to properly store onions for long periods without perishing from weather, pests or other effects.
An ice plant located at Kartong seaside which was also visited is made of facilities operating as a platform for women in fishery, completely powered by solar and enabling them to store fresh fish, vegetables and reducing perishability.
Ambassador Immaculada Roca i Cortés also visited the EU funded model Police Station inaugurated a year ago in Serekunda and jointly funded with German development agency, GIZ. She was received by the Police Commissioner of Operations, Kanifing Division, the Station Officer of the Sere Kunda Police, heads of various units, including Gender and Children’s Unit there.
The tour of the facility, and ensuing discussions availed her the opportunity to see the impact of the building on the working conditions of the Police in Serekunda, especially considering that the station serves a community of an estimated 50, 000 people. The new replaced structures that served the work of the Police since the late 1950s in Sere Kunda and station badly needed an upgrade.
Boosting Janjanbureh’s tourism potential
On the third day, Imma Roca I Cortés had a night stop in Janjanbureh, and held a meeting with the elected representative of the island town, Hon Omar Jammeh, along with a youth a representative.
The island is a UNESCO heritage site and an important tourist attraction due to its cultural and historical importance. Discussions on youth empowerment through sustainable community tourism, employment opportunities and other social issues took center stage.