Dr Ajaratou Isatou Njie-Saidy, Vice President and Secretary of State responsible for Women Affairs has said that recent developments in socio-economic advancement have necessitated focusing increased attention on employment creation.

Vice President Njie-Saidy made these remarks on Thursday, at the Kairaba Hotel, during the launch of The Gambia Priority Employment Programme (GAMJOBS). These developments, she said, broadly include high unemployment levels, especially among the youth, skills shortages and increasing poverty.

According to her, these concerns prompted the government to critically examine the situation and to formulate and adopt a National Employment Policy and Action Plan in 2002, with programmes and projects to accelerate the creation of more employment opportunities.

Veep Njie-Saidy further stated that it is the responsibility of the government to protect and assist those who for one reason or another cannot cope with the demands of market forces and have been marginalised by their inability to compete. These vulnerable groups, she noted, usually comprise women, especially those in the rural and urban informal sectors, the youth, the disabled and the unemployed.

She said the National Employment Policy is consistent with the overall development strategies of The Gambia government as outlined in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and conforms to the long-term goals and policies prescribed in Vision 2020.

“To operationalise the policy and its recommendations, the Department of State for Trade, Industry and Employment has formulated the National Employment Action Plan (NEAP) for the period 2003-2008”, she indicated.

The Vice-President further stated that it is expected that through (Gamjobs) 10,000 jobs will be created annually, over the programme period. “At the end of the programme, 20,000 young women and men will be trained in vocational skills and entrepreneurship.”

VP Njie-Saidy indicated that it is also envisaged that supporting the establishment of 500 rural community enterprises and 5,000 micro and small enterprises in the urban areas, will lead to economic activities that will directly support more than 100,000 people and about 500,000 indirectly.

“The project will be executed over a five-year period, commencing 2007, an estimated cost of 9.5 million dollars. The ILO will serve as the executing agency and the UNDP, and other relevant agencies and institutions as collaborating agencies.”