The National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of The Gambia (NACCUG) on Saturday held its 18th annual general meeting (AGM) at its head office along the Bertil Harding Highway.

The climax of the event, chaired by the general manager of NACCUG - Baboucarr Jeng, was the election of five directors who will serve on the Association’s Board for a period of three years. Dilating on the theme of the meeting, “Together, we are better”, the guest speaker, the chief of Defense Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces - Major General Lang Tombong Tamba, said the importance of togetherness towards the attainment of development goals cannot be overemphasized. He said the bigger the membership of the association, the bigger its assets.  

Major General Tamba thanked the management and staff of NACCUG for their achievements and vision, saying they are on a genuine cause and are complementing government’s efforts. He noted that the good thing about cooperative credit unions is that there is no monopoly of discussions. He said the AGM is important as it provides members the opportunity to discuss how to move forward. He advised them to remain steadfast and to measure up to the challenges posed by the global financial downturn.

The country director of Concern Universal, Patricia Wall, in a statement delivered on her behalf by Pierre Mendy, commended NACCUG for their good work, noting that they are pleased with NACCUG’s contributions towards poverty reduction. She also commended the government for creating the enabling environment for NGOs to operate in the country.

The registrar of Cooperatives, Saikou Danso, appealed to the management of NACCUG to keep up the momentum and to continue monitoring the operations of cooperative credit unions in the country. The chairman of the NACCUG Board, Edward Demba, gave a comprehensive report of the association’s activities during the year 2008 and their plans for the future.

He attributed the remarkable achievements registered in 2008 to the hard work of the staff and management as well as the good collaboration of partners. He commended the president, the Irish League of Credit Unions and Concern Universal for their remarkable assistance over the years.