BAC, Turkish NGO re-enter formal agreement

By Maimuna Sey-Jawo The Brikama Area Council (BAC) re-inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sen De Gel last Monday. The re-signing of the MoU with the Turkish NGO at the BAC Office in Brikama was aimed at renewing their partnership to better allow the two developmental bodies to work together in the best interest of the people of The Gambia, particularly local communities. The MoU also seeks to foster the already existing relationship between the two countries. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mam Sait Jallow, the CEO of BAC, said this MoU will pave the way for the two parties to work together in a more formal and organised way. He highlighted the benefits of the treaty which he said as having “big advantages” for the council and the its people. Sherifo Sonko, BAC chairman, described the MoU as “historic” and a significant achievement in BAC’s goal to bring development to Brikama. Accepting that working alone to fulfil all promises made to the electorate would be daunting, the chairman said BAC realised that partnership was the way forward to deliver on those pledges. He said: “We are very proud to re-signing the MoU with the Turkish government which will open more doors for our development opportunities.” Tuncay Bozkurt, Sen De Gel coordinator, explained the scope and structure of the NGO which he said has been operating since 2012 in The Gambia by “implementing sustainable development projects” based on the needs of the communities especially in rural Gambia. He told BAC that his NGO was open to cooperating with institutions that represent the interests of the Gambian populace. Mr Bozkurt stressed the importance of recognising that his organisation is neither political, nor a profit-making entity. “We remain only a civil society organisation that came to support the welfare of our communities through councils in The Gambia. We don’t want to be associated with politics.”]]>