By Omar Bah
The mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe, has secured the services of a Ghanaian administrator, politician, and former Kumasi mayor to help restructure and build the capacity of her staff.The Ghanaian administrator is invited by the BCC mayor to help the council build its capacity and support the country’s first Youth Volunteerism Scheme, aimed at providing skills training for over 500 Gambian youths.Osei Assibey Antwi is currently the executive director of the Ghana National Service Scheme (NSS).Mr Osei Assibey has a graduate diploma in management studies from the Institute of Commercial Management in UK and also holds an MBA in marketing from the Paris Graduate School of Management. He is a certified member of the Institute of Commercial Management and also a member of both the Institute of Financial Accountants, UK, and the International Professional Manager Association, UK.Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Mayor Lowe said the council urgently needs capacity building, adding that the Ghanaian administrator has had a meeting with the BCC CEO to discuss areas that require urgent attention.“When it comes to youth voluntarism, we want him to help us coordinate better and secure funding to be able to provide equipment and water,” she added.Mayor Lowe said a team of local governance experts will be dispatched to Banjul in the coming days to work with the council free of charge.“When I started youth volunteerism last year, I contacted him to support us in the advancement of the project. This is because the NSS in Ghana is very advanced,” she added.She said BCC has made it a priority to concentrate more on youth and women’s empowerment.“We have already enrolled 70 youths in different areas of skills and discipline in The Gambia, and ten others will be taken to Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana,” she stated.The Ghanaian administrator, Mr Antwi, commended Mayor Lowe’s “strong commitment” to the welfare of women and young people. He recalled meeting the Banjul mayor at a conference in Nigeria, “where she was so inspirational”. He said that for Mayor Lowe to be able to secure the presidency of Refeela says a lot about her character.“She is a strong advocate for women and youth empowerment, which is key to national development. Rohey has done a lot for The Gambia, Banjul, and Africa, but her initiatives should not be left to die. She should be supported because all her achievements are not going to go to one particular party. Young people and women from across the board are benefiting,” he said.He urged Gambians to support the development initiative of Mayor Lowe, adding that the youth voluntarism scheme will be a game-changer for Gambian youth.
“We will work with BCC and provide them with capacity-building training. We will also partner with them in helping the mayor achieve the objective of the youth voluntarism scheme,” he said.
