By Yankuba Manneh
Communications Officer, GPA
The Managing Director of Gambia Ports Authority, Ousman M. Jobarteh has been conferred a special award dubbed Special African Public Service Excellence Award by African Leadership Magazine (ALM), a Pan-African body based in UK that promotes innovation, entrepreneurship and development in Africa.
The award was conferred in absentia on Thursday 28th October, 2021 in Accra, Ghana at ALM’s regulatory forum 2021. The award is conferred annually to outstanding African personalities who are doing exceedingly well in various leadership functions across the continent.
This highly contested prestigious award, according to the citations, is in recognition of MD Jobarteh’s leadership and commitment to developing Banjul Port and river transport, as well as his resilience to ensure business continuity in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lamin Jawara, the General Manager of Gambia Ferries Service Company who received the Award on behalf of MD Jobarteh, said the accolade is merited and it portends that GPA and its subsidiaries are on the right footing as the contributions of the leadership of the Authority are palpably felt and recognized in the continent.
“The award is well-deserved. A lot of prominent personalities were considered for the award. But at the final analysis the two of you (GPA Managing Director and Director General – Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority) were selected for the Award. Congratulations! We are all proud to associate with it,” GM Jawara explained with delight.
Receiving the Award in Banjul yesterday, Mr Ousman M. Jobarteh expressed delight at the award while thanking African Leadership Magazine for recognizing the Authority’s efforts and contributions in Africa.
He also commended and attributed the feat to the sacrifice, hard work and commitment of GPA Management and staff and its subsidiary institutions. “The award is dedicated to all staff of GPA, its subsidiaries, Board of Directors, the government and The Gambia. The credit and the honor belong to all of us. We are at the transformational stage of our institution. So let’s stay focused on our core values of hard work, discipline and integrity such that years down the line, in hindsight, we can look back and say it was during our period that some of these changes started,” MD Jobarteh said while encouraging his colleagues to continue the hard work and dedication to duty.
