By Omar Bah
The mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe, has disbursed D10 million to the women of Banjul as a fulfillment of her campaign promise.
The money which will be disbursed as loan will benefit 25 women’s groups in the capital through the Rohey Malick Lowe Women and Girls Empowerment Initiative in partnership with GT Bank.
Speaking at the launch ceremony at GT Bank Banjul branch yesterday, the mayor urged the committee administering the initiative to be transparent in its operations.
Lowe, herself the daughter of a former mayor, made history in 2018 when she became the first female to be elected mayor of the capital. She contested under the UDP ticket.
Mayor Lowe said she was motivated to contest the mayoralty because of her love for the city, its dire state of affairs owing to decades of institutional neglect and inefficient leadership and that she empathised with the suffering of the women.
The GT Bank Banjul branch manager, Adesina Adebesin, assured the city council of his bank’s willingness to see to the successful implementation of the project.
He said the bank has a team that deals with small and medium enterprises and which will always be available to assist the women, adding, “We also have various products and services where women and girls in Banjul are encouraged to leverage on”.
The Banjul City Council’s public relations officer, Lamin Bah, said the funds will be managed by a committee set up by the mayor and that before disbursement the beneficiary women will undergo vigorous training on business planning.
“All the applicant groups will fill the application forms which the committee will review and decide on who qualify to receive the funds. The funds will be disbursed in the form of loans and the beneficiaries will be given three months to repay. We are also going to monitor them to ensure that they put the funds into good use,” he added.
