By Omar Bah
Reliance Financial Services Company, a non-bank financial institution, Thursday donated office equipment to Serekunda, Sibanor, Barra and Brikamaba police stations respectively.
The items, which include 32 inch TV sets, filing cabinet, full satellite and receiver sets, executive desk and chair among other valuable equipment were handed to the representatives of the various police stations at a colourful event held at Reliance Head Office on Kairaba Avenue.
Reliance is a proud Gambian-owned institution run by Gambian professionals with vast experiences in the financial services sector on the principles of professionalism, socio-business ethics, integrity and transparency to all stakeholders and strongly uphold the values of good corporate governance.
In his remarks ahead of the official handing over, the CEO of Reliance Financial Services, Mr Baboucarr Khan, said the donation of the office equipment underscores Reliance’s strong belief in good corporate citizenship and public-private partnership.
“Because we the operators in the private sector are only able to do so if the environment is conducive enough, and for the environment to be conducive, we need to have peace,” he said.
He said that peace can only be guaranteed by the security agencies across the country “but must specifically in the communities we all live and do our business.”
“We at Reliance and as Gambians believe that the relationship between the public and the law enforcement agencies should be deeper than only reporting crimes to the police; it should be a partnership of mutual benefits,” he added.
He said it is very common that when we visit most private companies and institutions, we will find and take certain amenities for granted.
Mr Khan further explained: “If you watch TV, especially on the satellite, you can see what is happening in the world and as well follow developments at all time so that you can react and respond to developments in a positive way.”
“It is for this reason, when we received the request from the Serekunda and Sibanor police stations we decided to act swiftly, because we believe this is long overdue,” he explained.
Mr Khan said with Reliance, “reliability, transparency and costumer efficiency is always guaranteed”.
He said although they could not reach out to all the stations in the country, there are plans to give more support to the security sector in the future.
While thanking the Government of The Gambia for creating the enabling environment for businesses, he reassured the security services of his office’s continuing support and collaboration.
He also reserved special thanks for their customers and the staff of the institution, whom he said are the engines and wheels on which Reliance runs.
Head of Retail Finance and Corporate Affairs at Reliance, Mr Mustapha John, said it is due to the importance Reliance Financial Services attaches to its corporate and social responsibilities, “that we deem it fitting to give the security services our support as a show of solidarity.”
He added: “This gesture is in recognition of the hard work put in by law enforcement police officers to protect our communities, businesses and most importantly lives.
“We appreciate that The Gambia Government under the leadership of His Excellency, President Adama Barrow, is doing its very best to support the police officers. This donation is to complement those efforts.”
Meanwhile, Malang Jarju, the Officer-in-Charge of the Kanifing Police Prosecution Unit; Chief Inspector Muhammed Wanja of Brikamaba; Pa Amadou Sowe, Station Officer at Barra; and CIP Sainey Beyai of Sibanor Police Station all thanked Reliance for their generosity and reassured them that the equipment will be put to good use.
