By Juldeh Njie
The Turkish Ambassador to the Gambia H.E Ismail Sefa Yuceer through the Turkish government has Monday donated 8 computers and two multipurpose printers, worth 1 million dalasis to the Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS).
Speaking at the handing over ceremony, GRTS Director General Ebrima Sillah, lauded the Turkish government for keeping their promise and the government, since coming to power, is committed to modernizing GRTS as the state broadcaster.
He said this will make their work much easier because journalists used to write their scripts on papers which makes it extremely difficult for them.
“This will make GRTS deliver quickly and work to expectation. The radio and the television are merged so having this kind of facilities will go a long way towards facilitating the work of journalists and make it faster,” DG said.
He said it is part of their plans to make sure that journalists work in a comfortable environment and with the computers, it is sure because each computer has editing software.
He said they value the partnership between the two governments and assured the donors his institute’s readiness in making sure that the computers are used for their purpose.
Turkish Ambassador Ismail Sefa Yuceer, shedding more light on the importance of GRTS as a state broadcaster, said GRTS has a special mission and Gambia deserves more as such they are committed to helping the government of the Gambia .
He added: “The scope of the cooperation will be strengthening in all areas; the computers are really good and hope that this will increase the efficiency and speed up the work of the institution”.
Louis Mendy, a reporter at GRTS, said the computers are very important and of great use to them because they use it for writing their scripts, storing information and to also conduct research on individuals and to enable a better understanding of the stories they are working on.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Ambassador disclosed that two institutions [Turkish National Radio and Television and GRTS] are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding which will enable the two institutions to exchange ideas and programs to promote each other’s cultures.
“We have drafted an MoU between the Turkish national radio and television to strengthen cooperation, bilateral relations and also to strengthen cultural ties but to also strengthen the capacity building of the journalists”.
He added that the MoU should have been signed few months ago but was delayed because the director of Turkish television has been changed.
Commenting further, DG Sillah said the MoU will not only provide capacity building training for the two institutions but also be used to strengthen trade ties where both institutions will emphasise the business aspect between the two countries.
