It is an indisputable fact that adequate and effecient management of finance, especially that belonging  to the public, means creating sustainability and sufficient development, as well as creating job opportunities for people.

Therefore, training people responsible for the management aspect of public finance is a requisite for every sector. Conscious of the significant position that the fisheries sector plays in national development, through its provision of finance and employment, the Fisheries department over the months organised two-day accounting procedure training for managers drawn from various fishing centres particularly on the use of financial manual.

The training aimed at paving out means to enhance the capacities of fishing centres managers, on keeping good records of their daily financial processes. It is also expected that the training will widen the technical know-how of the participants on the control and management of finance for sustainability.

"The fisheries sector of the Gambia plays a significant role towards the attainment of food self-sufficiency in the country," Governor Lamin Sanneh of Western Region said, during the training, which was held at the conference hall of Tanji Community Fishing Centre. He expressed concern about the attitudes of young people towards fishing and the fishing industry, observing that it is the foreigners who predominantly occupy the sector.

The participants of the training were exposed to different ways of keeping good financial records. They were also trained on the procedures used to manage daily incoming and outgoing financial processes. Previous case studies made on the problems encountered by the centres' managers and the reasons for bad financial record keeping were also tabled down during the training and discussions were made  for their improvement.

Lamin Nyabally, permanent secretary at the department of state for Fisheries, Water Resources, and National Assembly Matters has described the training as important for the sustainability of the project. Like Governor Sanneh, Permanent Secretary Nyabally was also very concerned for Gambians to take ownership of their territorial waters, noting that the sector contributes, to a greater extent, in the  country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

However, Gambians must capitalise on the resources available to attain their set target goals. But this of course will not be attainable in the absence of the necessary equipment.