24 officials from the Department of State for Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs were certificated on Friday, 27 June, 2008, after completing a two-week intensive computer literacy training, held at the Paradise Suites Hotel.

The training session brought together participants from 8 area councils and municipalities and was meant to familiarize them with software packages including Microsoft Word, Excel and introduction to Microsoft Office 2007.  

Revolving around 60 hours, the computer literacy training session was facilitated by the GAMWORKS agency in collaboration with QuantumNet Institute of Technology and was part of the Third Public Works Project of OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

The activities under this OFID project are of two main components: Civil Works which concerns the infrastructural development aspect and Capacity Building which includes training, technical assistance and procurement of equipment and furniture for Local Government Authorities and the local construction industry.

In his speech, Abdoullahi Manneh, permanent secretary, Department of State for Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs, who deputised for SoS Ismaila Sambou, congratulated the graduates and seized the opportunity to remind them of the objectives of the just concluded training session, essentially on capacity building. He added that, the training session constitutes a very important stride in the Government's aspirations to achieve its developmental agenda.

The permanent secretary went on to urge the participants to live-up to expectations by applying their acquired skills in the best interest of their communities. He thanked GAMWORKS agency and QuantumNet for their success in conducting the training program for the Local Government fraternity.

For his part, Mr Ebrima Cham, managing director of GAMWORKS, gave a brief overview of the project, noting that the Third Public Works Project is jointly funded by The Gambia Government and the OPEC Fund for International Development. The project is estimated at US5.1m, he revealed.

According to Mr Cham, the project aims at improving the living conditions of the urban population with emphasis on the poorer segments and the provision of adequate public infrastructure and services on a sustainable basis. In addition, he pointed out that it also involves the development of durable conditions for municipal investment financing, job creation and income generation.

The director of GAMWORKS used the occasion to thank His Excellency President Yahya Jammeh and his government for their trust and confidence in GAMWORKS.

Speaking earlier, Mr Muhammed Jah, managing director of QuantumNet congratulates the 24 successful officials of the said department for their performance during the training at QuantumNet Institute of Technology.  He outlined the preponderant role IT continues to play in our daily lives. The ceremony was chaired by Mr Lassana Tunkara while Landing Fofana, one of the graduates, gave the vote of thanks.