Africell Company Limited, one of the leading GSM companies in the Gambia Monday afternoon furnished the newly appointed Cabinetwith 25 brand new laptops with internet connectivity.

Coming on the same day the newly appointed Cabinet members were sworn-in, the GSM giant made the donation as it prepared to launch its Third Generation (3G) mobile telecommunication system.

Speaking at the brief presentation ceremony, President Jammeh hailed Africell for being a pacesetter in The Gambia’s GSM industry, and for taking the lead in national development. He also hailed Africell’s innovativeness and creativity, while acknowledging that the GSM company has touched the lives of Gambians. He finally prayed for the company’s continuous success.

The secretary general and head of the Civil Service, Dr Njogu Bah also joined President Jammeh in applauding Africell’s innovativeness, while recalling that this is not the first gesture extended to them by the company. The minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Mambury Njie, described Africell as a “genuine and true” partner in development, while applauding the timely gesture. The minister of Basic and Secondary Education, Fatou Lamin Faye also applauded Africell for its good service delivery.

The occasion was chaired by the director of Press and Communications, Momodou Saidy.

Speaking at the brief presentation ceremony that preceded the swearing-in ceremony of the newly appointed Cabinet members, the managing director of Africell, Badara Mbaye, said his company deemed it very necessary during the time that they want to launch the 3G to start with the Cabinet by giving them laptops with internet connectivity.

Mbaye then commended President Jammeh and his government for creating the conducive environment for them to be able to operate.

While disclosing that Africell presently has about 820,000 subscribers, Badara Mbaye said that his company pays on a monthly basis D25 million to the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) on various taxes.“From 2007 to date, we have paid over D1.2 Billion to government,” he disclosed, while assuring of his company’s continued partnership with the government.