A Gambian has been installed as the new president of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) for the next one year. Dawda Sarge, who is also the managing director of Prime Insurance Company Limited and president of the Insurance Association of the Gambia (IAG), succeeds Fatai Lawal, a Nigerian. 

His investiture was held Tuesday during the closing dinner of the two-day Annual General Meeting and Educational Conference of WAICA, which brought together about 200 insurance professionals from all over West Africa, held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi. Dressed in traditional African fabric, Getzener Bazin, Mr Sarge took the prescribed oath of office pledging to ‘discharge his duties faithfully to the best of his ability and in accordance with the Constitution of WAICA and Law’.

Shortly after taking the oath before the WAICA executive committee members and the general membership, as well as family members and well-wishers, Sarge said: “I wish to thank my colleagues in the Gambia insurance industry especially the executive committee members of the association (Insurance Association of the Gambia) for your magnanimity and confidence which you demonstrated by nominating me into the (WAICA) executive and as the president for 2012 – 2013. “I also like to thank the chairman and board of directors of my company for endorsing my nomination and I equally look forward to their support, understanding and patience during this period.”

Sarge also hailed his predecessor, Lawal, for a successful tenure and for a job well done, adding that the latter has laid a solid platform for him to build up and consolidate. He disclosed that the aim of his presidency is basically to increase the membership of WAICA and “this we hope to achieve by involving the local industry association”.He said as a membership based organisation, raising the profile of WAICA becomes key for the institution to achieve its goal. 

He added:“What I am referring to here is that since it’s the WAICA objective to increase its membership in order to maximise revenue, high on my agenda, however, is to consolidate and enhance the good work of the [WAICA] executive by increasing membership of the association so as to have the much needed revenue to sustain the activities and operations of the association.”Broadening membership of WAICA will provide a vehicle for interactions and formation of alliances that would strengthen the region in the global competitive economy.

Speaking earlier, Lawal said:“It is already one year and it’s time to hand the mantle of leadership of our association to a brother and a friend, Dawda Sarge of the Gambia. “I feel highly honoured and fulfilled for the opportunity of leading our association in the last one year.I am particularly grateful to God for His mercies, and to members of the executive committee, and the entire membership of the association for making it possible for us to accomplish our set goals.”

He thanked the executive committee of WAICA for the support given to him during his tenure as the president while urging them to give similar support to his successor. Lawal noted that during his tenure, the membership of the association had increased and he was also able to generate greater interest in the association’s activities among members and non-members. “I am happy, pleased and proud to take bow and handover our association to a worthy successor, Dawda Sarge,” as he handover the medal of presidency of WAICA to Sarge.“I believe Sarge will work harder to take our association to a greater heights.” 

The WAICA presidency rotates among the English-speaking countries of West Africa – The Gambia, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana – that founded the association in 1973.The presidency of the association is transfered to the country hosting the rotating annual general meeting of the association for that year.Since the formation of WAICA, many Gambians have been president of the Association, these include: Omar B.Dibba (1984), S.S. Fatty (1989), Babou Cisse (1993), Yabor Forster (1997), Pa Alhassan Jagne (2002) and Senor Thomas (2007).

Sarge’s inauguration was enlivened by a musical performance by The Gambia’s Kora maestro, Jaliba Kuyateh.