The executive board
and staff of the Gambia Press Union (GPU) on Saturday validated two policy
manuals – on Finance, Procurement and Anti-Corruption, and on Human Resources
Management and Staff Performance Appraisal.
The two policies were reviewed and validated in a
two-day meeting held at TANGO Conference Hall in Bakau. The 15-participant conference observed social
distancing in the sitting arrangement, and in addition, face masks and sanitisers
were provided.
Lamin Jahateh, program manager for the Union, said the
validation and eventual adoption of the
two manuals would go a long in addressing the inadequate administrative and
financial policies the Union has been grappling with.
He said the human resources manual is the primary policy on human resources
management and development for the Union. It sets out the rules and
regulations which need to be followed in order to help maintain a sound system
human resources and administration operations of Gambia Press Union.
The Manual
on Financial, Procurement and Anti-Corruption Internal Control Procedures
Manual sets out the rules and regulations which need to be followed in order to
help maintain a sound system of financial / accounting and procurement
operations of Gambia Press Union.
Sheriff Bojang Jr, president of the GPU, said one of the three key pillars of the Union’s
2019-2021 strategic plan is strengthening the institutional capacity of
the secretariat to make it more responsive and accountable to its members.
“In line with this
strategic plan and as part of the project funded by the Civil Society Fund of
Denmark, the GPU hired the services of a consultant to development the two
manuals,” he said.
The first drafts of the two documents were submitted
by the consultant for review by the GPU.
The consultant acted on the feedback by the GPU to produce the final
draft which has now been reviewed and validated.
The three-year project that supported the
development of the manuals is co-implemented by the Gambia Media Support
(GAMES), a Danish organisation that supports the Gambian media.
The objective of the project is to strengthen the
Gambian media to play its ideal role in the country’s fragile democratic
development and the transitional justice process.
