By: Kebba AF Touray
The Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) has recently hosted its maiden pre-retirement sensitization forum for its staff retirees of the year 2021 and 2022.
The two day forum which brought together experts from GRA, GTSC, SSHFC, GCCI among others, to deliver lectures on the empowerment of retirees with the requisite expertise to enable them utilize appropriate strategies to handle and overcome the challenges during their period of retirement.
The sensitization which was organised by the Human Resource Department of the GRA, was supported by the management of the Revenue Authority under the supervision of the Commissioner General in order to ensure a successful training.
The sensitization centred on various topics such as the emotional and mind-set management, financial planning and management, small business management, trading and farming business of retirees.
Speaking shortly after the training Tida J. Ndow, the HR Manager responsible for pension and welfare at the GRA, explained the objective of the training as informing staff that retirement is inevitable in any service.
She dilated that gratuity and monthly pensions replaces monthly salaries of retirees, which may not be adequate to cater for most of their needs.
“GRA deems it necessary to organize this pre-retirement sensitization for staff who are about to exit, to help them better understand the inevitability of retirement of their services, and in pursuit of ensuring and guarantee them their retirement benefits. The essence of the sensitization will also help participants adequately prepare themselves and be able to adequately adjust to the challenges of retirement. The objective is to assist them have personal understanding of financial planning, to manage their health and help them appreciate the types of opportunities available for them to take advantage of,” She said.
She asserted that the training will sensitize staffer members identify the factors that affect their quality of life, manage their financial plans on what they want to be engaged in, after retirement.
‘‘The outcome of the training will help the participants to be proactively and strategically sensitized after their retirement, because they will equally be exposed to techniques of dealing with financial challenges and requirements during retirement,” she said.
While expressing gratitude to the HR Department of the GRA for the foresight, Commissioner General Yankuba Darboe buttressed that the experience gained from the forum will impact positively on the lives of their employees. He assured that the GRA will continue on an annual basis, to organise such forum for would-be retirees, to help them better understand the investment opportunities which awaits them in the market.
