By: Hassoum Ceesay, Historian
Mr. Sami Tamim, who is the proprietor of the famous Palma Rima hotel, which he opened in 1988, is a self-effacing man. He is accessible and down-to-earth, but ready to share his lucid and highly dependable knowledge of Gambian development history since the early 1970s. He is a hotelier, civil engineer, and contractor who helped to construct some of the most iconic infrastructure in The Gambia of the First Republic.
Agro Industrial Company
He did so through his Agro Industrial Company, The Gambia Ltd, which he created in the mid-1970s to respond to a gap in efficient, well-structured, and reliable Gambian construction firms. The friendly foreign relations of His Excellency President Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara earned him the favor of many countries, including the Gulf States, Libya, and multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. They were ready to support the development of the civil infrastructure of The Gambia. This good intention faced the problem of responsive home-based construction firms. Those that existed were largely unable to muster the pre-financing requirements that were sometimes required for huge projects like the Yundum Airport Lighting Project.
In 1978, Mr. Tamim created the Agro Industrial civil works company with a capital of 2 million dollars. He became its Chairman and Managing Director. Soon, it landed its first major contract: to build the staff village for the Soma-Basse Road Construction, which started in 1978 and was funded by the World Bank. In 90 days, Mr. Tamim completed 18 housing units in Kudang Village, Niamina East, to shelter the road construction company’s staff. He got a nod for the swiftness of the work and its quality. The staff village became the Kudang Army Camp, a testament to the solid work done there.
Soon, Mr. Tamin was awarded a contract to build The Gambia Technical Training Institute(GTTI) and The Gambia School of Nursing, which he completed in early 1982 and was opened to grand fanfare. These institutes were to become the producers of a solid core of Gambian technicians and tradesmen and women who are now leaders in the sectors.
A few months later, Mr. Tamim’s Agro Industrial Company won the contract to build the Boiler and Turbine for the Gambia Produce Marketing Board(GPMB) groundnuts oil mill at Sarro, Banjul. This was a highly technically complex job that required him to build a 1,000-meter conveyor system overpassing the Banjul-Serekunda dual carriageway and operating on high-voltage electricity. It was successfully completed and inaugurated by President Jawara on Independence Day, 1988.
Mr. Tamin Built The King Fahad Mosque
The King Fahad Mosque in Banjul was negotiated by President Jawara with Colonel Gaddafi, the Libyan Strongman, with whom he was on very good terms, until the 1980 Kalifa Niasse-Gambian Migrants saga. Jawara broke ties with Libya and went to the Saudis to seek money for the mosque. The Saudis were at loggerheads with Gaddafi and signed an open check, so to speak, for Jawara. Again, Mr. Tamim was called upon to build the grand mosque of Banjul. He did so in a record 18 months, replete with two towering minarets 38 meters high, overlooking the Banjul horizon. Both Minarets sit on 16 hollow pipes sunk to a depth of 40 meters inside the soggy Banjul soil. ‘I brought in expertise from the UK, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to ensure that the wet Banjul soil does not cause problems for the mosque. The mosque that Mr. Tamim built for Banjul could accommodate 1200 worshippers and another 5000 on its grounds. When he realized that for the work to be solid, he needed to spend his own money, he did so, and for The Gambia and Islam.
Mr. Tamim built the Kotu Sewage System under a World Bank-funded project for the Gambia Government, and the famous Kotu Government Mechanical Workshop, among many other projects, was executed and delivered on time.
Mr. Tamim Rescues A Gambian Rice Consignment
Mr. Tamim was close to President Jawara and his Ministers like S.S Sisay(Finance), M.C. Cham(Works), Yaya Ceesay(Agriculture), and bureaucrats like the legendary Permanent Secretary Dr. Jabez A Langley. When one of his sons was born, President Jawara sent him a gift and card for the newborn.
This is why, when, in the mid-1980s, The Gambia became broke enough to have less than 15 days of Import Cover, Mr. Tamim received a call from Finance Minister S.S. Sisay. The Minister, in a desperate voice, told him that a ship carrying the country’s rice supply refused to dock because The Gambia needed to pay the supplier 50,000 Pounds Sterling. ‘If that ship does not dock with the rice, we will starve,’ cried the Minister. ‘Assist us with the sum, and the Government will pay in 90 days with interest. Mr. Tamim wired the money to the Central Bank and refused to take the interest on the principal. In another case, he intervened to ensure that the country’s fuel supply was intact by paying for 35 tankers to bring fuel overland from Senegal.
Mr. Sami Tamim, through his company, mentored hundreds of Gambian construction entrepreneurs who are today leaders in the sector. He has employed over 5000 Gambian technicians. Indeed, Mr. Tamim is a good Gambian patriot who remains a role model of patriotic inclination towards national development.
