By Patience SAGHANA
As the West Africa Insurance Institute (WAII) holds its 31st graduation ceremony for its Diploma and Certificate level students in Banjul, Gambia this week Friday, the institute is in dire need of funds to help boost the quality of lecturers at its disposal.

Lecturers have had to go to WAII with all zeal and vigour to teach students in that school only for those vitality to be deflated by the meager salary paid to them Speaking on the 31st graduation ceremony, the Vice-Chairman of the governing council of WAII, Mr. Just Uranta said that the founding fathers of WAII had a dream to establish an institute where required human capacities for the insurance industry in the West African sub-region are trained at management level, adding that the dream had since the inception of the institute been increasingly realised.

Uranta noted that WAII is not only providing manpower for the insurance industry alone, but also for the entire financial sectors within the sub-region, such as banking, law, accounting, marketing, among others.

According to him, “WAII is offering great opportunities to the youths to improve themselves by encouraging relevant, proper and sound education in all areas of our economic endeavour”.

He also expressed optimism that by virtue of the quality of education offered at the institute, the students would after graduation impact positively on the organisations they represent. He gave an instance of Niger Insurance whose staff had benefitted tremendously from WAII, a knowledge which impacted positively on the company and gave Kudos to the West African insurance institute for having trained over 2, 600 middle level insurance personnel.

Nigeria has 35.5 percent stake in WAII; Ghana has 25 per cent, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia each has 12.5 per cent.

Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has  even paid the 2010 subvention to the institute whilst Liberia has a backlog of 14 years debt to WAII, Ghana owes about two years as well as Gambia.

Though he appreciated the efforts and support of the Gambian government in updating its hosting right to the institute but lamented that the way the Gambia subvention is structured, it is to be paid by insurance companies in that country which is difficult to coordinate. Many of the companies owing the institute have gone into extinction while it is still difficult to get the subvention from existing insurance companies in the Gambia.

Liberia owes 14 years as a result of the war but the country has still not been able to pay the subvention to WAII even after the war in that country while he noted that Sierra Leone is trying hard to clear its debt to WAII on installment.
Uranta added that the institute is ever ready, able and willing to contribute to the manpower development of not only the sub-region but Africa as a whole.

And to achieve this, he appealed to the insurance companies around and outside the West African sub-region to lend their support to WAII in order to enable the institute maintain the quality of education that it’s known for.

The WAII VC stated that though governments of the West African countries are trying their best but added that they could put in more support to the institute. He also urged organisations within the sub-region to fully tap into the potential and benefits of the training programmes and other useful services available at the institute.

He said that WAII was established over 30 years ago under an agreement facilitated by the West Africa Insurance Companies Association (WAICA), signed by the governments of Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and The Gambia.

The institute, he said, is determined to contribute effectively in promoting the socio-economic development of the member countries by producing sound middle level insurance professionals, that’s capable of providing excellent services and conserve the needed foreign exchange for the sub-region.

Established in 1973 for the development of insurance in all its ramification in the sub- region, WAII was founded by four West African countries, namely Nigeria, Gambia Liberia and Sierra Leone.