Back to business

After having had a blissful and blessed Ramadan month and Eid holiday, we are back to business.

We should, therefore, thank the Almighty Allah for blessing us with long life, good health and the wherewithal to meet our needs during the holy month, and for seeing us through the Eid celebrations.  

We should as well continually pray to God for more blessings, long life and good health to see many more Ramadan months and feasts to come

Meanwhile, we are back to our usual daily business transactions, albeit under the guidance and tenets of the Almighty God. That is why even though the Ramadan is over we are still obliged to lead a virtuous life acceptable unto the Almighty Creator.

So as we get back to business, we are confronted with the social, economic and political life of our nation.

For instance, our national economy has taken up a somewhat turn for the better and for the worse in the last four months.

For the better, in the sense that it has registered some growth in reserve money, and for the worse, as the country’s domestic debt has continued to increase over the year.

Both of these developments are necessitated by certain factors as stated by the Central Bank of The Gambia’s Monetary Policy Committee report declared on 9 June 2016.

The report stated that The Gambia’s reserve money grew by 11.9 per cent in the year to end-March 2016 from 12.4 per cent a year earlier.

“This was solely as a result of the 39.7 per cent increase in the NDA [net domestic assets] of the Central Bank.”

On the other hand, the country’s domestic debt rose to D23.2 billion at end-March 2016 (54.7 per cent of GDP) compared to D19.3 billion (48.3 per cent of GDP) in March 2015.

Politically, we are looking up to the December 1st Presidential Election, to which many things are tied as regards the political scene in the country.

Parties are bracing up their belts for the upcoming elections albeit some air of unforeseen circumstances.

As we go on, we call for the maintenance of peace and tranquility in the country, for we are known for peace and oneness, regardless of our political affiliations and other lineages.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” He also said that “the weak can never forgive, as forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”

So let’s live in peace and harmony, for we are one and kindred, as we hope for the better, socially, economically and politically.

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”

Albert Einstein