The
Gambia National Assembly debate on IFAD loan put forth for approval by the
Government, was indeed rigorous. The questions directed at Finance Secretary,
Njie were substantive. All indications are Gambia can indeed begin to feel
confident that this assembly is surely not your rubber-stamp parliament.
Democracy is the order of the day, and commendable!
That
aside, we must really look at what was all the hoopla about with the latest
loan issue? One of the headlines read “$100M loans’ agreement to support 40
women Kafos, 240 youth businesses, others”. Key among the areas of intervention
targets is the “financing of resilience of organizations for transformative
smallholder agriculture projects”. This, we are told is laudable as it aims to primarily
create “accessible markets, improve involvement of women and rural youths in
farming activities; establishing and strengthening 40 women Kafos, six new
cooperative societies, and 240 youth-led small businesses”. Further, the
project includes inter alia, training female entrepreneurs in vegetable and
rice production, record keeping and business management for skills acquisition,
and effective business operations and sustainability strategies.
One
of the arguments in parliament was a lamentation of sorts decrying woeful
preponderance of failed projects in the Gambia, and not the least the infamous
Jahali Patcharr rice project of the 70s. Surely, one cannot dismiss this
argument for lack of merit. I do not wish to remind us of other projects of
dismal outcomes in our country. I am reticent to remind us of our, for lack of
a better word, “inherent ineptitude” in project management. How else would you
label our failures as a nation, at project management, or was it failure by
design? In my view, Gambia suffers from a demonic culture of corruption; a
total lack accountability and responsibility for the multitude of failed
projects. This is the disease we must cure. This is central to the lamentation
undertones I deciphered from the debate on the floor of the parliament.
The
social media had its share of opinion pundits giving their two cents worth for
all it matters. One such pundit argued, or should I say cautioned against the
loan. The concern was that the government may be reversing the approved fiscal
standing of the country recently praised by the IMP; thanks to debt
restructuring sustainability. Additional loans from IFAD at this time, one
argued, would increase pressure on the economy and not the least distress the
debt portfolio which undoubtedly will have grave and adverse shifting
repercussion on the countries Debt/GDP ratio; suggesting a possible upward
movement. Implicit in this argument is that taking the loan will pivot the
economy on the precipice of a slippery slope. Surely a good point of concern.
Further advised was avoidance of political expediency from the loan decision,
for fear that the loan would be a means to end; potential political patronage.
However, on the other hand, the same opinion giver nonetheless lauded the
reasons given for the loan. Surely, I would like to think in giving the loan a
green light, technical staff at the Ministry of finance, who surely are far
from being novices, did not err factoring in critical decision making elements
such as DEBT/GDP ratio considerations vis-à-vis the said loan.
To
the extent that you want to be object, the burning question in my mind is how
do you separate political patronage from certain kinds of development specifics
such as the case for women and youth? The world over, politics is about asking
for votes on promises of meeting the aspiration of the voters /population.
These aspirations differ across a stratified population. In any country, the
most disadvantaged or disenfranchised are women and the youth. It is no
different in the Gambia. Since time immemorial, leaders have catered for the
needs of their people/population. By nature, voters that have shown their
loyalty and support for the government, occupy a higher position in the order
of beneficiaries for the national cake. Was it different under Jammeh? This is
simply a natural phenomenon because the closer you are to the center of power,
the higher the reward. How flawed can an argument be if we ask rulers
(presidents) in this case, to not aspire for the development of a section of the
population (women and the youth) of the country for fear that it will be
interpreted as political patronage? Patronage or lack thereof by willful
exclusion, Yaya Jammeh style is abhorrent but not that which comes by default
and surely fairly. In all fairness this government has not shown a skewed
favoritism in sharing the national cake. Nevertheless, effective project
management anchored on a strong management framework is well advised vis-à-vis
the said loan or any loan. Moreover, it must be noted that patronage is to
politics as fish is to water!! However, the national cake is for all, and I am
convinced this government will be different from the last in dividing it.
Certainly, without fear of contradiction, The Gambia must stay on course for
the uplifting of the lives of the disadvantaged and the marginalized; rural
folks and the youth. The government cannot yield an inch in this endeavor.
My
wish for the Gambia is that we would desist from petty politics and look around
us or better yet look across the border to Senegal. The Gambia has been in
perpetual politicking since the change of government in 2016. 80% of all
discussions in Gambia in the media (print media excluded), social media shows,
etc., in my view, are on petty personality politics, not the least abusive and
divisive politics. Moreover, as much as I wish it was not the case, tribal
politics, largely alien to the Gambia, appears on the horizon hovering it ugly
head over our land. May God save the Gambia from the wrath of tribal politics.
In the minority are the few pundits, or opinion shapers who strictly focus on
the substantive issues in national discus. Paradise’s Drammeh is trying hard to
direct national conversation on substantive matters. Similarly, Peter Gomez of
West Coast also has my respect for journalistic professionalism, directing the
narrative to substantive issues. Kerr Fatou is also keeping the bar high. While
the endless bickering consumes our energies, I wish to ask for your kind
indulgence, and ask this question:
What
is really happening in Senegal? I ask this question because in my view, matters
of development should be our main concern today and not petty politics of
distractions. Hitherto December 2016, there was only APRC dominated narrative
of dictatorship and plain party rhetoric. After the change of guard at the
State House in 2016, Gambia pronounced two phrases indelibly marked on our
minds and indeed historic; “Gambia Has Decided” and at the TRRC we are told,
“Never again”. One would have thought, a collective strive to give peace and
development a chance would have been the call of the day. Disappointingly,
however, only a measly three years down the line of tangible freedom, and
breath of fresh air blowing over the country for the entrenchment of our
democracy, all that now appears to be hanging in the balance with a noticeable
thin veil threat of reversal of democratic gains from just three years.
Surely,
no county since time immemorial has ever realized its aspirations in three
years, not even in 50 years. Moreover, very few countries that suffered the
fate of dictatorship can claim total emancipation and free from the lingering
vestige of man-made scourge. Gambia is no different. Hence, we must be patient
and understand that development is incremental, comes in installments and
therefore, is a function of time. History can bear us witness that all great
nations endured decades of strife before reaching a state of calm and
development. America, for example, was at war for 222 years out of 239 years.
This is 93% (222 ÷239=0.928) of the time since 1776.
The
United Kingdom is similar to the United States. Dating back to 1707, the UK
fought far more wars than the US in the same period. The UK was engaged in some
form of military conflict in every year of Queen Victoria’s reign, fighting an
incredible 230 wars in 64-year period. The French were engaged in the 100
years’ war (1337-1453) with the British over the succession to the French
throne. This war lasted 116 years.
In
our own hemisphere, history has taught us about the strife of the Mali empire
from 1235 to 1640 was marred with wars. Before the Mali empire, the Ghana
empire reigned from A. D. 700 to 1600. The Chana empires was not an exception
either. These empires endured and later become the envy of the world in human
development. These nations in the West are today bastions of democracy and good
examples of human advancement united in purpose. Therefore, Gambia should unite
in purpose and nurture our new found democracy. At the same time the law must
be our guiding light, then all else will follow for our common good.
Surely,
the experience of the Jammeh era (22years) cannot be dismissed as strife of
lesser magnitude. Strife is strife and the common denominator of all strife is
the decimation of its citizens. Jammeh’s era had an untold impact on the
country. We had hoped reversing the decimation of the rule was more important
at this stage of our recovery than any other consideration. Matters of urgent
restoration of democracy cannot equal matters of political disagreements. More
than any other time, the Gambia at this moment in history cannot afford to be
mired in perpetual “struggle”. That is what it was called the “Struggle”. Our
political disagreements should be resolved at the polls. Until such a time, the
discussion should be matters of development. We ought to move on, and surely
rule of law must reign supreme.
While
the Gambia continues with interminable bickering, Senegal for example,
(conveniently using Senegal as a baseline/point of reference) is on the move:
Senegal
is part of the Growth poles, a simultaneous, coordinated investment in many
sectors, like agriculture in the present case, to support self-sustaining
industrialization in a country. Growth poles are usually combine public and
private investments and are specifically built around an already-existing
resource at a specific location in an economy. The Growth poles focus on a
group of dynamic industries that are connected around a particular resource
(African Development Bank [AfDB], 2016). Gambia’s investment in agriculture
cannot be disassociated from a similar aim. This is in the right direction. The
loan in question is towards a similar aim.
Abu
Dhabi based DP World’s Chair and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the ruler of
Abu Dhabi, on February 11, 2020, reached an agreement with Macky Sall,
President of Senegal for the construction of a new port and economic zone in
Dakar, Senegal. The project will support the economic growth of Senegal by
developing the capital Dakar into a major logistics hub and gateway to the west
and north-west Africa. “The economic zone in Dakar will serve as a great
aggregator of cargo, creating a hub for African exporters and importers and
generating value for Senegal and businesses in the region,” Bin Sulayem said.
“We discussed the great progress of the Senegalese economy and the role DP
World can play in the development of a port and economic zone serving west and
north-west Africa”. DP World has operations in Senegal, Egypt, Mozambique,
Somaliland, Rwanda, Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The implicit
job creation of this project for Senegal is phenomenal. Senegal is not
bickering and feeding into petty politics. These kinds of investments are only
possible with political stability. We must strive for political stabilization
and make Gambia attractive to investors. Can you imagine the job creation
potential of such investments?
In
August of 2019, Senegal jumped on the private-equity bandwagon by starting a
100 million-euro ($111 million) fund, the first time an African government has
backed an investment pool of this nature and size. “This is something we don’t
see very often; a government raising a private-equity fund,” said Vasiliki
Ntina, a research analyst with London-based African Private Equity Capital and
Venture Capital Association. Such a phenomenal economic feat is only possible
because of sustainable peace and security in Senegal. The recent political
noises only serve to scare investors and tourists from Gambian shores. It is
not lost on anyone that up to 25% of Gambia’s GDP is tourism derived. Do the
math and draw your conclusion and see the implications! Do we need political
instability in the Gambia? It is costly; all-around bad for the Gambia!!
Senegal
in December 2019 became the second African country after Tunisia to pass a
so-called start-up act - a law providing tax breaks and other benefits to
innovative new businesses in fields from agriculture to mobile banking. The
government hopes to spur more local businesses with its reforms and is
prioritizing digital technology as one of the pillars of President Macky Sall’s
“Emergent Senegal” plan. The law, which is meant to come into effect later this
year, applies to all start-ups but officials said they are targeting female and
youth-run businesses in particular. The Gambia is similarly grappling with high
youth unemployment. The IFDA loan is aimed at the same, job creation for the
youth. Any government that does not cater for the growing youth population is asking
for trouble. Over 60% of Gambia’s population is under the age of 25. This is
projected to rise against the backdrop of a high fertility rate of nearly 4
children per woman in The Gambia. This postulation can be reasonably confirmed
just by observation of the number of school children in our schools in the
Gambia today. The rise of school enrolment rate in interminable. This is also
confirmed by the gross enrolment rate of 41.67% (2018) in our basic education
sector. Can the government afford to be complacent in the current state of high
youth unemployment? This a national security concern. Therefore, the
government’s effort is timely if not overdue for matters youth development.
The
Japanese Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is also on the verge of being created/built-in
Senegal. This is to cater for the establishment of a special economic zone
dedicated to Japanese companies that have expressed their desire to settle in
Senegal. Job creation for Senegal is an undoubted outcome of this investment.
Similarly, because of its geographic proximity to the Americas, and its
political stability, Senegal is attractive to the Chinese and Koreans who are
now poised to create manufacturing plants in Senegal to feed their biggest
market, North America. The Americans and the Germans are working on their own
investment interests in Senegal. Senegal’s world-renown reputation for
political stability (recently praised by the visiting American Secretary of
State) is the biggest asset and the single attractor/magnet for the corporate
worlds’ pivot toward this nation. The Gambia shares the same attributes with
Senegal but only needs political stability for massive development to come to
our shores for human advancement and greater positive transformations. First.
our security index must be improved through political stability. This is only
possible with a unified purpose of calm, and stable environment under the rule
of law.
These are matters of development that I wish I
could hear coming from airwaves in the Gambia. The discuss should be about
brainstorming on bringing development; financial security to Gambian workers,
Job creation, and security, poverty alleviation, skills development, health
sector development, affordable quality education, entrepreneurial skills
development, governance development, dealing with social strife and reducing
corruption, improving our energy sector with access to affordable and
sustainable electricity and clean water supply, improved infrastructure,
environmental sustainability, and business support, etc. etc. These are our
common interests/our pressing needs and not personality politics.
Finally,
politics has its season but development is perpetual. The seasonal issues
should be handled when the season comes. For now, in my view, we ought to
think, breathe, eat and talk development, and I might add, objectively. Give us
the how? No idea is discounted! These aspirations will be realized over time
and not a matter of pulling a rabbit out of a hat. I do not know of a
government in history that has brought about transformation overnight through
Magician Houdinian tricks. The private sector also has its’ share in this
endeavor. The Americans say, “Easy does it”!! The precursor however, is
stability and rule of law…………… God bless the Gambia!
