A
sub-regional stakeholders’ meeting of the Committee on Inland Fisheries and
Aquaculture of Africa (CIFAA) that kicked off yesterday at the Kairaba Beach
Hotel highlighted very important issues as regards transforming Africa and her
states’ economies, which includes The Gambia.
Although
the three-day meeting, organised by the Gambia Government in partnership with
FAO, discussed the development and management of Inland Fisheries and
Aquaculture in Africa, issues on how The Gambia and Africa should transform
itself from poverty and dependency to growth and development were also
seriously touched on, especially from the perspective of the African
Development Bank’s representative.
The
Director of Agriculture and Agro-Industry Department of the African Development
Bank disclosed in his statement that the bank, to achieve the development goals
in Africa, in its own wisdom, has identified five priority areas through which the unfortunate state of Africa
can be transformed for the better.
It
prioritizes electricity for Africa, feeding, industrialization, integration and
better standard of living, hence coined these priorities as: “Light up and
power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve
the quality of life for people of Africa”.
We
would like to commend the bank for recognizing the important aspects about
transforming the poor condition of Africa. However such fine objectives to help
African countries out of the abyss of poverty and hardship are not new to the
cause of emancipating African countries from the shackles of poverty and degradation. A lot of blueprints such as the MDGs, NEPAD,
ECOSOC, YEP and others from international bodies have been advanced to tackle
Africa’s myriad of socio-economic challenges but these have not really done
much for the continent.
However
it looks like we seem to know all the answers to our problems in Africa but we
find it very difficult to apply them for our own good.
These
can also be detected in the statement of our trade minister in The Gambia, who
outlined strategic solutions to our economic woes and social challenges in The
Gambia but it remains to be seen whether her government will be able to achieve
such transformation in the country.
In
her remarks at the GIEPA International Agriculture Investment Forum held
yesterday, she said the government’s strategic objective is to transform the
national economy from a net-importing economy to a net-exporter whilst ensuring
food self-sufficiency and affordable food prices.
“This
far-reaching objective”, she also stated, “cannot be achieved in the absence of
the much-required investments in technology, trade and quality infrastructure,
post-harvest management, partnership building, and access to markets for
integration into the global value chain.”
We
would therefore like to say this is the biggest test for the present government
and dispensation – to bring about the much-required investments in the sectors
highlighted by the trade minister, in order to transform The Gambia’s economy.
Until that is seen to be done, such fine remarks and workshops can only be
described as ‘talkshops’. We therefore hope for the better.
“The
secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but
on building the new. ”
Socrates
