Friends,
exactly my thoughts. As I said yesterday this will become a burden for The
Gambia for 100 years or more. How much of the D 480 million is interest and
how much is spend on reducing the debt ?
This was the situation in Denmark for many years. We paid so much in
interest on our foreign debt, that there was no money to more important
things and priorities. So the political debate in Denmarks has for many
years only been how much can we reduce the statebudget, how much can we
reduce the local commune-budgets, how can we reduce the social help and
wellfare, can it be done by outsourcing and privatising ? etc. No visions
could set sails and take a direction.
At the end the foreign debt will be like handcuffs. You can not move. And
the result when the IMF comes in is to ask the countries with a heavy
foreign debt to cut on social welfare (if there is any), cut on education
etc. and spend all the money on debt-reducing efforts.
The fast growing infrastructure development in The Gambia, which we are so
proud of, ca turn to become a millstone around the neck of the coming
generations.
I´m glad to see that a least one member of the parliament has seen the
scenario and try to warn and start a debate on priorities.
Regards Asbjørn Nordam
on 19/08/02 21:58, Momodou Camara at [log in to unmask] wrote:
> 'Gambia Spends D480 Million On Debt Annually'
>
> The Independent (Banjul)
> NEWS
> August 19, 2002
> Posted to the web August 19, 2002
>
> By S.b. Camara
> Banjul
>
> Honourable Sedia Jatta National Assembly Member for Wuli West has disclosed
> that The Gambia spends up to D480 million annually on debt servicing.
>
> According to Honourable Jatta this figure, represents more than a third of our
> national budget, and more than the budget for education, health and
> agriculture
> put together.
>
> 'The budget for these three important sectors is less than what we are putting
> on debt. How can we hope to wipe out the darkness of illiteracy in such
> circumstances? Democracy cannot be fostered and promoted in Africa without the
> African mind' he said, while deliberating on illiteracy and democracy in a
> conference on democracy in Africa.
>
> Honourable Jatta pointed out that although Africa is one of the richest, if
> not
> the richest continent in the world, paradoxically her people are rated among
> the poorest in the world.
>
> 'Post-independence Africa has failed to harness herself to a point that she is
> now totally under the weight of a debt burden. It can only carry adjustments
> or
> inadequately providing essential services for her people' he observed.
>
> He said efforts are required, characterised by systemic economic measures to
> begin meaningful and necessary social engineering towards promoting well-
> managed literacy programmes throughout the continent. 'To render our people
> literate is to help widen their intellectual horizon, to make them become
> adept
> in assuming the enterprise of their children. The sovereignty of people cannot
> be guaranteed without their empowerment, and literacy is the only strong way
> of
> empowering the people' Jatta posited, adding that empowerment is the
> cornerstone of any genuine democratic process, which takes its nourishment
> from
> the sustained and awareness efforts of those prosecuting it.
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