Hi Gassa,

Thanks for your comments on the 2002 budget.  I'll agree with you that we all need to
debate the budget seriously, never mind which side of the political fence we stand
on.

Thanks also for bringing up a point I forgot to mention in my e-mail about the
budget.  You said:

> The provision of housing for very low-income civil servants such as drivers,
> messengers and teachers was also something that I liked. The high rent in
> the Greater Banjul Area (GBA) coupled with the expensive fears means that
> this category of civil servants can barely have surplus money to maintain
> their children in school and are most likely to marry off their daughters at
> an early age.
>
While I agree that it's a good idea to provide affordable housing, I think it is bad
policy to ghetorize low-income people in estates developed for them. As proposed in
the 2002 budget, there will be a layout of 500 plots in Mariama Kunda (Kombo North)
to cater for lower grade civil servants such as Messengers, Drivers, Labourers, and
Watchmen.  This scheme reminds me of the colonial mentality whereby whenever housing
was built by the government, it was segregated into senior staff and junior staff
quarters.  The senior staff were mostly white expatriates during the colonial period,
and after independence, their ranks were filled with nouveau-elite Gambians.  This
mentality must be eradicated.  It will be tragic for The Gambia of tomorrow if we sow
the seeds of class barriers today.  I strongly urge the planners responsible for the
Mariama Kunda layout to consider a mixed-income housing system that will ensure that
children growing there are from all economic classes in The Gambia.  That way, they
will develop bonds that transcend what the networth of their parents, and our nation
would be better off for it.

Furthermore, segregating low-income people into special layouts is a recipe for
neglecting them when times are tough.  Such enclaves often end up with poor services
(utilities, security, etc.), and as as such, turn into breeding grounds for
criminals, and discontent.  You should take a hard look at the poor neighborhooods of
many large African cities (e.g. Lagos, and Abidjan) to see what the future holds for
Mariama Kunda if the new layout there is made exclusively for low-income people.

> Investment in fish processing and preservation needs to be commended.
> Unfortunately not many Gambians, with the means to make the necessary
> investment in medium to large-scale fishing or marketing of fish products,
> are not doing so. Most Gambian business would rather invest their money on
> import and retail of finished products from abroad. We also make very nice
>
I totally agree with you on the issue of the lack of a Gambian entrepreneurial
attitude.  From what I gather, this is changing.  I hope more and more people take
the plunge, and get into business.  In this regard, I suggest the government redouble
efforts to provide Gambian entrepreneurs with training in small business managment,
as well as help improve access to capital.  Even a country as powerful as the US
depends on small businesses to power it's economic engine.  I see no reason why the
government cannot start a small business development agency, encourage government
departments to be more small business-friendly, and start incubation centers that
will provide startup businesses with office space and other resources.  I could go on
an on ...  Hopefully, the talk about the increasing roles of microfinance
institutions will bear fruit shortly.

 > The construction of road networks and bridges linking the producer areas to
> the consumer areas is also a step in the right direction. Rural
> telecommunications development is also proceeding at a very fast pace and
> can be a major catalyst for investment in the rural areas.
>
Road networks are great too, but I hope the number of checkpoints on these roads are
reduced.  These stops do nothing but hinder the movement of people and goods, and
ultimately increase the cost of doing business in The Gambia.  It certainly doesn't
help the farmer who has to take his or her fresh produce to the market the trip is
broken by numerous stops at police checkpoints.  By the way, this reminds me of a
thought that occured to me a number of years ago when I drove, alone, to the East
Coast from the Midwest.  Toward the end of the trip of almost a thousand miles, I
realized that not once was I stopped by the police, for any security check, during
the entire trip.

I guess that's about it.  Please let's hear what you'all have to say about the
budget.  If anything, you can always later on take pride in saying "I told you so!"
;-) (laugh).

Have a great New Year, and best wishes.

Katim

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