Below is the FOROYAA Burning Issues of - Issue No 36. The topics in the
issue are:
1. Editorial - Raising Prices
2. Focus On The Gambia's Economic Situation
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NO: 36/2002 24 - 26 June, 2002
Editorial
The Rising Prices
Restaurants, cafee shops,canteens and tables are mushrooming everywhere
as people depend on these facilities to have breakfast lunch and dinner.
When people started to complain regarding the prices of commodities
FOROYAA approached some restaurant owners to find out whether they are
being affected.
It was gathered that a 2.2 kilo tin of tomato paste which used to cost 35
dalasis is now 45 dalasis. A packet of spice known as jumbo which used to
cost 45 dalasis has increased to 60 dalasis. A bag of onion which used to
cost between 85 and 90 dalasis has increased to 130 dalasis.
A carton of chicken which used to cost 205 dalasis has increased to 215
dalasis. Another brand which used to cost 210 dalasis has increased to 230
dalasis.
Meat and bones have increased to between 40 and 45 dalasis per kilo of
beefsteak which is meat without bones have increased from 40 to 50 dalasis
per kilo. Liver is now 55 dalasis per kilo. Two smoked Bonga fish is now sold
for 2.50 bututs.
The bag of rice which used to cost 205 dalasis has been increased to 220
dalasis. The one which used to cost 220 dalasis is increased to 220 dalasis.
The average income for qualified teachers is 1300 dalasis most employees
earn less than 1000 dalasis per month. A household which earns one
thousand dalasis would have nothing left if it buys one bag of rice for 220
dalasis and spend D10 on transport and D15 dalasis on ingredients to
prepare the rice daily.
There is a visible drop in the quality and quantity of food consumed by the
average Gambians. Three meals a day are now a arare activity in homes.
Food of inferior quality is now consumed by many people. The lightness of
most bread leaves one to wonder how food poverty is being prevented from
expanding.
Many families have no posibility in eating meat. This is why malnutrition is
increasing. The hospital authorities need to convey the statistics on
haemoglobin counts and anaemia to the public. People's diet is becoming
poorer and poorer.
Most of the time the poor eat only to carry a heavy stomach and not to have
proper nutrition.
There is need for a massive sensitisation campaign on the quantity and
quality of food needed for good health if the health conditions of the masses
are to be prevented form deteriorating. This must be linked to improved
earning capacity.
Instead of spending money on expensive drugs and food supplements we
need to work on improving the diet of the Gambian people.
This is the way forward. If any government is to claim to be serious in
addressing food poverty it must educate people regarding diet and increase
access to food of good quality in enough quantity.
Focus On The Gambia's Economic Situation
We have been focussing on the Gambia's economic situation, the objective of
which is to bring to light the real situation of our economy and to pave a way
forward for more economic measures to bring about a viable national
economy that can afford the average Gambian at least an average living
standard.
In the last issue, we have dealt with the GDP and the GNP and asserted that
these indicators alone are not sufficient to show the material and social
conditions of the people because they are mainly based on incomes. We
then quoted from (The Gambia Human Development Report 2000) published
by the UNDP which aims to promote Good Governance for Human
Development and Poverty
Eradication.
In this issue, I will continue to quote from this report of the UNDP which of
course have important statistics in relation to Gambia's economic situation.
According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2000, the Gambia has
an estimated per capita (GDP) income of $456 in 1998. It further added that
between 1993 and 1999, the average growth in GDP at constant market
prices other wise known as GDP was 3 percent. The report however stated
that, in the aftermath of liberalisation, and in the face of rapid population
growth, poverty has increased by 36 percentage point, (from 33% of the
population in 1992/93 to 69% in 1998).
This is why I was emphasising in the previous issues the need for serious
investment in the productive sector of our economy to generate employment
as well as income for the people.
Let us now go on with the UNDP report. We will focus on what the report
says on Agriculture, Tourism, the Industrial Sector, Employment and the
Service Sectors.
The agriculture sector, which employs about 57 percent of the labour force,
provides seasonal employment and on average, contributed about 22 percent
of GDP during the period 1990/91 - 1998. Factors that constrain the
effectiveness of developoment in this area include over-dependence on
traditional implements and tools. This issue of poor technology in the
agricultural sector has implications for productivity levels.
The tourism sector has emerged, since the beginning of the nineties as a
potential source of rapid growth for the economy. the Gambia's mild climate,
the long stretches of sandy beaches, and its close proximity to Europe
makes it an attractive destination for tourists of european origin. In terms of
employment and foreign exchange earning, the sector is vital and continue to
account for between 10 to 12 per cent of GDP.
The Industrial sector in The Gambia, made up of the manufacturing,
construction and utilities sub-sectors, is rather small and accounts for about
11 per cent of GDP.
The formal sector which consists of the public sector, the parastatals and
limited private sector employs only 11 per cent of the labour force.
Employment
A majority of the labour force is, therefore engaged in subsistence farming,
informal sector (mostly self employed) or as unpaid family workers because
the economic growth discussed above did not translate into creation of
enough new jobs.
Over the years, the agriculture sector has been contributing between 22
percent and 25 per cent interms of percentage share. In fact groundnut
production, marketing and processing contributes about 24 per cent of
national value added. The agricultural sector also accounts for about 85 per
cent of total employment as indicated in the 1993 population census report.
The Gambia's experience with cooperative movements and agricultural
development banking has not been encouraging in view of the highly
politicised nature of such establishments or organisations. The issue of high
interest rates and lack of adequate colleteral were identified as bottlenecks
for the demise of he Agricultural Development Bank.The Gambia Cooperative
Union (GCU) was once described as the financial arm of the previous ruling
political party.
The experience with financial resources mobilisation schemes such as village
development trust funds, women's finance scheme and VISACA have been
mixed in terms of their effectiveness in mobilising adequate resources and
targeting credit worthy clients for sustainability. This underscores the need
for proper policies in the areas of rural finance.
Tourism
Although the tourism industry has been growing over the years in terms of
tourist arrivals, the recently introduced all inclusive package tours has been
criticised for limiting employment creation and income generation in tourism
related activities thereby dampening government's policy for development of
linkages of the industry with other economic activities. the result of such a
trend is an increase in urban poverty especially for households in the informal
sector.
The above review leads to the question as to whether 'home grown'
sustainable development is attainable under the current globalisation.Several
factors account for the current state of employment. First, the labour force
grows at a faster rate than the economy's capacity to generate employment.
Lack of appropriate skills, especially among youths also limit their job
opportunities.
Furthermore, in the informal sector where the majroity of the urban labour
force is emerged, human capacity is often under utilised. Physically able
persons, for example, spend their days seling a few packets of cigaretes
because there is no better alternative. Finally interms of rural employment,
the 1998 Poverty Study found that 66% of the rural residents are employed,
only one per cent are unemployed and 33 per cent are inactive. Looking at
the industries in which the rural people are employed, 59 per cent of the
employed are engaged in agriculture, livestock and hunting one per cent
each in fishing, construction and retail trade in food.
These statistics indicates the prevelance of agricultural activities in the rural
areas as the main means of livelihood. As such governance issues centering
on marketing such produce should be addressed to ensure proper producers'
outlets.
Secondly, over the period 1990/91 to 1999, mixed developments were
abserved in the agricultural sector (crop production fisheries, livestock and
forestry) in terms of growth, diversification within the sector and linkages with
other
industrial activities.
In the next issue, we will continue to highlight more information from the
NHDR (National Human Development Report).
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Source: FOROYAA (Freedom) NO: 36/2002 24 - 26 June, 2002 ISSN: 0796-
08573
Address: FOROYAA, P.O.Box 2306, Serrekunda, The Gambia, West Africa
Telephone: (220) 393177 Fax: (220) 393177
Email address: [log in to unmask]
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