>From: Matarr Amadou Sallah <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Boom or Doomed
>Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2002 06:42:26 +0200
>
>Saiks
>Ebou sowe(lupi) was in the gambia for some months trying to establish his
>business. As you know he is a proffessional welder trained here in Norway
>and have his workshop at Bundung. When i met him in the Gambia he was going
>round from place to place marketing his products which includes dust bins
>which i am sure is far more cheaper and better in quality than the ones
>ordered outside the country.
>I really dont know when we will start seeing the efforts made by our young
>and talented Gambians and start encouraging them.
>
>Just a short contribution
>Matarr
>
>
>>From: saikss <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: Re: Boom or Doomed
>>Date: Thu, 11 Jul 2002 00:34:09 +0200
>>
>>Jungle,
>>
>>Sorry for responding late. Your silence over some of the issues I raised
>>seems
>>to confirm that you see my points. If Tariq Musa ordered dust-bins from
>>out
>>side the country to be bought by government authorities whiles we have a
>>Sankung Sillah is not a serious approach to national development. If we
>>can
>>order containers for collecting rubbish whiles we have small industries,
>>who
>>are struggle to survive daily and could produce the same type or even
>>something better is also not a serious approach to national development.
>>This
>>has been my point of take off. I am not saying that communication net work
>>should not be extended to the rural arrears, my problem is that we have
>>other
>>urgent development issues than that. Remember the great majority of our
>>farmers are still using hoe and living in huts, drikking from well water
>>and
>>the majority of them could not provide a decent three daily meals. If you
>>are
>>to invest a $10million project on behave of these people then one must be
>>very
>>conscious as to what is intended to achieve. The amount of people who will
>>be
>>able to afford telephone in the rural areas is very limited, likewise a
>>television, the State might end up subsidising for these services.
>>Get me right here; I am not saying that we don't need well-constructed
>>roads.
>>This we need as much as efficient electricity supply. The issue is, do we
>>actually need to spend so much in the construction of these roads? What I
>>am
>>saying is that, we don't need a four lane highway inside Serre Kunda, no
>>matter what service these roads will perform, they will not pay off, the
>>only
>>way out will be to increase road tax and this again will have to affect
>>the
>>comsumers. We need roads but we need roads that we can afford, you don't
>>take
>>big loans to build a road capacity that you don't need and when poverty is
>>in
>>the increase.
>>The APRC regime declared the dead of the 1st republic without been able to
>>liberate her self from the shadows of the 1st republic. For example, You
>>don't
>>just go on building hospitals because the 1.republic did not do so, it is
>>much
>>more better to have a well thought health programme and with that you
>>might
>>know if you even need a new hospital and where. Or else it will just be as
>>it
>>is, hospitals without drugs or simple necessary equipment. Just take Serre
>>kunda as example, perhaps one of the dirties towns in this world, how many
>>people are going to suffer and died from maleria in that town this year,
>>only
>>God knows. Every bloody day when you visit the outpatient at the royal
>>Victoria hospital, you are almost convince that there is an emergency
>>situation in the country because of the amount of people queuing there.
>>Take the building of schools, they are very many now and you hardly visit
>>a
>>compound in that country without meeting a half educated school drop out
>>or
>>some one struggling to pay his/her school fees. You don't call this
>>national
>>development, there is much to that. A poor country like Cuba used not more
>>than two years to bring illiteracy to one of the lowest in the world. When
>>Sankara took over Burkina Faso, the country was more than poor, but theses
>>people with the little resources they had, brought illiteracy to one of
>>the
>>lowest in the history of the country. Jungle, the amount of loan and grant
>>accumulated in the name of the country since the APRC came to power is
>>enough
>>to do 10 times more than what this government achieved.A serious
>>government
>>faced with this serious poverty will never buy a jet fighter, even if free
>>they will return it back, let alone a president with a private plane,
>>private
>>zoo, two homes etc. It is only self-sacrifice that will be able to bring
>>us
>>to
>>our dreams of a better Gambia. Go bring all the world industries in the
>>Gambia, if the objectives are not for freedom, there will always be
>>poverty,
>>just look at Nigeria with all the wealth and industries of that country.
>>
>>For Freedom
>>Saiks
>>
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>>
>> >===== Original Message From The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
>><[log in to unmask]> =====
>> >Saiks,
>> >
>> >You have raised many varied and interesting points on which I shall do
>>my
>> >best to shed some more light. First of all, let me tell you that I know
>> >poverty to my finger tips and that my knowledge of poverty is from a
>>very
>> >close encounter. I did not read about it. I have lived in it. You see
>>Saiks,
>> >I was born into what you can term a relaticely well-off family and grew
>>up
>> >seeing what wealth and generousity can do. I also lived through a period
>>of
>> >living a life of deprivation and seeing how some people repay kindness
>>and
>> >generousity when you no longer have what yiu used to have.
>> >
>> >As a kid growing up in Kuntaur (CRD), I have witnessed how dozens of my
>> >relatives and friends of my family from the Baddibus, Bakau, Serekunda
>>and
>> >Banjul would regularly visit or come for holidays. i have also witnessed
>>how
>> >some would even spend the whole trade season with us. I saw how my late
>> >father cared for dozens of them out of relationship and kindness. I have
>> >also seen how, within a space of about eight years, he lost almost
>> >everything. First, it was a major burglary that left us almost
>>penniless,
>> >then a fire that gutted our entire compound, closely followed by the
>> >devastating devastating drought of the 70s and the departure of the
>>first
>> >Taiwanese mission from The Gambia, when we switched recognisation from
>> >Taiwan to China. Saiks, my Dad was a rice and groundnut farmer as well
>>as
>>a
>> >businessman. Seeing how some folks repaid the generousity of my late Dad
>>(He
>> >died in 1979) gave me first-hand lessons on wealth, friendship, poverty
>>and
>> >of dignity.
>> >
>> >Having said that, let me now turn to the $10 million rural development
>> >project that we beginning to implement in the northern half of the
>>country.
>> >The project involses the laying of about 350 Kms of fibre-optic cable
>>from
>> >Basse to Barra and completing the loop to Banjul using a digital
>>microwave
>> >link. The main purpose of doing this is to first of all provide the
>> >necessary security for the South Bank fibre in case there is a major
>> >catastrophe with it. You know that fibre, not only carries rural
>>traffic,
>> >but also national TV and radio broadcasts as well. Secondly, it allows
>>us
>>to
>> >develop telecommunications on the North bank to the same level as that
>>on
>> >the south bank of The river Gambia.
>> >
>> >I had mentioned sometime back that, access to information particularly
>>in
>> >rural areas, is one way of fighting poverty. If our poor rural folks,
>>need
>> >only travel a few Kilometres and have access to a phone to speak to
>>their
>> >loved ones far away in the Greater Banjul rather than travelling dozens
>>of
>> >kilometres just to make that call, you are saving them both time and
>>money.
>> >If a poor farmer in Karantaba can call Banjul from Karantaba to inform
>>his
>> >child that he/she badly needs money rather than borrowing money and
>> >travelling all the way to Banjul, only to learn that his/her kid has
>>been
>> >trasnferred to say Kiang or some other place, you would be saving
>>him/her
>> >and his/her child anguish, time, money and effort.
>> >
>> >Thirdly, if we agree that education and health are important
>>pre-requisites
>> >for development in this day and age, and that in both cases the exchange
>>of
>> >information has a big role to play, then the need to bring that to our
>>rural
>> >folks is an absolute neccessity. Before you ask me how it would be
>>powered
>> >when there is no electricity in the rural areas, let me tell you that
>>they
>> >are normally solar-powered. The rural electrification project, announced
>> >earlier, would also come in very handy later.
>> >
>> >Fourthly Saiks, we all know that most of the rural folks who leave
>>behind
>> >their families and come to the GBA do so to find work. If you can
>>provide
>> >electricity and access to communications in some of these rural areas,
>>there
>> >exists a good chance that some light industries may be located there and
>> >provide much needed employment. The Kuntaur groundnut mill provided jobs
>>for
>> >thousands of people in the area until the former inept government moved
>>it
>> >to Kaur. The result? Kuntaur is now almost a ghost town. The tug boats
>>and
>> >barges that used to employ people and transport goods very cheaply up
>>and
>> >down the river all disappeared. In those days, nobody dreamt of leaving
>> >Kuntaur for Banjul, Bakau or Serekunda.
>> >
>> >Coming to the roads being constructed, I do not know of any that has not
>> >been very long overdue. At a time when we are embarking on the Banjul
>> >Gateway project which establishes a trade free zone within the airport
>>with
>> >the possibility of having several industries there, then the need for
>>the
>> >dual carriageway linking it to Serekunda makes a lot of sense to me.
>>Linking
>> >the same airport with the other economic zones of the country such as
>>Kerr
>> >Serigne, Bijilo, Tanje, Sanyang, Kartong, Gunjur etc, also makes a lot
>>of
>> >sense to me.
>> >
>> >Finally saiks, you seem to think that some of the investments in
>> >infrastructure being undertaken are somehow not priority projects. If
>>that
>> >is your view, you cannot be more wrong. When potential investors come to
>>a
>> >country and find that most of the essential infrastructures such as good
>> >roads, reliable electricity, good communications facilities, peace and
>> >security, a reasonably developed human resource base and of course good
>> >governance exist, they more likely to consider investing in that country
>> >than when they are not available. You see Saiks, a friend of mine in the
>> >tourism industry told a few days ago, that two tourists came to The
>>Gambia
>> >for the first time two years ago and were so smitten with the country
>>that
>> >they came back again this year. The changes they saw impressed them so
>>much
>> >that they decided to start up something here. During their stay, they
>> >established that potatoes consumed in Gambia, though imported from
>>mainly
>> >Holland are actually grown in South Africa.
>> >
>> >After their return, they came back again after a few weeks but this time
>> >with some agronomists. You see, these two tourists happen to be major
>> >potatoe farmers. Anyway having established that our soil is indeed very
>>good
>> >for potatoe farming, they sought and got allocated land for farming
>>potatoes
>> >for local consumption and export to the sub-region.
>> >
>> >For a start, they would sink boreholes for irrigation and are likely to
>> >start in ernest early next year. They plan to employ a little over 1,000
>> >(Over one thousand) full-time farm workers in the first year and hope to
>> >employ as much as six thousand within five years. This would have
>> >significant impact on the lives of the tens of thousands of people who
>> >depend on those workers.
>> >
>> >As to whether mordernising the air has had much impact on tourist
>>arrivals,
>> >I do not know. Two things I do know however, are that the constraint we
>>have
>> >in tourist arrivals are mainly due to the limited number of available
>>beds
>> >as well as the quality of our product, amongst others. Improve on these,
>>a
>> >friend told me, and we can double the number arrivals within five years.
>> >
>> >another thing I do know is that the number of aircraft landings and
>> >take-offs have more than trebbled during the past five years. At the
>>moment
>> >no less than three dozen flights a week take-off from Banjul
>>International
>> >Airport for various destinations. The recent decision of Afrinat
>> >International Airlines to use The Gambia as its hub into West Africa and
>> >operating three weekly flights to Newyork from Banjul is a case in
>>point.
>>I
>> >am sure when they start plying this route the number of flights from the
>> >sub-region would drastically increase. This means more jobs for Gambians
>>as
>> >well as more revenue for the GCAA. Like I keep saying, "There is a time
>>in
>> >the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough
>>to
>> >solve (Mike Levitt)". we are surely getting there!!!!
>> >
>> >Have a good day, Gassa.
>> >
>> >
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