The Economic Ramifications of the Events of April 10th and
11th

The events of April 10th and 11th, 2000, have left an
indelible "dark" spot on the evolving political development
of The Gambia. The international credibility of the
government has been severely dented as the international
community is aware of the negative developments that took
place.

The reason why the international credibility of the
government has been tarnished is that we need the
resources, assistance and support of our development
partners in the various key sectors of the economy. On our
own with our meagre resource we cannot achieve any
meaningful development. The Gambia has always relied on and
will continue to rely on the resources of the international
community to implement any development policy.

History and experience has taught us that countries that
allow more inclusive political plurality and the right to
free speech and freedom of assembly are more developed
economically than repressive ones. One has to look at the
industrial countries as a testament to this fact. Even in
Africa, countries like Botswana and Mauritius are leading
the rest of Africa in terms of economic development. These
countries have more pluralistic and inclusive participation
from all sectors and strata of society.

There is ample research and empirical evidence identifying
the importance of economic and political freedom. Economic
freedom encourages and is a major determinant of
economic development, prosperity and growth and the two
freedoms are mutually reinforcing. An expansion of
political rights - more democracy and the rule of law
fosters economic rights and thereby stimulates growth.
Studies have shown that repressive and dictatorial regimes
have an adverse effect on a country's development.

As I said earlier we need external investors in the various
key sectors of the domestic economy. Private property and
life were lost during the events of April 10/11. Yes the
private property can be replaced, but the lost life is
irreplaceable. Any country and governement that wants to
promote private sector led growth as has been professed by
the APRC government must guarantee the security and safety
of private property. Foreign investors will assess the
political development in a country before investing their
funds and one of the criteria they look at, is the
credibility of the government. To achieve the objectives of
a private sector led growth, the unwanted destruction of
life and property should have been avoided. It has been
recognized that the governments cannot provide all the jobs
needed to increase employment and raise the living
standards of the majority of the population, this is
expecially true in The Gambia. The burden lies with the
private sector. With the loss of property, some private
individuals have gone bankrupt for good and this is a
disincentive for potential investors and entrepreneurs to
invest in the Gambia. We have to realize that Gambia is in
fierce competition with other countries in attracting the
limited international resources. Political instability
increases the potential risk of investing in the Gambia and
no rational foreign investor will invest in countries where
unarmed innocent children are being killed and private
businesses looted.

There is an international index constructed to measure
political rights and civil liberties of a country called
the "GASTRIL" index. Political rights are the rights to
participate meaningfully in the political process. In a
democracy this means the right of ALL adults to vote and
compete for public office. Civil liberties is the right to
free expression to organize and demonstrate as well as the
rights to a degree of autonomy such as provided by freedom
of religion, education, travel and other personal rights.

The events of April 10/11 will further lower the
international ranking of the Gambia and this does not go
down well with potential investors who would like to invest
in the Gambia. European and American governments use such
indices to advise their nationals and companies who want to
assess and have adequate guarantees and "safe" environment
for their investments.

All I am trying to show here is that economic development
does not depend on the conventional economic criteria. The
political stability of a nation, protection of private
property and the rule of law are equally as important. This
should be borne in mind by the relevant authorities in
the Gambia and especially the security forces who are there
to protect its citizenry. The Gambia needs to build up its
international credibility to lower the risk factor
associated with attracting foreign investment and build
up the confidence of the private sector.

Basil
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