You guys hae deals with nitty-gritty of this subject. Gambia needs a new
direction these people are impoverished of ideas to take us forward


>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: When Are They Going To Get Paid?
>Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 13:14:45 +0200
>
>Bro Joe,
>
>I was asking the same question when I read the article and if you could
>remember Jungle posted an article to the GL were the SECY for Agriculture
>was
>reacting to a similar article that appeared in the independent. We could
>read
>in that article;
>
>"The SECY for Agriculture, Mr. Hassan Sallah called the editor over
>  the holiday to react to our editorial. SECY said credit buying has been
>substantially reduced over the past few weeks. He
>  revealed that as at now it stands at D45 m which will be reduced next
>week
>with the pumping of an additional D23 m. For the
>  remaining, Sallah said, plans are afoot to clear all the debts by the end
>of
>April 2002."
>
>We are in May and soon June and I hope this journalist will make a second
>visit to the SOS.The problem of the farmers is not taking serious by this
>government. There is this plain fact that much of the development
>activities
>at home are foreign programme, thus creating lot of external dept without
>been
>able to deal with the concrete conditions of our people. Is it not
>ridiculous
>for the SOS to encourage youths to go back to the land when farmers are yet
>to
>be paid for many months of hard working, the maleria, the hunger, the
>sweet,
>you name it. In his recent interview with the observer we could read;
>
>"He noted that the government had a
>Policy of Back-to-the-Land and called
>on the youths to take an active role in
>Agriculture to fully realise the potentials
>of the policy. "Agriculture is the
>Backbone of our economy and since
>The government's announcement of this
>Policy there has been a significant
>improvement in agricultural
>production," he said."
>
>  More than 50% of the work forces in the country are farmers and yet still
>we
>are not able to provide enough food for our self. We have farmers who are
>still not able to sell their products or did not get their monies after a
>long
>and hard working season and yet still we are asking the youths to involve
>in
>arigulture. If there is this problem of marketing the farmer's groundnuts,
>why
>not engage them in the production of rice instead of calling on the youths
>to
>go back to the land. But no, another big promise;
>
>"Mr Sallah assured the National Youth
>Service Scheme (NYSS) of his
>Department's full cooperation and
>support to ensure a higher yield in the
>Sapu rice field.His department, he added, was making all efforts to lift
>the
>practice of
>agriculture from its subsistence level to a commercial one."
>
>The abundant production of rice and commercialisation is no new news. Long
>time back Tombong Saidy came here with the same news and we are still
>waiting
>whiles poor quality imported rice is becoming more and more expensive for
>ordinary Gambians.This State is depending highly on loans and grants, this
>is
>the fact, this is why people are asked to go and buy bandage for wounds to
>de
>dressed at our main hospitals, this is why poor Bekai was even lucky that
>he
>got his wounds dressed and this is why hardly a week pass without reading
>in
>the papers that X or Y have donated hospital equipments  whiles jets
>fighters
>show our skies  with tax payers monies.
>In a recent newspaper article, one could read that;
>
>"Momodou B.A. Senghore one of the bank's Board of Directors in a
>typical 'state of the bank address' told the 24th annual general meeting
>of the bank's directors at the Kairaba Beach Hotel last week that the
>relative decline in tourism activity, the absence of a vibrant cross
>border trading and the groundnut marketing crisis meant that the local
>currency performed dismally and led to a rally for the dollar and the
>pound."(Observer)
>
>If the government could not take serious the newspaper reports on the
>condition of the farmers, then they should at least listen to their
>economists. Farmers are more than 50% of our population; their purchasing
>power will determine our economic activity and development.
>You just can't go on building hospitals when you don't have good primary
>health care service. You just don't go on creating more farmers when you
>have
>enough of them living in acute poverty.
>
>For Freedom
>
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>
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