Basil, Thanks again for such a brilliant piece, bit I think we should also adopt
bold intiatives like economic intergration with neighboring senegal and
Cassamance.

Not too long ago , Dr. Saine floated another idea, a Senegambian reunion. The
general reaction on the Gambia-L was indifference; either most of us cannot see
the possibility of such a re-union, and some of us believe that Gambia has
everything to loose. Another compelling possibility is that the Eighties
confederation attempt left us with disillusionment to the idea.

The new millenium needs a bold -creative initiative, policies and programs never
attempted since independence.  These are some of the relevant issues and questions
that needs to be faced head on:
A. Can the Gambia eliminate its economic woes and become a growing economy without
neighboring Senegal being part of the equation.
B. Is it economically realistic for such a small economy to pursue economic
programs that will create employment. Feed its people, bring access to clean
drinking water, descent shelter, access to relevant education and reasonable
healthcare.
C. Politics aside, what are the economic challenges to a Sene-Gambian-Cassamance
economic integration.

Economic realities on the ground:

It is an economic reality that  Panchang Anglais (village in Gambia) and Panchang
Francais (village in Senegal), and other surrounding Senegal and Gambian villages
have stronger economic ties to each other that to either Dakar or Banjul. The
weekly “Loomer” (Market trading places) brought a stronger economic relationship,
commerce and daily survival. Clearly, these villages share a stronger economic
ties to each other than their capital cities, and their only reminder that they
are from different countries is when they are terrorize by corrupt custom
officers. It is absolutely unimaginable that any of these villages will experience
economic prosperity designed from their capitals, and since independence they have
never seen any initiative or program towards such a goal. For instance:

A. Access roads between these villages are non-existence, and there are
absolutely  no  economic policies designed to enhance the farming industries, or
bold creative initiative to create employment. How can anybody honestly argue with
these people that economic integration, which they are already engage in is making
them worst of.
B. The economic reality is , the engine to our economic growth is not the
exploitation of our production base, and all form of economic activity is fuel
externally, mainly grants and loans from other countries and world bank. Another
economic reality, consumption spending, an important component of the aggregate
economy is in fact financed by Gambians living outside of the country. A friend of
mine further argued that small start up capital for  most small businesses in
Senegal and Gambia are financed by us living in the Diapora.
3….
Solutions
Maybe, I am new in the discipline of economics, but if we have not been able to
get off this underdevelopment train for the last thirty years, it is time to
explore other alternatives. A formation of a bilateral task force to immediately
look into the implementation of one currency, opening of borders, interstate roads
between these countries and developing of agricultural industries to create
employment and feed our people. If we can get our leaders to take the lead in
pushing bold economic programs, and used universities and the media to promote
integration, we would definitely be exploring a new path for the new millemnium.
It cannot be business as usual, we owe it to Demba in Kiaf(Gambian village), and
Modou in Pador(village in Senegal), to initiate bold economic programs that would
impact their socio-economic survival

Musa Jeng
B.M.Jones wrote:

> 21st Century Economic Challenges for The Gambia
>
> With the Dawn of a new millennium, the most important
> challenge for the Gambian people is poverty reduction.
> Being a largely agrarian and rural based economy, the most
> vulnerable live in the rural areas. The poverty statistics
> on the Gambia, makes dismal reading and is low by
> international standards. Much more needs to be done to
> drastically reduce this scrounge called poverty.
>
> Let us pause for a moment and give some sobering
> reflections of what and where we want to see the economy
> develop in the next 25-year, 50-years and next century.
> What legacy do we want to leave for the next generation of
> Gambians yet unborn. Many analysts have indicted that some
> of the economic and political problems of African countries
> are self-inflicted arising from mismanagement and the
> implementation of a particular economic dogma that does not
> augur well with the economic realities of our countries.
>
> There are numerous and myriad of problems that need to be
> addressed. Such as inadequate health care and education,
> lack of physical infrastructure and capital. The direction
> the economy takes will be fundamentally determined by
> domestic political and economic decisions.
>
> The economic history of the Gambia since independence is
> quite short. There are lessons of experience which we can
> learn from in this short brief period and make sure that
> the error (past and present) are in no way repeated.
>
> A Perspective
>
> As the economy emerged from colonial rule, an urgent need
> was felt for economic self-reliance having won the fight
> for independence as part of our overt political efforts at
> nation building and political stability. An urgent need was
> felt to broaden the production base and alter the pattern
> of (under) development.
>
> Faced with the overriding concerns of improving the well
> being of our people, including raising income, improving
> the levels of health care and nutrition, providing adequate
> housing and assuring satisfactory living conditions for the
> whole population. With the benefits of hindsight, one major
> problem in the development strategy was the inadequate
> support and development of agriculture, which could have
> provided the resources for industrialisation. This sector
> was not only neglected but was severely impoverished by the
> continual drainage of financial, human and physical
> resources. The pauperisation of agriculture deepened
> poverty of the rural masses, producing a multiplier effect
> on the rest of the economy.
>
> The Key Areas of Intervention
>
> As noted by the president of the ADB in the poverty summit
> in Gabon recently  who said  “In all efforts aimed at
> achieving rapid economic growth and the reduction of
> poverty, it is evident that African countries will need to
> shoulder the primary responsibility for formulating and
> implementing the required strategies and policies”. The
> onus is on African leadership, Gambian leadership to revive
> the economy and reduce poverty with of course the
> assistance of our development partners.
>
> The key areas of intervention to reduce the reduce povery
> by 50% by the year 2025 are:
>
> Population growth
>
> Given the small land size and as has been recognised by the
> government, it is imperative that population growth is
> controlled. Gambia has one of the highest population growth
> rates in Africa. At the present growth rate, our population
> is projected to double within the next 30 to 40 years. High
> population growth not only adversely affect food supplies,
> but also creates constraints on savings and human
> development. Rapid population growth depresses savings per
> capita and retards growth of physical capital per labour.
> Increasing amounts of public expenditures must be provided
> to create new social infrastructure for a larger population
> rather than directly providing productive assets. This is
> essentially why rapid population growth is a cause of
> poverty. One can therefore easily recognise the beneficial
> effects of declining fertility and consider the inclusion
> of policies of family planning as an important and integral
> part of the development planning process of the Gambia.
>
> Controlling population demographics by empowering women.
>
> The education of girls is key to solving poverty.
> Throughout the world a shift from high to low fertility
> rates has often accompanied economic and social
> modernisation. Gambia has a very high fertility rate and
> the sooner this is brought under control the better it is
> for the economy in reducing poverty. It is said that the
> education of parents is usually found to be one of the most
> important factors explaining fertility change. There have
> been various reasons put forward to explain why education
> of parents may influence population growth. First education
> is likely to have a negative impact on exposure. It
> increases the age at marriage either because marriage is
> delayed during schooling and subsequent employment or
> because it takes educated people more time to find suitable
> spouses. As a result, better-educated women start giving
> birth at a later age than less educated women. This is why
> everything feasibly possible should be done to encourage
> our young girls to go to school. Second education lowers
> the regulation cost of fertility control by changing
> attitudes towards contraception and enhancing the ability
> to understand and make effective use of fertility control
> methods.
>
> Economic policy
>
> Strikingly enough, the best phase of our economic
> development was the period immediately following
> independence. The mismanagement and mistakes started with
> the implementation of the five-year development plans
> (first and second five-year development plans). It was
> during this period that an opportunity to development the
> economy was missed and wnet begging. Projects failed,
> misuse of public fund was rife and there was complacency in
> economic management. To compound this problem, and the
> shortages of basic commodities that the economy was
> experiencing in the early 1980s, we had no choice but to
> adopt IMF structural economic adjustment programs to reduce
> macroeconomic instability, remove economic distortions,
> manage external debt, promote growth of exports and restore
> sustainable economic growth. The implicit assumption is
> that the additional foreign loans can restore investment
> and economic growth. Since the foreign loans had to be
> subsequently repaid with export earning, it meant that a
> greater proportion of export revenue had to be used to
> service our foreign debts, with very little being available
> for investment and economic growth.
>
> In the absence of significant investment to help diversify
> the narrow economic base and expand export oriented
> activities, the economy will continue to be always
> vulnerable.
>
> Fighting corruption
>
> Our short economic history is replete with pervasive
> corruption. In recognition of government corruption,
> economists have been studying the effects of corruption (E.
> Banfield, 1975), focusing on the principal-agent model of
> corruption. This model focuses on the relationship between
> the principal, i.e. the top level of government, and the
> agent, i.e. an official who takes the bribes from the
> private individual.  These studies examine ways of
> motivating the agent to be honest ranging from efficiency
> to indoctrination. But why are government officials
> corrupt. In countries like the United States, a citizen can
> get a passport without paying a bribe, yet in African
> countries, numerous bureaucrats need to be bribed and
> bribing one bureaucrat does not guarantee that some other
> bureaucrat does not demand another bribe. (Shleiffer  and
> Vishney). Bribery is possible because government officials
> have the opportunity to restrict the quantity of the good
> that is sold. (passports, building permits, import taxes
> ect, ect). As Shleifer and Vishny explains, corrupt
> officials go unpunished because their bosses often share in
> the proceeds and because public pressure to stop corruption
> in most countries is weak. To arrest and minimise this
> situation and promote honesty, there should be an effective
> policing mechanism to monitor the actions of government, an
> independent audit free from political interference, as
> (corruption) can be costly to economic development.
>
> The goal of sustainable development should be practical and
> not rhetorical. The development needs of the present should
> not compromise the ability of future generation to meet
> their needs. There should be growing awareness that
> economic growth need not be in conflict with the natural
> environment. Attention needs to be paid in economic and
> public policy decisions to the goal of conserving and
> enhancing the natural resource base and in using technology
> in ways that value not only increased output but also
> consider their impact on the environment, (Rio earth
> Summit).
>
> Finally if I was to gaze through the crystal ball and make
> a wish for the Gambia, I would say the emphasis should be
> on – COMPETENCE, GOOD GOVERNANCE, POLITICAL PLURALITY
> HONESTY and RULE OF LAW.
>
> In the interest of our nation.
>
> Basil Jones
>
> References
> Amoateng, K., and B. Amoako-Adu, (1996), “Economic growth,
> export and external debt causality: the case of African
> countries,” Applied Economics.
>
> Banfield, E., (1975). “Corruption as a feature of
> government organisation, “ Journal of law and Economics.
>
> Cornia, G.A. and G.K. Hellenier,(eds) (1993), “From
> adjustment to development in Africa: Conflict, Controversy,
> Convergence and Consensus?,”
>
> Hadjimicheal et al. IMF Occasional Paper 100, “ Structural
> Adjustment in a small open economy- Gambia”
>
> Kabbaj, Omar, (2000), “Growth and poverty reduction: An
> agenda for Africa at the dawn of the third millinniem”
> ABD,Libreville Gabon
>
> Panopoulou, G and P. Tsakloglou, (1999), “Fertility and
> economic development: Theoretical considerations and
> cross-country evidence, “ Applied Economics
>
> Shleifer, A., and W. Vishny,  “Corruption” Quarterly
> Journal of Economics.
>
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