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 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L > Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------- B.M.Jones [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------