Dr. Saine: This is quite an informative piece. It has the potential to serve as a blue print for the realization of The Gambia we all aspire. Splendid job. I only hope the the gov't takes due notice, for The Gambia is truly at a crossroads as you've aptly pointed out. Thanks again. Ous Ngum Columbus, OH On Wed, 14 Nov 2001 17:57:08 -0500, [log in to unmask] wrote: > G-L Community: > > Here are the last two sections of the paper I promised to send earlier. > For those interested in the longer paper, feel free to contact me > privately. As > usual comments and criticisms are welcome. > > > "The Gambia and the Political Economy of Globalization: Prescriptions > for a "New Order in the Twenty-First Century." > > > III. The Gambia At a Crossroads: Prescriptions for the Twenty-first > Century. > > > At the dawn of the Twenty-first century, The Gambia and Gambians find > themselves in an unenviable position both politically and economically. > The Gambia is at a crossroads in which the choices are simple and > clear. The Gambia and Gambians can continue to leave their affairs of > state and economy to be managed from the outside by international > financial institutions or go back to the drawing board to create a new > vision of relative economic prosperity and political stability. The > inherited economic and political structures from earlier centuries were > not the making of Gambians and thus, cannot be expected to serve them > well. It would be equally naïve to expect the IMF and the World Bank, > in spite of their rhetoric and ideology to serve the interests of > Gambians and Africans alike. They were not created to serve that > purpose. > > Since World War II, the propagation of Western values and interests have > > been so much a part of development discourse. The unwitting adoption of > > this ideology by many Third World leaders and policy makers must change, > > and change it must in The Gambia. This is because aid and technical > assistance continue to be framed in ethnocentric narratives. It is also > > clear that Western aid, technical assistance and altruism disregard > Third World philosophical and moral assumptions and assume that failed > development policies initiated and imposed by the West are in the end > better that what “developing countries” would have otherwise initiated. > The West has enjoyed this hegemonic power and takes it ideas and > strategies as the only viable response to domestic global > circumstances. Many Western policy-makers have also ceased to consider > alternative strategies appropriate for countries like The Gambia. This, > > Gambians must do for themselves. > > Thus, The Gambia and its people must reclaim the power that was long > surrendered to outsiders and use it confidently to determine what > development and political arrangements most suit their needs and > interests. After all, The Gambia and its people have been “independent” > > for over thirty years and must now decided and graduate from having > others decide for them. Technical assistance and economic aid will have > lasting positive effects only when it complements a well thought out and > > articulated national policy. It is in this context that Gambians from > all walks of life must dialogue about the future course of the country > and take “the road less traveled.” This is not to suggest, however, that > > Western interest is always cynical or self-serving or do not have a role > > to play. Rather, what I am arguing is that The Gambia and Gambians must > > move away from the footless posturing as spectators to the proactive > role of participants in decisions that will shape the future of The > Gambia and its peoples. > > At the helm must be a creative leadership that is willing to experiment > and possibly fail before a desirable outcome is realized. A leadership > > sophisticated enough to debate and be informed by the resulting > information. This could result in freshly developed visions for The > Gambia. Consequently, the skills, knowledge of all Gambian, but > especially Gambian intellectuals and students must be utilized. The art > of debate and critical thinking in particular, the deconstruction of > relations of power, control in the domestic and international systems > must be made clear and understandable to all. Increased awareness based > > on critical analysis and assessment of global forces are important. > Without it, the road traveled could be treacherous. This requires a > political system premised on freedom of expression and academic freedom > to challenge held dogma. Gambians must rebuild a democracy based on the > > long cherished principle of “debate” as reflected in the “Bantaba” > (Mandinka) or “Datte” ( 'ollof). Improved political and economic > systems that have at their core the provision of basic needs for all > Gambians and all who may reside within its borders must be given > priority. It is this caliber of leadership that is most suited to > guiding The Gambia into the twenty-first century. > > International institutions and partners who can help achieve these goals > > would be welcome, but the policy-makers must critically analyze the aid > and technical services provided. Aid must not be accepted just because > it is rendered, especially if it has potential of distorting national > goals and objectives. More importantly, The Gambia must get off the > international welfare line and break the cycle of dependence on > handouts. This “culture of dependence” stunts creativity and saps > national-self-reliance initiatives. Gambians are a proud and hardworking > > people who have been failed by their leaders and time has come when > their interests take priority. > > The new leadership’s first priority must be to reestablish fundamental > freedoms, rehabilitate the economy and once more provide opportunities > for self-improvement. This must not be left to market forces alone. > While the latter has encouraged some important productivity gains, it is > > by no means clear that laissez-fair capitalism is the only, or the most > effective, way to provide for human security and democracy. Moreover, > neoliberal strategies often minimize deliberate efforts to reduce > inequities that result from social and economic arrangements. In fact, > neoliberal policies have often exacerbated rather than alleviated > suffering and pain of the poor (Scholte, 2000). And unlike economic > policy of both republics, new government policy must be active in > rooting out gross inequalities. If these important national priority > objectives are left to the forces of globalization alone, it would more > than likely serve the interests of the privileged and undermine the > position of the weak. > > A redirection of globalization away from neoliberal policies is > therefore desirable and notwithstanding the rhetoric, substantial > possibilities exist to develop policy tools and political support to > pursue alternatives to globalization. The answer may lie in a dual and > somewhat paradoxical strategy that involves the expansion of democracy > and democratic norms to change the policy structures of international > agencies and fora while at the same time increasinging the scale of > production in order to institute self-management nationally and > locally. Increasing the scale of production would entail among other > things, a shift toward more inward looking economic strategies, but also > > forming new economic relations of cooperation with Senegal and > neighboring states in the sub-region. Powerful minds, people and > institutions must be changed and resources be committed to this > endeavor. Approaches to globalization and restructuring could be > reoriented internally so as to give priority to the provision of health, > > food security, shelter, employment and human dignity. Debt relief > monies could target these national goals. The Gambia’s relatively small > > size, ethnic harmony, abundant human and natural resources are a good > basis upon which to build a solid foundation to achieving these national > > goals. The democratic process must be enhanced to give voices to the > marginalized. A new leadership must not only be committed to removing > the crippling vestiges of gender inequality, archaic cultural practice > and exploitation, but the government must be perceived to be active in > bringing about their end. > > The program of reform sketched out here represents a viable but by no > means the only alternative to neoliberalism and unchecked > globalization. Yet, there are powerful advocates who support the > continuance of the status quo with fundamentalist fervor. These vested > interests cannot be easily moved and it will take clarity of vision, > creativity and the goodwill of Gambians at home, the Diaspora and its > international supporters to see these reforms through. Institutional > capacity is of the essence. Today, unlike the immediate period after > independence, Gambian nationals are trained in all the professions and > have acquired and continue to acquire skills and sophistication to be > effectively utilized in this period of national reconstruction. > Inducements to these individuals to return home must be made attractive > by government. But the political and other infrastructure must be put > in place to earn the confidence of this population. Those that cannot > return immediately could share their knowledge as technical experts. > > Ultimately, the encouragement by government must be for Gambians abroad > to be more active in promoting development in the country of their > birth. A thoughtful, stable and people-focused, domestic policy > framework for the twenty-first century, is the surest way of attracting > > Gambians in the Diaspora to both invest hard earned financial capital > and skills. This is one way for The Gambia to benefit from the process > of globalization. To be sure, implementing an alternative development > strategy and vision for The Gambia could face major political obstacles > from groups in society, powerful states and global institutions that > have vested interests in keeping the status quo. It will take skill, > confidence, not arrogance and honesty to sell this alternative strategy > and vision. > > IV Conclusion > > This paper sought to assess The Gambia’s prospects and limits for > development in an increasingly integrated world economy. It addresses > the “new thinking” needed in The Gambia to arrest and reverse, the > country’s deepening poverty and “culture of dependence” on “development > partners,” the IMF and World > Bank. It contends that the incorporation of the Senegambia region and > The Gambia, in particular, into the global capitalist economy of the > mid-1800s, must be the starting point of any serious analysis of the > country’s post-colonial political and economic challenges. The paper > also contends, paradoxically, that The Gambia needs to position herself > to leverage the opportunities from “globalization.” For this to occur, > > however, a new leadership is required, a leadership that is both > assertive and creative to think “outside the box” of received dogma to > satisfy the basic needs of the Gambian populace. This comes at a time > when The Gambia is going through major crises, and finds itself at a > crossroads between two stark choices. The first choice is to continue > in its current development trajectory and harvest the same woes that > have > afflicted it since independence. The second choice is to chart a new > course of development action that has at its core the needs and > interests of Gambians, and convince The Gambia’s true “development > partners” to support this new vision. This is important, because the > current neoliberal rhetoric of open markets and a minimalist state > system often > reinforce existing suffering and pain for the most vulnerable in poor > countries. > > Additionally, the state must take an active role in social and economic > policy to ameliorate pre-existing and continuing vestiges of inequality > and exploitation. Regrettably, neither the first republic under Jawara, > > nor the second under Jammeh, sought to overcome these problems despite > the promises of the “Gateway Project” and the rhetoric of “Vision > 2020.” These development schemes could never have had their intended > outcomes because of their unrealistic basic assumptions. This is > because, the economic experience of most African countries since > independence has been rooted in their continued dependence on exporting > agricultural commodities or minerals whose prices have fluctuated > frequently on the world market (Khapoya, 1994). This must be reversed > and gradually replaced with an inward looking strategy derived from > Gambian norms and culture. Furthermore, an important reason why these > projects("Gateway" and "Vision 2020") have not succeeded, is because > their underlying assumptions are alien to the social and economic system > > they sought to improve (Saine, 1997). The time has come for The Gambia > to be assertive about what it wants as opposed to being dictated to by > lending agencies that reduce her policy-makers to bystanders. Also, > Western ethnocentrism as reflected in both the ideology and practice of > development aid must be countered by alternative and practicable visions > > of development. This is where new thinking is most needed and all > Gambians have an important role in this task. > > In this regard, it is crucial that a culture of open expression, debate, > > tolerance of different views and critical thinking be engendered to > overcome decades of intellectual dependence and unproductivity. And to > encourage discussion and dialogue that aims at deconstructing power > relationships in the domestic and global political economy in order to > make them understandable to the populace. Because these reforms are > bound to be opposed by domestic and international voices that have a > stake in their maintenance. And because the reforms will require > sacrifices, the population’s support and understanding of underlying > goals would be crucial to success. > > Today, unlike any other time in its history, The Gambia stands at a fork > > on the road. Gambians can take the easy way out or take “the road less > traveled.” But unlike the years following independence, today Gambians > at home and abroad have amongst them well trained professionals who, > together with the new leadership, can begin to put in place reforms to > avert an impending disaster. Government must, therefore, establish > programs to induce Gambians abroad to return home to share their varied > talents and to enable those that cannot relocate immediately to consult > and share their expertise in their chosen professions. > > The time is long gone to continue to think of The Gambia as a poor > country. Size notwithstanding, the country is endowed with human, > water, marine and other resources that when wisely utilized can begin to > > turn around the tide of underdevelopment. And unlike many countries in > the world, The Gambia is not riddled with bloody ethnic, religious, > racial and other tensions or severe social inequalities. These serves > as a good foundation on which to build this new vision and strategy. > The Gambia’s location, and its water and marine resources unlike Chad’s > for instance, is a major boon for development. And contrary to the > generally held view, there is no evidence to suggest that countries > better endowed on the continent are any better of socially and > economically. In fact, in many of these countries in Africa and > elsewhere, abundant wealth has been the fuel for civil wars and ethnic > cleansing. Additionally, there is little evidence to suggest a positive > > correlation between wealth and happiness, or between how much wealth one > > accumulates and personal happiness. And as we enter this twenty-first > century, it is important to determine what is truly important both at > the personal and national levels. For The Gambia, the answers could lie > > in sensible political, economic and social policies that build upon our > most cherished values, i.e., belief in God, love of family and progress > through hard work. > > Abdoulaye Saine > Department of Political Science > Miami University > Oxford, OH 45056 > (513) 529-2489(O) > (513) 529-1707(fax) > > <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> > > To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface > at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html > To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: > [log in to unmask] > > <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> ______________________________________________________________________________ Send a friend your Buddy Card and stay in contact always with Excite Messenger http://messenger.excite.com <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>> To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] <<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>