Saiks,

I believe I have made my position vis-a-vis the jet fighter/fighters very clear from the onset. I have said it here before that even as a gift, I am of the opinion that we are much better off selling the jet/jets and buying flotilla of fishing boats, tugboats or ever a helicopter gunship than accepting it.

Having said that, please re-read what I wrote. In my earlier post, I said that about 20 factories and not shops are expected to be located at the airport. The little I know about the trade gateway project is that investors, both Gambian and foreign, would be given incentives in the form of duty wavers imported materials for for manufacturing and some tax exemptions amongst other incentives. The idea, I understand, is that products from these plants would be for export and not for the local market.

If one looks at the amount of fruits that go rottin because we cannot consume all of it and the potential for processing and exporting them, one cannot but commend the government for the initiative. Factories that set up there can engage in a variety of activities that would only benefit Gambians. It could be some Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Spanish or even Gambians who might perhaps have fishing fleets and processing their catch within the zone for export or buy fish locally and process them for export. Other possibilities are the processing of livestock hides for export, processing of cotton for export etc, etc. These are all possibilities.

Another thing you need to consider also is the geography of the country. Surrounded on three sides by one country, we need to have the ability or facilities to transport goods in and out of the country by air as well as by sea. I am sure you are aware of the effect of the border clossures and other restrictions on the movement of goods across these borders for our re-export trade. Since the collapse of the Senegambia conferation our re-export has been at the mercy of Senegal. Border restrictions and clossures have had a devastating effect on our economy in recent past. The Gambia has one of the best, if not the best port in the sub-region and we are strategically located to provide trans-shipment of goods to and from many countries in the sub-region.

Saiks, you know very well were we are coming from in terms of dilapidated infrastructure or lack of them. This government inherited a virtually bankrupt country with very little infrastructure. The building of roads and other infrastructure cannot be accelerated the way some of you assume. We do not have the resources to develop overnight. The potholes in Dippa Kunda like those in Sami and Kuntaur would just have to wait until we can fill them. May be one day these would all be history. For now, we can only do so much at a time.

Finally, I hope you were kidding when you wrote:

"Had the government government confronted the business community with this amount (meaning the $18 million loan to set up the Banjul Gateway Project) on the table, saying to them, here it is, we are prepared to engage any businessman wh would build us a tomato paste, matchbox or candle factory, this would have been a much more productive challenge to the bussiness community"