Folks, this is not coming from us, but from folks on the ground. Gassama, did you forget to bring this one to our attention or can we assume that your job is just to spin and spin only? I know you have an appetite for "Cheb Bu Toi", -:)! But please acknowledge that we are at the brink of a disaster. Please read on. Chi Jaama Joe Sambou Are We On the Brink of Economic Collapse? The Independent (Banjul) EDITORIAL November 11, 2002 Posted to the web November 11, 2002 Banjul In recent times Gambians are on the verge of an economic catastrophe, which if not addressed with immediacy will eventually lead us to a disastrous edge. Prices are rising on a day-to-day basis and the dalasis is plunging downward against all international currencies at an alarming rate. What used to be the strongest currency in our sub-region is now the laughing stock of the day. The Independent raised this issue with a senior officer of the foreign department of the Central Bank of The Gambia but he refused to comment, in anyway referring us to the Governor of the bank who was inaccessible. The Government of The Gambia should view this situation with all the emergency it deserves. In terms of the hike in prices we are here not considering the rise in the prices of luxury items, but those basic commodities, for our daily needs such as rice, flour, fish, meat, sugar vegetables and you name the rest. Today a bag of rice costs nearly D300 whilst the price of a bag of sugar has doubled to over D400. Potatoes, flour, butter and all our locally produced items such as vegetables have steeply increased in price. Salaries are stagnant because raising them at this stage of the country's economic decline would only lead to a serious inflationary trend. What then is in store for The Gambia's future socio economic survival? Clearly the government should start a public relations campaign whereby the average citizens will be made to understand fully what is in the offing and how to actually tackle this disquieting state of affairs. Recently it was announced by the Central Bank that only registered money dealers are allowed to change foreign currency into dalasis or vice versa. This is being violated at a blatant rate today with moneychangers crowded in the Greater Banjul Area's major highway, markets and the ferry terminal. Today even if one wants to buy goods in bulk, traders tend to ask for foreign currency particularly the CFA in terms of payment. Whither goes The Gambia? As of now many people are differing their naming ceremonies and weddings and many family compounds go for days on end without proper and decent meals, as was the case in the past. Yahya Jammeh's regime should now stand on a sure footing to redress this chaotic economic condition. It should stop expressing the notion that The Gambia is a free trading nation and instead intervene directly and liaise with the major economic players so that even if prices are on an increasing edge they should be controlled in such a way that the average Gambian would not suffer as currently happening. The Independent is certainly of the view that something must be done to forestall a trend, which may lead to unavoidable circumstances, which nobody would like to see happening now. _________________________________________________________________ Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or 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] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~