The following is culled from FRROYAA BURNING NO: 87/2002 26 - 29 December, 2002 ---------------- Adjournment Debate Economy In Crisis - Halifa Sallah On Monday the National Assembly adjourned its meeting at the end of the adjournment debate. We now publish a summary of some of the significant points raised during the debate. In subsequent issue we shall publish detailed report under the column At The National Assembly. Contributing to the adjournment debate Mr. Halifa Sallah member for Serrekunda Central indicated that development has parameters and scope; that each aministration sets the limit and possibilities of developing the country. He indicated that their role as National Assembly members is to facilitate development and it is left to the government of the day to accept or ignore what is being said. Halifa indicated that the type of country that they envisage is one where whoever governs, will try to move it forward and those who wish to take their place would try to prove that they can do better. Halifa indicated that those who can stand at the National Assembly and praise the present administration for the present state of our economy, would be very right to say that they are not on the same side with him. He stressed that as far as he is concerned, the country is in a crisis situation. He recalled that 69% of the population are living in abject poverty and some people are closing their eyes to this. Halifa indicated that life is even tough for those who are considered to be top public servants not to talk about the poor people. He pointed that a kilo of meat is D50 and for 30 days this amounts to D1500. For a person earning D2000 what is that person left with. A bag of rice is D275, what about the person earning D700, D500 or D400, how is that person living with a family? Halifa stated that they must accept that the people are suffering and are finding it more and more difficult to make ends meet. He stressed that this is not a propaganda. It is the reality. He argued that so far the government has not proven that it can build up the productive base of this economy because the public corporations are not yielding dividends and the private sector is not generating investment. He said we are left without a viable a viable public nor private sector. Halifa stressed that they must acknowledge this and examine what is wrong and see how to make them viable. He argued that if they do that, then they are moving forward and if they don't then they are moving backward. He stressed that the facts have shown very clearly that the government is finding it difficult to earn the revenue that it needs to provide us with the services that we need. He emphasised that the example National Assembly members are giving that people should follow the Kanilai example is not applicable to the general public. He argued that only few people have that type of money to make such investment.; that the people have shown that they are ready to work by going to Kanilai to assist him farming. He argued that if such men and women were given land and similar facilities to own as corperatives they would produce and share without any difficulty. That is the way forward for our hardworking men and women farmers. He also questioned why an investment like Citizen FM is suppressed if Gambians are really being encouraged to invest. He called for a good society where all can participate freely in development. F.J.C. On her part nominated member, Fatoumata Jahumpa Ceesay indicated that the economic problem facing the Gambia is not only limited to the Gambia but global. She argued that if global economic difficulty knocks the world Gambia as a third world country will not be spared. She indicated that fiscal discipline does not only stop at those handling the finances of this country but goes as far as civil servants going to work on time and staying in their offices up to closing time 4pm. She said at closing time, they should switch off their lights and appliances, and control the misuse of government vehicles. She stressed that all these are part of fiscal discipline. She called on NAMs to organise the youths in their constituencies cooperatives to make use of the opportunity that the president has provided as SoS for Agriculture. She concluded by calling on National Assembly members to make use of NEPAD. Sidia Jatta On his part, Sidia Jatta member for Wuli West indicated that he is not opposed to farmers inoculating their cattle, what he is opposed to is cattle tax being paid to area councils' coffers at all. He indicated that cattle owners paid money to the area councils and again dip their hands into their pocket to buy drugs and pay somebody to do the inoculation for them. This is ridiculous, he stressed. Baba Jobe On his part, Baba Jobe indicated that the National Assembly members of the ruling party should not be complaining about SoS failing to attend Assembly sittings nor should they be raising their concerns in the Assembly. Instead they should go to offices of the SoS to explain what their people need and they failed, then when they come to the Assembly you can say I told you that, this is what I told you." He indicated that they cannot say yes sir to them and when they come to the Assembly they talk something about them that is hypocritical. He said that this should be done by the opposition because they have no access to the SoS. He indicated that the building of roads is developing the productive sector because if the roads are bad before the products reach the market they are spoilt. Hamat Bah At this juncture, Hamat Bah, member for Upper Saloum marched out. According to him, there are more issues more important to the state and the country at large to be discussed than than what was being diuscussed now issues that can be discussed outside the assembly at a better forum. Deputy Speaker This happened at a time when the Deputy Speaker was pointing the vacancies in the National Assembly staff and asked where that money is going since the number of vacancies is nine. She also questioned the allocation of D50,000 on the estimate under the National Assembly for official entertainment when that never took. She asked where that money is going to. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: FOROYAA (Freedom) NO: 87/2002 26 - 29 December, 2002 ISSN: 0796- 08573 Address: FOROYAA, P.O.Box 2306, Serrekunda, The Gambia, West Africa Telephone: (220) 393177 Fax: (220) 393177 Email address: [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 To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~