The Election is Now Over, it’s Time for Reconciliation and Development
By Tumbul Trawally, Seattle, USA
Mr. President, now that the Courts have certified your victory and about to start your 2nd term, it is time to reconcile and to focus on developing the country. The 1962 General election was contentious and the results reflected the tribal divide in Gambian society. However, the tribal divide of that election pales in comparison to the December 4th, 2021 presidential election. Some very prominent members of your coalition sowed the seeds of tribalism during the campaign. Neither were some members of your opposition innocent. That was very unfortunate! We can partly thank the social media outlets for that! After the 1962 electoral victory of Sir Dawda Jawara of the PPP, he lured some members of the opposition United Party (UP) to the PPP. As a result, the likes of M.C. Cham, M.C. Jallow, K. C. A. Kah, Manfoday Sonko switched their party affiliation from UP to the PPP. Years earlier, A. B. Njie abandoned the Democratic Congress Alliance Party to join the PPP, and an independent, Assan Musa Camara, also joined the PPP. In 1968, Garba Jahumpa dissolved his Party and joined the PPP. These converts to PPP were given high profile ministerial positions and became staunch supporters of Sir Dawda and the PPP.
This is how Sir Dawda turned the PPP from being a provincial Party to a national Party and achieved national reconciliation. Your political opposition are not your mortal enemies—they are political opponents, who have a different view of developing the country. For you to achieve reconciliation, offer some in the opposition high profile positions. That would be the surest path towards reconciliation and social harmony. Magnanimity after victory will unify the country behind you and cement your legacy as a bridge builder between tribes, just like Sir Dawda. Vindictiveness and retaliation will coarsen our political discourse. Neither serves any Gambian’s interest in the long run!
With regard to the economy, first, let us identify the sectors that The Gambia has a comparative advantage in producing.They are agriculture/horticulture, fishing, and tourism. However, the 2022 Budget allocates more money to several ministries/departments than them. Here are a few examples:
Ministry/Department 2022 Budget
Finance & Economy D1.367 billion
Foreign Affairs D1.009 billion
President’s Office D678 million
Agriculture D392.8 million
Higher Education D287.7 million
Fisheries D55.39 million
Tourism & Culture D44.56 million
The 2022 budget does not reflect the priorities of The Gambia. How in the world should the President’s Office have a budget almost equal to the combined budgets of the ministries of agriculture, and higher education combined? It is utterly insane! When the President’s Office is allocated more money than the sectors, we have a comparative advantage in, then our priorities are highly misplaced. The government should allocate more money to agriculture/horticulture, through low interest loans, for farmers to mechanize the sector, which will result in higher yields. A mechanized agricultural sector will be an attractive source of livelihood for some Gambian youths. There has to be a financial incentive for Gambians to gravitate towards farming, for government to stem urban migration.
The government should encourage farmers to grow corn. Cultivating corn is less labor intensive than cultivating groundnuts, and requires less rainfall. Trust me, I grew up in rural Jokadou! Corn can be grown and harvested within 2 months; a successful harvest of groundnuts requires nearly 4 months of rainfall. Our Sahel region faces great uncertainty in rainfall due to climate change. Further, the popularity of corn oil in the developed world can bring a lot of needed hard/foreign currency. We can also export the flour. Horticulture should be encouraged as onions and tomatoes could be exported alongside cashews. Cotton production in the Basse region should be revived. For most Gambians rice is the staple diet; therefore, it makes perfect sense to be self-sufficient in it. Our country spends a lot of hard currency importing rice. The more of your foreign currency reserves you can keep in your Central Bank, the better your exchange rate.
A lot of factors go into determining an exchange rate which include a healthy foreign currency reserve. It exudes confidence in the viability and health of a country’s economy. Remember, our foreign debt obligations are repaid in the currency of the lender—not in dalasis. The higher the demand for one’s currency, the better the exchange rate. It is extremely important! The average exchange rate of the dalasi to the U. S. dollar was D1.85 in the early 1980s. Today, it is D50 to a U. S. dollar. If we had been able to keep the exchange rate at even D25 to the U. S. dollar, our extreme poverty percentage would have been halved, and the size of the diaspora population would be half of what it currently stands. Having a debt to GDP ratio of 80% is another factor for the dalasis’ poor performance in the exchange rate markets. This is similar to an individual who carries too much balance on credit cards that lenders see as a sign of financial distress.
Building a dam on the river Gambia, near Balingho sounds familiar to the older generation. The mere mention of the dam and the Lamin Koto/Passamass road drew chuckles in parliament during debates in the 1980s. The dam will push the salt water further down river and enable farmers to grow rice all-year-round in places like the Kiangs, and the Badibous, may be even the Jokadous, and eastern Nuimis and Fonis. We all know that three annual harvests of a crop are better than a single harvest. That would be an incentive for some Gambians to become farmers. Further, the dam will supply electricity throughout the country; no country can develop without a reliable and steady supply of electricity. This is another savings of the foreign currency reserves.
The government should strive to develop the tourism and fishing industries, major creators of jobs and sources of foreign currency. Our sunny beaches and usage of the English language (lingua franca of the world) are a huge advantage over our immediate neighbors in attracting tourists to our shores. In other words, focus on sectors The Gambia has comparative advantages. Switzerland found a niche or comparative advantage in manufacturing chocolate and candy bars, from cocoa produced mainly in Ivory Coast and Brazil. The government should be heavily involved in the marketing and storage of the produce. The bottom line is sell products or services to foreigners in order to have their currency, or buy less from foreigners to reserve your foreign currency. Whatever the case, there should be no impediment to free, fair, and competitive trade! Trade always bodes well for an economy.
There should be more investment in higher education, with emphasis on the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Vocational and technical schools should also be given high priority. Believe me, no country can sleep-walk herself into advancement! It requires commitment and dedication. Education is the key to advancement in the 21st century. There should be collaboration between the government and the higher institutes of learning. The Internet is a byproduct of the collaboration between the U. S. Department of Defense and the universities. The D678 million budget for the State House is too high. Some of that money should be redirected to the ministries of agriculture and higher education.
The Central Bank should lower interest rates to increase borrowing. Even though interest rates have come down to around 10—11 percent, they are still too high for long-term sustainable growth of the economy. Such a high interest rate will deter borrowers and entrepreneurs from taking risks on opening new businesses and creating jobs. When your youths are dying in the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, one of your top priorities should be job creation. Therefore, Mr. President, it is time for the country to setup a stock market to participate fully in the equity markets (Shareholders/Ownership) or debt market (Bondholders). Some sceptics would argue that the country does not need a stock market, because in this age of smartphones, one can participate in the markets regardless of location. Yes, that is true! However, having a stock market creates a lot of good paying jobs and every transaction pays a fee. Those transaction fees are a significant part of the budgets of cities like London and New York. Further, a Gambian Stock Market will be an easier source of funding for our local companies than far away stock markets at Frankfurt or Paris. Someone like Mohammed Jah of QTV and his businesses, or young entrepreneurs can benefit tremendously from that source of capital. Having access to capital/credit is the lifeblood of an economy.
Bill Gates got $50,000 from his father as the seed money or initial investment that got Microsoft off the ground. Some high school student could be as intelligent as Bill Gates, but the difference maker is Bill Gates’ ability to tap into his father’s resources to start Microsoft. Credit is the lifeblood of an economy and a huge difference maker between successful and unsuccessful enterprises. The late Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple Computers and makers of the IPhone, did not come from “Big Money” families like the Rockefellers or Rothschilds. It was access to credit that transformed Apple from being in the garage of Steve Job’s stepfather into a $3 trillion company. To put this gigantic figure into perspective, Apple’s market value on January 1st, 2022 exceeded the GDP of the United Kingdom. Only four countries in the world now have a higher GDP than Apple’s market value: the United States, China, Japan, and Germany.
Mr. President, government should do its utmost to lure foreign companies to open branches in the Gambia (Joint Ventures). For this reason, dispatch your ministers to foreign lands to sell the country’s attractive business environment. Foreign companies pay above average salaries and are a cheap way of developing the skills and talents of your citizenry. China has successfully adopted this policy. The Chinese economy of today is forty times bigger than the Chinese economy of the 1970s. The bold move of liberalizing the Chinese economy by Deng Xiao Ping, Hu Yaobang, and Zao Zhiyang is largely responsible for pulling millions of Chinese out of poverty. Anyone who follows my writings knows that I am [Not Big] on dictatorships or totalitarian governments, but what China achieved is nothing short of miraculous. China’s ability to have a dual system of a liberal economy and an authoritarian political system baffles Social and Political Scientists. Personally, I think it has more to do with China’s Confucian tradition of subservience and respect for authority, and the homogeneity of the society. About 90 percent of China’s population are Han Chinese and speak Mandarin.
Mr. President, government should embark on building infrastructure; good roads facilitate commerce, easy movement of people and goods, and, ultimately, lower transportation costs. The costs savings in transporting goods will be passed on to the consumer, who will in turn spend the savings on other goods and services. An increase in business increases tax revenue for government, and improves the living standard of its citizens. A prime example of building infrastructure would be a bridge between Barra and Banjul as you promised in a campaign speech. A bridge will also increase the land value in the Nuimis/Jokadou and Badibous. Land owners will command more money for their lands, which translates into extra money for spending on other goods and services of businesses. Meanwhile, land value in the Kombos will drop to match the land value in the North Bank Region that will put extra cash in the pockets of land buyers. Again, the extra cash will be spent on buying goods and services. Businesses flushed with extra cash on their balance sheets are likely to investment and create jobs. A bridge will also reduce congestion in the Kombos and decentralize development. Time wasted sitting in traffic between Banjul and the Kombos is time lost! The Gambia government does not have to build these bridges. Foreign corporations can and a toll on them will enable investors to recoup their costs and profits. Ownership of the structures will revert to the government after completion of payment. That is a win-win-situation for the government and the foreign builder. If building a bridge between Barra and Banjul is out of reach, then there should be a reliable ferry service at the crossing.
Right now, Mr. President, the Northern Bank of the River Gambia is not performing at its full potential when it comes to economic activity. The underutilization of the potential of nearly a half of the country is economic suicide. Imagine the jobs that would be created, with hotels lining the beach at Barra. It is a no-brainer to build the bridge! In fact, more bridges should be built across the river Gambia, to integrate the economies of the south and northern banks of the country. I know I am being too Pollyannaish, but at the bare minimum, there should be a reliable ferry service between different points of crossing on either side of the river. With a reliable ferry service, the Fonis and Kombos can be economically integrated with the Nuimis and Jokadous. Likewise, the economies of the Kiangs and the Badibous, Jarras and the Sanjals, Niaminas and the Saloums, Fulladous and the Nianis, all the way to Kantora and the Wullis, can be fully integrated. These places are not far away from one another, but the river makes it seem as if they are in a different country. The northern and southern banks of the River Gambia conduct more business with Senegal than with each other. Anytime a Gambian crosses the border to buy goods, he or she loses money through the exchange rate fees. Over time, those fees add up to be a significant amount of money. Patronizing Gambian businesses is like a mother nurturing her young before letting them face the harsh realities of the world.
There should be more collaboration between the Gambian Armed Forces and their Senegalese counterparts. Senegal surrounds Gambia on all but one side, the Atlantic Ocean. The role of the army is to protect a country from external threats. A smaller Gambian Army, in collaboration with Senegal, can secure our borders. Our priority should be the creation of a disciplined, educated, and well-trained police force, for maintaining internal security. We can save a lot of money by cooperating with Senegal. That money can be rerouted to other sectors of the economy. Our survival as a democratic country hinges heavily on our relationship with Senegal. Some of us are old enough to remember the fallout between Sir Dawda and Abdou Joof that contributed to twenty-two years of mayhem and disaster. Therefore, I welcome and applaud your cordial relationship with President Mackey Sall. Some of your critics label you as Mackey Sall’s lackey. If your mutual affection for each other stems from your common Fullah heritage, so be it! The Gambia’s fate is intertwined with that of Senegal’s: It is called geography!
There should be transparency in the daily operation of government and accountability in revenue collection. A huge step in reducing theft of government resources is to automate revenue collection to decrease cash transactions. Cash transactions are very susceptible to misappropriation of revenue. Defalcation of government revenue with impunity should not be tolerated. The proposals I mentioned will amount to naught if there is no transparency in the daily operation of government and an efficient collection of revenue.
Mr. President, so far, your track record on holding your supporters accountable is appallingly atrocious! You cherry-picked and conveniently ignored the part of the Janneh Commission reports you deemed unfavorable to your supporters. You and your allies in the National Assembly undermined the enactment of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) report into law. About D110 million was wasted on the CRC, money that the country could have spent on buying farming equipment or computers. As the head of the executive branch of government, the onus of accountability in the government is on you! The whole country is waiting with bated breath for your response on the TRRC report. Mr. President, if the past is a prologue, most Gambians will not bet their family farms on you doing the right thing with the TRRC report.
The country is bigger than any individual. Presidents come and go but countries endure. The role of the president is to build upon what his or her predecessor achieved. Your successor repeats the same routine. That is how countries develop. The government will be able to carry out a lot of its development and job creation programs if resources are not siphoned off to unworthy causes. This is not an exhaustive list or a panacea for job creation in The Gambia. It is part of a bigger list of proposals for job creation, improving living standards, and stability in The Gambia.