Unbelievable but true

There has been a lot of inquiries and some speculation as to where I am
and what, if any, is wrong. Well, I'm right here in The Gambia everything
is fine with me. I’m just a little bit busier than usual. Nonetheless I do
peep in once in a while to keep abreast of what peoples’ opinion of what
is going on in our country are. This visit would be a short one, intended
only to share with folks what I consider the flipside of the coin.

Whilst it cannot be denied that Gambians have been going through some very
trying moments the past few months, it is equally undeniable that it is
not all gloom and that things are not as dire as is sometimes portrayed.
Thanks to The Almighty Allah, we are managing to to live through what is
normally referred to as the hungry season in Gambia, months of June to
November. This, despite our last year’s failed cropping season and the
ever escalating prices of basic commodities that has hit a lot of
families, only goes show our resilience.

Having said that, it is important to point out that it is misleading to
portray us as a desperate and starving lot. We are not! Unbelievable as it
may sound, we are coping reasonably well under the circumstances.

Now to the present and what we hope for the future. Except for the people
of the URD, this year’s harvests look very promising and many experts
suggest a bumper harvest for the rest of the farming communities. In the
URD however, floods have ruined what many believed was going to be a
bumper harvest for our rural folks living there. Unfortunately for these
people, sustained heavy rains lasting a few weeks have not only devastated
their homes, flooded their towns and villages but has taken away the
little respite they had hoped for from this year’s cropping season. Rice,
cotton, groundnuts, you name it; all have been lost to the heavy rains and
accompanying gale-force winds. The devastation in that area is just
unbelievable. For the rest of the country however, things look very
promising.

On the socio-economic situation of the country, things are looking much
brighter. The tourist season has got off to a very good start and the
madness that gripped our Dalasi and the ever-increasing price of basic
commodities seem to have peaked. The Dalasi has appreciated significantly
against most major currencies. During the past two or three weeks the
Dalasi has appreciated by more than 20% against some of these. Though
prices are beginning to come down, we have a long way to go if Gambians
are to regain their lost buying power.

On the side of infrastructural development, well, what can I say? The
construction industry is booming with more and more beautiful buildings
coming up. The Sere Kunda hospital construction is progressing very well,
wells are being constructed, watering holes constructed, schools are being
built and equipped, health centres are being built, and a new electricity
transmission network is under construction both in the Greater Banjul Area
(GBA) and some selected towns and that have been identified under the
rural electrification project. Thanks to the beach restoration project
under way, several kilometers of lost beaches are being reclaimed. The
project is being implemented quite magnificently and Gambians are very
impressed by what they are seeing. From behind the Banjul Market, all the
way to Radio Syd four cars can now race along side each other and work is
still continuing.

On the side of communications, cellular customer base has risen to over
100,000 from under 5,000 by end 2000. This massive increase is in itself
quite remarkable when you consider how congested their networks are.
According to reports from the two mobile operators, planned expansions
this year could see their customer base increase to more than 200,000.

In another development, a fortnight ago, a workshop organized by the
department of State for Finance conducted a three-day workshop to review
their baseline study to evaluate government’s readiness to implement e-
governance. The study, which was conducted nationwide, was to establish
available resources in terms of equipment, human resources,
infrastructure, legal etc, etc. The first phase of the project is expected
to link up departments under the office of the President and those of
finance. This is to improve on work practices by minimizing the use of
paper, reduce the time it takes for some transactions to be done and
increase transparency. This project is expected to serve as a model that
may be replicated else where in Africa and is supported by the United
Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). It is envisaged that after
the successful implementation of the pilot project, all the relevant
institutions and services across the country will be subsequently
interconnected electronically.

Like I mentioned earlier, this year’s farming season seem to been very
successful with many predicting a bumper harvest. Many have heeded the
response to President Jammeh’s call for people to go back to the land and
it seems to be paying dividends. It is reported that the Kuntaur rice mill
milled more rice during the first three months this season than it did the
whole of last year. The army is also said to have been actively involved
in farming. See (http://allafrica.com/stories/200310270375.html).

Finally, according to the 2003 UN human Development Index, Gambia now
ranks 25th out of the 25 least livable countries, ahead of many countries
endowed with resources we do not have. Of the 25 least livable countries,
The Gambia is the most livable!!!
(http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0778562.html).

The same report also tells us that The Gambia is now ranked 151, an
improvement of nine places from 160 in 2002. For comparison with the rest
of the world, Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, you may want to read the
full report from
(http://www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/pdf/hdr03_indicators.pdf). For
indicators specific to The Gambia, you may visit
(http://www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/cty_f_GMB.html).

According to the UN, “The HDI is an attempt to broaden the definition of
development by including both economic and social indicators. The index
combines three factors: opportunity for long and healthy lives (life
expectancy), educational attainment (adult literacy rate and school
enrollment), and standard of living (gross domestic product or GDP)”.

Have a good day, Gassa.











--
There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see,
yet small enough to solve (Mike Leavitt)

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