All, below is the paper that Dr. Michael Banutu-Gomez, PhD., presented at
our 5th Midwest Gambian Association Conference.  Other presenters were: Baba
Galleh Jallow, Sigga Jagne, and Dr. Quaison Dey, MD.  Look out for their
papers to be posted soon.  The presentations were very informative and we
look forward to next year's.




AFRICAN GOVERNMENTAL LIFE


The Midwest Gambian Association 5th Annual Conference
September 3-5, 2004
Chicago, IL

By
Michael Ba Banutu-Gomez, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Rowan University
College of Business
Department of Management & MIS
2001 Mullica Hill Road
Glassboro, New Jersey 08028-1701
Tel. 856-256-5425






















AFRICAN GOVERNMENTAL LIFE

"African Governmental life is a socially created reality" but what people
create soon begins to constrain and direct them.  Is this good or bad?
Perhaps we create them to do this because that is what we want or need.
African Government, once established, are taken over and utilized by
individuals and groups in order to further their aims and goals.  "Social
arrangements are choices and habits that evolve from previous choices."
But, our choices are selected from ones predetermined by our cultural
values.  " African Governments are open systems that seek to offset threat
and uncertainty." We all feel threatened by chaos and want to be able to
predict the future.  " African Governmental structures are more
differentiated or integrated, depending on how stable environmental demands
are." We all want a stable environment.

Those who believe in the myth of science attempt to "identify recurring,
systematic patterns, predict and control destiny, and explain permanence
among flux in African governments.  We delude ourselves when we think that
African governments are made of enduring structures that purposively further
a larger order. Self-serving and self-centered individuals with a limited
vision to serve the African people largely occupy African governments.

We succumb to the temptation to search for enduring patterns which invites
passivity and inactivity in African governments." But, perhaps this type of
research, quest or inquiry is done in order to give us an excuse to be
passive and inactive - it's a lot more comfortable!  "Social arrangements
become institutionalized over time in African governmental life.  Social
reality takes on the character of a given, pre-determined, and unalterable
structure in African governments." People begin to believe in the myths that
form the foundation of (support and maintain) African Governments.  This
makes people feel more secure because it tells them how to act and who they
are.

The child encounters a world of pre-established meanings and interprets this
as objective reality to which he or she must adapt.  The successful
achievement of maturity is accomplished when an individual discovers that
the social world is a manifestation of human intention and expression and
becomes aware of his or her responsibility to positively contribute to it.
This is contrary to African governmental life were the social world nurtures
and sustains the responsibility of brutality, dictatorship, corruption,
destroying the continent resources, oppressing citizens, violating the legal
systems, oppressing the press and above all not being honest to the
citizens. We have been told by African governments that they are
representing us but when we look at the behaviors of those leading in these
governments we will come to the conclusion that they are representing their
self interests and that they cannot develop Africa.  In cultures where
individuality is nurtured people can choose to neglect this responsibility.
This is exactly what is happening in Africa today.



In modern African cultures, those who benefit from the opportunity to
control the social world in modern African societies promote individuality.
By generating false choices, they succeed in distracting people from this
responsibility.  Our reality grows out of myths, which are already
established.  This is how we grow - just like a child who clings to its
mother. We cling on to our governments even though they are draining our
economies and embezzling the African resources. Those who seek to exploit us
would distract us forever so we never grow up, but rather remain dependent
on them.

In modern Africa we are distracted by their incessant entertainment and
constant stimulation of our greed, everywhere we look.  We grow lazy like
grubs on their numbing, meaningless chatter.  While we neglect our
responsibilities, someone else has taken control.  We have been
dis-empowered.  "In a spatial and temporal world that society has
standardized for us, we suspend our doubt and allow it to orient us to
everyday life." We begin to believe in myths that echo all around us.  We
believe what they say about who we are and what our purpose in life should
be.  As we act out the roles in them, we do not encounter each other face-to
face because we are all playing a part, which we wear like a mask.  This
makes us see each other as stereotypes and disenfranchised citizens.

Our predecessors who originated the social interaction that became an
institution/government, faced dilemmas, made choices and lived in a world of
contingency.  Young people in Africa revolt against and question our
institutions/governments because they also need to face dilemmas, make
choices and live in a world of contingency.  For that reason, initiation for
positive change, which is challenging is needed and proactive strategy to
implement is demanded in all African nations.  "When a person's gesture is
isolated and given a meaning separate from its source, no longer is the
gesture an expression of the person. This is what is happening in African
governmental life. What we need now in Africa, particularly The Gambia is a
change of heart, attitude, behavior and practice. To make this come true we
must implement and practice appreciative leadership.

Others define the person as the embodiment of an abstract quality of which
the gesture is a symbol.  Roles are seen as the embodiments of abstractions
and theories are built to further harden the abstractions and to explain and
legitimize those representing us in African governments." In this way, myths
become more valued than humans, themselves.  "Every individual is defined
not only by his or her past, but also by the past that persists in the ideas
and institutions/governments that shape his or her thoughts and actions.








All understanding is historical in African governmental life and
prejudicial."   How can one escape the tremendous power of these influences?
  "Do not reduce complexities by using a single interpretive point of view;
stay close to the particularities and retain alternative hypotheses for a
long time; entertain conjectures and do not push too quickly for resolution.
  Most often in Africa, we rush to change things without proper planning and
sustainable strategy that will serve to the best interest of the continent.
Remember, there are an infinite number of ways to tell a story, to accent
certain events or features and de-emphasize others.  All knowledge involves
prejudice and bias" because all knowledge is cultural so does the
understanding of African governmental life. This is to say that if we want
change in Africa we must be able to separate our cultural practices that
hiders the change process from those that will support and maintain our
nations for positive leadership and development for the benefit of our
children and our children’s children.

"Exploring governmental history in Africa as a human creation is
threatening" because we will have to face our responsibilities to shape our
institutions/governments and furthermore to change the leadership in all
government departments and ministry. Above all, we will have to change our
behavior towards each other, attitudes and practices such as corruption in
our nations and communities. "We depend on the existing power structure to
provide us with direction and orientation." In doing this we have given
those in African government to have power over us and to kick us around
anytime they want without hesitation.  If we take up our responsibilities,
those who are now performing it, on our behalf, would no longer be able to
control or manipulate us for their gain.  For that reason, they encourage us
to believe it is smart to sit back and complain.  Let others look foolish
while they expose their fallibility.  In modern African culture, it is taboo
to take up one's responsibility to create and change
institutions/governments and leadership.  That is why we are afraid to.
This taboo is at the center of the myth of individual freedom, placed there
by those who continue to benefit from the power we give up. This type of
behavior has distracted the citizens and all political parties from
stimulating the economies of African nations and particularly The Gambia.
Please allow me to focus on the Gambia for the next part of this paper.

Today in The Gambia, about 90 of the teachers in high school are foreigners.
Why not train Gambians and provide them with incentives to teach in high our
schools? Gambian teachers understand Gambian culture much better than any
foreigner when it comes to educating our children. To bluntly put it, we can
say that the standard of high school graduates in the Gambia has dropped.
Students graduate from high school and yet can’t speak or write correct
grammar. English is the official language in The Gambia. What is wrong with
our educational system that the government seems to ignore? Students
graduate from The Gambia College and yet they are not fit to teach grade 5
or 6. If the citizens of The Gambia are not properly educated we are bound
to have poor labor force in that society or nation. Thus there will be no
sustainable development that the present government proclaimed in The
Gambia. We must not be mistaken about it and that is, to develop any nation
requires the government to listen to all the citizens even those who did not
support their party. The government or any political party must not be
blinded by their own agenda and self-greed but they must be the servants of
the citizens and not the citizens being their servants. The behavior and
attitudes of all political parties in the Gambia must change drastically if
they want to serve to the best interest of the Gambian people otherwise a
change of government will be meaningless. We as Gambians must not vote for
any political party whose leaders motives are power hungry and revenge
seekers.

I applaud the Government of the Gambia for building new schools, hospitals
and constructing roads in the country. I also praise them for embarking on
development projects. My message to the government of the Gambia is that we
are not fools and we cannot easily be blinded by these new projects that are
not sustainable in the Gambia. We as a citizen of the Republic of The Gambia
are demanding that all these new schools and hospitals be equipped with
resources, qualified nurses, doctors, teachers and administrators to work in
these institutions. We also demand that all these new projects be completed.
Why spend about 90.5 million dalasis celebrating July 22nd when Yundum,
Lamin and Abuko road construction could not be completed? How many years
will it take to complete the construction of this road? Soma to Basse road
is a disaster. The horrible condition of the roads in the Gambia can course
a premature delivery to a pregnant woman when she rides on a transport.
Serrekunda and Barra smell in the rainy season because there is no correct
sewage system for water to flow to the stream when the rain falls. When
roads are constructed, they have to have a sewage system were the water
flows otherwise the rain will destroy the road. Engineers constructing these
roads ought to be ashamed of themselves. This is what is happening in the
Gambia. In fact taxi drivers will refuse to drive to Ebow town during the
rainy season. Stagnant water harbors mosquitoes that courses malaria and
death to our citizens. As a concerned citizen, I cannot see the correlation
and the logic of the celebration of July 22 and it’s relationship with
sustainable development in The Gambia. Use the funds to develop the Gambia.

Travel to Barra and you will see that every compound is flooded with
stagnant water. This does not take one to be a rocket scientist to know that
the ministry of health’s urgent concern is to care for the health of the
citizens. Citizens in these horrible conditions began to throw garbage in
these stagnant water. Wow! Is this a misnomer for the government or a
blatant negligence? What is wrong here? Is this also a missing opportunity
for all political parties to address? Are they also busy preaching about how
to get rid of President Jammeh’s government instead of addressing urgent
issues and implementing programs to serve to the best interest of the
citizens? What are they doing for the Gambian people? Urban planners in the
Gambia should be ashamed of themselves. Look at SOS at Bakoteh, opposite it
is where you have garbage-dumping ground. How caring can the government be
by allowing this to happen to orphan children in The Gambia? Disease and
pollution are surrounding innocent and helpless children and yet government
and all political parties close their eyes. The government has money to
celebrate July 22nd and yet the same government is paying unqualified
teachers 450 dalasis, which is less than the cost of a bag of rice, which
costs 650 dalasi. Gambian economists should be ashamed of themselves. What
are they saying about the economy of the Gambia? What strategy do they have
to rejuvenate it?


How can the government of The Gambia be a champion for democracy when the
head of state of the republic of The Gambia does not have a term limit? If
the president wants democracy to blossom in The Gambia he must institute a
presidential term limit today and not tomorrow. He must live by example and
put his words of democracy into practice now. The government of The Gambia
must practice what they preach and not mere words of mouth. Accountability
and Transparency in The Gambia without planned strategy for behavior and
attitudinal change is meaningless for the citizens. Let’s get real and be
honest to the citizens of The Gambia. Remember change comes from within.
Sustainable change is inside out and not outside in.

Recommendations, Strategies and Conclusion

Recommendations & Strategies
The Gambia being part of the global economy is susceptible or vulnerable to
both domestic and external shocks. Therefore, recommended policies and
strategies to achieve government’s objectives of economic growth and poverty
reduction should put these into consideration. The recommendations and
strategies to adopt are listed below:

Promotion and development of agriculture

The agricultural sector needs a careful review to harness its potential that
is grossly underutilized. The outright removal of subsidies in agriculture
needs to be reviewed because this gives a comparative disadvantage to the
Gambian farmers compared to the trading partners’ farmers who are heavily
subsidized. The government should also encourage the development of
processing industries that will utilize the agricultural output.

Promotion and development of tourism

This sector also has a great potential that needs to be utilized. Policies
should be targeted at reversing the import-intensive content of the
industry. Most of the inputs used in this industry can be produced locally
but are imported. Therefore, developing the agricultural sector will provide
a feeder to the tourism industry. Also, the government and non-government
operators in the industry need to vigorously market the tourism products of
The Gambia.

Promotion and development of re-export trade

Because of its contributors to GDP, policies should be targeted at
harnessing its potentials for growth. Government initiated policies like the
Trade Gateway Initiative (TGI) and the Free zones Authority to capitalize on
this. But with the depreciation of the Dalasi (the scarcity of the foreign
currency causes its price relative to the domestic currency to go up) and
the relationship with the neighboring countries, the re-export trade
industry is seriously hamstrung. Therefore, relationship with neighboring
countries needs addressing. Also, the depreciation of the Dalasi can be
arrested or reversed by boosting exports, re-export trade and tourism that
bring in the needed foreign exchange.
Expansion of export-oriented economy

It is important for Government policies to be targeted at expanding
export-oriented activities (agriculture, tourism, industry and re-export
trade). Therefore policies should be targeted at reversing the declining
terms of trade, i.e. fall in price of exports relative to imports. Hence
exports are mostly agricultural products that are volatile in nature,
government should encourage the productions of imports that can be produced
locally. In implementing this method we will reduce the volume and price of
such imports.

Adopt a market-friendly development approach

Thus, the World Development Report of 1991 defined market-friendly
development approach as follows “…Government needs to do less in those areas
where markets work, or can be made to work, reasonably well…at the same time
Governments need to do more in those areas where markets cannot be relied
upon.”

External economic environment

The dependency of developing countries on aid is another form of colonialism
and civilized slavery. Africans or Gambians must understand that slavery is
no longer physical but mental which is more devastating than anything one
can ever experience. It makes you feel empty and helplessness. Also aid
comes in various forms e.g. project-tied, country-tied, economic strings
attachments and commodity aid. The message is that the recipient country has
little or no say because of desperation to get the aid. Thus policies and
vibrant strategies should be targeted at reducing the dependency on foreign
aid for economic development and sustainability of the African people.

Human capital investment

Government is required to encourage and invest in both physical and human
capital (skills and quality of labor).

Initiating and sustaining poverty reduction programs

Promotion and encouragement of infant and local industries in the production
of basic commodities.

Institution and promotion of the culture of transparency, accountability and
empowerment of women in the development process.

Institution of good and appreciative governance

Improved health services

Formalizing of the informal sector

Infrastructure development

Improved educational systems

Gambian citizens must learn a trade and become proactive

Stop celebrating July 22nd and use that money to develop the country

Create Truth and Reconciliation Commission (use South Africa as a role
model)

Conclusion
As we all know, The Gambia has no important mineral and its natural
resources are limited to fisheries and forestry. We as a citizen of the
Gambia have to realize that the fishing industry is owned and occupied by
foreigners. What do Gambian citizens own? This is very scary for our
children and our children’s children. The agriculture base that has the
potential as a driving force to achieve economic development is grossly
untapped. The other important sectors are its re-export trade and processing
of peanuts and hides.

To stir growth in the economy, the purchaser of the Gambian groundnuts
should be left to the private sector and no Government intermediary. The
experience of the GPMB and the seizure of the private peanut firm in 1998 is
a clear evidence that Government is not able or capable to run this
business. This sector being the life-blood of the economy (by providing
employment, income and food to the largest section of the population) should
not be tampered with.

NAWEC in the Gambia should not be in the hands of the government but instead
be privatized. The reason being that up till now citizens could not have
regular water supply or electricity. Citizens will pay for water or
electricity for two years without receiving the service they have paid for.
Citizens will receive immediate service if they bribe the people who work in
these institutions. Is it not ironic? How can the government attract foreign
investors to come to the Gambia? The environmental conditions are unpleasant
and unappealing to both the citizens as well as foreign investors.

My advise to The Gambian people is that to be aware and understand we must
not be fooled by the government or any political party telling us to vote
for them because they know how to develop The Gambia. My message to all
political parties is that we are demanding from them to show us how they
will address the issues of:
1.      The economy of the Gambia
2.      Corruption
3.      Dictatorship
4.      Oppression of the press
5.      Poor educational level
6.      Gender issues
7.      Religious conflict
8.      Illegal arrest and unlawful detention
9.      Raising the salary of teachers and other Gambian workers
10.      Pricing of goods
      11.  Attracting investors in the country
12.     Prostitution
13.      Aids
14.      Building partnership with Gambians in the Diaspora
15.      Ethics in the workplace
16.      Religious hypocrisy
17.      Loans
18.      Building positive relationship with the neighboring countries
19.      Rural-Urban migration
20.     Brain drain

Which Way Daughters and Sons of African nations?   Which Way Daughters and
Sons of The Gambia?

        References
www.worldbank.org/
www.imf.org
www.gambia.gm
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ga.html
World Development Report of 1991

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