Mr. Jassey-Conteh,
I am glad that we are now focussing on issues other aspects of growth and
development. I will be very brief and to the point.  I am the least
surprised at the “arrogance and ignorance” displayed by some of your
strategic management classmates. In fact, I am surprised that you were
surprised. They cannot help but be ignorant about Africa because there is
no news coverage at all unless there’s one form of disaster or another. And
they will continue to be arrogant as long as the American economy continue
to perform well and American raw power and diplomacy continue to dictate
the terms of trade.  Do we, as Africans, sit back and do nothing? Certainly
not. You will continue to be unhappy with the company you work for, for
their lack of interest in investing in Africa, unless we take the necessary
steps to reverse the current trend. The environment must be business-
friendly if direct foreign investment is to flow in our direction.
Presently, the cost of doing business in Africa is high “where transport
and related costs raise the cost of capital goods by 50%”. Power outages,
bribes and violence add to costs and our woes. “ In Uganda, an average of
91 days a year of lost production due to power outages”.  In The Gambia,
the unofficial figure is estimated to be higher than Uganda’s average.
ADB/WD Report shows that in Uganda, the median firm pays bribes equivalent
to 3% of gross sales or 28% in investment in plants and equipment. (No
comparable figure is available for The Gambia). Even a robust economy like
the United States cannot sustain inefficiencies of this magnitude. We must
commit ourselves to creating the necessary environment to attract and
retain business entities such as the one you work for.  In my view, the
risk factor in doing business in Africa must be addressed which goes beyond
political and social stability, which are necessary but not sufficient
conditions for growth and development.  The fiscal deficits that our
governments continue to run must be brought under control.  Huge debt
service obligations make our respective economies more vulnerable to both
internal and external shocks.  We must contract concessional rather than
commercial loans.  These loans should not only be managed well by they must
also be properly targeted. Foreign firms do not also trust our governments
because of frequent policy reversals. Our national markets are small and
fragmented.  We must integrate our economies if we are to survive in the
new global economy. Governments must lift restrictions, which seem to be
everywhere; “restrictions through regulations designed purposely to
generate rents for officials and favoured groups, constrain business
activity and stifle growth”.
We can make headway provided that the political will is there and the right
policies in place. The Vision Statement of the Bank, with all its
imperfections, is an attempt at addressing some of the issues raised in
this note. Your comments on the Vision Statement are highly solicited.
Sources: ADB Annual Report 1999 & Can Africa Claim the 21st Century?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L
Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------------