Haruna,

The Report you are attempting to cast aspersion on and, indeed, trying to
discredit has in fact been once cited by Halifa to make the case that in fact
socialism, as in Cuba's public services' recent successes and its rise in the
UN's HDI, works and is working. Needless to say that i'm critical of these
Reports and of its intellectual progenitor, Armatya Sen's sweeping  and
rather simplistic assertions or generalisations in the monitoring of human
activities across the globe. Yet, these Reports placed within the context of
analytical particularities have their uses. Indeed, as a recent FT leader
comment observed on IMF economic forecasts, it is not so much that these
forecasts and Reports should be treated as articles of faith. Rather, their
importance lies in the fact they can help provide analytical bearing for
policy formulators and executors - otherthings being equal. Certainly, this
has always been the point of my citing the empirical case of the Gambia's
imminent full-blown urbanity. Deride the impact of the Gambia's imminent
full-blown urbanity of socio-economic policy thrust at your own peril. It is
precisely because of this snotty holier-than-thou approach - amongst the many
- that is why urbanity in Africa remains synonymous to derelict, shanty and
abject existences on the periphery.

As per frivolity of the whole exchange, had you respected and tolerated my
right to dissent on views divergent from yours and else, you would not deign
and fume each time you read me being critical of your party. I hope we can
now move on, and, indeed waste more ink the bigger picture than sallying back
and forth on issues that are not going to be decided by you and i.

All the best,

Hamjatta Kanteh

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

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

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>