There are other related problems at the core of the "why so little
investment" question. One is, the small size of the markets - if you can
call it so - in Gambia. It is just not a good market climate in Gambia. To
mitigate the market-size factor, better policy and institutional
environments should exist. The custodians of power ought to do some very
path-breaking work in creating democratic institutions and transparency. In
addition, we've all talked about poor governance and lack of transparency.
I think that this is the key problem in Gambia. This includes the rule of
law - or the absence of the rule of law.

The final point addresses the political instabilities in the region and
what the economists call the "neighborhood effect." If you have a war in
Sierra Leone, you just had a war in Liberia, and you have one breaking out
in Guinea-Bissau, but you think as a businessman, "Do I really want to risk
my money?" Not necessarily in Sierra Leone, because you would be crazy, but
what about in nearby Gambia or Senegal? There is an impression created by a
number of instabilities in a neighborhood that people will, if they are not
there and do not know very much about it, project to the rest of the
neighborhood. There is plenty of data showing that sub-Saharan Africa has
really suffered from that.

Why do we witness these problems in our neck-of-the woods and, in
particular, problems of governance? In Gambia, we have seen weak political
institutions - wonder if they even exist - that have not constrained our
governments since independence. When there is an absence of the rule of
law, even though you have some very competent lawyers and judges, it is
difficult for them to be good at what they do in a system where being good
can be harmful to your future. Witness Hon. Hassan Jallow.

I am also going to raise the issue of cultural pressures. Foreigners,
certainly in Gambia, are often struck by what is often called a "culture of
solidarity," for want of a better term. The pressures that emanate from
one's nuclear family, one's extended family, and various affinity groups,
are to share the little resources. This extends to everyone including civil
servants. They are expected to take into account, in their decisions and in
their distributions of personal and public resources, their own well being,
that of their immediate and extended families. When you have weak political
institutions, these pressures begin to intrude into public life. Many
Gambians, especially those in the civil service, talk about "feeding on
government resources." This exemplifies the culture of solidarity and
survival techniques that have developed over many decades and have intruded
into weak public institutions like ours. Although it cannot be measured in
definite terms, it is easy to see.

Constituencies for good governance are outright weak. Where do
constituencies for good governance come from? They come from educated
people who demand good governance. Although there exists a large number of
educated folks, they are not well organized. Other constituencies for good
governance come from economic groups whose interests will be hurt by poor
governance. In the case of Gambia, these groups may be in the form of the
IMF, World Bank, EC etc. We may not be seeing this now, but there is a
potential of many small businesses emerging. They may become a constituency
for good governance in the future, but they are not there yet.

So, what is to be done about spurring investment and development in Gambia?
All stakeholders including ordinary citizens like you and me, the World
Bank, and other countries and institutions must continue to put the
pressure on the A(F)PRC government to maintain and further liberalize the
open markets and reduce corruption. We may be fortunate to see the gradual
development of local entrepreneurs. They may be small, but they may
eventually be a voice in the political system. They may apply pressure to
maintain high levels of governance and low levels of corruption. Amen! I
know, I’m dreaming loudly.

          Support for education and infrastructure is very important
especially education-but we must be realistic about how far external
pressures can go to bring about beneficial change in Gambia. The last eight
years have provided a lesson we ought to learn from. Pressures from
concerned citizens and other stakeholders can be important on the margin.
What we must make happen for this our Gambia to turn into the very
attractive market of 2 million people that we keep wishing for is that some
fundamental political and social changes must occur. Let us also not be
surprised if we have some very rough patches in the near future to get to
where we want to be. Let's face the monster before he gets us.

Thanks for reading through.

BambaLaye

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~