NEWS AS ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIES GRIPPED GAMBIANS -RICE PRICE HAD RISEN TO D700 DALASIS BY STAFF WRITER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 8, 2005 Gambia - As Gambians continue to be gripped by economic and political uncertainties, the price of rice, the country's main stable food had risen to D700 dalasis, the ALLGAMBIAN online newspaper can reveal. The local business Community in the tiny West African country, says the hikes on the price of rice was due to the high cost of foreign exchange. They informed the ALLGAMBIAN about the difficulties, they usually encountered in importing rice into the country. They cite among other things, the acute foreign exchange and high Port charges to import rice into impoverished nation. Meanwhile, the unprecedented rice price increment had been greeted with mixed reaction across the country. While some communities blamed the business sector for imposing what they called such "exorbitant price" others accused the Jammeh government of being insensitive to their plight. They told the ALLGAMBIAN that despite numerous promises by President Jammeh to make rice affordable in the country, prices are going up on a daily bases. They warned that if the current trend continues, many families will die of hunger, as what's happening in some African countries. They told this news medium that Jammeh's so called "Operation No Compromise" which was designed to tackle inflation and corruption is "buried", as prices of basic commodities are hiking these days. While the local populace complaint about the exorbitant rice price, many families up country says they have stopped eating rice. Many told the ALLGAMBIAN that thanks to the coos and corn they harvested they are able to survive. The business Community who spoke to our reporter says they have little control on the current hikes on rice prices. They warned that prices are likely go up in months to come, as one of them pointed out that "the current economic trend is not changing for the better. "They told the ALLGAMBIAN that if the trend continues they will be unable to import rice into the country in the long run, pointing out that they cannot bring rice into The Gambia, when the local populace cannot afford its cost. An economic expert, who spoke to the ALLGAMBIAN says, there had been a dramatic decline in Gambia's import cover in recent times. The economist attributed this to what he called the depreciating dalasis against major international currencies. The economic expert also hinted that due to lack of investors and serious economic activities the country is unable to meet its basic import cover. Our source went further to explain that the country's economy is not moving and the government is spending more money on projects, which bring little or no money for the country. An insider at the Central Bank of The Gambia told the ALLGAMBIAN that, in an attempt to tackle the cash shortage hitting the country, they have embarked on a "vigorous" fund raising program by organising treasury bills tenders. This said the insider, will help the regime in meeting certain monetary projects, which the source said are currently at stand still. In a separate development, gas prices have also gone up. Sources say there is growing discontent among citizens on the current state of affairs. Go To Top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ 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 Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤