Going by the recent flurries of stern warnings, presidential edicts,  claims, counter claims about foreign exchange and "unscrupulous" and "unpatriotic currency dealers", and allegations of outright economic sabotage, there is all indications that something is not alright in His Excellency's Gambia.
What is mind numbing is the tone and direction this debate is now taking. The claim that "unscrupulous money changer" are hoarding the US Dollar is at best deceptive. Perhaps it is the classic case of tell a lie long enough and it will become the truth.

The US dollar, just like the candle and box of matches sold in Kerr Biram Ardo or the the sugar, flour and vegetable oil His Excellency dole out as lavish  gifts are not made in the Gambia. The dollar, like any commodity is bought and sold for profit. The price at which one pays for them should therefore be dictated by they worth as far as the buyer is concern.  In an environment where no one is coerced into buying or selling any produce the price paid is determined by market forces. If the price is right everyone who has the dollar will like to cash it. Same applies to buyers who will refuse to buy when they see that they are being cheated. I am not an economist but this is what I understand by free market. Gambians have time immemorial been free marketeers, thus our bargaining instincts even in the streets of New York.

Demand and supply in a free market. Demand is generated when people find that they need get something and supply is when people realize they can benefit by making that thing available.

So who create the demand for Forex in the Gambia today? All those who buy stuff from outside the Gambia.  Can the President's Office tell us how much foreign currency His Excellency and entourage used in their last trip to the AU meeting? Can they tell us how much they plan to spend on coffee, tea, and chocolate for entertaining at the Statehouse or on  vegetable oil, rice and flour his regularly gives to his staff this Ramadan alone?  Or on the new Mercedes Benz gifts he received on his birthday?  Remember none of these can be brought to the Gambia without Forex.

And who are the Forex Suppliers?
Apart from tourists who have no cheaper place to go other than the Gambia, much of the Forex in the Gambian is brought in by sons and daughters of the Gambia who have cross seas and beaten all odds to migrate to "greener pastures". It wasn't called greener by accident! Many of these work extremely long hours in sometimes unimaginable conditions to safe a little so that they can build themselves and families descent housing, food at the table and sometimes a little corner store. Some estimate this to be in the  top 3 Forex sources in the country. And this no chicken change!

So why did the Office the President think that its ok decide that Gambians should pay D32 for a dollar one day after paying D40? Do they really believe that nobody will complain? Do they believe that these sons and daughters who braved the high seas, long hours and freezing cold and the  desert sun  would just roll over and allow someone walk away with as much as 20% of their hard-earn money? We may have scared Gambians but we do have a Gambian who falls into the category of "baa futoo balolu". Excuse my Mandinka. Wolof Njie say, "mak du fecha yal na deh".


I am sure whoever wrote this editorial knows exactly the problem behind the currency shortage. As President Bill Clinton once said, "its economics, stupid". Since the Presidential declaration of D33 / dollar, many individuals (in and outside the Gambia) have decided to hold on their hard earn currency and see what happens. Rather than pretending that its the exchangers hoarding, they should tell emperor its his efforts to fix prices that's sabotaging the economy.

By attempting to control every aspect of citizens' life (who to sell their groundnuts to and for how much; price of meat, sugar, bread, taxi ride) and now how much families sell the few dollars they  receive from abroad. This is what's costing the economy. President Reagan would say, "government is not the solution to our problem; it is the problem".

Malanding Jaiteh


courtesy: Daily Observer - http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/stop-the-economic-sabotage-1

Stop the economic sabotage