Gambia and its Development Trajectory - Snail pace or Optimal Development

The political right of the majority to the exercise of power within the boundaries of a generally accepted political unit, area, or territory is often regarded as political independence. This is in line with the principle of self determination which the United Nations Charter and other sponsored resolutions of the august body mentioned in detail. Pursuant to this premise, led to the agitation and eventual independence of the Gambia on February 18, 1965.

Independence meant a lot to the inhabitants of the small nation state of Gambia and prior to the attainment of independence from the British, the United Nations conducted a study on the viability of Gambia as an independent sovereign state and few options were floated and key amongst them were to have a political federation with its immediate neighbor Senegal and at worse be amalgamated into Senegal as its 9^th administrative region. Gambia opted for neither and became an independent sovereign state and the 21^st member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The Duke of Kent was the emissary for her majesty Elizabeth II and he handed over the constitutional instruments of Independence to David Kwesi Jawara and pledged fiscal assistance for the new state as it goes through its formative years. The flag was hoisted and in come the new state called the Gambia. Hindsight is 20/20 and if we could have turned the hand of time, a lot could have been done differently. The new state of Gambia continued where the British left off socially and economically. The cultivation and production of groundnut produce continued to be the backbone of the new state and the country club frequented by the Governor General and his cast became the new social hub for our new found elites. Independence attainment on a silver platter meant that the value of independence was not paramount to the average Gambian and the affinity to duty and country was not mentally instilled on its citizenry.

Global priorities and the political dispensation of our former colonial master shifted to other issues and Gambia was slowly waned of its fiscal assistance and the price of being independent sunk in our national psyche and we had to grow up and tighten our belt as a nation. Different programmes and projects were launched to kick start an economy independent of its ties to Britain. Rural Development Project was key amongst these. Gambia found a niche in the re-export trade and exploited it extensively and it paid considerable economic dividend and import trade flourished and many merchant houses expanded their business scope. Companies such as Banjul Breweries came into effect but it is my view that government also got entrenched in the business of business and solidify it’s Public enterprise portfolio by conceiving companies such as National Trading Company, Gambia Public Transport Corporation, Livestock Marketing Board, Gambia River Transport and Gambia Commercial Bank. These activities absorbed significant business space that should have been filled by entrepreneurs such Penda Chorro Investment(Transport Outfit), Alice Carr, Daddy Jack (Santa Yalla) Cham and Secka etc. Economic rationality always prevail over national sentiments and the free enterprise ideology dominated the policy space again and hence the restructuring of the involvement of the state in business under the auspices of the Economic Recovery Program. Gambia sailed through this program with a clean bill of health with an emergence of a lean, mean and responsive public service delivery system and a private sector led economy championed by the National Investment Board and divestiture of government assets led to the sale of GRT, NTC, Livestock Board and other Government assets. Investment in public goods was in line with our fiscal capabilities (ability to procure and pay for debt contracted locally and internationally). Gambia procured two new ferries (Banjul and Barra) to replace the wooden ferries that ply the Banjul/Barra corridor. A new bridged was constructed by Panel Kerr Foster to replace Oyster Creek Bridge on the main thorough way to Banjul and subsequently the dual carriage Banjul/Serrekunda and Trans Gambia highway. Our development aspirations were not only realistic but tamed to match our income stream.

The late eighties and early nineties were times when debt relief and cancellation were the operative paradigm for economic and social activism globally and Gambia benefited considerably from debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) and some of our public investment especially in the tourism sector were granted relief by some Paris Club members and Senegambia Hotel was one of these. Our Debt to GDP ratio was maintained at an internationally accepted level. The 1994 military takeover was premised on the notion that Gambia was developing at a snail pace and endemic corruption and cronyism was responsible for the excesses of government's disregard to the plight of the average Gambian.  After considerable wrangling and maneuvering, a transitional framework was instituted and thereafter the eventual return to civilian rule. During this period the state engaged in a massive development exercise that was multi-sectoral but mostly concentrated in the social sectors of the economy (schools, Hospitals and social amenities) and these projects never paid immediate financial dividend but deepened the debt profile of the state with medium to long term benefits to society in terms of healthier population and a more enlightened masses. This rapid expansion called for considerable human resource to man the post of teachers, police officers, nurses and doctors and hence the exponential expanse of our public payroll and fiscal obligations in terms of budgeting. This approach though ideal deviates from the incremental approach to development and it become a chicken and egg situation; grow small and never attain optimal development or plunge into optimal development immediately. The jury is not out yet on this approach and time and significant data will tell if the gamble paid off. The Gambia cannot cry over spill milk and have to deal with its current predicament which is a country that is growing faster than its endowed resources, a growing youth population in search of employment and opportunities for upward social mobility which is a common prevalence amongst our neighbors. Gambia at 50 has to tackle these problems and galvanize its diverse peoples under one umbrella in furtherance of our national interest. For once, I believe Gambia needs to follow the precedent set by Senegal in appointing a Minister of the Diaspora to handle the economic and social interest of diasporan Gambian. They are a block that significantly contribute to remittances and financial inflows to the country and having a desk officer who champions their interest will undoubtedly open up more investment inflows. Gambia is an evolving nation that is in search of its identity and its value proposition to the world atlarge. Happy Independence to all my fellow patriots and for the Gambia ever true.