Have Gambian Civil Servants ceased being servants of the State?

To date, I am yet to make an utterance about the ongoing commission of inquiry looking into Jammeh. I will not delve into the substance of the inquiry but I will discuss the frivolous nature of public servants as per their relationship with the former president. Two things could have been responsible for the malfeasance perpetrated by senior government officials against the state's interest;
1. Lack of proper induction into the civil service and a good comprehension of the General Orders of the civil service  (G.O.)

2. The naked ambition of many Gambians To prosper and flourish at all cost.

There is a stark difference between the presidency and office of the president. The president is not at liberty to order or command any civil servant direct as all civil servants work on the Secretary General who is the head of the civil service. All orders directly from the president without the consent of the Secretary General to any civil servant are ultra vires and contravenes the spirit of the General Orders. Therefore for any Civil Servant to hide behind the notion that I was powerless shows their incompetence or lack thereof professionalism.

As per the Central Bank, the Governor being the chief executive of the Bank backed by an act of parliament by way of legislation has independence and autonomy from the interference of any public official. Therefore any decision taken by the Governor must solely and wholly be his responsibility as he was legally insulated from encroachment but chose to otherwise collude with the banditory of a rogue president. Ignorance is not an excuse in law and culpability must be measured and apportioned appropriately. Justice is always blind and therefore the whimps and caprices of a rogue president MUST NOT STOP anyone from executing his/ her duties diligently. Most senior officials have taken an oath of office and their actions contravenes that oath. The General Orders also States that public officials who are under investigation must be placed on administrative leave and paid half salary pending the outcome of such an investigation/commission. I am baffled by protracted employment without suspension of some government officials at the epicentre of this commission. A government must have systems and systems are rule based. Just my take on the ongoing commission without delving into the substantive issues of the inquiry.

For the Gambia, I remain ever true.

Nyang Njie

United Nation General Assembly Speech of the President of the Republic of the Gambia

President Barrow made a monumental and historic delivery at the Chambers of the General Assembly in Manhattan today. His speech was historic as it marks the first democratic representation in over two decades despite the sleezy elections we hosted in the past.

The coming of age of the man we come to know as president Barrow is imminent and irreversible. His delivery underscored critical national, regional, continental and global issues of concerns with a moral appeal to humanity to take care of the meek and pay due consideration to the environment. The age old Palestinian conflict was highlighted with a dignified position of a two state solution and right of self determination of the Palestinian people.

On the home front, the  president highlighted the issue of fiscal consolidation, security sector reforms, public institutional reforms and legal reforms to back the transitional justice that is ongoing. He made an emphatic and explicit statement about the Senegalo-Gambia relationship as it relates to the geopolitics of our neck of the woods. He elaborated on the National Development Plan and the upcoming Donor Round Table Conference for resource mobilisation. The issue of climate change, youth unemployment and Back way journey of Gambian youths were brought to the epicentre of his exposé. Access to portable water and the financing of public infrastructural projects such as roads were hitherto mentioned by President Barrow.

President Barrow supported the African Union position on the institutional reforms of the United Nation with specific emphasis on the reorganisation of the Security Counsel to further consolidate democracy and better global governance of the August body.

I endorse the speech in its entirety and now urge our distinguished president to not only jealously spearhead the requisite reforms needed in the realisation of his plans but the appointment of first class Gambians to bear fruition to his illustrious plans. Great job Mr. President and your leadership skills will now be put to test as you tacitly execute and rollout the plans associated with your speech. #NewGambia can transcend from mere rhetoric to substantive proposition if all hands are on deck with a systemic approach to the transformative process of rebuild a modern nation state backed by justice and equity for all.  God bless the Republic of the Gambia and her diverse people's. For the Gambia,  I remain ever true.

Nyang Njie

Letter to His Excellency President Adama Barrow

Dear Government of the Gambia under the stewardship of His Excellency Alhaji Adama Barrow,

We the concerned people of the Republic of the Gambia have keenly watched the birth of the #NewGambia. Kindly note that our observations are are neither criticisms of your administration nor intended to harangue you. Gambians have excercised patience with your administration hoping that the ball will be set in motion for the transformation needed to build the new Gambia. Civil Service Reform is a sine qua non in the rebuilding of our dear nation. The Jammeh administration assisted in the degradation of our civil service and  I  will opine without prejudice that the current Secretary General lack the knowithall to spearhead the requisite change needed to usher in a functional public administration machinery. I therefore implore in your good office to revisit his employment as SG for the interest of the nation we all love. Gambia is not a social experiment that rely on trial and error for its progress. The civil service is marked by incompetence, apathy and lack of direction. These malaise need to be urgently addressed. The security sector needs re-education/reorientation and this excercise must be commissioned immediately.
Gambians expect a lot from this administration and rightly so. The legal and institutional reforms can't be underscored. Investments especially foreign direct investments are the cornerstone of any meaningful development plan and to date we haven't seen any serious investment advocate/champion in the forefront of our development strides. Mr President, I want to remind you without ill will that the toolkit that ushered in freedom will not surely be the same that will usher in economic prosperity. Therefore, your government must be cognizant of the skill set that will usher prosperity and employ people with that skill set to bring about meaningful change to the people of this great country. I am sure you are not aware of the fact that your cabinet is not equipped with an economist. This in my view is a great misnomer as Gambia is classified as a third world nation with great ambitions to transform the livelihood of the citizenry. This cannot happen without great economic plans, modelling and execution of programmes. I therefore urge your good office to reconsider having an economic mind at the nerve centre of the economy (Ministry of Finance). Equally, trade and employment are key drivers of our economy and these sectors need specialists at the driver's seat not freedom fighters. Gambia is yearning for real change and real change is blind to tribal affiliation, patronage, cronyism and politics. On the issue of the appointment of a vice president, I am of the view that it is your prerogative to choose as you see fit but you have to be decisive in action. Gambia can't afford to wait whilst you cosy up with your decision. Urgent action is required. The cars that were donated to our MPs was not in line with what our budding democracy expects from your leadership. We want to and we have a right to know where those vehicles came from. Secondly it is not prudent to have such a fleet injected in our fiscal dispensation with sound financial planning. Government needs visibility in resource mobilisation and disbursement. I fault you for keeping us in the dark. As per the ravaging floods that plagued the town of Kuntaur, I do hope that the government has learned and comprehend the definition of #RAPID_RESPONSE. In disaster management, time is neither a luxury nor a cushion.

Your Excellency, in consideration of the aforementioned mentioned issues, I do hope you will act and act expeditiously in the best interest of the state as duty and honour to country are sacrosanct virtues of patriotism. Gambia is not a cake that should be shared amongst power players and pushers of yester years. Gambia is sober but thirsty for much needed impetus for reform and prosperity. You emerging as the winner of the last December polls was not accidental but a deliberate will of the people to effect change. Most didnt vote for you but rather voted for change. Gambians want home grown solutions for home grown problems. The more your administration shun the Gambian intelligentsia, the more you will be on a collusion course with chance and exploitation of the novice and neophytes. Finally, I want to remind you of two names that are becoming synonymous with the sideling of our intelligentsia. #Richard_Uku and #Moubarack_Lô. The former is your communication strategist and the latter  visited your office and even conducted  training on how to manage the Gambian Economy. Mr. President, once again, I want to register my dissatisfaction with such decisions as it is an affront to our national pride and dignity. Our country prides itself with world class professionals who can be the impetus for the much needed change we all want. It is UnGambian not to prioritise our nationals especially if they have the requisite tool kit to effect change. Lets have a rethink about our strategic objectives and put Gambia first.

Please accept my concerns with my highest consideration and esteem albeit that I am part of "we the people" and we the people are the underwriters of the change that brough about your presidency.  Gambians deserve a lot from our political class because we bank our hopes and dreams on your promises. Please we don't want to walk in the halls of development to cash in our cheque only to be told that we have insufficient funds. That will be a travesty and the likes of #SoloSandeng will roll in their graves saying thats not what I sacrificed for. We the people bargained for a brighter future backed by an equitable system with a just social contract.

For the Gambia, I remain ever true.

Prepared & written by;
Nyang Njie
Knowledge Bank Consortium GM 

www.nyangnjie.blogspot.com

HOME GROWN SOLUTIONS FOR HOME GROWN PROBLEMS. IS GAMBIAN INTELLIGENTSIA ENDANGERED?

For honour, for country, for pride. That's how great patriots honour and work for their country. A country cannot thrive without its intelligentsia and it is the intellectual class of this great nation called the Gambia who will propel the new ideas and ideology that will usher in the dawn of a new day of our beloved country, the Gambia.

I am disheartened and saddened by the fact that our government, your government prefers to work with non Gambians to profer solutions to Gambian ailments. I have great respect and admiration for Mr. Moubarack Lô a renowned and eminent Senegalese economist of great standing but as intelligent as he is, he doesn't have the solutions to our economic woes. Where is the dignity? Where is the pride that we the people must have in developing our country? Gambia will be developed by Gambians and Gambians alone. Our development can't be outsourced to outsiders to come and fix this nation of ours. This great nation of ours boast of credible sons and daughters who can be flag bearers, pacesetters and becons of hope to usher in the dispensation we called the #NewGambia. If the drivers of the New Gambia don't have hope and confidence in the intellectual class of Gambians then this society is doomed to fail.

Once again my fellow compatriots I wish and do hope that our government will have a revisit on such a stance of not promoting our intelligentsia. Yes people do make mistakes, yes people often take decisions that are haphazard and I do hope this was one of those few mistakes taken by this administration. To err is human therefore reflecting and changing such a decision should be of utmost importance to this administration if they feel like Gambian intelligentsia are worth their grain of salt. What I am seeing and what is being manifested in terms of down grading Gambian intelligentsia shows utter disregard for our aptitude, our knowhow and our determination to build a new Gambia collectively with the political class. We the intelligentsia cannot direct or shape policy without the endorsement and collaboration of our politicians.

Our national mantra should be "Gambian solutions to Gambian ailments". Has thou forsaken us to the point that we hardly see good in ourselves? Gambians are celebrated the world over both in the international development arena and in foras yet still we can't see the lustre and value in our own kin and kindred. Our case is one of pity and I do hope we wake up from our slumber and complex we suffer from. We are good enough to be rated as global development practitioners. Why can't our government see that in US. Yes familiarity often times breeds contempt but this is becoming excessive. 

New Gambia Transactional Or Transformational?

December 1st ushered in a new lease on life for Gambia and Gambians. Gambians registered their dissatisfaction with the former administration and severely punished them at the polls. Furthermore, Gambians displayed a sense of urgency paving the way for the new Gambia by having a zero tolerance attitude towards Jammeh and his incessant antics during the self styled political impasse. Now that the dust has settled and our euphoria has waned off, we have lofty expectations in rebuilding the country we all claimed to love. Gambians are yearning for transformative change whereby we do away from the culture of business as usual (transactional) to the business of transforming from what was to what ought to be.

I have been keenly following developments in the new Gambia particular that of public policy with a bias on economic management. I do hope that this administration leverage on the expertise of well meaning Gambians with requisite competence in revitalizing this economy because a poor showing of the economy will undoubtedly punish them in subsequent election cycles. In order for this economy to thrive, the government must be mindful of 3 economic fundamentals
i. Fiscal Consolidation (Scaling down the budget especially recurrent expenditure and rationalizing government operations and fleet management)
ii. Debt Resolution (Debt Rescheduling, Creation of longer term debt instruments etc.)
iii. Growth (Boosting growth leaders such as agriculture, Tourism and Fisheries)
Having said that, I am very disturbed with the economic rationale of the Ministry of Trade regarding their facilitation of flour imports to the Gambia and I therefore want to seek answers to their haphazard yet troubling economic pronouncements that will not only affect their sector but all other sectors of the economy. I hereby opined without hesitation and with a high degree of certainty that an importation strategy will not help develop the economic base of our country. Economies need growth drivers and key amongst these drivers are local production/ manufacturing. The policy employed by the Ministry of Trade, Employment and Industrialization is not only adverse to the macro economy but goes against the set objectives of the ministry. The Ministry is task with spurring growth hence creating employment and their promotion of imports goes counter to job creation. Secondly, the Ministry is tasked with the promotion and development of an industrial environment and the promotion of imports over local production deter our march to industrialization. Public policy must have a medium to long term view and that being the case, the Trade Ministry must not focus on immediate price reduction and that is nothing but a gimmick. I saw a trouble yet patronizing advert on the Point publication of July 24, 2017 praising the President and Minister for a job well done in allowing importation thereby reducing prices. First of,  prices are generally sticky and it takes a lag effect for prices to filter down the distribution channel before reaching the consumers. The only factor that may be responsible for a sudden drop in price is a price war orchestrated to assert market dominance. This implies that importers are willing to sell below cost to discourage local production thereby rendering the sector sterile. I want to respectfully inform the Honorable Minister and her Technical entourage that importation has its flaws starting with under invoicing which adversely affects custom valuation, curtailing of value transformation and job creation in the economy and the eventual degradation of our industrial ambitions. Most of the flour imported into the Gambia come from Western Europe and Turkey and they are highly laden with farm subsidies and this creates a distortion in pricing.

I therefore want to ask the honourable minister of Trade to clearly spell out the intended policy gains her Ministry wants to achieve in promoting importation over local production. Honourable Minister, your policy decisions generally have far reaching implications and am sure you were not cognizant of the fact that the major by product of a flour mill is the creation of animal feed meal precisely chicken feed. For your information, the Government of the Gambia aspires to have a vertically integrated poultry sector whereby we create our poultry from the hatchery to the food chain by generating all the inputs and production factors but your initiative is not only frustrating those efforts but it is scrapping the possibility of making Gambia poultry self sufficient. For this and other reasons, I urge you to have broader consultations before making such pronouncements in the future as mixed policy signals tend to put off investors because investment requires visibility and confidence. This new concern we trying to nurture called the #NewGambia begs for transformative processes not transactional intermediation. We do not want business as usual so let us look at the bigger picture and promote sustainable solutions that will underpin and bankroll our march towards economic independence. We do have merchant houses that have operated in Gambia for over a century and kindly show me one value creation they have added to our economy. I do hope my input is taken in good faith and in the interest of the greater good as Jeremy Bantham would have alluded to.



Nyang Njie

Management Consultant
Economist
Blogger

Mr Governor Of The Central Bank Is The Economy Stupid?

Good day Mr Governor! I have been keenly following the developments in the economy especially in the monetary space and the developments are a caused for concern. It is a noble feat to sanitize the economic space and institute prudent monetary management decisions but equally, the Central Bank's primary mandate is to foster price stability in the macro environment. I have noticed that the Minister of Finance has in effect declared a Statement Of Intent that the fiscal authorities will curb their appetite for borrowing. This Statement has been made good by the revision of the 2017 Government Appropriation Bill's deficit financing from approximately 4.8 Billion Dalasis to 1.7 Billion Dalasis. This is a commendable initiative worthy of mention but the manner in which the Policy Rate tumbled in a short spate of time is quite worrisome and in the medium term it can trigger undesirable consequences that are not in line with our monetary objectives.

The Policy Rate basically serves as a signaling tool and having it tumble from 20% to 15% by way of an announcement from the last Monetary Policy Committee Meeting of February 2017 represents a 500 basis points downward spiral. This signaling tool basically frame expectations of Bankers and other Economic Operators who have a nexus with the policy rate. Therefore the sharp drop has rendered the policy rate ineffective as a signaling tool. Equally, the governments prudent fiscal management has brought the T Bill rate for 1 year to 10.94% and 91 Day to 8.75%. My primary concern Mr. Governor is the sudden drop in the policy rate. This will have an adverse effect in the economy particularly in the Banking Sector. My fear is that the Central bank is attempting to align the policy rate with the current Tbill curve. Most Gambians view Treasury Bill as a store of Wealth and having the rates tumble so fast without prior warning makes TBills an unattractive investment proposition. This will make investors look into alternatives such as Foreign Currency (Euro, Dollar & Pounds). This in my view will cause significant misalignment in the economy as most people buying these currencies will not use it for transactional purposes but as a commodity and store of wealth. Consequently, this will put undue pressure on the dalasi as there will be too many dalasis chasing few hard currency thereby creating an economic anomaly that will distort price stability and subsequently inflation. Mr. Governor, I proposed that subsequent MPC meetings MUST review the policy rate with a view of an incremental change or easing of the rate over a period of time rather than a quick fix. Monetary Management albeit a Science comes with a finesse that caresses the economic variables that can trigger undue duress to the macro environment.

Mr. Governor, I consider the TBill rate as an operational rate and the pricing of this instrument baffles me as I can't identify a measurable matrix to ascertain the price associated with the Tbill pricing. Discretion is an enemy to policy formulation and monetary policy management is by no means an exception to this. Your recent position on the MPC is sending the a signal to the banking fraternity that they have to spur lending. Whilst this may be a well intentioned proposition, it can yield adverse effects that may affect the banking sector. A lesson not learned in the past will surely be repeated in the future. I therefore hope that your understanding of Central Bank Independence doesn't negate the fact that you can periodically, consult private practitioners for our opinion on prudent monetary management alternatives.

Telecommunication Liberalization- A Must In The New Gambia

Gambians have been anxiously waiting to see the liberalization of the telecommunication sector since the advent of the third republic. Telecommunication is a vital component of our economy as it not only facilitates trade but also link service providers and markets thereby reducing the information asymmetries that were prevalent before the introduction of mass communication platforms like GSM networks. The people of the Gambia have been short changed and overpriced due to prohibitive government policies that breeds inefficient service delivery mechanisms, corruption and the inaccessibility of destination Gambia from the rest of the world. The current Gateway arrangement with MGI needs an immediate cessation and should be replaced by the introduction of a viable liberal market that ensures Gambian telecom subscribers with an equitable service, priced at a reasonable tariff and of good quality. Liberalization of the telecom sector must be process driven to ensure that all stakeholder needs (Government, operators, subscribers and Public regulator) are all addressed adequately to foster an environment of high standards of service delivery and efficient pricing. The government must facilitate a transitional arrangement whereby the incumbent operator in this case GAMTEL assume the responsibility of managing the gateway on a temporal basis until the operators sort out their state of preparedness to handle their own carrier relationships internationally. This transitional period must not EXCEED 6 MONTHS. The following prerequisites must be adopted before the liberalization of the sector in order to avoid market chaos and unfair market positioning or the abuse of dominant market power.

1. Telecom Operators (GSM Companies) must first and foremost approach the sector in a holistic manner and not focus on the competitive nature of the business.
a. They need to work closely to usher guidelines and rules of engagement that will enhance the value proposition of the market and also promote price stability in order not to destroy value through tariff wars. Tariff wars will only give an edge to the subscribers in the short term but the loss in margin will make reinvestment of capital expenditure in the sector difficult thereby compromising service delivery mechanisms in the medium term difficult.
b. The Operators must have a preexisting arrangement with the Public Regulator (PURA) for the issuance of their licenses once the transitional period with Gamtel expires. This will allow a seamless transition from the interim arrange to a full fledge liberalized market. The licensing regime must not be an undue burden to the operators and ideally, the regulator can augment the existing GSM license to a unified license thereby covering all aspects of the telecommunication business process.
c. The sector must agree on the imposition of a price floor for all outbound and inbound international calls. This will reduce the incidence of price wars and heavy handed market positioning by operators.
d. The operators must individually calculate the economic loss incurred by the operators by way of the MGI contract with government. A demand note must be presented to government to recover all losses associated with the MGI contract
2. The Government of the Gambia must be committed to the liberalization track by supporting the process in good faith. It is the responsibility of the state to protect the interest of the greater good at all times and this includes the termination of the MGI contract because it goes against the grain of our strategic national interest. The government of the Gambia being the custodian/party to the MGI contract must endeavor to do the following;
a. Terminate the arrangement with MGI forthwith
b. Facilitate the recoveries of all financial losses due to the operators
c. Task Gamtel to operate and manage a national gateway for a period of six months
d. Work with PURA and Operators to institute a competitive tariff for destination Gambia including a price floor to avert price war amongst operators
e. Pursue legal action against MGI and government officials who are found culpable in the MGI arrangement
f. Establish a gatekeeper arrangement through a clearinghouse model to ensure revenue assurance for government and illegal sim box connections and by passes
3. The Regulator PURA is vital in the transition and final liberalization process of the telecommunication sector. The erosion of confidence by the operators and the general public on the efficacy of PURA as an effective regulator must be rebuild. Therefore, the following actions must be undertaken by the regulator to not only sanitize the sector but protect the esteem Gambian subscribers from poor service quality and excessive pricing models.
a Facilitate the acquisition of gateway licenses to all operators without undue bureaucratic hurdles
b Enforce a price floor mechanism for international call tariffs
c Monitor and ensure quality of service delivery and promote fair play and competition amongst operators
It is to the national interest to not only sanitize the sector but accord Gambians with international best practices for services delivered to the general public. I do hope that the vested parties adhere to these stringent guidelines in furtherance of a buoyant telecommunication sector.