The IT Sector in Gambia Experiences Impressive Development
The information technology sector in The Gambia has experienced spectacular and impressive developments during the past years, highlighted Madam Chinwe Dike, UNDP Resident Cordinator, yesterday during the opening of a two-day validation workshop of the ‘Full-blown E-Government Project’, held at the Paradise Suites Hotel.
However, she pointed that this was made possible by the implementation of various innovative initiatives and programs, such as “The enactment of the Information and Communication Act and the Public utilities and regulatory Act”.
She said: “The development and adoption of the National Information Communication Policy; the development of the e-government implementation strategy and Action plan, as well as the integrated financial management information system [IFMIs], and recently the launching of the official government web-portal,” also have been instrumental.
She said after realising the importance of ICT in the socio-economic of the country and the pivotal role E-governement plays in the attainment of the MDGs and PRSP 2, UNDP supported the information communication and technology ministry to implement a project with prioritised interventions in the areas of “the design and development of a government Web portal for the first time in The Gambia, and the upgrading of the ministry LAN [Local Area Network] infrastructure to enhance its leadership and coordinating role in the formulation and implementation of e-government initiatives.
Currently through this UNDP funded project, MOICI [ministry of information communication and infrastructure] staff on Microsoft technologies such as serve 2008, Email Exchange Server, security and sharepoint to enhance the skill sets of MOICI staff to support the Data Centre infrastructure.”
“This project has contributed in assisting government to improve efficiency in its internal government operations and public service delivery. It also allows government to provide for open and transparent processes as well as greater citizen participation and involvement,” she said.
However, the e-government implementation strategy and Action plan served as the basis for the development of the e-government program 2010-2015, and it aims to provide the basis for all government ICT related interventions, with the objective of achieving effectiveness, increased productivity and cost efficiency.
Yankuba Touray who represented the Minister of Information Communication and Infrastructure commended the UNDP for what he described as “paving the way to develop this critical project proposal”. He said under the assistance of the United Nation Economic Commission for Africa [UNECA] and through their active participation last year, they were able to complete the implementation strategy and action plan of the fourth pillar of the National Information and Communication Infrastructure [NICI].
“This document [NICI] discussed general and technical specification of all components that would make up the e-government programme [physical infrastructure and platform, software including applications, human resource and systems and procedures],” he said, but adding that this document ends only with a “shopping list of programs, projects and activities”, hence it could not be used to “sell” programs and projects to donor agencies, because it “lacks the budgetary component”.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Empowering our Mothers [women]
EGDC Empowers Women Through Economic Opportunities
The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), through its activities in the region has been empowering women by providing technical and financial support to them to start and manage their own business.
“The Gender Centre [EGDC] also provided technical and financial support to women engaged in processing of agriculture products and also facilitated the social and economic integration of the girls and women cured from fistula through the provision of technical and financial support to them to start and manage small businesses,” said, the Director of the Centre, Mrs Aminata Dibba, during an encounter with this reporter.
“But the year was also fulfilling because, in spite of the staffing constraints, the Gender Centre succeeded in strengthening the foundations of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in the ECOWAS region. The Centre [ECDC] was able to consolidate its Scholarship of Excellence for Girls programme in all but three member states as well as its programme of support to girls and women suffering from obstetrics fistula.”
According to her, the institution also provides technical support and advisory services to national gender machineries of ECOWAS member states.
“It also assisted some ECOWAS member states with regards to the harmonization of their national gender policies, strategies and programmes and provides support to civil society organisations working in the area of gender development.”
She highlights that her institution also succeeded in providing financial and technical support to other Networks in the Sub-region with the view of these stakeholders setting up their regional secretariats and to begin functioning effectively.
Speaking further on how her institution is empowering women in meeting their goals, she said: “We do a lot of activities with strategic partners in ensuring the advancement of economic advancement of women in the sub-region and the adoption of the ECOWAS Plan of Action on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 in the ECOWAS region.”
“We provide technical advice and support to women entrepreneur programmes. We had an intervention in the area of cross-boarder trade, because women are more involve than men in this act [cross-boarder trade].”
Nafffie Barry, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, also highlights the need for women to renew their impetus in ensuring that their dream for empowerment is realized. “In the sub-region, the constraints affecting our women to gain their rightful positions or enhance their economic empowerment, have now injected a renewed impetus and an opportunity for us to revisit our position, thus ensuring that our collective interest to empower women are vigorously pursued.”
She noted that the complete implementation of EGDC’s activities would provide economic opportunities and assist women and girls to meet their developmental aspiration.
She added that the establishment of a Committee to assist the Centre on its work to advocate and lobby on issues that affect women and children, peace and security in the sub-region per se would enable women to participate in development activities and to meet their economic and social objectives.
The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre (EGDC), through its activities in the region has been empowering women by providing technical and financial support to them to start and manage their own business.
“The Gender Centre [EGDC] also provided technical and financial support to women engaged in processing of agriculture products and also facilitated the social and economic integration of the girls and women cured from fistula through the provision of technical and financial support to them to start and manage small businesses,” said, the Director of the Centre, Mrs Aminata Dibba, during an encounter with this reporter.
“But the year was also fulfilling because, in spite of the staffing constraints, the Gender Centre succeeded in strengthening the foundations of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment in the ECOWAS region. The Centre [ECDC] was able to consolidate its Scholarship of Excellence for Girls programme in all but three member states as well as its programme of support to girls and women suffering from obstetrics fistula.”
According to her, the institution also provides technical support and advisory services to national gender machineries of ECOWAS member states.
“It also assisted some ECOWAS member states with regards to the harmonization of their national gender policies, strategies and programmes and provides support to civil society organisations working in the area of gender development.”
She highlights that her institution also succeeded in providing financial and technical support to other Networks in the Sub-region with the view of these stakeholders setting up their regional secretariats and to begin functioning effectively.
Speaking further on how her institution is empowering women in meeting their goals, she said: “We do a lot of activities with strategic partners in ensuring the advancement of economic advancement of women in the sub-region and the adoption of the ECOWAS Plan of Action on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820 in the ECOWAS region.”
“We provide technical advice and support to women entrepreneur programmes. We had an intervention in the area of cross-boarder trade, because women are more involve than men in this act [cross-boarder trade].”
Nafffie Barry, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Trade, Regional Integration and Employment, also highlights the need for women to renew their impetus in ensuring that their dream for empowerment is realized. “In the sub-region, the constraints affecting our women to gain their rightful positions or enhance their economic empowerment, have now injected a renewed impetus and an opportunity for us to revisit our position, thus ensuring that our collective interest to empower women are vigorously pursued.”
She noted that the complete implementation of EGDC’s activities would provide economic opportunities and assist women and girls to meet their developmental aspiration.
She added that the establishment of a Committee to assist the Centre on its work to advocate and lobby on issues that affect women and children, peace and security in the sub-region per se would enable women to participate in development activities and to meet their economic and social objectives.
$24 million- Project to Heighten Gambia's Economy
After the launching of the GGCP and WAAPP by the Head of State, Amat JENG looks back at how the projects will provide the necessary financing for change management in key public sector institutions, as well as the advantages the projects have on the socio-economic development of the country.
The launching of the Gambia Growth and Competiveness Project (GGCP) at a tone of US$12 million, and the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme also at the tone of US$12 million respectively, could not have come a better time than now, considering that they both have been designed to respond and mitigate the impact on the fuel, food and financial crises, particularly for small economies like The Gambia.
Already, the fuel and financial crises have remained unabated and, in addition to the challenges of climate change, they present a strong case for increased attention to these economies in order to build the required capacities to contain them and weather the storm.
GGCP seeks among other things to address and contribute further to the development of agriculture through and out-grower scheme. This scheme will be in two phases, the first, which spans year one to four, is to test and develop the establishment of a “commercial mango farming system in partnership with one or more private investor in order to produce a consistent volume and quality of new and existing mango varieties targeted for fresh fruit export market”. As well as supporting private investments in processing secondary and tertiary quality produce for domestic and export markets. Phase 2, which will run from year four to five, would competently strengthen the capacity of small holder farmers and link them to the international market supply chain, particularly for exporting premium grade mangoes.
“That Phase two will also support the establishment of a primary and secondary processing facilities for pulping, freezing and drying and that the pulping and freezing processes will result in the much needed production of high quality ingredients for the year round generation of fresh juices, concentrates and other products for both the international and local market, the project justifiably raises expectations very high,” said President Jammeh, adding that the drying component will happily enable the supply of dried mangoes for production of confectionery and other food products. “Indeed, we welcome the development of the processing facilities for not only the enhancement of adding value to our products, but also increasing further employment opportunities.”
However, there is cause for optimism, as the WAAPP is principally intended to generate and accelerate the adoption of improved technologies in the participating countries’ top agricultural commodity priority areas that are aligned with the sub-region’s top agricultural commodity priorities, as outlined in the ECOWAP.
President Jammeh, in his remarks also challenges that it is intriguing to note that this project constitutes part of the 1st Phase of the program, and therefore consist of “enabling conditions for sub-regional cooperation in generation, dissemination and adoption of agricultural technologies; strengthening of the agricultural research system in West Africa; funding of demand-driven technology generation and adoption; facilitating access to improved genetic material; and project coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation.” WAAP is a substantial project, as it will attract an investment of US$13 million to be funded through the International Development Associate (IDA) grant of US$7.0 million and a Food Crisis Response Core Trust Grant of US$5.0 million.
WAAP is viewed as part of a larger commitment by the WB to assist countries to enhance long-term food availability by providing a mix of support for short-term supply responses and sustainable medium and long-term investments for increased agricultural productivity.
As regards his initiative for women empowerment, President challenged the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to focus more attention on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs), saying “particularly women entrepreneurs who are undeniably major players in the informal economy”.
Through private sector-led growth, the project would contribute towards sustaining the growth of the country’s economy. The project interventions have the potential for very favorable social outcomes including employment generation and poverty reduction.
The Minister for Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Hon. Mamburay Njie explains how it will contribute to significant achievements of key national development and programme: “The matching grant scheme will enhance business productivity and growth leading to increased jobs, skills and incomes for workers. The horticulture out-growers scheme is expected to have a direct impact on farming household incomes and poverty levels, shifting farmers from subsistence agriculture to more market-oriented farming through which social and economic opportunities can be expanded. The pilot tourism investment projects planned, designed and implemented through good practice models of public-private partnership could also lead to direct socio-economic benefit for adjacent communities and minimize environmental impacts and disruption of communities.”
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“Under the project [GGCP], we expect The Gambia to, amongst other initiatives, further develop, add value, and expand its seed improvement, certification, and multiplication programs, as its comparative advantage, so that it will emerge as the certified seeds supplier of the region, which has a large market,” Carlos Cavar Canti, World Bank senior economist on Gambia, said.
The launching of the Gambia Growth and Competiveness Project (GGCP) at a tone of US$12 million, and the West African Agricultural Productivity Programme also at the tone of US$12 million respectively, could not have come a better time than now, considering that they both have been designed to respond and mitigate the impact on the fuel, food and financial crises, particularly for small economies like The Gambia.
Already, the fuel and financial crises have remained unabated and, in addition to the challenges of climate change, they present a strong case for increased attention to these economies in order to build the required capacities to contain them and weather the storm.
GGCP seeks among other things to address and contribute further to the development of agriculture through and out-grower scheme. This scheme will be in two phases, the first, which spans year one to four, is to test and develop the establishment of a “commercial mango farming system in partnership with one or more private investor in order to produce a consistent volume and quality of new and existing mango varieties targeted for fresh fruit export market”. As well as supporting private investments in processing secondary and tertiary quality produce for domestic and export markets. Phase 2, which will run from year four to five, would competently strengthen the capacity of small holder farmers and link them to the international market supply chain, particularly for exporting premium grade mangoes.
“That Phase two will also support the establishment of a primary and secondary processing facilities for pulping, freezing and drying and that the pulping and freezing processes will result in the much needed production of high quality ingredients for the year round generation of fresh juices, concentrates and other products for both the international and local market, the project justifiably raises expectations very high,” said President Jammeh, adding that the drying component will happily enable the supply of dried mangoes for production of confectionery and other food products. “Indeed, we welcome the development of the processing facilities for not only the enhancement of adding value to our products, but also increasing further employment opportunities.”
However, there is cause for optimism, as the WAAPP is principally intended to generate and accelerate the adoption of improved technologies in the participating countries’ top agricultural commodity priority areas that are aligned with the sub-region’s top agricultural commodity priorities, as outlined in the ECOWAP.
President Jammeh, in his remarks also challenges that it is intriguing to note that this project constitutes part of the 1st Phase of the program, and therefore consist of “enabling conditions for sub-regional cooperation in generation, dissemination and adoption of agricultural technologies; strengthening of the agricultural research system in West Africa; funding of demand-driven technology generation and adoption; facilitating access to improved genetic material; and project coordination, management, monitoring and evaluation.” WAAP is a substantial project, as it will attract an investment of US$13 million to be funded through the International Development Associate (IDA) grant of US$7.0 million and a Food Crisis Response Core Trust Grant of US$5.0 million.
WAAP is viewed as part of a larger commitment by the WB to assist countries to enhance long-term food availability by providing a mix of support for short-term supply responses and sustainable medium and long-term investments for increased agricultural productivity.
As regards his initiative for women empowerment, President challenged the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to focus more attention on the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSMEs), saying “particularly women entrepreneurs who are undeniably major players in the informal economy”.
Through private sector-led growth, the project would contribute towards sustaining the growth of the country’s economy. The project interventions have the potential for very favorable social outcomes including employment generation and poverty reduction.
The Minister for Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, Hon. Mamburay Njie explains how it will contribute to significant achievements of key national development and programme: “The matching grant scheme will enhance business productivity and growth leading to increased jobs, skills and incomes for workers. The horticulture out-growers scheme is expected to have a direct impact on farming household incomes and poverty levels, shifting farmers from subsistence agriculture to more market-oriented farming through which social and economic opportunities can be expanded. The pilot tourism investment projects planned, designed and implemented through good practice models of public-private partnership could also lead to direct socio-economic benefit for adjacent communities and minimize environmental impacts and disruption of communities.”
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“Under the project [GGCP], we expect The Gambia to, amongst other initiatives, further develop, add value, and expand its seed improvement, certification, and multiplication programs, as its comparative advantage, so that it will emerge as the certified seeds supplier of the region, which has a large market,” Carlos Cavar Canti, World Bank senior economist on Gambia, said.
Friday, 4 March 2011
What Next: Democracy or Anarchy?
What Next: Democracy or Anarchy?
As I grew up in inter-states and inter-culture, I nurtured the spirit of curiosity and knowing what is in the basket of an elderly woman. This could not be seen in me with absentia of my interest of the wind of changing blowing across the Middle East that is aimed at bringing cosmetic changes in the political economy of neo-liberal states.
As an observer of events of change, I was not surprise of the event that led to the Tunisian revolution. The Egyptian revolution more akin the Tunisian revolution could not have come a better time than now when the application of neo-liberalism doctrines has failed, paving way for the coming of a blunt force, under the pretentious system of handling power to the ‘Supreme Military Council’.
At this juncture, I must underline my agreement with Dr. Walter Armbrust, a Hourani Fellow and University Lecturer in Modern Middle East Studies at Oxford University, who said: “Social media may have helped organize the kernel of a movement that eventually overthrew Mubarak, but a large element of what got enough people into the streets to finally overwhelm the state security forces was economic grievances that are intrinsic to neo-liberalism.”
Like Dr. Armbrust, I will also observe that these grievances cannot be reduced to grinding poverty, for revolutions are never carried out by the poorest of the poor. It was rather the erosion of a sense that some human spheres should be outside the logic of markets. Mubarak’s Egypt degraded schools and hospitals, and guaranteed grossly inadequate wages, particularly in the ever-expanding private sector. This was what turned hundreds of dedicated activists into millions of determined protestors.
Armbrust observed that if the spell does not work, it is not the fault of the magic, but rather the fault of the shaman who performed the spell. In other words, the logic could be that “it was not neoliberalism that ruined Mubarak’s Egypt, but the faulty application of neoliberalism”. The concept as defined by David Harvey, a social geographer "Is a theory of political economic practices that proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free trade." On the sides of Egyptian failed Mubarak, the application of the doctrines of neo-liberalism failed, resulting in ruining the economy, tourist staying away, redundancy increasing, and 30-year angry men breaking the york of the egg that was rotting in the egg’s shell.
Now that Mubarak’s gone, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is no more, Botelfleka nerves are burning, defiant Gaddafi’sregime is in the brink of abating, what will become of the angry mob in the streets of the Arab-World?
What will become of the future of these young reformists? This sent a crystal message to totalitarian rulers around the world that education and awareness couple with the economic factors have contributed to changing the political and social thinking of the youth.
I once heard Brig. General Yakubu Drammeh, former Deputy Chief of defense staff of The Gambia says: “Democracy without development is meaningless, development without democracy is unsustainable”.
On the Doha debate on Aljazeera, I listened to one political commentator who said: “What the people need is not assets or monies, but freedom [freedom of speech and freedom of expression].”
For decades intellectuals in the Middle East and the Africa have been whitewashed by the so-called democrats, who only painted the Greek word with inks on papers.
Bob Marley says: “You can fool some people, but you cannot fool everybody at once.” What we have been seeing in the Middle East, I repeated saying every day, ‘is a paradigm of political changes that swept the whole of Africa when the movement to emancipate African intellects from intellectual slavery was fiercely burning. That crusade could be viewed by many as a microcosm of hope that came to liberate masses.
It’s high time for young African intellects living in grinding poverty, amid rabid governments who practice not what they preach, to say ‘liberate us from intellectual slavery or we liberate you from the wheel chair’. BUT, whenever my mind conceives this, I used to remind myself of my grandmother’s adage that ‘the hare you live with is better than the one that lives miles away from you.’ She qualifies this saying by adding that: “If the one you live with wants to devour you, it never goes directly, rather it takes hesitant steps before doing that; but the one that doesn’t know you, lambastes you and wait for your grandma.”
Now coming back to my heading; democracy or anarchy? What I am trying to say here is, if people should depose {overthrow} their leaders and expect a democratic one; and on the contrary, the coming ones become worst as in ‘Animal Farm’ by George Owell, what would become of the future. Egypt is faced with leadership problem for now, so is Tunisia. The road to democracy is either obvious or anarchy will rule.
End
As I grew up in inter-states and inter-culture, I nurtured the spirit of curiosity and knowing what is in the basket of an elderly woman. This could not be seen in me with absentia of my interest of the wind of changing blowing across the Middle East that is aimed at bringing cosmetic changes in the political economy of neo-liberal states.
As an observer of events of change, I was not surprise of the event that led to the Tunisian revolution. The Egyptian revolution more akin the Tunisian revolution could not have come a better time than now when the application of neo-liberalism doctrines has failed, paving way for the coming of a blunt force, under the pretentious system of handling power to the ‘Supreme Military Council’.
At this juncture, I must underline my agreement with Dr. Walter Armbrust, a Hourani Fellow and University Lecturer in Modern Middle East Studies at Oxford University, who said: “Social media may have helped organize the kernel of a movement that eventually overthrew Mubarak, but a large element of what got enough people into the streets to finally overwhelm the state security forces was economic grievances that are intrinsic to neo-liberalism.”
Like Dr. Armbrust, I will also observe that these grievances cannot be reduced to grinding poverty, for revolutions are never carried out by the poorest of the poor. It was rather the erosion of a sense that some human spheres should be outside the logic of markets. Mubarak’s Egypt degraded schools and hospitals, and guaranteed grossly inadequate wages, particularly in the ever-expanding private sector. This was what turned hundreds of dedicated activists into millions of determined protestors.
Armbrust observed that if the spell does not work, it is not the fault of the magic, but rather the fault of the shaman who performed the spell. In other words, the logic could be that “it was not neoliberalism that ruined Mubarak’s Egypt, but the faulty application of neoliberalism”. The concept as defined by David Harvey, a social geographer "Is a theory of political economic practices that proposes that human well-being can best be advanced by liberating individual entrepreneurial freedoms and skills within an institutional framework characterized by strong private property rights, free markets, and free trade." On the sides of Egyptian failed Mubarak, the application of the doctrines of neo-liberalism failed, resulting in ruining the economy, tourist staying away, redundancy increasing, and 30-year angry men breaking the york of the egg that was rotting in the egg’s shell.
Now that Mubarak’s gone, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali is no more, Botelfleka nerves are burning, defiant Gaddafi’sregime is in the brink of abating, what will become of the angry mob in the streets of the Arab-World?
What will become of the future of these young reformists? This sent a crystal message to totalitarian rulers around the world that education and awareness couple with the economic factors have contributed to changing the political and social thinking of the youth.
I once heard Brig. General Yakubu Drammeh, former Deputy Chief of defense staff of The Gambia says: “Democracy without development is meaningless, development without democracy is unsustainable”.
On the Doha debate on Aljazeera, I listened to one political commentator who said: “What the people need is not assets or monies, but freedom [freedom of speech and freedom of expression].”
For decades intellectuals in the Middle East and the Africa have been whitewashed by the so-called democrats, who only painted the Greek word with inks on papers.
Bob Marley says: “You can fool some people, but you cannot fool everybody at once.” What we have been seeing in the Middle East, I repeated saying every day, ‘is a paradigm of political changes that swept the whole of Africa when the movement to emancipate African intellects from intellectual slavery was fiercely burning. That crusade could be viewed by many as a microcosm of hope that came to liberate masses.
It’s high time for young African intellects living in grinding poverty, amid rabid governments who practice not what they preach, to say ‘liberate us from intellectual slavery or we liberate you from the wheel chair’. BUT, whenever my mind conceives this, I used to remind myself of my grandmother’s adage that ‘the hare you live with is better than the one that lives miles away from you.’ She qualifies this saying by adding that: “If the one you live with wants to devour you, it never goes directly, rather it takes hesitant steps before doing that; but the one that doesn’t know you, lambastes you and wait for your grandma.”
Now coming back to my heading; democracy or anarchy? What I am trying to say here is, if people should depose {overthrow} their leaders and expect a democratic one; and on the contrary, the coming ones become worst as in ‘Animal Farm’ by George Owell, what would become of the future. Egypt is faced with leadership problem for now, so is Tunisia. The road to democracy is either obvious or anarchy will rule.
End
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