The Gambian government has continued with its onward march of creating job opportunities through various schemes and programmes. Our Banjul correspondent reports the recent World Bank supported scheme launched by the government to create job opportunities for Gambians, especially for those in the agriculture and tourism sectors.
With unemployment being one of the headaches of all governments around the world as the number of the unemployed continues to soar, giving rise to many upheavals in many countries, the Gambian government continues to accelerate its efforts at creating job opportunities for its citizens to ensure a sustainable livelihood for the people.
One of the ways it wants to promote this goal is through the setting up of sectoral projects to strategically tackle the unemployment phenomenon, such as the Gambia Growth and Competitiveness Project (GGCP) and the West Africa Agricultural Production Project (WAAPP) launched recently by the country’s president.
The GGCP, financed by the World Bank Group in the Agricultural sector to the tune of $12 million, is designed to promote the government’s growth and job creation agenda, especially in agribusiness and tourism.
The GGCP project seeks to address and contribute further to the development of agriculture through an out-grower scheme, whilst the WAAPP is principally intended to generate and accelerate the adoption of improved technologies in participating countries’ top agricultural commodity priority areas that are aligned with the sub-region’s top agricultural commodity priorities.
The total estimate for the two projects is in the region of US$24 million.
“I have noted with satisfaction, the increased visibility and scope of the [World] Bank Group operations in the country in terms of programming, portfolio size and resource envelop received within the last three years, and we welcome the positive reforms and development taking place at the Bank,” President Yahya Jammeh said at the recent launch of the projects.
In recent years, the World Bank has contributed significantly to building capacities of various institutions in The Gambia, as well as providing the necessary financial support to back up capacity and institutional strengthening.
The World Bank, together with government and key partners, is planning to bring to effectiveness the Budget support project, the Commercial and Agriculture and Value Chain, as well as the Energy Project and Telecom Project (ACE) which is at pre-appraisal stage and due to be implemented in three months’ time.
Agriculture has been the traditional pillar of the Gambian economy, contributing 26.2% of GDP in 2010 compares to 21.6% in 2007, and providing employment and income to the majority of Gambians.
The sector has witnessed a major transformation from traditional small holder subsistence farming to increasing levels of commercial green technology farming.”
However, since agriculture is the mainstay of the economy and having the greatest proportion of the country’s labour force, it needs adequate attention and support to tackle unemployment, food insecurity and poverty.
The GGCP and WAAPP are both timely, since they have been designed to respond and mitigate also the impact of food, fuel, and financial crises that have continued to hit world economies and livelihoods.
“The World Bank is expected to expeditiously finalise the pipeline projects, with full cooperation from government institutions and officials to work closely and actively with the Bank’s officials within the set timelines for the successful completion of the projects,” President Jammeh said.
The Africa Coast to Europe Project, the Budget Support Operations, the Energy Project and the Commercial Agriculture and Value Chain Projects form some of the pipeline projects to be implemented.
Reiterating his government’s commitment to private sector-led growth, President Jammeh says he recognizes the private sector’s role as an engine of growth and, therefore, will work closely with the sector operators through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Regional Integration, and the GCCI, to ensure the business environment is always conducive to facilitate private sector growth, employment creation and poverty reduction.
In many facets of the business corridor, government works closely with the GCCI by mandating it to act as intermediary between government and the private sector; thus creating the avenue for Gambian business operators to thrive at the national and international markets.
This was manifested recently when the GCCI convened a meeting with key business personnel to reach a food matrix point on prices, in order to ensure a level-playing field for consumers and producers.
“The project’s high level objective is to contribute towards sustaining the growth of The Gambian economy and enhancing poverty reduction through private sector-led growth,” Finance Minister Mamburay Njie said.
“Its key expected outcomes are investment climate reforms to reduce the entry barriers and operating costs of businesses, enhance access to finance and private investment flows, and improve business performance, especially for firms in the tourism and hospitality sectors and linkages between small producers and domestic and international market.”
Carlos Cavalcanti, World Bank’s senior economist in The Gambia, made these remarks as regards the project: “We have always said that the state is our biggest partner, and as such, it constitutes the focus of our development intervention, especially in the areas of its financial, social and productive sectors.
“It is therefore imperative that we invest in institutions, systems and sectors that move the development of the country, hence interventions such as the Growth and Competitiveness Project and the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Project.”
He added: “It is truism that agriculture is a dominant economic sector in ECOWAS, but its low productivity seriously erodes the competitiveness of African products on world and domestic markets.
“WAAPP may thus be viewed as part of a larger commitment by the World Bank to assist countries to enhance long-term food availability by providing mix of support for short-term supply responses and sustainable medium and longer-term investments for increased agricultural productivity.”
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