Sunday, 29 April 2012
C/WEALTH, GOV’T TEAMING UP TO ESTABLISH ANT-CORRUPTION COMMISSION
The Commonwealth, the 54-member states body The Gambia is part, has decided to team up with the Government of The Gambia to establish an anti-corruption commission that would scrutinise individuals that hold assets or properties that are deemed public-owned.
In a tête-à-tête meeting with journalists before he ended his first visit after eight years to The Gambia, Commonwealth secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma said the organisation has “entered a new chapter in its history of reform and renewal”.
The Gambia is a “highly valued member [of the Commonwealth] with much to contribute and much to benefit in this new era,” Mr Sharma said.
The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of 54 independent member states of which all members except Mozambique and Rwanda were part of the British Empire that led the founding of the organisation.
Pic: Kamalesh Sharma
Whilst the Commonwealth has long been distinctive as an international forum where developed economies (such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and New Zealand) and many of the world's poorer countries seek to reach agreement by consensus, it also aims at promoting wealth creation for citizens of member states.
According to Mr Sharma, 95 recommendations for reform would be advanced, making reference to October last year’s meeting in Australia, in which the vice president was present.
He pointed out that half of those recommendations, which include trade and debt relief management, is already on track of being implemented, while the other half is to be considered by a special Ministerial Task Force in June.
“We also had very productive discussions about issues that are fundamental to the future development and prosperity of The Gambia,” he said, adding that these include Commonwealth support for trade; a stronger, better trained, and more effective public service; opportunities for youth enterprise; and ensuring that women have every possible opportunity to participate as leaders of change, growth and opportunity in society.”
He also said there is also ongoing support for The Gambia through regional and other programmes in areas such as anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing; trade capacity-building among others.
“The Commonwealth’s history is rooted in its opposition to discrimination on any grounds as well as the importance it attaches to equality, and these are undertakings by us all collectively and for us individually,” he added.
Member states are on their national paths of progress towards a strong commitment to the values and principles of the Commonwealth, Mr Sharma noted, saying: “Democracy is not only a matter of well-functioning institutions of State and the balanced separation of power, but also a people-based culture in which strands of opinion can be heard”.
The Anti-Corruption Commission will encourage self-regulation by enterprises in confronting issues of extortion and bribery and provides business input into international initiatives to fight corruption.
During his visit, SG Sharma met with various ministers, National Assembly members, representatives of opposition political parties, the diplomatic and consular corps, the media and the UN systems.
Friday, 20 April 2012
RICE CULTIVATIONS BOOM WITH PIWAMP’S TIMELY INTERVENTION
As women in rural Gambia traditionally continue to survive on their rice fields, which are cultivated annually, any help to extend these fields for wider cultivation or tap on untapped areas, would be received by warm hands.
This is what the Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP) has done in the Central River Region (CRR) – the largest region in the country, after the project has constructed two bridges to enable rice growers commute easily to their various fields of crops located at the mouth of the unexploited river Gambia.
“Since PIWAMP intervened in our rice fields, the project has constructed two bridges for the women farmers at Jarumeh Koto rice fields,” says Lisa Ceesay, a resident of the said village.
Mrs Ceesay, a seasoned rice grower, said many of the villages have found solace with the project, adding that it has brought respite and has restored hope to many underprivileged farmers.
The construction of the two bridges at a historical area of the country, marks good signs of intervention, as the people of the area have for many years lived under the risky presumption of possible drown in the river by canoe users. For many years, canoes have been the only source of crossing in that part of the country and this has created a climate of fear among people of the area.
That part of the country is the birthplace of hippo attacks, as many years ago conventional history has it that an angry hippopotamus had turned upside down a boat that was bound offshore.
The two bridges by PIWAMP are facilitating quick access to rice fields, and have opened up new areas for extension of rice fields for the women and interested farmers, thus opening the door of opportunity for people to answer to the president’s clarion call of back to the land.
According to Mrs Ceesay, the bridges also help to mitigate potential and fatal attacks by aquatic creature that are seen floating in the water, whilst boatmen paddle pass them.
Rice growers failed to record bumper harvest due to climate change
Two extension workers of PIWAMP, Ousman Bajinka and Sang Bass, have been instated to aid the communities.
Upon their arrival at the communities, the duo did not fail to follow the dictate of the old adage: ‘Do in Rome as the Romans do”; they got themselves adapted to the local environment, and this had led Madam Ceesay to say “The two gentlemen are very hardworking and they respond to our calls at anytime”.
She adds: ‘‘We the women are proud of their work and in fact anytime we need their service with regard to our rice fields or any problem we notice in our farming, they always respond to us positively and give us good advice as well as educate us about our activities in the rice fields.”
Youth reluctant to go back to the land
Whilst the country continues to register more youthful population, young people seem to have found it hard to hold a hoe and go back to the land, considering it a last option in their lives.
This has become a national phenomenon in all spheres of the country; so Jarumeh is no exception. As Mrs Ceesay puts it: “Only a very few numbers of young people are engaged in rice cultivation.”
She reminded them that there are vast areas of land they can cultivate for rice production, cereal, and even for gardening.
Madam Ceesay noted that PIWAMP’s intervention in the localities has boosted rice production, but pointed at the erratic rainfalls this year that had caused crop failure in almost very part of the country.
Elsewhere in the country, at North Bank Region, PIWAMP has continued to strive hard by building dikes and spillways.
Sarjo Dampha of Kachang Village says PIWAMP has taken away a lot of burden on farmers in his area, while calling on the men-folk to join the women group who dominated the fields.
“Rice cultivation is very important as one would eat what he or she grows and could also have income for the family,” he says, calling on the youth to also see agriculture as a business sector and not a last option for survival.
Comparing his youthful days and now, Dampha says in the 1980s agriculture used to boom, but low rainfall coupled with expensive farming inputs have changed the dimension, saying it is difficult for farmers to cultivate vast areas of land these days.
High cost of fertilizers is also making farming difficult nowadays, Dampha notes, calling on the government and its partners to help trim the cost of fertilizer.
Mbemba Dibassey of Yona village in Central River Region North also gave PIWAMP a pat on the back, saying it “is doing remarkable work in their area.
According to him, the PIWAM project has completed a four-span bridge for them, saying that farming in their area is dominated by women.
However, he stressed the importance of training young people in marketing skills to enable them sell their own produce, as well as training them in processing garden produce. While admitting that the youth are also engaged in farming, he was quick to add that only few of them have their own farms.
Alhagie Muhammadou Natou Sissoho of Sare Alpha in Basse, Upper River Region, says PIWAMP has successfully implemented many activities in their area.
According to him, in villages like Sare Alpha, Dampha Kunda and Sabi, PIWAMP has implemented upland conservation that is Vertivar Transplanting of 11.95 metres in the three villages.
He is believed to have raised the achievements in this farming method, which had been at a standstill over the years in their area.
This is what the Participatory Integrated Watershed Management Project (PIWAMP) has done in the Central River Region (CRR) – the largest region in the country, after the project has constructed two bridges to enable rice growers commute easily to their various fields of crops located at the mouth of the unexploited river Gambia.
“Since PIWAMP intervened in our rice fields, the project has constructed two bridges for the women farmers at Jarumeh Koto rice fields,” says Lisa Ceesay, a resident of the said village.
Mrs Ceesay, a seasoned rice grower, said many of the villages have found solace with the project, adding that it has brought respite and has restored hope to many underprivileged farmers.
The construction of the two bridges at a historical area of the country, marks good signs of intervention, as the people of the area have for many years lived under the risky presumption of possible drown in the river by canoe users. For many years, canoes have been the only source of crossing in that part of the country and this has created a climate of fear among people of the area.
That part of the country is the birthplace of hippo attacks, as many years ago conventional history has it that an angry hippopotamus had turned upside down a boat that was bound offshore.
The two bridges by PIWAMP are facilitating quick access to rice fields, and have opened up new areas for extension of rice fields for the women and interested farmers, thus opening the door of opportunity for people to answer to the president’s clarion call of back to the land.
According to Mrs Ceesay, the bridges also help to mitigate potential and fatal attacks by aquatic creature that are seen floating in the water, whilst boatmen paddle pass them.
Two extension workers of PIWAMP, Ousman Bajinka and Sang Bass, have been instated to aid the communities.
Upon their arrival at the communities, the duo did not fail to follow the dictate of the old adage: ‘Do in Rome as the Romans do”; they got themselves adapted to the local environment, and this had led Madam Ceesay to say “The two gentlemen are very hardworking and they respond to our calls at anytime”.
She adds: ‘‘We the women are proud of their work and in fact anytime we need their service with regard to our rice fields or any problem we notice in our farming, they always respond to us positively and give us good advice as well as educate us about our activities in the rice fields.”
Youth reluctant to go back to the land
Whilst the country continues to register more youthful population, young people seem to have found it hard to hold a hoe and go back to the land, considering it a last option in their lives.
This has become a national phenomenon in all spheres of the country; so Jarumeh is no exception. As Mrs Ceesay puts it: “Only a very few numbers of young people are engaged in rice cultivation.”
She reminded them that there are vast areas of land they can cultivate for rice production, cereal, and even for gardening.
Madam Ceesay noted that PIWAMP’s intervention in the localities has boosted rice production, but pointed at the erratic rainfalls this year that had caused crop failure in almost very part of the country.
Elsewhere in the country, at North Bank Region, PIWAMP has continued to strive hard by building dikes and spillways.
Sarjo Dampha of Kachang Village says PIWAMP has taken away a lot of burden on farmers in his area, while calling on the men-folk to join the women group who dominated the fields.
“Rice cultivation is very important as one would eat what he or she grows and could also have income for the family,” he says, calling on the youth to also see agriculture as a business sector and not a last option for survival.
Comparing his youthful days and now, Dampha says in the 1980s agriculture used to boom, but low rainfall coupled with expensive farming inputs have changed the dimension, saying it is difficult for farmers to cultivate vast areas of land these days.
High cost of fertilizers is also making farming difficult nowadays, Dampha notes, calling on the government and its partners to help trim the cost of fertilizer.
Mbemba Dibassey of Yona village in Central River Region North also gave PIWAMP a pat on the back, saying it “is doing remarkable work in their area.
According to him, the PIWAM project has completed a four-span bridge for them, saying that farming in their area is dominated by women.
However, he stressed the importance of training young people in marketing skills to enable them sell their own produce, as well as training them in processing garden produce. While admitting that the youth are also engaged in farming, he was quick to add that only few of them have their own farms.
Alhagie Muhammadou Natou Sissoho of Sare Alpha in Basse, Upper River Region, says PIWAMP has successfully implemented many activities in their area.
According to him, in villages like Sare Alpha, Dampha Kunda and Sabi, PIWAMP has implemented upland conservation that is Vertivar Transplanting of 11.95 metres in the three villages.
He is believed to have raised the achievements in this farming method, which had been at a standstill over the years in their area.
Financial Players Equipped with Writing Skills, Presentation Techniques
More than forty officials in the financial sector of the English-speaking West Africa are being armed with report writing skills and presentation techniques in an eight-day course organised by the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), at the Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.
WAIFEM was established in July 1996 by the Central Banks of five West African countries: Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia; but commenced operations in early 1997, with the mandate to strengthen sustainable capacity for debt, financial sector and macroeconomic management in these countries.
Hailing the importance of the course, The Gambia’s central bank governor Amadou Colley says: “Effective communication does not only enable individuals, corporate bodies and communities to express their identity, but it is also the indispensable means for any meaningful collaboration.”
Whilst modern business organisations require constant and large amount of internal and external communication, the course has been designated to empower players in the sector with the capacity to use communication as a powerful tool for job effectiveness.
“Without effective communication and the team effort it engenders, it would be difficult to execute important projects successfully and within agreed timeframes,” Governor Colley noted.
Data gathered and analysed but not effectively communicated and utilised for decision-making “are worthless”, he said, adding that it is equally important for managers to sharpen their communication techniques to enable them pass information convincing to the appropriate level of decision making.
According to Hon. Colley, successful report writing requires professionalism, in-depth knowledge of the subject discussed, concentration, and exceptional writing skills.
From left: Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, Governor Amadou Kolley and Ousman Sowe, a top official of WAIFEM
1WAIFEM Director-General Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, in his remarks on the occasion, said: “Presently, over 10,700 officials have benefited from our programmes since inception [in 1997].”
Those vested with the responsibility of internal and external communication, he reaffirmed, must master the communication process to help enhance their job effectiveness.
“This course is organised for the relevant officials to be equipped with cutting-edge communication competence,” he added.
The course is designed to cover grammar and style in writing; guidelines and formats for preparing financial and economic reports; legal issues in report writing; computer applications in report writing; techniques and skills of report presentation, among others.
WAIFEM was established in July 1996 by the Central Banks of five West African countries: Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia; but commenced operations in early 1997, with the mandate to strengthen sustainable capacity for debt, financial sector and macroeconomic management in these countries.
Hailing the importance of the course, The Gambia’s central bank governor Amadou Colley says: “Effective communication does not only enable individuals, corporate bodies and communities to express their identity, but it is also the indispensable means for any meaningful collaboration.”
Whilst modern business organisations require constant and large amount of internal and external communication, the course has been designated to empower players in the sector with the capacity to use communication as a powerful tool for job effectiveness.
“Without effective communication and the team effort it engenders, it would be difficult to execute important projects successfully and within agreed timeframes,” Governor Colley noted.
Data gathered and analysed but not effectively communicated and utilised for decision-making “are worthless”, he said, adding that it is equally important for managers to sharpen their communication techniques to enable them pass information convincing to the appropriate level of decision making.
According to Hon. Colley, successful report writing requires professionalism, in-depth knowledge of the subject discussed, concentration, and exceptional writing skills.
1WAIFEM Director-General Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, in his remarks on the occasion, said: “Presently, over 10,700 officials have benefited from our programmes since inception [in 1997].”
Those vested with the responsibility of internal and external communication, he reaffirmed, must master the communication process to help enhance their job effectiveness.
“This course is organised for the relevant officials to be equipped with cutting-edge communication competence,” he added.
The course is designed to cover grammar and style in writing; guidelines and formats for preparing financial and economic reports; legal issues in report writing; computer applications in report writing; techniques and skills of report presentation, among others.
US INCREASES VISA FEES TO RECOVER ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGES
With effect from 13 April 2012, the United States has adjusted visa processing fees for most non-immigration visa applications and Border Crossing Cards.
A release from the US Embassy in Banjul states: “The Department is required to recover, as far as possible, the cost of processing visas through the collection of application fees. For a number of reasons, the current fees no longer cover the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visas.”
Before this change was effected, visa fee for tourist, business, transit, crew member, journalist, student, Border Crossing Cards for person under fifteen and older, and exchange visit, was D4,200 (US$140 at $1=D30) but the change has increased it by 2% to D4,800 (US$160).
At a time the world is grappling with financial difficulties, and developing countries like The Gambia are managing to keep their heads above water, the move by the US – a developed country – could be seen as a pain in the neck for visa applicants to the US.
In The Gambia more than three-third of the population live on less than US$1½ a day; thus any attempt by a developed country to increase the cost of its service could be regarded as deterring.
The US embassy, whose new ambassador is yet to take office to replace Pamela Ann White, who may be moved to the Caribbean state of Haiti, states: “The non-immigrant visa fee increase will support the addition and expansion of overseas facilities, as well as additional staffing required to meet visa demand.
“Although most categories of non-immigrant visa processing fees will increase, the fee for E visas (Treaty-traders and treaty-investors) and K visas (for fiancé (e) of US citizens) will decrease.”
US out-going Ambassador, Pamela Ann White
However, the American diplomatic mission has effected minor changes on Immigrant visa processing fee, citing reallocation of costs associated with immigrant visas.
The fee for ‘Immediate Relative and Family Preference Applications, which was about D9,900 (US$330), has now been reduced to D6,900 (US$230); ‘Employment-Based Applications’, which was D21,600 (US$720), is now D12,150 (US$405); ‘Other Immigrant Visa Applications’, which used to be D9,150 (US$305), is now D6,600 (US$220); ‘Diversity Visa Programme’, which was D13, 200 (US$440), has now been reduced to the previous status of the ‘family preference’ visa fee; and the ‘Determining Returning Resident Status’, which was US$380, has been brought down to US$275.
All these changes have been published in the US Federal Register.
Every year hundreds of Gambian undergraduates and graduates attempt to travel to the US to either study or reunite with families, but only few succeed to get a visa to the States.
Cognizant of the fact that the African continent is suffering from brain-drain, consuls and embassies that issue visas and travel permits have become wary of the people they give visa.
In The Gambia, three-third of the country’s graduates now live and work abroad, making it the second country in Africa in terms of percentage to suffer the brain-drain syndrome after Cape Verde.
However, in response to this, government has instituted policies and programmes to help young people, especially those intending to take the clandestine journey to Europe.
Among the programmes instituted is the GAMJOB youth employment strategy, which has brought respite to many young people, as the scheme continues to offer them technical education, self-employment mechanisms, and entrepreneurial assistance.
A release from the US Embassy in Banjul states: “The Department is required to recover, as far as possible, the cost of processing visas through the collection of application fees. For a number of reasons, the current fees no longer cover the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visas.”
Before this change was effected, visa fee for tourist, business, transit, crew member, journalist, student, Border Crossing Cards for person under fifteen and older, and exchange visit, was D4,200 (US$140 at $1=D30) but the change has increased it by 2% to D4,800 (US$160).
At a time the world is grappling with financial difficulties, and developing countries like The Gambia are managing to keep their heads above water, the move by the US – a developed country – could be seen as a pain in the neck for visa applicants to the US.
In The Gambia more than three-third of the population live on less than US$1½ a day; thus any attempt by a developed country to increase the cost of its service could be regarded as deterring.
The US embassy, whose new ambassador is yet to take office to replace Pamela Ann White, who may be moved to the Caribbean state of Haiti, states: “The non-immigrant visa fee increase will support the addition and expansion of overseas facilities, as well as additional staffing required to meet visa demand.
“Although most categories of non-immigrant visa processing fees will increase, the fee for E visas (Treaty-traders and treaty-investors) and K visas (for fiancé (e) of US citizens) will decrease.”
However, the American diplomatic mission has effected minor changes on Immigrant visa processing fee, citing reallocation of costs associated with immigrant visas.
The fee for ‘Immediate Relative and Family Preference Applications, which was about D9,900 (US$330), has now been reduced to D6,900 (US$230); ‘Employment-Based Applications’, which was D21,600 (US$720), is now D12,150 (US$405); ‘Other Immigrant Visa Applications’, which used to be D9,150 (US$305), is now D6,600 (US$220); ‘Diversity Visa Programme’, which was D13, 200 (US$440), has now been reduced to the previous status of the ‘family preference’ visa fee; and the ‘Determining Returning Resident Status’, which was US$380, has been brought down to US$275.
All these changes have been published in the US Federal Register.
Every year hundreds of Gambian undergraduates and graduates attempt to travel to the US to either study or reunite with families, but only few succeed to get a visa to the States.
Cognizant of the fact that the African continent is suffering from brain-drain, consuls and embassies that issue visas and travel permits have become wary of the people they give visa.
In The Gambia, three-third of the country’s graduates now live and work abroad, making it the second country in Africa in terms of percentage to suffer the brain-drain syndrome after Cape Verde.
However, in response to this, government has instituted policies and programmes to help young people, especially those intending to take the clandestine journey to Europe.
Among the programmes instituted is the GAMJOB youth employment strategy, which has brought respite to many young people, as the scheme continues to offer them technical education, self-employment mechanisms, and entrepreneurial assistance.
Thursday, 12 April 2012
BUSINESS MOVING IN SNAIL PACE IN RURAL GAMBIA AS AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE FALL SHORT
In a recent visit to the provinces through the country’s length and breadt Amat JENG made discoveries on business trend and developments that have not been well covered by the country’s mainstream media. Here is his report.
In a country where majority of the population keep their heads just above water through the survival means of the hoe, any deficit in rainfall would always be disastrous to more than 60% of the population that rely on agriculture as a means of survival.
Unlike the halcyon days, nowadays business has taken a downward swing, says Alieu Secka, a prominent businessman who lives in the provincial town of Bansang, Central River Region.
journalist and blogger Amat Jeng, editor and publisher of this blog
As a business centre, Bansang is burgeoning into a major business hub for the people of Cassamance, who have found solace living in dilapidated infrastructures in that part of the country, such as the hospital, the market, and other public centres in the town.
However, as the prospect of business remains dim in the countryside, owing to poor agricultural records and “lack of knowledge in business culture”, Mr Secka is optimistic about the good future of the town.
“I settled here some decades ago, but how business used to move and how it is moving now, are quite the opposite,” Mr Secka explained.
In those days, agriculture was booming and people of the region including those in Cassamance were well-off, especially in this time [January - April] of the year, when harvest has come to an end.”
hawkers like these two women suffered many a time from the Senegalese customs
Over the past years, residents have been passing the night without electricity. Recently, however, the lights have come back somewhat epileptically in the mountainous town. A radio station has been established that occasionally gives voice to farmers and young people.
Despite these budding developments, there are still some industrious businesswomen that are unpleased with the modus operandi set in train in that part of the country by the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).
“When the light comes at 6pm, by 2am it’s gone again until 9am; from this hour it will stay until 2pm,” explains Nenneh Faye, a vendor of locally made ice cream.
She lamented the fact that rural Gambia is not enjoying the dividends of development in the country, citing poor linking roads, low access to electricity, and unavailability of a vibrant market, among others.
Bansang market
Whilst the price of bissap (Moringa for English) – a commodity used for making the cream – is skyrocketing, Nenneh is left in a catch 22 situation, because increasing the price of her product would let vendors curtail their buying power of what she produces; therefore, she is obliged to leave her charges unchanged – which is another quandary for her.
Whilst most of the moringa come from neighbouring Cassamance, some of the people in that region are unhappy because there is no fixed price or regulations in the commodity market.
“There is no stipulated and agreed price for the kilo [of a moringa]; people now and then sell at prices that suit them,” says Maimuna Sarr, an entrepreneur from Saradou in neighbouring Cassamance.
“This situation is not encouraging at all. Moreover, after we have sold our commodities, we find it uneasy to cross to our villages with the little goods we buy from The Gambia, as the Senegalese customs police continue to intercept and seize our goods [because it is from The Gambia].”
The action of the Senegalese authorities has raised some pertinent questions among the educated youth cohort in the Cassamance region.
“Upon my return from [Cheikh Anta Diop] university, I heard of what is going on in the region; I decided to ask: ‘Is Senegal respecting the Agreements the two countries have made in Banjul’?” asks Ebrima Leigh, who met with MarketPlace in Saradou.
The seizing of goods from The Gambia at the border by Senegalese customs officers, has rendered many businesspeople conducting trade across the Gambia-Senegal border bankrupt in recent years, they say.
Salif Diallo, a resident of Saradou, explains his ordeal owing to such acts: “I was heading for the weekly ‘lumo’ in Yero Foulla when I met them one morning in the year 2009. All the goods that were in my horse-cart were taken away. The worth of what was taken is to the region of twelve thousand Gambian dalasi – an amount I could not still recover.”
MarketPlace also caught up with women in the far north of the Upper River Region who did cry out against the poor linking road between Basse and Koina.
“Some of our fragile or perishable goods like tomatoes diminish in value by the time we arrive at the Basse market,” says Hajja Kumba Gumaneh, who lives in Dingiring, a bigger wealthy village off the road to Koina.
She explained further: “Some people who live not far away prefer carrying their stuffs on their heads to using the scrap vehicles that pile up on the bumpy roads every day.”
Basse, where life has continued to be lived without adequate electricity and good roads for the past decades, shows no sign of real development.
commodity prices, moreover, are becoming exorbitant in the country’s second capital city, and the cost of small and mid-size apartments has become prohibitive for the middle-class citizens, most of whom are severely hit by unemployment.
Whatever government policies are applied to address the present status quo, rural Gambia is crying out for infrastructural and socio-economic development.
In a country where majority of the population keep their heads just above water through the survival means of the hoe, any deficit in rainfall would always be disastrous to more than 60% of the population that rely on agriculture as a means of survival.
Unlike the halcyon days, nowadays business has taken a downward swing, says Alieu Secka, a prominent businessman who lives in the provincial town of Bansang, Central River Region.
As a business centre, Bansang is burgeoning into a major business hub for the people of Cassamance, who have found solace living in dilapidated infrastructures in that part of the country, such as the hospital, the market, and other public centres in the town.
However, as the prospect of business remains dim in the countryside, owing to poor agricultural records and “lack of knowledge in business culture”, Mr Secka is optimistic about the good future of the town.
“I settled here some decades ago, but how business used to move and how it is moving now, are quite the opposite,” Mr Secka explained.
In those days, agriculture was booming and people of the region including those in Cassamance were well-off, especially in this time [January - April] of the year, when harvest has come to an end.”
Over the past years, residents have been passing the night without electricity. Recently, however, the lights have come back somewhat epileptically in the mountainous town. A radio station has been established that occasionally gives voice to farmers and young people.
Despite these budding developments, there are still some industrious businesswomen that are unpleased with the modus operandi set in train in that part of the country by the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC).
“When the light comes at 6pm, by 2am it’s gone again until 9am; from this hour it will stay until 2pm,” explains Nenneh Faye, a vendor of locally made ice cream.
She lamented the fact that rural Gambia is not enjoying the dividends of development in the country, citing poor linking roads, low access to electricity, and unavailability of a vibrant market, among others.
Whilst the price of bissap (Moringa for English) – a commodity used for making the cream – is skyrocketing, Nenneh is left in a catch 22 situation, because increasing the price of her product would let vendors curtail their buying power of what she produces; therefore, she is obliged to leave her charges unchanged – which is another quandary for her.
Whilst most of the moringa come from neighbouring Cassamance, some of the people in that region are unhappy because there is no fixed price or regulations in the commodity market.
“There is no stipulated and agreed price for the kilo [of a moringa]; people now and then sell at prices that suit them,” says Maimuna Sarr, an entrepreneur from Saradou in neighbouring Cassamance.
“This situation is not encouraging at all. Moreover, after we have sold our commodities, we find it uneasy to cross to our villages with the little goods we buy from The Gambia, as the Senegalese customs police continue to intercept and seize our goods [because it is from The Gambia].”
The action of the Senegalese authorities has raised some pertinent questions among the educated youth cohort in the Cassamance region.
“Upon my return from [Cheikh Anta Diop] university, I heard of what is going on in the region; I decided to ask: ‘Is Senegal respecting the Agreements the two countries have made in Banjul’?” asks Ebrima Leigh, who met with MarketPlace in Saradou.
The seizing of goods from The Gambia at the border by Senegalese customs officers, has rendered many businesspeople conducting trade across the Gambia-Senegal border bankrupt in recent years, they say.
Salif Diallo, a resident of Saradou, explains his ordeal owing to such acts: “I was heading for the weekly ‘lumo’ in Yero Foulla when I met them one morning in the year 2009. All the goods that were in my horse-cart were taken away. The worth of what was taken is to the region of twelve thousand Gambian dalasi – an amount I could not still recover.”
MarketPlace also caught up with women in the far north of the Upper River Region who did cry out against the poor linking road between Basse and Koina.
“Some of our fragile or perishable goods like tomatoes diminish in value by the time we arrive at the Basse market,” says Hajja Kumba Gumaneh, who lives in Dingiring, a bigger wealthy village off the road to Koina.
She explained further: “Some people who live not far away prefer carrying their stuffs on their heads to using the scrap vehicles that pile up on the bumpy roads every day.”
Basse, where life has continued to be lived without adequate electricity and good roads for the past decades, shows no sign of real development.
commodity prices, moreover, are becoming exorbitant in the country’s second capital city, and the cost of small and mid-size apartments has become prohibitive for the middle-class citizens, most of whom are severely hit by unemployment.
Whatever government policies are applied to address the present status quo, rural Gambia is crying out for infrastructural and socio-economic development.
Gambia’s Soil Offers Fresh Impetus
Whilst the country entirely depends on foreign market for Irish potato, the trend seems to be taking a different direction as an industrious young man has intervened in its cultivation to make a paradigm shift in the production of the crop.
Young Thomas Kargbo, a Sierra Leonean national now living in the Gambia has crafted new techniques by using the Lamin Women Horticultural Garden Centre (Borehole) to prove that the importation of Irish potato can be brought to a stop.
His innovative techniques do not only stop at this: Kargbo’s garden produces crops such as onions, carrots, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes that are highly needed in the country’s local markets.
potatoes eaten in Gambia are exported
The unique thing about Thomas’s farming productivity is the production of Irish potato in a part of the country that has hardly experienced such cultivation, making him the second person after M.A. Kharafi Farm – a farming merchant in Kafuta - to embark on production of the crop in The Gambia.
“We have various crops being cultivated here such as onions, cabbages, sweet potatoes, sweet pepper, cucumbers, and other crops,” Thomas explained.
“And right now I have introduced a new crop in the garden, which is Irish potato. This was never cultivated here. I have made a try and it has come out very well; the fruit of my labour went beyond my expectation, because I tried it thinking it will not do well, but to my surprise, God did very well for me. With just 40 kg of the seed I planted I have been able to get 500 kg from it; so it is a very big surprise to me; I therefore thank God for that.”
Thomas’s story worth thousand applauds, for the fact that a Norwegian tried and failed to produce the same product in the same land some twelve years ago.
His garden is 0.03 hectares of land allocated to him by women of the garden centre, who gave their right hand to Thomas, after a retired agriculturalist, Haruna Manneh offered to supervise the young man.
To many, Thomas’s venture is a miracle, as he puts it: “It was in fact a big surprise to the people in the garden when they saw how the crop was blossoming up to its harvest today. This is something they had not seen before on the garden; thus, it has been a big surprise to them. Whenever they come to the garden some would come and see and even touch it for them to believe that ‘yes this truly is Irish potato’.”
Explaining the modus operandi, he said: “Because [some of] this crop takes hundred days before it is fully ready for harvesting. At the 85th day you should stop applying fertilizer and chemical; you continue to give only water for the rest of the 15 days to complete the 100 days.”
Thomas continued: “This crop would go for about three months ten days. I am harvesting right now in April. And after harvesting I have to wait till the next planting season, because this is a crop you cannot plant in the raining season. We start planting around October and go on to the cold season, because this is a crop that needs cold weather and atmosphere: that is why we start it immediately after the raining season. By early January we start to harvest; and we can plant again around December to be able to harvest around this time in April before the rains set in.”
Kargbo is a certified marketer, who worked with M.A. Kharafi - a massive producer of Irish potato and other market crops in The Gambia - as a storekeeper for about two years before setting off on his own.
Over this period he was able to learn the skill through the company’s engineer brought in from abroad to produce the crop.
“The engineer the company brought into this country to produce the potato crop became my best friend,” the young farmer explained. “I really gained favour from him; so time to time I would ask him certain questions as regards the crop and he would answer me outright. That’s how I learned the skill.
“And when I was about to embark on my first try, I went there of late and saw the crop germinating by itself. I thought in my mind that if I put this under the soil and give it water as I used to see it being done on the farm, something might come out of it; so I bought 40 kg of seeds from the company which I used to plant.”
In this time of crop failure in The Gambia, that has formally been declared by the Government of The Gambia, Mr Kargbo has been able to add onto the produce of the land with such a highly needed foodstuff.
Agriculture is the economic foundation of many sub-Saharan countries, employing more than 60 per cent of the region’s workforce and accounting for some 30 per cent of gross domestic product. Africa, therefore, needs increased productivity in its agriculture and higher incomes in its rural areas and communities. And this is what Kargbo aims to contribute to not only in The Gambia but also other parts of Africa.
Young Thomas Kargbo, a Sierra Leonean national now living in the Gambia has crafted new techniques by using the Lamin Women Horticultural Garden Centre (Borehole) to prove that the importation of Irish potato can be brought to a stop.
His innovative techniques do not only stop at this: Kargbo’s garden produces crops such as onions, carrots, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes that are highly needed in the country’s local markets.
The unique thing about Thomas’s farming productivity is the production of Irish potato in a part of the country that has hardly experienced such cultivation, making him the second person after M.A. Kharafi Farm – a farming merchant in Kafuta - to embark on production of the crop in The Gambia.
“We have various crops being cultivated here such as onions, cabbages, sweet potatoes, sweet pepper, cucumbers, and other crops,” Thomas explained.
“And right now I have introduced a new crop in the garden, which is Irish potato. This was never cultivated here. I have made a try and it has come out very well; the fruit of my labour went beyond my expectation, because I tried it thinking it will not do well, but to my surprise, God did very well for me. With just 40 kg of the seed I planted I have been able to get 500 kg from it; so it is a very big surprise to me; I therefore thank God for that.”
His garden is 0.03 hectares of land allocated to him by women of the garden centre, who gave their right hand to Thomas, after a retired agriculturalist, Haruna Manneh offered to supervise the young man.
To many, Thomas’s venture is a miracle, as he puts it: “It was in fact a big surprise to the people in the garden when they saw how the crop was blossoming up to its harvest today. This is something they had not seen before on the garden; thus, it has been a big surprise to them. Whenever they come to the garden some would come and see and even touch it for them to believe that ‘yes this truly is Irish potato’.”
Explaining the modus operandi, he said: “Because [some of] this crop takes hundred days before it is fully ready for harvesting. At the 85th day you should stop applying fertilizer and chemical; you continue to give only water for the rest of the 15 days to complete the 100 days.”
Thomas continued: “This crop would go for about three months ten days. I am harvesting right now in April. And after harvesting I have to wait till the next planting season, because this is a crop you cannot plant in the raining season. We start planting around October and go on to the cold season, because this is a crop that needs cold weather and atmosphere: that is why we start it immediately after the raining season. By early January we start to harvest; and we can plant again around December to be able to harvest around this time in April before the rains set in.”
Kargbo is a certified marketer, who worked with M.A. Kharafi - a massive producer of Irish potato and other market crops in The Gambia - as a storekeeper for about two years before setting off on his own.
Over this period he was able to learn the skill through the company’s engineer brought in from abroad to produce the crop.
“The engineer the company brought into this country to produce the potato crop became my best friend,” the young farmer explained. “I really gained favour from him; so time to time I would ask him certain questions as regards the crop and he would answer me outright. That’s how I learned the skill.
“And when I was about to embark on my first try, I went there of late and saw the crop germinating by itself. I thought in my mind that if I put this under the soil and give it water as I used to see it being done on the farm, something might come out of it; so I bought 40 kg of seeds from the company which I used to plant.”
In this time of crop failure in The Gambia, that has formally been declared by the Government of The Gambia, Mr Kargbo has been able to add onto the produce of the land with such a highly needed foodstuff.
Agriculture is the economic foundation of many sub-Saharan countries, employing more than 60 per cent of the region’s workforce and accounting for some 30 per cent of gross domestic product. Africa, therefore, needs increased productivity in its agriculture and higher incomes in its rural areas and communities. And this is what Kargbo aims to contribute to not only in The Gambia but also other parts of Africa.
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