(JollofNews) – President Adama Barrow of the Gambia Monday used his meeting with a delegation of European Union officials to called for the creation of jobs and other opportunities for Gambians youths to address the rising tides of illegal migration to Europe.
The Gambia is one of Africa’s smallest nations, with a population of just under two million. And yet its citizens have consistently ranked among the top five nationalities taking the Central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy.
The country is also ranks highest among sub-Saharan African countries in terms of the numbers of its migrants who are unaccompanied minors. In 2016, 13 per cent of unaccompanied children arriving in Italy were Gambian, according to UNICEF.
In total, nearly 12,000 Gambians arrived in Italy via the Mediterranean in 2016, a 36 percent increase from 2015.
Mr Barrow said his government recognizes that migration was a challenging issue, as young people leave for the West with the hope of better livelihoods.
He urged all stakeholders to engage in dialogue, as migration was a global problem that could be best addressed through job creation for the youth. He called for investments that would create jobs to engage the youth in industrial development and in agriculture.
He said his administration would cooperate with the European Union on migration issues and create opportunities for the youth.
Mr Barrow’s government has made tackling irregular migration a priority. It plans to focus on creating jobs and training opportunities to reduce the 40 percent unemployment rate among young people, the main push factor behind the Gambia’s exodus.
Forced migration is an economic and financial reality for young Gambians. This administration must develop concrete steps to address this tragedy. First show fiscal responsibility by spending our money wisely. Open trade schools so our youths can learn electric, plumbing, carpentry and other trades. Develop our infrastructure to create jobs for this young people. Encourage teaching professional development so young people will stay home to be teachers, and finally let them know their government care about them.
God Bless The Gambia
When people from the EU come to Africa they are generally referred to as tourists. Conversely, when our youths are forcing themselves to get to Europe they are described as migrants. Creating jobs for the youths is not the only answer. Salaries in the Gambia are notoriously vey low. Past goveenments did something to help the youths. We have lots of technical and tertiary institutions like GTTI, PYS,etc. but did they provided the solutions to our youth problems?No. Unless this government is ready to make a radical overhaul of the poor salaries rooted in our systems, youths will continue the perilous journey to Europe. After all, their parents pay for these trips, not government.
Yes my good Doctor; I agree. Tourists intend to come and go; Migrants intend to stay.
Nyima Bojang, I agree with you, poor pay is discouraging and can even bring corruption and other illegal activities.
Nyima Bojang, I agree with you, poor pay is discouraging and can even bring corruption and other illegal activities. But more youths left the country during the previous government than any government before. Gambia should have more manufacturers more companies more training schools.
Nyima Bojang got a point!
Also about the schools , poor people cant afford this expensive schools, they should also look into that. Many youths I know get drop out also because they cant afford it. its a pity.A grant is required for some good ambitious students, They can pay back when they start working in their various professions .
My first job was as a Clerk in an engineering firm, that made washing machines, The wage was £4.11 shillings a week.{ £213.72PA } The same job today would command between 16K and 26K Per annum.No one could survive on £4.11 shillings per week today. Granted I live in a developed country, which is the 5th largest economy in the world. As economic growth rises, so does wages. To pay wages that do not correspond to economic output, forces down productivity, with job losses, lower growth, and increased production costs. The attraction, of inward investment from International business, is a nation’s lower manufacturing cost and wages. Hence countries like China, India and the emerging economies, have seen inward investment on an unprecedented scale, with Growth in double digits, competitive wage structures, and a significant drop in corrupt practises.Allied to this situation, developing nations have now some of the best trained and educated workforces, anywhere in the world. Much of the UK’s manufacturing base has been transferred to these and other nations, simply because its is cheaper and more profitable. The UK has diversified into other industries, technologies, research and development, thousands of new businesses and services and those who employ themselves.
BTW that washing machine company closed down and transferred to Brazil. The way I see it, Gambia’s main assets{ its skilled } now reside in developed countries.
If incentives were offered to return and propagate skill training and new business development and education, the economic corner would be turned at a rapid rate of knots. This is something government can build on.
There are too many village idiots in The Gambia. For the most part they are incapable and unwilling to see the simple relationship between building a skilled work force, job creation by infrastructure development and wealth creation by careful planning and fiscal discipline. All these men- the online experts as they were want to talk about is what Yahya did or did not do. The proof is there for all to see. The man’s legacy is that of massive forced migration and loss of innocence and opportunities for our children. What we need is a frank conversation and a framework to make our country comfortable and attractive to our youths to stake their future at home. Work in Gambia, live in Gambia, raise your family in The Gambia and be happy in The Gambia. But what do we get, a bunch of selfish, irresponsible former dictator sympathizers hiding online disseminating false information and attempting to justify an obvious lie. The truth is there was never a functioning training program or facility built and sustained by the last administration. The truth is, more young Gambians risked life and limb to travel out of our country the back way to Europe in search of a better life and future. The truth is while Jammeh was buying aircrafts and luxury automobiles thousands of Gambian youths remained unemployed or underemployed. The truth is while Jammeh was buying, maintaining and paying property taxes to US government, he did not pay one dalasi in taxes to the government of Gambia. The truth is Jammeh is the richest Gambian in the world and has remained so for over 20 years, and he is unemployed. Look, the truth of The Gambia is replete with information of Yahya’s guilt and direct responsibility for forced migration and he alone bore the responsibility for so many deaths. The issue is not what we are called when we leave our shores, the issue is why did we leave, how we left and what we are going to do upon arrival at destination.Tourist get a visa, they fly in. Tourists come to Gambia to enjoy our God given gifts and friendly nature, in return they spend their money, once they have had their fill of our hospitality, they leave, most of them. I think we all know how our son and daughters get to Europe. It is too painful for description here. So if we feel compelled to say something, at least try to make sense. I think Mr Barrow will do better, I pray and hope he does.
God Bless The Gambia.
The starting point should be exposing prosititudes like you, the so-called Dr who always demonstrates her stupidity when ever she opens her filty mouth. Villagers are more inteligent than you. Your own dad was the worst Jammeh sympatiser and the worst tax evader. You are therefore better off associating with idiots tban villagers.
We should stop the blame game and start addressing some of the issues that matter. Yes Jammeh is the worst president any country will like to have, but greed and sycophantic drive of place seekers made him a dictator. The mass migration of young people is not only confined to Gambia. Other countries are also losing significant number of their young population as well. Remember Europeans started the exploitation of Africa because of its rich resources and human capital used as slaves , now the pendulum has shifted,. After all, these migrants are also contributing to the growth in those countries. It is time to stop the blame game and turn the corner.
Gambia does not maintain a monopoly on young people fleeing to servitude and deprivation en masse in Europe. I personally don’t care about what the political crooks in other African countries are doing to cause this attrition in their most precious population – their children. My love and concern is my country. I cant even begin to fix the problems in my fathers house ( Gambia ) and my brother is asking me to think about our neighbors – ( other African countries ) What is my palaver in that. Stay focused and dedicated to task. Accept we are in trouble and come up with a workable solution. Stop this deflection. The truth shall set you free.
I believe using word like “idiot ” to describe villagers coming to the city to migrate to Europe is uncalled for. They are no better than the skilled migrants who legally came to be educated in European universities and stayed for better paying jobs. It’s wrong and spiteful to use profane language in this forum. How would you describe those who are filling the mining villages in Angola? Going to other countries looking for a better way of life is economic opportunism and there is nothing wrong about it so long as it’s done in the legal way
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Making our country or countries attractive to the youths is undesputable. And my opinion in attaining that is to increase the salaries of the youths parents.
And look into the fact that tuition fees are very high for the average Gambian with this new leap forward into the digital millinery. Surprisingly the latest educational avenues in the information technological advancements, but how many percent of the youth parents can foot those bills?
Even the trade institutions that have been mentioned where skilled technicians could be moulded are expensive in terms of financial availability for the families set up. Yet still education is the goose that laid golden eggs….this is real headache! Pragmatism,deal with problem at hand; attracting investors,upgrading of the institutions to be well equipped in material and human resources,like qualified tutors by making the job attractive to them.
People should be sensitised with the very features that makes the country attractive not only to the Tourists but the regional migration as well, when we consider the fact that lots of teachers and tradesmen are originating from neighbouring countries. We need to sustain those viable ventures by engaging in them.
I agree with all’ The conversation must leave the past and focus on the future;
The positive side of successful migration with “status” in the host developed country, has lead to the support of families through remittances via earnings through the hard times of The APRC. The problem here for those wishing to return is work and wages and meeting the ordinary financial obligations towards family. How do you make the same money ?
This does not mean all should return. But if a New Business Bureau, was created with grant aid; for example, a government grant of say £10,000 matched by the entrepreneur, and accompanied by a business plan and cash flow forecast. This would foster the return of business creation, employment and tax revenue.
I myself benefitted from such a grant in 1996 and within 2 years my business was generating half a million a year and employing 12 people who were trained and skilled, some eventually starting their own business. Business..equals training ..equals, profit and taxation, and encourages higher earnings and stimulates other new businesses.
I Love the Gambia, but you cannot describes people who work hard and save, go on a holiday for two weeks, you cannot put them in the same categories as people who is getting on a boat and then when they get to the destination they need hands out, they are not contributing to the economics.
Please note this is not just about Gambian…but everyone who’s going to Europe illegally .