(JollofNews) – International donors have pledged at least €1.45 billion ($1.71 billion) to support the new government in The Gambia to achieve its five-year development plan.
The pledge was made at Tuesday’s donor conference in Brussels in the presence of President Adama Barrow.
Official sources embedded with Barrow’s delegation to the conference intimated to the African Press Agency that international donor institutions have expressed readiness to support the government fix Gambia’s beleaguered economy.
The donor meeting in Brussels takes place amidst trepidation over a preliminary study by the International Monetary Fund which warned that Gambia’s debt vulnerabilities remain high and advised Banjul to chase grants instead of loans to address its spending needs.
It blamed a weak base for Gambia’s current economic woes.
The Brussels conference was the latest show of financial support from the international community since former President Yahya Jammeh fled the country ostensibly with millions of dollars thought to have been siphoned off state coffers.
Jammeh had lost a December 2016 presidential election to Barrow who claimed shortly after assuming office that he had inherited a battered economy from his predecessor.
1.45 billion Euros! Then my money is there. Where is that money going to? Into the hands of that CORRUPT, CORRUPTIBLE, INCOMPETENT, SELFISH and TRIBALIST bunch of administrators led by a British Argos watchman?
May Allah the Almighty (SWT) save the Gambia.
They are unscrupulous and have no fear for corruptible practices. The money will be squandered, no doubt about that.
In fact who are the donors? Then we can make a serious case study of the strings normally tied to such donations and their administration.
Babu Soli,
Correct,
There’s no such thing as a “free lunch”
Congratulations to The President for his ability to initiate this commitment from Donors. Next necessary and logical step is TRANSPARENCY. ( Give a public accounting of ):
1. Conditions for these funds.
2. Specific plans for the funds.
3. How spending and results will be monitored/tracked by average Gambians.
My hope is that our government will establish Priority areas and Exclusion areas when the funds become available.
Exclusions areas must include:
Official salary and all travel expense.
All official expense to include but not limited to accommodation and transportation.
Government Residence and furniture.
Inclusion may include:
Power generation.
Clean water.
Infrastructure. ( Roads, Drainage systems, Public health facility and Education ).
Healthcare.
Education.
Agriculture – fertilizers and pest control.
Fishing and Cold storage.
Market design and Management.
Tourism.
Environment.
Security.
Other priority areas.
God Bless The Gambia
Dr Sarr,
It’s sad that you are eulogizing/congratulating a THIEF, a CRIMINAL. You are rest assured (within your conscience) that those conditions under TRANSPARENCY will never be met. When will this CORRUPT administration be transparent after 1.5 years in office and all the looting it did? And the transparency that was promised in 2016?
What do you know about the “donors” of the 57 vehicles that were dished out to NAMS and the Chinese 50-million-dollar gift?
This man is really cunning because he has succeeded in thwarting the ability to read his misconduct in office of our “learned” people. That’s why he keeps silent and shy.
In 2010/11, there was a donor conference for Afghanistan where more than 30 Billion Dollars was pledged for that impoverished shattered nation. Till today, not half of those pledges have been fulfilled. That’s the first lesson to be mindful of. That pledges does not necessary mean money in the bank.
Now, it will be interesting to have all the signed documents between the two entities for full scrutinization by the citizenry. I know for a fact that our technocrats and politicians are quick to sign documents without the maximum amount of dexterity required under such circumstances. Anyone remember the coastal protection contract signed with a civil engineering firm from Holland? A month later, government‘s copy of a contract worth a 100 Million Dalasi was nowhere to be found.
Another aspect that will be interesting to know is : what CONDITIONS are attached to these pledges. The citizenry needs to be informed.
Needless to say this amount, even if realized in its entirety, represents only a minute fraction of our capital needs for the myriad of investments that need to be made to cover our developmental aspirations in just a decade. Hard as it may be to say, the solution lies NOT in Donor checkbooks, rather how we develop the productive capacity of our economies as Africans. An economy that will cater for future generations without a burdensome debt mountain.
This government and all other subsequent governments will do better if they are humble enough to go back to the drawing board and get their priorities right. For now, Adama and his team are wallowing in a lack of orientation on how to govern.
Lamin, you’re on point here.
This is only a pledge and not really a handshake.
Let’s wait for the bird in hand!
In the interest of doing something different this time around, the donors could have asked for a set amount of counterpart funds from the regional local governments over a specific period. Monies that filter through to malfeasance can come in real handy here! That’ll leave no question as to donor commitment to seeing different results this time around.
Now, that’ll be a real game changer!
Luntango, Tabaa Bong Yeh Kumo Fo Ndog!!
A very useful lesson learnt from this is when going to beg for funds use a commercial flight. One thing that is noticeable among the delegation who went with Barrow is most of them are UDP members. How can we be assured that part of the money will not be used to fund political activities? Time will tell!
Andy, Kelungtang has made a salient observation .
Ousainou is a master trickster and am sure if asked this question, he will look dead into the camera and say “in fact we rode bikes to Brussels and back”. And that “UDP is for everyone”.
I recall meetings between World Bank officials and a diverse Economic and Social Council in the final days of the PPP government. The officials had strong reservations about giving funds to government under the prevailing circumstances of graft and ineptitude.
It was evident that most, if not all, of the forward thinking Gambians on the panel shared the same concerns.
The standards of accountability, probity and governance haven’t changed much since then.
So it would therefore be absolutely imprudent and counterproductive for the EU and other donors to cut blank checks for the government.
Donors must insist that the government comes up with verifiable mechanisms that will enable private sector development partners to access funds directly. This government shouldn’t be in the business of growing government but enabling average Gambians to prosper!
A move that may turn average Gambian fortunes for the better going forward.
Otherwise all the fanfare and misplaced euphoria on the ground will only lead to regrets down the road. It’ll again be a case of, AM NAA GELLEM WAYE MUNGA GAANAARR!