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Contribution of Gambians abroad acknowledged in WB publication
Tuesday, 09 November 2010 13:46
By Kemo ChamRemittances sent by Gambians account for 8% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it top recipient of money sent by a country’s citizens abroad as a share of its GDP.
Monetary contributions by foreign based Gambians towards improvement of the livelihoods of Gambians back home are also highly acknowledged in a new World Bank publication, released Monday. It predicts an increase in remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole after a small
decrease last year due to the global financial crisis. The World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011, which tracks documented private transfers of funds and migratory patterns around the world, forecast an increase in remittances to Gambia to an estimated US$61 million in 2010, up from US$60 million the previous year. It also identified it as the country with the second largest rate of skilled emigration in Africa.
In spite of the obvious indication of brain drain this brings to light, the huge contributions Gambians living abroad are making in the development process of the country is well noted.
“Remittances are a critical lifeline for families and entire communities across Africa, especially in the aftermath of the global crisis,” said the World Bank’s Migration and Remittances unit manager, Dilip Ratha. “The fact that remittances are so large, come in foreign currency and go directly to households, means that these transfers have a significant impact on poverty reduction, funding for housing and education, basic essential needs, and even business investments,” he added.
Migration Trends
Nearly 65,000 Gambians are living outside the country in 2010. And an alarming 63 percent of the country’s tertiary-educated population is living abroad as of 2000, which makes Gambia the second nation, behind Cape Verde (68%), whose university educated nationals left their country the most.
The World Bank report attributed this situation mainly to islands and countries with fragile or conflict-afflicted situations. This suggests that most of the educated Gambians who leave the country do so as a result of the fragility of the state of affairs back home. Despite the monetary gains in terms of remittances, this trend of migration by the country’s educated core demands a rethink.
The top destination countries for migrating Gambians, according to this report, are Spain, the United States, Nigeria, Senegal, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Sierra Leone, Norway, and France.
Conversely, there is an estimated 290,000 non-Gambians living in the country this year, and these come primarily from Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, and Sierra Leone, the report noted.
As a share of GDP, remittance inflows into Gambia amounted to 8 percent of the country’s GDP in 2009, the report said. Other top recipients on the continent include Lesotho with 25%, Guinea-Bissau 9% and Senegal 9%.
Migration and Remittances Factbook 2011 is the second edition of an initial volume issued in 2008. It estimates that nearly 22 million Sub-Saharan Africans have left the continent.
However, despite a near 4% fell in remittances between 2008 and 2009, the first decrease since 1995, the report showed that remittance flows at continental levels are expected to reach US$440 billion by end-2010, up from US$416 billion in 2009. About three-quarters of these funds, or US$325 billion, it indicated, will go to developing countries. It noted flows to developing countries as a whole will rise further over the next two years, possibly exceeding US$370 billion by 2012.
“We estimate that recovery will continue over the next two years, with remittance flows to the continent possibly reaching about US$24 billion by 2012,” Dilip Ratha stated.
Given that millions of Africans rely on informal channels to send money home, Ratha noted, these numbers are grossly underestimated.
In absolute dollars, Nigeria is by far the top remittance recipient in Africa, accounting for US$10 billion in 2010, a slight increase over the previous year (US$9.6 billion). Neighboring Senegal is fourth biggest recipient on the continent, accounting for US$1.2 billion, above countries such as South Africa, Uganda, Mali, etc.
There is a pressing need to make it easier and cheaper to send and receive remittances in Africa, the authors of the book suggest, noting that the average cost of sending money to Africa is more than 10 percent. This, accordingly, is the highest among all the regions. Interestingly, the cost of sending money within Africa is found to be even higher.
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Comments
But this will not help the Gambia, not in the fututre. So it is better that we all go back and flush this ignoramous out of that place. Everything about him and what he stands for is a joke and he has already succeeded in making the whole nation a joke in the eyes of the rest of the world.
Unfortunately it is one of the major reason why this Man backward migrant has managed to rule this tiny country as if he owns it with the blessing and support of the semi literates and incommunicado academics Gambians.
That is exactly the point, Grafiti. And it is clearlly stated that the trend of migration from the source countries has mainly to do with conflict and related issues, with the exception of a few which are island nations. Gambia is certainly not an island nation.
Losing 63% of our university educated core is no good thing. And only the government can stop this, byensuring an acceptable environment.
Not all of us wanted to leave Gambia because of the so-called greener pasture. The risk involved in living in that country forced me and, as I have found out, many others.
One wonders what accounts for this trend. With education comes an elightenment, which causes 'intellectuals' to seek more condusive environments where they can put their knowledge and expertise into play. The Gambia needs this cohort of highly skilled people, without which her advancement as a country will be severly retarded.
I am of the impression that repressive tendancies of the status quo is largely responsible for the mass exodus, but also the remuneration of highly skilled workers in the country really needs revising.
A 'change' is needed indeed. I feel sorry for Gambia.
Comment
We can’t blame anybody for saving their souls from a predatory-sheikh who feeds on others’ blood & sweat. There’s no crime in living abroad, especially where one can be at peace, keep away from the fangs & venoms of the Demonic-tyrant & contribute better on family & country. Those families with relatives stable abroad are those assured of constant remittances in Gambia today. Whilst others with only bread winners in Gambia, especially government employees, lives on imaginations under constant coercion & fear of when they will next fall prey for the Serpent-sheikh. Others in NGOs, private/self employment aren’t spared either. But Sheikh-Ibliss will surely fall on his sword; no doubt about that.
This evidence contradicts the recent IMF projections earlier of downtrends on remittances to Gambia which’s no fault of theirs but has to do with the fiddled data handed to them by the fake government in Kanilai to distort facts; for yaya jammeh, none other his hallucinating-self’s worthy of praise; which’s why he pretends to be donating everything to a country who employs & pays him salary-a case of employee richer than employer??? There’re few unregistered informal transfers where one pays in an account call & give a local phone no. to the recipient in Gambia to pick the money in some house, etc; with all those added the total percentage of GDP will be far more than the stated 8%. This exposes the adulterating-sheikh’s blatant lies.
Quote Unit Manager Dilip Ratha “...these transfers have a significant impact on poverty reduction...housing...education, basic essential needs...business investments...millions of Africans rely on informal channels to send money home...these numbers...grossly underestimated...”
...cont...
After all it is not the King's effort alone that develops the country!
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