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The Gambia and The State of Dwindling Development Crisis
Tuesday, 13 September 2011 11:09
How social justice becomes another political illusion? (Opinion) - The Human Development Index of United Nation Development Programme 2006 has indicated that Gambia and many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa are the worst place live on this planet. What another disheartening report of hopelessness, despair, hunger, poverty and development crisis. For many people who are clouded with what is happening in the Gambia, this report is not a surprise. The hypothesis is that our people are poor because they are not empowered and are poorly governed.
UNDP measures the global trend of development using indicators such as life expectancy, access to health and sanitation, literacy, safe drinking water, access to food and nutrition, environment, democracy and human rights. It is a fact that human development cannot prevail in an environment where there is continuing attacks on individual liberty and democracy and this are the realities prevailing in the Gambia.
Gambia, under 17 year’s rule of Yahya Jammeh is degenerating into social disintegration together with an economy which is collapsing into Mafioso-style chaos. All the development arms of the government such Department of Agriculture, health, water resources, community development, education, forestry, social welfare etc which can diffuse and replicate development innovations to communities and grassroots organisations has collapse into bankruptcy due deficits in budgetary allocation to re-finance development programmes in the public sector.
Today the majority of our people are hallowing in absolute poverty while the disparity between the rich and poor is much wider as ever before. Gini coefficient measurement of the Gambia, according to World Development Report indicated wider issues of inequality. The recent report as a follow-up to the 1992 International Labour Organisation poverty survey indicated a massive increase in rural and urban poverty from 52 and 50 percent level in 1982 to 80 and 75 percent respectively. The report also figured an increase in both income and food poverty. This shows that the daily life of average Gambians is characterised with despair and hopelessness while there is no realistic political will in place to address the issues of their living on the edge.
Looking into human development indicators such as safe drinking, it is a fact that no life as we know is possible without water. Access to safe drinking water is a determinant of human development. Taking for example Brufut with all the housing regenerations and building hotels, estate development and African anaemic and with rising unemployment and failing agricultural sector the tide of rural/urban migration is beyond the records of Gambian statistic.
There are enormous challenges facing development crisis in our country and all which cannot be address without looking into good governance, rule of law, democracy and human rights for external financing of development programmes. Gambia’s development programme is partly finance by bilateral and multinational aids. In this age of embracing democracy as universal value development aid, debt cancellation is always link to conditionality such as rule of law, human rights and social justice. In order to meet our development challenges such as environmental degradation, high population growth, hunger, malnutrition etc the only solution is putting in place a political system or government with human face but not a government which is always involved in murky murder, illegal arrest and detention of its people as a strategy to suppress their liberty and democracy rights.
anaemic and with rising unemployment and failing agricultural sector the tide of rural/urban migration is beyond the records of Gambian statistic.
There are enormous challenges facing development crisis in our country and all which cannot be address without looking into good governance, rule of law, democracy and human rights for external financing of development programmes. Gambia’s development programme is partly finance by bilateral and multinational aids. In this age of embracing democracy as universal value development aid, debt cancellation is always link to conditionality such as rule of law, human rights and social justice. In order to meet our development challenges such as environmental degradation, high population growth, hunger, malnutrition etc the only solution is putting in place a political system or government with human face but not a government which is always involved in murky murder, illegal arrest and detention of its people as a strategy to suppress their liberty and democracy rights.
Written by Abdoukarim Sanneh, United Kingdom
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Comments
Where there is ignorance..there is only poverty.
For 50 years Africa has been dependant on the crumbs from the rich man's table.
The poor response from the richer nations of Africa..to the crisis in Somalia...is an indication that African governments are indifferent to the suffering of fellow African's.
For 50 years..it is the western tax payer..who continues to dig deep to foot the bill for life.
Mandela..puts it squarely on the African table.
"The tragic failure of African leadership"
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