Over $1.6 billion traded in the currency markets of Gambia annually without any visible impact on the economy, says Halifa Sallah

Halifa Sallah

The opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Organization for Independent and Socialism (PDOIS) have noted that over 1.6 billion dollars is traded in the currency markets of The Gambia annually without any visible impact on the four fundamental pillars of the economy, namely: public sector investment, private sector investment, cooperative sector investment and informal sector investment.

This is why we refer to the Gambian Economy as a transit economy. Monies appear to be leaving the country as fast as they enter rather than nestling in one sector to generate economic growth and employment, the party’s Secretary General Halifa Sallah told journalists during a press conference held on October 20, 2012 at the Peoples’ Centre in Churchill’s Town.

According Mr Sallah, during the 1999 financial year, the APRC administration used to indicate the annual gross turnover of public enterprises and their contribution to the budget which amounted to 82 million dalasi. Now dividends from public enterprises are recorded as zero, he said.

He said a PDOIS led government would ensure that the annual turnover of public enterprises is scientifically calculated and made known to the public as a matter of duty and that performance contracts would be signed with all public sector operators to ensure that dividends are scientifically calculated and increased on annual basis to build up the account of sovereign national wealth.

“The Gambia earnings from mineral resources have been elusive. PDOIS intends to make these earnings transparent and instrumental in promoting public sector investment,” he said.

Europe is developed through exploitation of Africa, says Halifa Sallah

Mr Halifa Sallah

European countries have continued to develop through the exploitation of African countries via unfair trade and use of the continent’s natural resources, says Halifa Sallah, as Africans at home and in the Diaspora marked African Liberation Day on 25 May this year.

At a symposium at Sir Dembo Nursery School in Bundung Borehole organised on 26 May by the Pan-African Forum to commemorate African Liberation Day, the veteran politician cum sociologist said:  “For instance, The Gambia produces groundnut, Ghana produces cocoa, Kenya produces tea. So they (European countries) make sure that our people produce one crop, and sell it to them. They processed it into packets of tea, packets of cocoa, oil, etc and then come back and sell it to us (Africans).  They also take our cotton and turned it into yarn and clothes and come and sell it to us.

“So they were getting the raw materials from Africa at very cheap prices and they were processing and selling it back to us at more expensive prices.  Therefore, in our trade we were always getting less than we were spending - that is called trade deficit. It means that their economy would be going up and our economy collapsing.  This is how they made us poorer and poorer and they became richer and richer.”

“From selling their (European) manufactured goods they make money and they take that money and invest it at a bank; so the banks started to collect a lot of capital. When the banks make enough money, they go there to get loan to be able to build industries and provide employment.  Employment continues to increase as more and more industries are created; therefore jobs were growing in their parts of the world; that is why Africans are leaving our continent to go to Europe in search of greener pasture.”