Gambians urge IEC to ensure privacy for persons with visual impairment. click to listen to more: https://soundcloud.com/user-140623569-423216487/persons-with-visual-impairment-need-better-voting-system
The rise in the price of basic commodities in The Gambia for the past few months is unprecedented and rather challenging for low-income earners. The rise in prices isn’t showing no sign of decline weeks after Gambians re-elected Adama Barrow. The Gambia is a country with 48.5% of the population living below USD 1 a day. The current level of inflation in the country is becoming a nightmare for consumers whose expenditures are higher than their earnings. The situation, which remains hostile for low-income earners, necessitated their call for concern of price hike of goods. In Gambia, the inflation rate measures a broad rise or fall in prices that consumers pay for a standard basket of goods. Inflation rate in The Gambia increased to 7.34 percent in October from 7.01 percent in September of 2021. While food inflation increased to 8:80 percent and interest rate increased to 10:00 in October 2021, according to the Gambia Bureau of Statistics (GBoS). The Central Bank Governor, Buah Saidy said at a press conference on 8th September 2021 that the main drivers of food inflation were rice, vegetables, oils and fats, sugar, jam, honey and sweets, and other food products. He added that consumer price inflation on food and non-alcoholic beverages accelerated to 11.5% during the review period compared to 5.2% a year ago. Meanwhile, the World Bank also revealed that the headline inflation started increasing in January 2021, driven by food price increases, which is undermining household food security, but said it decelerated slightly to 6.9% y/y in August 2021. Consumers’ complaints Ebrima Mboob, 38, of Manjai and breadwinner of his family said feeding is the most expensive thing in the Gambia, right now. He complained that even D500 is not enough for the daily sustenance of the family (fish money) as a kilo of meat now costs D300. He lamented that all his monthly earnings go into family feeding, while other bills such as school fees, health care, water and electricity are being taken care of by his wife and siblings in Europe. “Even one does multiple jobs; it would be difficult to take care of his family needs alone. You must seek support from other relatives to help solve family needs,” he said. Fatou Jarju, 40, fishmonger at the Wellingara market said addressing the recent rise in the inflation, especially on basic commodities should be the priority of the re-elected president, Adama Barrow. She said the little profit she makes from her business does not benefit her as it all goes into the needs of her family. “It’s been five months now, I have not saved even D100 because from the little daily sales I make, I use that to sustain my family. My husband cannot do it alone. I have to assist him. The bills are also there and they should be settled and none of my children have graduated yet, they are all going to school,” the 40-year-old fishmonger said. A single mother at Sinchu Baliya, Saffiayatou Sanyang, 52, is scared that she might be a street beggar, if the situation remains unchanged. Sanyang, has been a mother of four, and a widow for the past 4 years who lives from hand-to-mouth through laundry service to put food on the table for her 4 children. She said if fish could cost D100 while she goes to market with D150; there is a high tendency that her family would not consume a balanced diet. “The recent increase in inflation should be a concern for everyone, not only the government. D200 of daily fish-money is no longer enough for families because fish alone cost D100 and above; while a cup of vegetable oil costs D25 that was sold for D10. Prices keep increasing and the government is not doing anything,” she decried. Since the change of government in 2017, the country has been experiencing different waves of price hikes as inflation continues to rise. Expert observation Former Accountant General and one-time Finance and Economic Affairs Minister in the Barrow led administration; Amadou Sanneh said the government should encourage many investments by Gambians and improve inflows of the foreign exchange as well as to improve the exchange rate and strengthening of the Dalasi. He said the Dalasi is falling and one has to factor in the valuation of the currency. “Sound macroeconomic management, financial management of the economy will ensure inflation comes down and there will be price stability and the exchange rate needs to be checked,” Sanneh suggested. The Gambia Government in a dispatch dated 23rd March 2020 introduced measures to control prices of essential commodities using the Commodities Emergency Powers Regulations, 2020. The development followed complaints from vendors and consumers about the exorbitant prices of essential commodities, especially basic food items, which sparked panic among buyers in the country. Another former finance minister, Abdou Colley said the inflation rise affects the consumers’ purchasing power and their ability to buy and consume goods; adding that it is also an effect on the rise in price of commodities which affect consumers ability to consume and maintain their pattern, likewise their welfare. “Its number one consequence is a reduction in growth. It slows down growth, meaning if the price of goods is increasing, then the consumption pattern is affected which leads them to reduce the quantities they purchase and this would lead to a slowdown in growth in the economy,” Colley explained. The former finance minister further explained that the rise in inflation also affects international competitiveness. “Gambian goods become relatively more expensive compared to other goods. Whereby Gambia’s ability as a country to export goods to other countries is affected and this reduces the country’s competitiveness. So, inflation affects growth in the economy and the competitiveness of the economy and also consumers’ welfare,” he said. NPP Gov’t Mitigation plan The National People’s Party manifesto states that the NPP Government would encourage and support improved agricultural productivity and livestock production. It explains that agricultural policies would seek to propel production and productivity through mechanisation to boost supplies at local markets for affordability by consumers. The NPP government aims to invest in the private sector to increase the surface of consolidated irrigated land with technological enhancement to the ideals of mechanisation; as well as to work with the private sector and all other interest groups to build storage facilities across the country for both local and industrial farmers to add value to agricultural crops and products such as fruits, vegetables and flours.
Journalists continue to face violence and intimidation for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression.These threats are often rife during elections. In the run up to the parliamentary elections, Our Sheriff Saidykhan zoomed into the need for safety. Click to listen to more: https://soundcloud.com/user-140623569-423216487/gpu-calls-for-safety-of-journalists-ahead-of-parliamentary-elections
Access to safe, affordable and reliable drinking water is a basic human rights. The Community of Faraba Sutu like many other communities in The Gambia are still struggling to access safe, clean and accessible water. Ahead of the National Assembly Elections, the people of Faraba Sutu in Kombo East say they will accept to be fooled thus they will vote wisely in this podcast produced by Binta Jarju. . Binta Jarju 1- final product
The people of Bakau say, they will only vote for a political party that has plans to fix the poor drainage facilities. click this link to listen: https://soundcloud.com/user-140623569-423216487/bakau-people-to-vote-for-proper-drainage-system
Farmers in the North Bank Region have lamented that post-harvest losses is a serious problem be-setting crop production in the area, affirming that candidates with plans to tackle the problem would greatly influence their voting in the 9th April parliamentary election. A cross-section of farmers who spoke to this medium, acknowledged that post-harvest losses affect their earning and therefore needs urgent attention by concerned authorities. Farmers’ concern Lamin Njie, a 35-year-old gardener in Njaba Kunda in the Central Badibou said he encountered a challenge in controlling pests in his garden because he does not have enough pesticide to eradicate the pests at his garden, as a result, he losses many of the produces he harvested in his gardens to them. He informed that community gardens have a great impact at community level, especially in small villages, adding ‘due to pests’ invasion, we experience a lot of difficulties in our gardens’. Njie called on the government of the Gambia through the Ministry of Agriculture, and partners to find a solution to the problem for the well-being of farmers and the country, by extension. Like other farmers, a solution to the problem would greatly influence his voting in the parliamentary election. “I would only vote for the candidate who advocates the well-being of farmers in the Central Badibou District in the 9th April 2022 parliamentary,” he said. Another farmer, Ndey Fatou Sanyang, a vegetable grower at Jokadu Karantaba, is also affected by post-harvest losses mostly caused to her crops by pests and diseases. “Most of us (women gardeners) use the money we get from the garden to pay the school fees of our children and also take care of our other needs for our families,” she said. The vegetable grower in Karataba confirmed that gardening has transformed the livelihoods of many women; and said that any candidate vying for the parliamentary seat of Jokodu should be ready to fight for the best interest of the farmers, as their representative at the National Assembly. What aspirants offer? Fatou Busso, an aspirant under the National People’s Party (NPP) for Upper Niumi said if elected, she would empower the women through government subsidies to remedy their problems. “If I win the 9th April parliamentary election 2022 for Upper Niumi, I would not only focused on pests and diseases control, but I will also lobby projects including boreholes for clean drinking water, as most of the people of Upper Niumi lack clean drinking water in their areas,” she assured. Aspirant Busso promised that the lack of fertilizer, seeds, and controlling pests and diseases would be her priority, as well as empowering women and youth farmers to access markets. Sulayman Saho, the sitting National Assembly member for Central Badibou seeking re-election under the United Democratic Party (UDP) said if elected as the lawmaker for his constituency, he would liaise with the government through the Ministry of Agriculture to effectively control pests and crop diseases for the well-being of his electorates. “If I am re-elected as the National Assembly Member for Central Badibou, I will make sure that the pest and crop diseases will be controlled- whether it is cultural, chemical or biological control for the betterment of agriculture for my people and the country at large,” he promised. Expert observation Lamin Fatty, an agriculturalist observed that the absence of permanent and standard selling places such as poor marketing structure, lack of simple storage technologies to maintain and prolong the life of produce which causes post-harvest losses. He added that the unavailability of well- established markets, storage facilities, poor transportation and lack of practical skills related to post-harvest handling, temperature and humidity management, also cause losses to farmers after harvest. “Post-harvest losses and quality deterioration of horticultural crops are mostly caused by pests, microbial infection, natural ripening processes and environment conditions such as heat, drought and improper post-harvest,” Fatty said. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), poor seed quality, inadequate farming practices, or insect attacks in the field can provoke post-harvest losses for farmers. The research added that broken grains from threshing could encourage the development of insects caused by the combined action of moulds, insects, rodents and other pests leading to post-harvest losses; as well as premature harvest, poor maturation, poor threshing, insufficient drying, and bird attacks, among others. In many developing countries, overall post-harvest losses of cereals and grain legumes account for about 10 to 15 percent, and it is estimated to be about 50% in some regions of Africa and Latin America.