| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Momodou |
Posted - 21 Sep 2018 : 08:16:45
HON. HALIFA SALLAH’S CONTRIBUTION ON THE ADJOURNMENT DEBATE ON 19th SEPTEMBER, 2018.
By Kexx Sanneh
Madam speaker, the President address this National Assembly for the first time when this government had fully taken control of the steering wheel for a whole year. I listen to what he said about sincerity and I emphasized the way forward base on having internal knowledge.
I emphasized to this house that the change was not for its shake, that there was thought process to establish a agency for sustainable socio-economic development that will create an expert bank that will create clusters of experts to look into every sector of development of this country and look at the strategic plans, the policies of the old government, examine their shortcomings and come up with a blueprint that will be implemented when the government takes over.
And I analyzed what the president said and in terms of employment, I quoted over 484 thousand children being coming out of our school system every 12 years that should be our concern.
And Member for Jeshwang indicated that by quoting 1000 trained for 11 million Euro, the training was only 1000 we have not been given any other additional information. Another 14000 another 1000. 3.9 million dollars another 2500.
I am saying this is such a scanty information that as far as I am concerned does not tell us about anything regarding addressing the unemployment rate among the young population.
And the Member is saying that my statement was mis-statement. Where is the misstatement? In fact calculate if you have 11 million euro is over 600,000,000 to be accurate divided by 1000. Would you spend over 600,000 on a particular individual? That is what it will amount to and just look at the statistics you the teachers and mathematicians.
So we are saying that we need to look into a comprehensive project that looks at the challenges and shortcomings, the challenges of the youth and unemployment, we are not only talking about the returnees and then see how to address it. That is the challenge. The information we have does not address the problems of our young people.
Therefore we need information of how to address the problems of our young people.
Yes we all know that services contribute over 60 percent of the GDP, Agriculture is about 22 percent GDP and 13 percent for industry that is information given to us already. We know the biasness of the current economy, but it is not leading us anywhere. So we are not talking about backbone base on currently what constitute the largest part of our GDP. We are saying backbone depending on what will enable us to eradicate the poverty of our people. And we say 70 percent of our people depend on agriculture, then obviously that is what we have to address to be able to eradicate poverty.
That is what's he said. I emphasized that if you look at FASDEP, NEMA GICAF, over 5 billion spent on this project, some are still ongoing some are almost coming to the end, we need to interrogate where all that monies went, why is it that we are estimating food sufficiency and only 57,000 out of 200,000 tons were produced in 2015. What is the agenda of the current government for food sufficiency? What do we intend to produce annually? Where are the estimates? where is the study?
This is why we saying and I must emphasize again that even though we now have a National Development Plan, let the government establish a national development agency, so that this agency will focus on look at this national development plan, sectorize it, compartmentalized it, know the priorities, allocate the resources, have a work plan, that is what I am saying, so that at least we able to measure annually whether we are making progress, helter and shcelter you will never be able to access whether you are going to make progress and resources will go to all areas at the end of the day millions will be spent, that is why 56 billion is our debt now or over 56 billion and every Gambian is shouldering a debt burden of D28,000 even a newly born baby. That is our debt situation.
So we need to access the way forward and my emphasis was if the government is a transitional government of 3 years, then we can understand that it is not its duty to eradicate poverty, but will struggle minimize the problems of the land with the understanding of the people.
If the government is 5 years, then it’s a normal government and anticipation is that it should address the problems and challenges of our people. That’s my emphasis and the Member for Busumbala was saying let the people not be misled, how can the 3 years, the constitution says five years.
Who is he educating? The person in charge of the impasse telling people why the past President should leave here on the 18th of January, based on the 5 year mandate of the constitution. Where elections take place within three months before the end of the term of the incumbent. Who are they educating about the constitution? Go to section 65 a President can resign, a President can be impeached there are many ways of leaving office.
But it is the President to decide what people agreed as gentleman’s agreement and what is in the national laws that is left to those people who sat down and discussed and its left to people to honor what they want to honor or throw way what they want to throw away. There is no problem with that. I was just simply emphasizing if the President wants sympathy, then a particular mandate would be held, if the wants to a full president, then the president will be ready to face the full fire of scrutiny. So that what the nation expect from that president would be delivered.
Honorable Speaker, we look at the situation of Agriculture, exports, the whole economy. The member for Saloum is taking about development, the Treasury Bills, you have to look, even you reduce the interest rate is that lead us to investment in the productive base of the economy.
The minister told us that loans are decreasing, so where is the investment going? Liquidity is increasing, the banks are liquid where are they investing?
So investment is what brings about productivity and development and look at this Hournable speaker in 2016 the exports of the country was D744 million plus, re-export 3 billion plus and if you look at in terms of import, honorable speaker it was 15 billion. So we had a trade deficit of 11 billion.
Now 2017 export 630 it has declined, re-export 403 and the deficit 24 billion so what is happening with the re-export trade?
So these are the statistic we should be studying to see whether really we are moving forward”
Honorable Speaker, we have not come to this National Assembly for an ordinary purpose, we came here to contribute our quater to address the needs and aspirations of our people, but if the people want to transform fact into fiction, its like looking at the sky and looking at the sand and say it is the moon.
What is being said here are facts not distortions? Facts based us our interest to address the needs and aspirations of our people.
Madam speaker, look at the issue of energy, the president told us two year power supply agreement, two year is that sustainable development? I say yes we have an energy policy, but I have not seen sustainable development. The president also told us about SENELEC. This is a power coming from the outside, where is the sustainability?
So what we want to hear? Yes this is temporal measure, but long term policy is this, we want to move towards maybe 60 percent just fuel, 40 percent renewable energy, but how?
Some people want to bring wind energy, other forms of geothermal energy. We want concrete policy and some people saying yes the government is making progress.
Well those people who are telling government that maybe……. But clearly the government should listen to the people it should listen to if it wants development to progress.
Honorable Speaker I now move on to the issue of pension, salaries, women empowerment in small scale production, what plan do have? that is why we need this development agency is important to look into all these issues, if you look at the amount of money coming in and how it is spent and you see this women's, with fifty thousand dalasis you can have different forms of scheme cooperative scheme that enable people to really eradicate their poverty. Look at the agriculture what i was emphazing is that let us transform the mixed farming centers not only into modern centers, but into centres of expanding mechanized agriculture.
You deposit all these tractors and people come and used them whatever is gained can be used to replenish and you're talking about individual farming you give land to few people and control it, where will the rest of our population go? Where will they farm?
Speaker: your time is up
Halifa: Thank you |
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