Another IMF Mission Report, Another Heartache No matter how this regime and the IMF try to put a gloss on the dire predicament of Gambians in the face of a terrible economic condition, the harder it is to conceal the fact that Gambians are hurting, and they are hurting badly. I hope the IMF will start doing the right thing by threatening severe sanctions against a regime whose insatiable thirst for irresponsible spending is legendary. I am embarrassed to tell friends and colleagues in America and Europe that Yaya Jammeh owns, not one but two Rolls Royce Phantoms and dozens of other luxury cars in a country where the average citizen still lives on $1 a day and Gambia slightly better off than a church mouse. It is unconscionable for Jammeh to live large as we say in these parts, while the rest go hungry. Back to the IMF preliminary findings, we have said in these pages that both agriculture and tourism will under-perform even if theres slight recovery. Any movement in positive territory from the previous quarter will be touted as recovery when this economy is far from recovering. It is still sliding, and sliding at a dangerous pace. Inflation remains unchecked despite claims that it is easing from 6.1% to 5.6%. Tell that to the ordinary Gambian who woke up this morning only to discover that a loaf of bread now costs D8 because there has been a 21% increase in the price of a bag of flour from D1,400 to D1,700, rice cost upward of D1,800 per bag which is more than what a wage earner makes monthly. We will be be looking at the numbers closely once we get the full Mission Report. Sidi Sanneh
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 13:52:13 +0000
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