President of The Gambia Adama Barrow and European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica during a bilateral ceremony. Photo by: European Commission
BANJUL, The Gambia The smallest nation on the African continent has a lot on its plate. Newly elected President of The Gambia Adama Barrow faces an insolvent economy, two decades of documented human rights abuses, reserves of only two months worth of imports, more than 40 percent youth unemployment, and a capital city that, according to environmental impact assessments, will slip into the Atlantic in less than 45 years.
Barrows inauguration tomorrow is billed as an end to 22 years of oppression and isolationism under the ousted Yahya Jammeh and a rebirth of The New Gambia.
As the world waits to discover how and when Barrow will carry out his promise to completely reform the fragile West African nation, aid donors are already crowding in, eager to get a read on Barrows agenda.
The new president is aware of the challenges he faces, and tries to remind the crowds of jubilant Gambians that its not going to be easy.
We had a dictatorship against governance, with human rights abuses, bad policies and violations of the rule of law. A dictatorship that cost us our friends; a dictatorship whose conduct deprived us of development and aid; a dictatorship that was against its citizens, he said at a press conference on Feb. 9 in the capital Banjul.
His predecessor, Jammeh, implemented a four-year freeze on the receipt of foreign aid from what he referred to as neo-colonial institutions, and political oppression was rifeunder his rule.
As a new government, what we have inherited is an economy that is virtually bankrupt, and in need of immediate rescue, said Barrow.
Despite the unflagging enthusiasm of Barrows followers, his plan for The New Gambia so far is vague. It consists of a self-imposed three-year deadline to achieve real economic, political and social reform, including job creation to keep Gambians in Gambia, infrastructure development, legislative and institutional reform, and good governance.
But he has a clearer vision of the role of international aid and investment. My view of our dire economic situation is that what The Gambia critically needs at the moment is immediate budget support, in order to rescue our economy from the brink of collapse, he said.
The country is experiencing high levels of unemployment and high fiscal deficits. Interest payments on public sector debt absorbed 40 percent of government revenues in 2015, according to the African Development Bank. And its economy is vulnerable to external shocks, such as the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which severely damaged its tourism sector.
Donors including the European Union, the World Bankand the International Monetary Fundhave confirmed more than $275 million in support since Barrows unofficial inauguration in Dakar, Senegal, two weeks ago. However, most of these funds are project-based, and most are dedicated to reactivating and expanding the scope of current small-to-medium scale initiatives such as shoreline erosion prevention, school-based nutrition and womens economic empowerment.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also confirmed to Devex during a meeting in Serrekunda The Gambias largest town that more funding announcements are expected from the U.K. government. A source close to the Foreign Office added that these will include a new package from the Commonwealth, which Johnson said The Gambia will rejoin in a matter of months. Other funds will come from the Foreign & Commonwealth Offices share of official development assistance as part of the U.K. governments commitment to spend more aid through departments other than the Department for International Development.
However, regardless of which department sends aid to The Gambia, the U.K. government no longer offers general budget support because of concerns around accountability and transparency.
In other words, the aid Barrow wants is not flowing at least not yet.
When it comes to budget support, we have more precise criteria and more precise benchmarks that we follow and monitor and are the basis of each and every tranche, European Commissioner for International Development Neven Mimica told Devex in Banjul.
Mimica said that in addition to the 150 million euros packageannounced last week half of which will be available immediately to expand current projects and those suspended under Jammeh the commission will be announcing an additional 50 million euros in budget support most probably this summer. All in all, the increase so far will quadruple aid to The Gambia in less than four months, up from about 75 million euros for the full 2012-2016 period.
Now we have to discuss and negotiate the legal framework, the state building contract as we call it, to decide on the conditions of this budget support, Mimica said.
Barrow, who is under pressure to demonstrate results while his public remains largely enthusiastic, is keen to expedite the process. So is Mimica: The Gambia represents a possible linchpin for his controversial 2 billion euros EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, which uses traditional development assistance combined with private sector tools, security-related measures and repatriation packages to stem and reverse the flow of African migrants to Europe. The Gambia is small, but is the source of more migrants per capita to Europe than any other African nation. Gambian migrants typically men aged between 18 and 30 have fled the country for political and economic reasons. Investing early in Barrows economic reform agenda could mean early wins for the fund, setting an example for implementation in the rest of the region.
Still, budget support is among the most difficult modalities for donors to track. As a result, offering it is the clearest vote of confidence a donor can send to an aid recipient, in terms of its institutions and capacity to manage funds. Although Mimica insists the funding will be subject to all the human rights, governance and accountability conditionalitiesthe EU has placed on this type of funding, it begs the question: can a regime as untested as Barrows demonstrate this level of effectiveness in its first four months?
The new president often refers to his pledge to bring The Gambia in line with international conventions on human rights. For example, he has released many of those imprisoned without trial, including two of his newly appointed government ministers, and says he will release them all. But the extent of Barrows human rights agenda remains unknown most prominently, his stance on what is known as the aggravated homosexuality law, which can carry a penalty of life imprisonment. The Gambian legal system does not define homosexuality, but specifies that serial offenders and those infected with HIV who are deemed to be gay or lesbian may be prosecuted. An act of homosexuality is in some cases punishable by death or life imprisonment, a point of discord with international conventions that Barrow has yet to address, despite criticism from local media.
Asked during a Banjul press conference whether he intended to repeal or amend the laws, Barrow said: Homosexuality is not an issue in The Gambia.
He clarified that he felt homosexuality was a personal matter, and added again that it is not an issue in The Gambia.
Asked what she thought Barrows statement meant, Minister of Employment Dr. Isatou Touray, who is also a human rights activist and a former presidential candidate, told Devex that Barrow believes homosexuality is not an issue and people have a right to have whatever orientation.
Its their personal life and we are talking about the inclusivity of rights, and the indivisibility of rights. Of course everyone has a right to exist, she said.
Yet Barrows stance on the legislation is unknown, and will play a key role in the commissions decision to offer budget support, Mimica told Devex. He said that it was the previous administrations poor record on human rights that led to the EUs suspension of budget support to The Gambia in 2013.
We discussed that briefly with the president. He put it in the context of the overall democratic process, that its very important that the political agenda that he came with was democratic, that whatever reforms or changes he would make would stem out of this democratic agenda, Mimica told Devex.
In a word, we do hope that this part related to aggravated homosexuality will at least be under discussion for the changes here in the legal framework, so we are to discuss it again within the political dialogue of the Article 8 [of the Cotonou Agreement]. The article of this partnership agreement between the EU and 79 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific of which The Gambia is a signatory includes addressing areas of discrimination.
Another public concern that appears even less frequently in Barrows statements is climate change. The Gambia remains among the top 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change, due to its low-lying topography, reliance on subsistence agriculture and poor drainage systems. A study conducted by Columbia University found that sea-level rise could drown more than 8 percent of the countrys land area in as little as 15 years, including the coastal capital city Banjul.
Coastal erosion, meanwhile, continues to wear away at the countrys beaches, the main draw for tourism to The Gambia and lifeblood to the economy. Tourism is responsible for around 40 percent of the countrys economic output.
Despite the adoption of a national climate policylast year under the previous regime, Barrow has yet to take ownership of his own climate change agenda. But his supporters feel certain he will prioritize the issue, particularly in Banjul, which is flooded annually and still relies on machinery built during the British colonial presence in the late 1950s.
He lived in Banjul for 22 years [so] I know he will make it a priority, Tunis Jammeh, a ward councillor, told Devex during a visit to the often nonfunctional colonial era pump.This is the city, where the government ministries are and his palace and its sliding into the sea. How can he not?
Still, as the city warms up for Saturdays inauguration, its hard to imagine Banjul plastered with photos of a smiling and youthful Barrow under any kind of threat. The 49,000 people who fled fearing unrest around the election are trickling back over the borders, and as people celebrate in the streets in 85 degree heat, only the occasional and sudden chilly breeze marking the cold months serves as a reminder: its still winter in The Gambia.
Read more international development newsonline, and subscribe to The Development Newswireto receive the latest from the worlds leading donors and decision-makers emailed to you free every business day.
Continue reading here:
The New Gambia: What's on and off the aid agenda - Devex
- Biden's all-of-government vote-buying scheme makes a mockery of democracy - New York Post - May 31st, 2024 [May 31st, 2024]
- Government Oppression Of Climate Protesters Is Rampant. Are You Next? - CleanTechnica - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Invasion Day protests oppose oppression of indigenous Australians, genocide in Gaza - WSWS - February 5th, 2024 [February 5th, 2024]
- Florida's 'hostile' laws? Five laws NAACP listed in travel advisory. - St. Augustine Record - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Iran Faces A Huge Budget Deficit It Tries To Conceal - - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Satyendar Jain taken to Safdarjung Hospital after losing 35 kgs - The Statesman - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Opinion: Reassessing the approach to Israel | DW | 22.05.2023 - DW - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Durham Report Is Latest Choose-Your-Own-Reality Adventure - TIME - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- In Conversation with Stan Grant - Honi Soit - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Rep. Bare: Assembly Republicans' local government funding plan is ... - WisPolitics.com - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Never Again Is Right Now in Palestine - Jacobin magazine - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- UF community condemns bill defunding DEI initiatives - The Independent Florida Alligator - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Prices of basic commodities and foods have gone insane in Sierra ... - Sierra Leone Telegraph - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Don't cancel Gladstone. He was a true friend of freedom at home ... - The Telegraph - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- If you want to do things like gender ideology, go to Berkeley: DeSantis bans diversity, equity and inclusion in Florida colleges - The Mercury News - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- TikTok: The new frontier for political info-wars - DAWN.com - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Israeli Apartheid - The Legacy of the Ongoing Nakba at 75 [EN/AR ... - ReliefWeb - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- PPP's CEC condemns attacks on army installations, calls for ... - Pakistan Today - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Tim Scott says Im running for president of the United States in announcement speech live - The Guardian US - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Opinion | America's Poverty Is Built by Design - POLITICO - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- 'Pity these oppressed random attackers': Inside the thoughts of Canada's bail system - National Post - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- How Can We Resist Book Bans? This Banned Author Has Ideas. - Truthout - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Owners of Nigeria and their multiple worlds - Guardian Nigeria - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- When People Decide They Want Change, They Will Bring in Change - The Wire - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- 5 Interesting Facts about Simon Bolivar - The Collector - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- China Built Over A Million Uyghurs "Re-Education Camps" In 6 Years: Report - NDTV - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Queer folk, the hour to save ourselves has come - Daily Maverick - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- Preposterous! Book ban adds bureaucracy and removes parents ... - IndyStar - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- End Jew Hatred: Fight for social justice must be above political fray - The Jerusalem Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Political strife, not protest anymore - The Korea JoongAng Daily - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- 'A Man Without a Gun Is Not a Citizen' - The Texas Observer - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- State Department Report Says China Oppressed Tibetan Buddhist ... - Central Tibetan Administration - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Facing Reality on South Africa - Council on Foreign Relations - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Federal Charges of Political Activists Show the Racist and ... - Left Voice - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Age of Disorder || Pakistan on the Brink: Down with Capitalist PDM ... - International Socialist - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Tim Stevenson | Living with the Long Emergency: Rising Fascism ... - Brattleboro Reformer - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Members of new City Council weigh in on water bills - CBS Chicago - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- DIIR Statement on 28th Anniversary of Enforced Disappearance of ... - Central Tibetan Administration - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- KAN-WIN shares timeline of gender-based violence toward Asian ... - Daily Northwestern - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Alleged leaker fixated on guns and envisioned 'race war' - The Washington Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Employment and Labour pays tribute to Dr Dennis George - South African Government - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Opinion | Trump Cannot Be Unseen - The New York Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Toronto to rally against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia ... - NOW Toronto - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Election 2023: Te Pti Mori accuses Prime Minister Chris Hipkins of 'oppression' for telling parties to 'be careful' with demands - Newshub - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- What's the current state of LGBTQ rights in Europe? - Euronews - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Baptist Health Foundation Receives $3 Million Gift from the Jos ... - South Florida Hospital News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The Politics and Moral Economics of Seun Kutis Police Assault - Tekedia - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Is a temporary coalition of anger against the old regime a basis for ... - Sierra Leone Telegraph - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Mexico: against 'neoliberalism' or capitalism? The final year of ... - In Defence of Marxism - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- White Christian Nationalism and the 2023 Montana Legislature ... - Daily Montanan - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Left-wing lawmakers press for federal reparations for Black Americans: 'We're here to demand it' - Fox News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Underground cyphers are helping young Kashmiris reclaim their ... - Huck Magazine - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Tory MP uses controversial term connected to antisemitic conspiracies - The Jerusalem Post - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Fijis 1987 coup: Why did Prime Minister Rabuka apologise to the Indo-Fijian community? - The Indian Express - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Declaration on the Migrant Crisis: Socialists From the U.S., Mexico ... - Left Voice - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- WNBA star Brittney Griner standing and listening to national anthem - Gainesville Sun - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Imran Khan to unveil next plan of action at a rally on Thursday - ANI News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Delta Youths Threaten Showdown Over Exclusion In Multi-Billion ... - SaharaReporters.com - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Remarks by Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall ... - The White House - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Are some human rights more important than others? Religious ... - Jacksonville Journal-Courier - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Postcolonial Plague: The Legacy of Apartheid South Africa in ... - Brown Political Review - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- UN expert urges Japan to step up pressure on Myanmar junta - OHCHR - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- CSIS confirms to MP that he and family were targeted by China - The Globe and Mail - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Opposition leader says govt sent a bureaucrat to talk with calan - Duvar English - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- The Badger Herald Editorial Board: The bounds of free speech The ... - The Badger Herald - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- AIbom NLC to Set up Monitoring Team on Petroleum Products - THISDAY Newspapers - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Amplifying Iranian Voices: The Call for Freedom and Democracy ... - National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- As inequality deepens, who will rewrite the rules? - Al Jazeera English - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Discover the Brilliance of George Orwell: Books That Will Inspire You - Economic Times - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Nature has way of settling scores, says UP CM Yogi Adityanath on Atiq Ahmad's turf - Times of India - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Tens of thousands hold Labor Day rallies nationwide - The Korea Herald - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Incoming Nigerian Government Must Improve Poverty Wage ... - SaharaReporters.com - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Can the European Union Tackle Afghanistan's Crises? - The Diplomat - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Iran sees nationwide protests, night rallies marking Int'l Labor Day | - The Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- G20: Responsibilities of the people of PoK - ANI News - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- From IWD to May Day: Connecting working women's struggles - Spring Magazine - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- 1 May 2023 || The Working Class is Back! ISA - International Socialist - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Are the Marxists on to something? Catholic World Report - Catholic World Report - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Manoj Kumar Jha and Ghazala Jamil write: Why Pratap Bhanu Mehta is wrong about social justice politics and caste census - The Indian Express - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]
- Generational crimes are being committed thick and fast. No wonder Australian kids dont vote conservative - The Guardian - May 2nd, 2023 [May 2nd, 2023]