“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” Aristotle Onassis

Nelson Mandela receives a courtesy call from Sonja Gandhi and an historic photos from Saeeda Cachalia

President Adama Barrow has suspended all foreign travels by officials, including himself, to reduce public spending, a government statement announced Saturday.

According to the statement, the measure covers overseas travels by the president, the vice-president, cabinet ministers, senior government officials, civil servants and employees across all government institutions and agencies for the rest of the fiscal year.

However, meetings where Gambian participation is compulsory and foreign trips entirely financed by external sources will be exempted.

The decision was greeted with great delight with many saying it is long overdue.

However, the UDP’s deputy secretary external affairs and former African Development Bank official, Lamin Manneh, said: “The government had a seven-month bonanza and now they have no more funds. To all intents and purposes, this government is bankrupt. Barrow didn’t do this out of newfound fiscal discipline. The Gambia government is bankrupt, hence their plan to mortgage, privatise and concession out whatever they can. All our income-generating assets are in danger. The Barrow government is urgently and desperately in need of cash. They are currently negotiating another IMF bail-out programme. If they don’t get that, 2024 will be madness.”

Credit to: standard.gm

The African Union said Tuesday it had suspended Niger until civilian rule in the country is restored and would assess the implications of any armed intervention in the troubled Sahel nation.

The Peace and Security Council “requests the AU Commission to undertake an assessment of the economic, social and security implications of deploying a standby force in Niger and report back to Council,” the bloc said, following strong differences on the matter.

Army officers toppled President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26, prompting the West African regional bloc ECOWAS to threaten to use force to reinstate him.

ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — agreed to activate a “standby force” as a last resort to restore democracy in Niger.

It has said it is ready to act, even as it continues to pursue hopes for a diplomatic solution.

The AU last week held a meeting on the crisis against a backdrop of divergent views within the bloc over any military intervention.

The coup has heightened international worries over the Sahel, which faces growing jihadist insurgencies linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.

Niger is the fourth nation in West Africa since 2020 to suffer a coup, following Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali.

The juntas in Burkina Faso and Mali have said that any military intervention in their neighbour would be considered a “declaration of war” against their countries.

The coup is the fifth in Niger’s history since the impoverished landlocked state gained independence from France in 1960.

Bazoum’s election in 2021 was a landmark, opening the way to the country’s first peaceful transition of power.

He has been held with his family at the president’s official residence since the coup, with growing international concern over his conditions in detention.

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The former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has cautioned the Economic Community of West African States against military intervention in Niger Republic.

The ECOWAS defence chiefs had on Thursday pledged readiness to participate in a standby force that would restore democracy in Niger after generals toppled and detained President Mohamed Bazoum.

In a statement via X, formerly known as Twitter, El-Rufai said, “As ECOWAS beats the drums of war, I recall the 1970s rock classic by Dire Straits – ‘Brothers in Arms’, because a war within our subregion is a war between brothers. Indeed, the people of Niger Republic are one and the same with those living in Northern Nigeria.

“Let us bend therefore over backwards to avoid this civil war between brothers.”

PUNCH reports that the Nigerian Guild of Editors had urged President Bola Tinubu to employ diplomacy in addressing the coup in Niger Republic, saying, “military intervention is now regarded as an aberration around the world.”

Credit to: pucnng.com

Presiding over the monthly Economic Council Meeting at the State House in Banjul, President Adama Barrow called for continued coordination of Fiscal and Monetary policies during the Council meeting held on Wednesday, 16 August 2023, at the State House in Banjul.

He was briefed by various stakeholder institutions on the state of the economy, from the policymakers and technicians supported by the Department of Delivery, Ministry of Public Service, and the Technical Assistance team from the Tony Blair Institute.

Referencing the Global Economic outlook, the Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) presented economic developments reporting a projected drop in global inflation from 8.7% in 2022 to 6.8% in 2023. However, global food prices increased.

On the home front, while the CBG forecast a growth rate of 4.4% by the end of the year, inflation stood at 18.4% in July.

Meanwhile, as of end-July 2023, the gross international reserves are adequate to support about four months of imports of goods and services.

The Economic Council was also informed that road infrastructure, education, purchase of fertiliser, and crop financing increased government expenditure, and there is a need to reprioritise other areas of its expenditures against growth, exchange rate, interest, and inflation.

On Foreign exchange, the CBG informed the Economic Council that the dalasi is stable against the US$, despite the double-digit inflation and remittances inflow increased in June compared to the same period in 2022. The CBG continues to monitor and implement policies to improve the coordination of FOREX Bureau operations.

The Gambia Revenue Authority presented a positive performance in July and reported that it surpassed its target by 25%, with customs and domestic tax collection recording significant improvements. The improvement in tax collections is associated with automating its collection system, minimising cash contact and the associated risks.

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs (MOFEA) updated on budget support, debt servicing, and performance contracts for SOEs and reported that Cabinet finalised and adopted the Recovery Focused- National Development Plan in June 2023. They are working on a financial strategy for its implementation. It also has ongoing initiatives on key budgetary reforms aimed at linking expenditure to national development priorities and piloting of Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in the 2024-2026 budget.

The Ministry of Finance is also awaiting the finalisation of the 2022 audit to follow up on the next steps of its engagements.

The Accountant General reported on its implementation of CFA collection at bridges from August 2023, prepared guidelines for online air ticket procurement, and communicated to MDAs for performance.

As of July, collections at Senegambia Bridge were D238m, Samba Juma Basse Bridge was D7.8m, and Fatoto Bridge collected D589,000.

GIEPA reported that the Investment Incentives Awards Committee – IIAC had recommended eight (8) Special Investment Certificates – SICs for approval, with an estimated investment of USD38m and employment for 954 Gambians. The Agency also facilitates engagements with new companies interested in investing in the country.

GPPA reported on its key activities, including developing the Public Procurement Regulations 2023, professionalising the Gambian procurement job, and establishing Electronic Government Procurement.

The Ministry of Trade reported that an SIC study has been completed and validated. It informed the meeting on stocks that two months of inventory is available for most of the food items.

On regional integration, Wellingara- Bureng Lumo would be upgraded with fencing, security and lighting and updated that the labour survey 2022-2023 has been completed and will be validated.

Meanwhile, the construction of a food testing lab is 80% complete, and they will go through the accreditation process.

In the area of production, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) reported that dry-season rice production is mainly at the harvesting stage. A combined total of 312.4 metric tonnes of certified seeds was also secured from various projects and the National Seed Secretariat for free distribution to farmers this rainy season. The National Food Security Processing and Marketing Corporation (formerly GGC), in collaboration with over 80 Cooperative Primary Marketing Societies (CPMSs) and 20 Agricultural Mixed Farming Centers across the country, sold the available fertiliser at D1,150 per bag, constituting 50% subsidy.

The Ministry of Agriculture also reported that 80 hectares of farmland were ploughed for community members in CRR and URR. It recommends the purchase of 200 additional tractors over the next three (3) years. This number would complement the existing tractors’ workload and improve the existing fleet’s overall uptime, performance, and operational reliability.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MoTC) reported a 24% increase in tourist arrivals in the second quarter of 2023, with 49,132 tourists visiting the Gambia compared to 22,040 in the same period of 2022.

The Gambia country brand was successfully registered on June 30, 2023, and the Tourism Ministry is working with the Registrar General’s Department of the Ministry of Justice to have the brand registered internationally.

To facilitate development in the Tourism Development Area (TDA), the MoTC has completed the planning and demarcation of 21 plots now available for investment.

The plots are in Sanyang, Gunjur, Kartong, Tujereng-Batokunku, and Tanji. The MoTC has also completed the design and bill of quantities for constructing a duplex strip road in the Tourism Development Area.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) has been assigned to execute the work, and construction has already begun.

Source: State House, Banjul, 17 August 2023′

Credit to: thepoint.ng

The leader of the junta who seized power in the Niger Republic, Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani, said on Saturday that his country does not want war, but will be ready to defend itself if necessary.

“Neither the army nor the people of Niger want war, but we will resist any manifestation of it,” Tchiani was quoted as saying by the Al Jazeera broadcaster.

He noted that the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States do not realise that Niger has become the key to containing the region from destabilisation against the backdrop of increased terrorist activity.

Tchiani added that the sanctions imposed against his country were aimed at putting pressure on the rebels, and not at finding a solution to the current situation.

In addition, Tchiani said that rebels do not seek to seize power in the country but rather seek to come to a solution that would meet the interests of the people.

On Saturday, media reported that an ECOWAS delegation arrived in the capital of Niger and met with deposed President Mohamed Bazoum to assess the conditions of his detention.

Later in the day, Reuters reported that the delegation also held talks with Tchiani.

A coup took place in Niger on July 26 and Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Tchiani.

Following the coup, ECOWAS suspended all financial aid to Niger, froze rebels’ assets, and imposed a ban on commercial flights to and from the country.

In early August, during a summit in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, ECOWAS leaders agreed to activate a standby force to potentially compel the Nigerien military to reinstate Bazoum.

On Friday, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs Abdel-Fatau Musah said that ECOWAS general staff chiefs had agreed on a date for the beginning of military intervention, but would not make it public.

NAN

Credit to: punchng.com