Freedom Newspaper (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Francis Jones
9 November 2007
Banjul — Severe economic hardship is driving hundreds of Gambians hungry, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Despite the Government's claims of economic growth, cost of living here is getting higher by the day.
During a visit to the busy Serre-Kunda Market today, signs of frustration and hunger could be seen visible on the faces of poverty stricken Gambians. A good number of shoppers lamented about the high cost of living in the country. Rice, which is the country's main stable food is out of reach. Very few people can afford the cost for a bag of rice. It's between D500 and D600 Dalasis, which is equivalent to a salary of some workers here. Prices for cooking oil, meat, sugar and other cooking utensils have gone up. There is no indication in the short term that these prices might come down. Local businesses blamed the price hikes to world market prices among other things.
The Governor of the Central Bank of The Gambia, recently announced that the country's economy was growing at a steady space. Bamba Sarho also expresses optimism about more economic growth in months to come, with the current economic growth registering at seven percent. The US dollar, which widely traded in the Gambia, has been depreciating sharply in recent months. The Government says The "Gambian Dalasi is gaining strength due to the poor performance of the dollar."
Sounding the opinions of Gambians about the current price hikes, Fatou Tunkara a resident of Tabokoto remarked" We are dying of hunger. As you can see, I only have D30 dalasi with me. I have to buy some cups of rice from this small amount of money. We cannot afford the cost of bag of rice. Things are very expensive in this country. We last to eat meat six months ago. We depend on dry fish or green leafs to feed our family. The President should intervene before some homes will perish because of high cost of living."
Nyima Jammeh is a mother of ten kids. She says out of her ten children, only one is working." We struggled to survive. We had one meal a day. Dinner and breakfast is out of it. It's a rare opportunity to have three meal these days. Thanks to some neighbors, we received help from them. They dish us with food especially on days my husband cannot afford "fish money." Our first son is also working very hard to salvage us from hunger. The kids goes to bed hungry every blessed day. Back in Jawara's Government, D25 Dalasi can fill your basket with cooking condiments, but these days D25 dalasis is nothing. As you can see, there is nothing much in my basket. I'm rushing home to cook for the kids." said Nyima Jammeh.
Business activities here is relatively slow. Local businessmen have lamented about lack of customers." Our sales have dropped dramatically. Even though that the dollar is depreciating, the Dalasi too had its own side effects. It's value locally is horrifying. We have to raise a good amount of money, before we can import goods into this country. The Dalasi is very weak contrary to what they Government is saying. We the importers can tell you something about the weakness of the Dalasi. It worth nothing. If this trend continues, some of us will resort to stop ordering goods. We cannot order goods and only to sell them at a loss." said a local businessman who wished not to be named.
Street begging is very common around the vicinity of the Serre-Kunda Market. These beggars often stopped passersby begging for transportation fares, lunch money and fish money. They claimed to be victims of unemployment. As soon as they received financial help from such passersby , the beggars regrouped in different hotspot, this time with a different story. They advanced different financial situations just to woe sympathy from people.
Women, children, and grown men took part in such street begging. Some of these women would tell you that they lacked money to feed their families, while others would claimed to be stranded due to lack of fares. Some of these beggars believe that it's easier to make it in the streets than to work. One of them told me that he has been living in the streets for the past four years. " This is my work place. Since the Government is not providing us jobs, I rather come here and beg for help. It's better than stealing or robbing people. Thanks to some benevolent Gambians, I'm able to feed my family from the handouts I received from them on a daily basis. I go home with D100 dalasis almost every day. How many workers can get that here? The beggar asked.
The Government had been cracking down on street begging, but these beggars are more sophisticated than the police. They dressed well and hardly can anyone tell if they are really beggars. Some could be seen carrying briefcases while others hanging around street junctions.
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