The Daily Observer (Banjul)
24 December 2008
editorial
It is a constitutional demand that the secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs table before the National Assembly the financial statement of the government for approval before the start of any new fiscal year.
Exactly one year from today, the SOS for commodities and Economic Affairs stood before this very same august gathering to present the budget for the 2008 fiscal year. This was done in the midst of great economic challenges confronting not only the Gambia but the world at large.
And it was done in a period when prices of fuel and basic life sustaining commodities were skyrocketing at the international market, with most of the nation states, particularly the developing countries, recording incredible inflation and drip in their balance of payment. Matters went worst in the mid of the fiscal year when world economies entered the credit crunch and financial crises which situation is crippling the very fabric of the economies of developing countries.
However, despite all these global economic difficulties, The Gambia has maintained quiet a sustained economic growth and our international reserve position remains comfortably stable. Within one year, The Gambia reached the completion point of the highly indebted poor country initiative and also qualified for debt relief under the multilateral debt relief initiative with sustainable debt relief to be spread over a period of 9 years.
As the SOS himself puts it this way, "This has provided the much needed fiscal space for the government to improve service delivery to its people to channel and target more resources towards the social sector for poverty alleviation and to achieve the Millennium Development Goals as well as the Vision 2020 goals.
However, as the 2009 budget is still under the scrutiny of the National Assembly, we do not want to make judgment. But we are reiterating our call on the people of this country to take ownership of the productive base of our economy for the realization of our vision. The back-to-the-land initiative is a very crucial part of this.
Once again we join the rest of the country to congratulate the SOS for Finance and Economic Affairs and the entire government for their hard work and sacrifices for the country. We are confident that if our economy can triumph in the midst of global economic meltdown, much improvement can be registered at this time that the world is moving towards much more stable economy.
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