The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Daily Observer
10 July 2009
editorial
Often, when we talk of infrastructural development, what comes to mind, are roads, water supply, power grids, sewers, telecommunications, schools, hospitals etc. These aforementioned features of infrastructural development, anywhere, are regarded as basic necessities for continuous survival of any society. This is to say, infrastructure refers to the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society.
Since the July 22nd revolution, we have witnessed the birth of a new Gambia with massive investment on the part of the government on infrastructural development. There has been improvement in road networks, good communication and adequate power supply and increases in the numbers of schools and hospital and also improvement in the quality of their service delivery.
It is important that every sober minded Gambian takes a moment of reflection and asks him/herself these basic questions,: how would the installation of the lighting systems along the Banjul-Westfield road, Kairaba Avenue, Westfield-Brikama and other streets and high ways in the country contribute to our economic growth? How will improving our energy sector, building of schools and hospitals across the length and breadth of the country increase our economic output? How would the country be if the current leadership did not invest in these basic social amenities? The answer is simple. Infrastructure provides the means by which the close spatial proximity of economic activities can lead to increased productivity.
Remember that without an efficient highway system, adequate water and sewage capacity, for example, the positive gains achieved from the close proximity of people and businesses could be completely offset by the blockage of the movement of people and goods, and the inability to meet the basic needs of densely populated areas.
In fact the history of development teaches us that economic growth can easily occur when organizations in an urban locale share a public good as a production input. Urban public infrastructure is one such sharable input that directly affects the efficient operation of cities, and thus promotes the realization of a booming economy.
The lesson to learn from the approach of the current leadership is that there is ample evidence to suggest that the demands of the people are the utmost priority of the status quo. As a patriotic citizenry, we should ask ourselves how much we have put in the development basket of the country. All the efforts of the government are for the betterment of the citizenry.
It is, therefore, a moral obligation for every individual, regardless of political affiliation, to contribute efficiently and meaningfully to the growth and progress of the nation. The leadership has created an enabling environment pregnant with opportunities. It is our duty to utilize those opportunities.
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