Monday 24th July 2006
By Nfamara Jawneh, Abba A.S. Gibba & Njameh Bah
President Yahya Jammeh has disclosed a new economic strategy to be undertaken by his government in addition to Vision 2020. President Jammeh was speaking on Saturday at the Arch 22 in Banjul on the 12th anniversary celebration of the July 22nd Revolution. The new economic strategy is called Gambia Silicon Valley of Africa (GSVA).
He declared that his government is going to create a new tax-free zone for Vision 2020 with new Silicon Valley for Africa. He said that under the GSVA, his government would allow companies to set up industries without paying tax provided they create employment in the country. He conceded the difficulty associated with such an ambitious strategy but avowed that it is attainable. He reiterated his intention to transform The Gambia into an economic supper power for the whole world. “It is important for us to learn what we have achieved in The Gambia thanks to peace and stability,” he noted.
Addressing school children, he advised them to respect their teachers because, he said, the GSVA that they eventually envisage has to be brought about by Gambian engineers, technicians and scientists.
On Africa’s comparative situation with regard to wealth, President Jammeh observed that in terms of the availability of mineral resources, Africa is the richest continent on earth but that in economic terms it is the “poorest of the poor” thanks to wars and other troubles on the continent.
Talking about the impression about Africa vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS situation, he said that when statistics is given on AIDS in Africa today, it will be portrayed that 50 million are HIV positive of which they would say the majority lives in sub-Saharan Africa. On whether there is any hope of eradicating the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, he replied in the affirmative on condition that Africans come together as Africans and accept each other and strive for economic prosperity. He however gave a negative prognosis of Africa’s chances of eradicating AIDS so long as the people continue to kill each other. “Yes and no,” he said, explaining: “Yes if we stop fighting each other, creating refugee camps; yes if we come together as Africans and accept each other and strive for economic prosperity, then we will be to eradicate AIDS. No,” he continued, “we cannot eradicate AIDS as long as we continue to kill each other like donkeys.”
“Africans must remember that if you look beyond Africa we have very few friends. Gambia as far as I know is the only African country where life expectancy moved from 45 to 74 years because there is peace and stability,” the president noted. He observed that so long as Africans remain divided; fight senseless wars and kill each other, they would always be backward.
The highlight of this year’s celebration was a procession by school children, voluntary organisations and cultural groups. The anniversary was graced by President Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast and the Prime minister of Senegal, Maky Sall, among several other dignitaries.
