VP addresses sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly/PHOTO:United Nations. |
Gambia’s
Vice President is of the view that for developing countries to continue to benefit
from the appreciable growth they are experiencing and in order to compromise
their capacities to bring education and healthcare to their peoples, debt
cancellation or forgiveness is still a major option.
“Debt
servicing still poses a major threat to our ability to attain sustainable
growth,” Dr. Isatou Njie-Saidy told the United Nations 67th General
Assembly in New York on September 26, 2012.
The
tiny West African nation of 1.7 million is ranked among the Least Developed
Countries (LCDs) and a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC).
The
Debt forgiveness grant for the country was last reported at US $1330000 in
2010, according to a World Bank report published in 2012.
Poverty
is endemic in Gambia, with almost a third of the population undernourished and
60% of the population living on less than a dollar a day. And yet the country
spent 6.3% of its Gross Domestic Product on servicing its debts, some $29
million, in 2005.
“It
is our belief that our partners and the Bretton Woods Institutions should
consider the extension of the HIPC initiative further,” Dr. Njie-Saidy
said.
Many observers have argued that Bretton Woods
bureaucrats wield too much influence on the direction African economies take,
and in most cases the organisations' blueprints have done little to advance
progress in African countries.
However,
the Vice President uses the forum to call on the international financial
institutions to open up and embrace overdue reforms. “They should be transparent,
inclusive and raise the profile of their smallest members, like the low income
countries or LCDs,” she said.
She
argues the relevance of the UN has, at times, been questioned but one element
that remains unchallenged is its character of being the best forum for
confronting global challenges.
She
added: “As we convene to discuss the issues of climate change, economic crises,
financial turmoil, food insecurity, conflicts, fighting diseases, poverty or
the special interests of Africa, the convening power of the United Nations
confers legitimacy that is unparalleled elsewhere.”
She
also called on financial institutions to embrace the Istanbul Programme of
Action, an initiative aimed at bringing about the graduation of half of the
LCDs by 2020.
“It
is achievable if we all forge the appropriate global partnerships for resource
mobilisation,” said Dr. Njie-Saidy, also a Women’s Affairs Minister of Gambia.
“It is our hope and expectation that our partners and the rest of the
international community will equally fulfil their commitments.”
MDGs
The
scorecard on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) shows that while some
achievements have been made in regard to some of the goals, a lot still remains
to be achieved.
“My
own country has met some of the key elements of the MDGs and is on track to
meet all of them,” Gambia’s No.2 announced.
But
said more needs to be done to mobilise the remaining resources that will
further improve the critical link between the success and failure on the
achievement of the MDGs. “2015 is just around the corner,” she noted.
She
also stressed that the scaling up of resources by enhancing the global
partnership that have forged is critical to the achievement of the MDGs.
We
must mobilise the modest resources that are needed so that 2015 would not be
another unfulfilled milestone, she demanded.
Sahel food
crisis
While
commending partners for assistance given to Gambia in the wake of a food crisis
in 2012, the vice president said in view of the perennial nature of food
insecurity, it is her humble view that the international community needs to
render more support to the agricultural sector of “our economies.”
A
severe food shortage hit the Sahel region of Africa (including Gambia) this
year as a result of drought and crop failure in 2011. Gambian farmers who are
notoriously poor were the hardest hit.
“The role of the small scale farmer needs to
be boosted and we must, through global partnerships fast track the numerous
agricultural initiatives that have been announced to support African
agriculture,” she said. “Agricultural systems across Africa need to be made
more resilient in terms of inputs, technological know-how, scientific research
and the setting up of training institutions.”
She
added that the African farmer ought to benefit from modern farming techniques
and technology.
Biggest threat
Africa
is witnessing a revolution in the information-communication technology (ICT)
sector.
“It is our view that with the completion of
the Africa Coast to Europe submarine cable there will be even greater
transformations in this sector,” Dr. Njie-Saidy said.
This
should further help to increase the transfer of critical technology for the
economic advancement of our peoples, she added.
According
to her, it opens doors for a greater opportunity for South-South cooperation
and North-south cooperation in ways that will revolutionise education,
agriculture and healthcare delivery.
She
therefore calls on partners to support the growth of the ICT sector with a view
to enhancing “our productive capacities while generating youth employment.”
“Youth
unemployment is one of the biggest threats to our social and economic
advancement,” she argued. “We must therefore partner across the globe to
address this ugly phenomenon.”
Written by Modou S. Joof
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