By Alagie Manneh
Economist Nyang Njie has predicted a gloomy future for the average Gambian due to the “misalignment” and lack of “fiscal discipline” in the Gambian economy.
“Our policy makers must understand that Covid-19 has given them two opportunities. One, a mitigating opportunity to do a containment strategy to make sure that we contain the growth of this pandemic in our society, and to ensure that our economy has a soft landing to make sure that the destructions in our economic activity would be minimised, and that initiative is to be headed by the minister of finance.
“The minister of finance must make sure that the soft landing of the economy should happen so that the poor, the vulnerable groups of our society will not suffer. But right now, it looks like they will suffer because the misalignment in this economy is showing that we are going to be hit-hard and, once we are hit very hard, it’s going to be very, very difficult for the lives and livelihood of the average Gambian who is not even earning 50$ a day,” he said.
Mr Njie called for a “duty of care and conscience” in our policy makers.
“They must understand that the plight and suffering of the Gambian people rest squarely on their shoulders because of the policies they institute, because of the practices they tend to promote. Let us make sure that the poor and vulnerable in this society have a better live and livelihood.”
He challenged President Barrow to convene a national emergency economic summit to kick-start the Gambian economy, which remains in dire straits as Covid-19 persists.
“The President should invite the private sector to sit with the government to see how best to make sure the economy realigned; how to make sure that our lost opportunities will now be turned into opportunities,” he stated.
