BY
HONOURABLE MUSA H. SILLAH
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
TRADE,
INDUSTRY AND EMPLOYMENT OF
THE
REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA
BRUSSELS,
15TH MAY, 2001
Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government
Honourable Ministers
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me, on behalf of my delegation, the Government
and People of The Gambia, express our deep appreciation to the European Union
for hosting this Conference and to our senior officials and all those who
worked so hard to make this conference a success.
Mr. Chairman,
The General Assembly of the United Nations, having
realized the deterioration in the socio-economic situation of the Least
Developed Countries (LDCs), decided to convene the Third UN Conference on LDCs
with the objective of assessing the results of the implementation of the
Programme of Action during the 1990s at the country level; review the implementation
of international support measures, particularly in the areas of ODA, debt,
investment and trade; and consider the formulation and adoption of appropriate
national and international policies and measures for the sustainable
development of the LDCs and their progressive integration into the World
economy.
Mr. Chairman,
The external environment facing LDCs has been and remains difficult. Contrary to commitments undertaken in the
Programme of Action for LDCs for the 1990s and the expectations of LDCs, the
implementation of the Programme of Action has suffered a major setback from
some disturbing trends in the on going process of globalization and
liberalization, as well as the continuous decline in ODA flows and the
unacceptably high levels of LDCs external indebtedness. Thus, LDCs share in the FDI flows to
developing countries remains insignificant at less than 1 percent. In real terms, ODA flows to LDCs have fallen
by 23 percent since the beginning of the 1990s. Only a third of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC)
countries, met the 1990 Programme of Action target of 0.15 per cent of their
GNP as ODA to LDCs. Majority of the
LDCs are HIPC Countries and many have been unable to meet their debt obligations
fully and have accumulated arrears. There were, domestic factors which have also aggravated the
difficult socio-economic situation faced by the majority of LDC’s.
A general consensus from the preparatory meetings for
this Conference is, that, one of the main shortcomings of the 1981 and 1990
conferences, was that the approaches in implementing the global Programme of
Action, failed to translate Country level memoranda into Action Programmes at
the country level. This made the
implementation of the global targets agreed in the programmes of action
difficult to relate to country level situations and also the mobilization of
resources, since the elements of the programme of action have not been
specified at country levels. We hope
this time around, the approach will improve the situation by linking the global
programme of action to country specific programmes of action, supported by the
requisite financial resources for implementation.
Mr. Chairman,
Globalisation has brought mixed blessings. The prosperity it engenders is unevenly
shared among countries and regions of the world. While the industrialized countries remain major beneficiaries,
the majority of LDC’s have been unable to take advantage of the
opportunities. Globalisation has so far
failed to spur economic recovery, faster growth, greater employment
opportunities and poverty eradication in developing countries. It has rather exhibited a tendency to
accentuate the income and welfare gaps between the rich and poor, among and
within countries and regions. It is,
indeed, disconcerting to observe that under a fast globalising world economy,
the problems of poverty, underdevelopment and global inequity still
persist. We must together, come to
grips with the reality, that our uncertain journey will continue to be shaped
by the profound forces of globalisation and liberalization. We must devise sustainable strategies to
cope with the challenges.
The increasing importance of trade in global economic
activities and the dominance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in shaping
the character of international economic order demand our special
attention. The enthusiasm and high
expectations which motivated developing countries to sign the Uruguay Round
Agreements have been shattered by the inability of the WTO to take into
consideration the legitimate interests of the countries of the South,
especially Africa. The current pace of
globalisation has made it extremely difficult for most developing countries to
mobilize and attract other external resources for development, such as foreign
direct investment. The heavy external
debt burden and large unsustainable debt service obligations also constitute a
major obstacle to the social and economic development of LDCs. LDCs must be able to make a fresh start to
grapple with the socio-economic development of our countries.
Mr. Chairman,
As we in the LDC group, strive for greater equity and
space in the global economy, we must concurrently develop strategies, policies
and measures to reposition ourselves in the global economy and to seize
opportunities, whenever, they arise to pursue our effective integration in
World production and trade. This
requires unrelenting efforts to modernize our structures of production, utilize
wherever feasible the latest technology, to lift productivity and increase efficiency
in all the sectors of our economies, thereby upgrading our international
competitiveness. For those of us who
are significantly dependent on agricultural production and trade, we must look
towards the improvements and innovations in technology, improve quality and
storage, reduce post-harvest losses, in order to provide better returns to our
farmers and improve performance in the markets in which we trade.
Mr. Chairman,
On the national front, I wish to seize this
opportunity to make a brief statement on investment climate and private sector
development in The Gambia. The
investment climate in The Gambia has witnessed dramatic improvements in recent
years resulting from implementation of comprehensive structural and
institutional reform measures, which emphasize greater reliance on market based
mechanism for the allocation of resources.
These reforms point to liberalization of trading and payment
arrangements, in furtherance of Government’s objective to reduce the size and
role of the public sector and correspondingly, make the private sector the
economy’s main engine of growth. A new
divestiture Policy has been recently adopted by the Government and an Agency
established to coordinate the divestiture programme, which is currently being
developed. In November 2000, the
Government also approved the Gambia Investment Promotion bill and Free Economic
Zones bill. Recently the Gambia
Investment Promotion and Free Zones Agency has been established, which aims to
attract investors to The Gambia both within and outside the zones and to
promote the Gambia as the Trade Gateway to West Africa. The Government of the Gambia is strongly
committed and places great importance to creating a more enabling environment
and a sustainable macroeconomic framework conducive to the growth and
development of private initiative and enterprise.
It is against this background that in 1996 the
Government adopted a long term development framework – Vision 2020 which is
anchored on a private sector led growth strategy. In order to operationalise the various policies outlined in the
document, a poverty reduction strategy (PRSP) is being developed by the
Government. The PRSP will be the main
planning framework for the attainment of sustainable economic and social
development of the Gambia. The
development of this framework has not yet been finalized, but meanwhile, the
Government has adopted an interim – PRSP which was endorsed by the Bretton
woods institutions. The interim PRSP
provides the framework for mainstreaming poverty reduction policies and
programmes, linking macroeconomic growth to poverty reduction. The country paper and action programme of
the Gambia for the LDC III Conference (2001-2010) has been prepared within the
framework of Vision 2020 and the PRSP of the Gambia.
Mr. Chairman,
Before I conclude, let me say that the ultimate
requirement for the sustainable development of LDCs and their beneficial
integration in the global economy lies in the structural transformation of our
economies. This would require the
creation of integrated national economies characterized by increased
specialization and growing dependence among sectors. This will create among other things, linkages between the
industrial, tourism and agricultural sectors and engender efficient and
diversified production and exports and increase manufacturing value added of
LDC exports. Together, with our
development partners, we need to focus our attention and resources on areas
that will enhance the internal linkages and thereby integrate the economic
sectors of LDCs. The global programme
of Action for LDCs which would be finalized during this conference, should be
flexible to cater for unexpected developments in the global economy and to meet
the challenges facing LDCs in the coming years. Clear goals and objectives should be set out and specific
resource requirements identified with concrete commitments by our partners in
development.
Mr. Chairman,
I wish to express our gratitude to UNCTAD and all
other development partners who provided their immense assistance throughout the
process leading to the convening of the historic conference. We cherish them for that.
The new world of increasing interdependence compels
us as developing countries to work together to rekindle our partnership with other
members of the World community with whom we share a common destiny as members
of the human family.
Our cultures may be diverse, our languages may
differ, but our shared experiences and expectations inevitably evoke a unity of
purpose. Let us therefore, resolve to
make Brussels 2001 a historic conference with a difference.
I thank you for your attention.