Gambia

The Gambia gained independence from Britain in 1965 and became a Republic in 1971; it was one of the very few multiparty democracies in Africa at the time. A military coup in 1994 briefly interrupted the country’s democratic process, but democracy was restored in 1996 with the holding of Presidential elections followed by National Assembly elections in 1997, completing the return to civilian rule. On the path to a maturing democracy, the 1970 Constitution of the First Republic was replaced by the 1997 Constitution of the Second Republic through a referendum. The new Constitution ushered in a much-needed reform of the electoral system, established the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the office of the Ombudsman, and paved the way for a new Local Government Act (2002).

The economy is primarily agrarian, with agriculture employing about 70% of the labour force and accounting for about 30% of GDP. The services sector accounts for over 50% of GDP, attributed to the re-export trade and tourism. Financial services and information and communication technologies (ICT) are also emerging and gaining importance. The manufacturing sector contributes 5% of GDP, reflecting a level of manufacturing activity well below the average for the ECOWAS region.

With an average GDP growth rate of 5%, the Gambia has one of the most liberalised and best performing economies in the West Africa sub-region. The country is well positioned as a trading hub for West Africa-Europe trade and transhipment. These notwithstanding, sustained economic growth has been constrained by the prevailing undiversified economic base, poor infrastructure, particularly road transport and energy, the slow pace of implementation of policies and reforms, low levels of human capital and a lack of a culture of public-private partnership.

The Gambia is among the poorest countries in the world, ranked 155 out of 177 in 2005. The population stood at 1.3 million in 2003 compared to 1.03 million in 1993. This represents a growth rate of 2.8% between 1993 and 2003. The population density grew from 97 to 128 persons per square kilometre over the same period, representing one of the highest in Africa. About 61.2% of the population, mainly rural, are considered poor, and high levels of unemployment in urban areas have contributed to increasing urban poverty. Significant gains have been made in gender parity, education, water and sanitation, and moderate gains in health services.

The main objective of The Gambia’s strategy is to contribute to the attainment of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSPII) adopted by the Government of the Gambia as its medium-term strategy for implementing the country’s long-term development framework – VISION 2020. The 10th EDF Country Strategy is consistent with PRSPII as both are aimed at reducing poverty in the context of sustainable socio-economic development of The Gambia. The strategy also embodies good governance, human rights and the rule of law as complementary objectives.

Poor infrastructure, primarily transport and energy, low levels of human capital and governance-related issues pose major obstacles for the development of The Gambia. For the 10th EDF the two focal sectors selected are “infrastructure and regional interconnectivity” and “governance”. Budget support is also provided for. Non-focal sector interventions will concentrate on “capacity building”, i.e. in support to initiatives by non-state actors, the technical cooperation facility, illegal migration and the integrated capacity building programme.

The 10th EDF indicative allocations in terms of programmable resources amounts to €76 million and the B Allocation, for contingencies, is €1.9.m (for the first two years), totalling €77.9 m for the period 2008–2013.