In a Gambian forward planning policy document, Gambia Vision 2020, the government laid down its intentions and plans through to the year 2020, one of those aims was to make thye Dalasi stronger against foreign currencies.

In 1997 when we first came to Gambia the exchange rate was around 15 dalais to the pound, but each dalasi bought far more than it does now, a stamp to send a post card was 1 dalasi, by 2003 it was D3 now the charge is D15. In early 2007 the £ was worth D50 an increase of 300% BUT costs over that period have generally increased by the same or as in the case of postal services by far more.

Other commodities and services have increased in price BUT generally the value of the £ has been maintained and has been in line with the price increases - Since starting the Bar and Restaurant the UK prices have changed very little.

BUT the Vision 2020 wanted the £ to dalasi rate to stabilise at around D25 to £1. It was generally accepted that this was a long term policy and would happen gradually. Our budgets were based on a 5 to 10% movement down over the years.

COMMODITY PRICES MUST DROP - To ease the problems of local people the government is determined that commodity prices should fall BUT over the past few years it was felt that this has not happened fast enough, the Gambian people find it hard to fund their needs and despite economic growth in the country, wages and salaries have generally not kept pace with prices.

To ease unrest over this issue there has been an official move to force the decrease in prices by slashing the rate of exchange against the £ $ and Euro.

Maybe this will reduce some prices, but for most businesses their core cost is staffing. In our schools our major cost is salaries and we were embarked on a course of doubling our teachers salaries over the next two years.

We are now faced with having to double our revenue to simply keep school staff salaries where they are, not in a slow and gradual planned way BUT in a sudden landslide attempt to make drastic economic change over a few months.

The dilemma that we and the governmnet both have is to improve the lot of Gambians. We both share their humanitarian viewpoint on this, but the democratic government also has elections and votes to consider and the massive hoardings of the ARPC showing The President with the slogan 13 years of Stability and Prosperity is not going down well with a population who feel worse off now than before.

We are facing a dilemma of how to pay our teachers there current salaries with this DRAMATIC reduction in our INCOME - it will mean reducing the existing staffing and possible cutting back on planned development of more classrooms and more FREE educational places for Gambian children.

The policy will further reduce our income because tourists will have less to spend while they are here on holiday and will be more reluctant to enter into sponsorship agreements which will cost more in terms of the pounds they need to support a student.

Everyone affected by this policy will have their own reasons for loving or hating it, many will be selfish reasons but for us it is a DEVASTATING policy - putting in danger the future education of the 500 children we currently support by providing FREE education for the poorest in Gambian society at the four schools we fully fund.

PLEASE CONSIDER helping us by joining either GTS and/or GETSuk and PLEASE consider sponsoring one of our schools so that we can pay our teachers and continue to make improvements in teaching delivery to the 500 students we support.

Africa is not an easy place to provide charity, there is so much corruption it is hard to know if your money is going where it should. As a registered charity you as a member have control supported by UK Charity LAW.

Make your money count

SUPPORT GTS and GETSuk and REALLY HELP THE Gambia

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