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Momodou
Denmark
11717 Posts |
 Posted - 28 Sep 2018 : 09:29:02
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Managing our entrepreneurial and scientific assets
By Yaya(AK) Kassama
How are we managing our entrepreneurial and scientific assets of the country? There is a national policy to prioritize science and provide scholarships to students with interest and acumen in the sciences. This is a good move and a lot of scholarships have been awarded to students during the last regime and this trend continues even today. Its however not enough to just train the citizenry only for them to end up working for other governments and organizations. To avoid that, its equally important for government to direct the energies of these youthful scientists and entrepreneurs in areas that provide basic needs of the population whether its in agriculture or industry to solve basic energy saving household needs for our families. I have also noticed a number of budding but struggling hightech and entrepreneurial companies that have the potential to add tremendous value and create job opportunities for the population if they are supported. The media could be very helpful in writing about such good initiatives so that their activities and struggles can be made known to the public and government for intervention and celebration. I have been out of the public service for eight years and I have a lot gaps in my knowledge of government strategy as regards which area(s) of the economy they want to promote if at all any such initiative has been thought through and supported properly. I have said in my earlier posts that every country has a comparative advantage and as a people, we can leapfrog our development trajectory by putting our limited resources in those areas that can quickly transform our country and create job opportunities for our teaming youthful populace. We do not have to follow the traditional development path. There is knowledge and experience readily accessible. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. All we need is a clear national development path and consensus through a rigorous public debate and discuss whether this in Agriculture, hightech, infotech or any industry and properly educate interested and talented youths in those targeted sectors. This is what is lacking in the Gambia. The need and direction of national development need to debated and discussed. We cannot leave it to government alone. Experience in most emerging economies point to an active participation of the State in creating or investing in new businesses and industries that have the potential to transform the country. True, we claim to be a private sector led economy but there is no harm for government to invest in sectors they wish to see vigorous economic activity. Many industrial sector are best undertaken by the government for the start because of the risks and large financial outlays only a government can willingly undertake. We should also have a database of our scientific and entrepreneurial assets so that access and utility can be better coordinated. Without such support many good ideas will not find their way to the market. It is not bad economics for government to support sectors that can impact the country in the medium to long term. Such initiatives are interventionist and temporal in nature. South Korea, Singapore, China and Japan have all invested heavily in such industries as Samsung, Hyundai and other heavy industries that continue to help develop those countries. If the government could not directly participate, they should make startup financing easier than it is now.
After identifying the development paths, the State should create institutions and structures that provide the necessary facilitation and oversight necessary to get the expected outcome. Students in all our tertiary institutions should be provided with incubators to explore ideas in any sector that could add value and create jobs. The structures and institutions be provided must be rigid in terms of identification criteria and headed by people of integrity and experience so that the country benefit from the help extended. But for all of these to succeed, corruption must be fought head on in every sector of our society. The government and the Gambian people must decisively frown on, punish and shame anybody found to be corrupt. As a people, we must stop celebrating corrupt officials in any capacity. Corruption is what is holding us back as a nation and I am hopeful that with the pending enactment of the Anti-Corruption Act, the government will appoint good commissioners and give them the necessary support to effectively do their work without fear or favor. We have a very limited critical mass in the Gambia. Developing processes and organization around them will take us a long way in our development trajectory. God bless the Gambia.
Source: FB
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Managing our entrepreneurial and scientific assets
