By Ebrima S. Jallow
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad; and the Migration and Sustainable Development in The Gambia (MSDG) Project, on Sunday, May 8th, organised a virtual forum for the launch of the MSDG Diaspora Development Fund (DDF), and Consultations for the Recovery Focused National Development Plan (RF-NDP 2023-27), and the Long-Term Development Vision 2050 (LTDV). The event was attended by officials of the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs, the NDP/LTDV consulting team, the MSDG team and some Gambians in the Diaspora.
On the Diaspora Development Fund, the Technical Director of the MSDG Project explained that in 2020/21, the MSDG piloted a Diaspora Development Fund (DDF) through a Gambia Diaspora Technical Support (GDTS) scheme. Ten Gambian Diaspora professionals and development practitioners, referred to as MSDG Fellows, were awarded cash grants of €74,890 to co-finance development initiatives in The Gambia. According to the director, the MSDG Fellows used the MSDG grant funds as leverage, and successfully generated a further €710,280 through cash donations, technical expertise, and in-kind materials, supplies and resources. For every 1 Euro MSDG provided, the pilot generated a further 9.4 Euros. The Fellows comprised 5 women and 5 men, based in five countries; namely: Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and United States.
Of the 10 Fellows, 6 are still resident in the diaspora and 4 are recent returnees to The Gambia. The pilot scheme provided socioeconomic investment in The Gambia to the value of 785,170 Euros, equivalent to 49,118,995 Dalasis.
“By virtue of this commitment, the MSDG and its partners are pleased to announce the launch of an expanded Diaspora Development Fund (DDF) to provide co-funding and co-finance of up €5,000 to diaspora organisations and individuals who are working with partners in The Gambia on local socioeconomic and development projects in the country,” he affirmed.
He revealed that the application process will be opened for one month, starting from the 15th of May to the 15th of June 2022.
Dr. Ahmad Tijan Jallow and Professor Gibril Faal deliberated on the launch of the Gambian Diaspora Strategy. According to them, the first ever Gambian Diaspora Strategy (GDS) was fully incorporated in the Gambia National Development Plan (NDP 2018-2021). Four years after its launch, the duo indicated the importance to review and update the Strategy, incorporating lessons learnt from the challenges and successes of the implementation.
The Gambian Diaspora and Migration Directorate (GDMD) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is expected to lead the review and updating process, in line with the government’s Recovery Focused National Development Plan (RF-NDP 2023-27) and Long-Term Development Vision 2050 (LTDV).
The role of the diaspora in development and national affairs is reflected in all the local, sectoral and thematic consultations within the country. As a result, the Ministry of Finance and the NDP team deem it important to hear directly from the Gambians living abroad, through online consultations, written submissions and engagement with the NDP team since Diaspora input is needed on the range of thematic and specialist issues, in addition to diaspora-development matters.