By Kumba Leigh
Across the world, migration is the subject of different political, economic, and even social discourses. In developing countries, where 80% of the world’s migrants originally hail from, there are some concerns about the negative impact of the emigration of youth and the resultant brain drain. In the developed world, a lot of focus has been on immigration which is often the subject of highly contentious political and economic policies and regulations.
However, a number of researches have proven that migration has a positive impact on both the countries of origin and host countries.
Research on global migration, by McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), which has been ranked the number-one private-sector think tank in 2015 in the world, indicates that the movement of people across the world’s borders boosts global productivity.
In host countries, specifically, natives benefit from immigration through the rise in productivity, as their average per capita incomes increase and their skills are complemented with those of the migrants.
Mr Musa Camara is the Director of Diaspora and Migration under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad. In this interview, he shed light on the benefits of migration for countries of origin as well as destination. He associated the increase in the number of migrants visiting the country with the comfort in traveling to The Gambia. “Migrants that are natives of many ECOWAS countries can travel to The Gambia without necessarily using a passport to come into the country,” he said.
As an economic bloc, ECOWAS Member States have adopted a protocol that stipulate the right of ECOWAS citizens to enter, reside and establish economic activities in the territory of other member states.
“With an ID card, you are free to enter The Gambia and live in the country for a period of thirty (30) days before you will be required to regularise your stay,” Mr Camara further explained.
Fatima Kinteh, a Gambian migrant in Senegal who makes local soap, body scrub, and lip gloss, is an example of a migrant contributing both to the development of her host country and country of origin.
Fatima explained that she runs her business in Senegal due to the easy and affordability of raw materials.
“The products I purchase are cheaper in Senegal and even import is easier in Senegal.The charges are reasonable and also new goods arrive in Senegal earlier than in The Gambia. However, I sell my products in both countries,” Fatima intimated.
According to the young entrepreneur, she has employed a few people as delivery agents and also pays taxes regularly in Senegal.
Babucarr Ndure is also an immigrant from Senegal who runs a cosmetics and textile retail shop at Dippakunda. He also indicated that he pays levies and duties imposed on such businesses in the municipality.
Speaking of the challenges of doing business in The Gambia, he mentioned that officials of the Municipality regularly visit his shop and impose charges on him just by looking at the commodities he sells.
“Sometimes you can open for the whole day without making sales and the next minute, you are supposed to pay your tax as expected. Paying tax is not the problem, the problem is that the goods are expensive and we make little sales,” Babucarr lamented
Furthermore, he explained that he migrated to the country to do business and gain experience in a different country.
Fatima and Babucarr, despite the difference in their experiences, are a few out of many examples of how both emigrants and immigrants contribute to the economies of their host countries through the taxes they pay, and even create more employment opportunities therein.
While contributing to the economic development of their host countries, migrants also contribute significantly to their countries of origin through remittance.
Remittance
On the occasion of the International Day of Family Remittances, 16 June 2022, the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) launched its new Mobile Remit Africa report, which includes a specific country analysis about The Gambia.
Remittances represented 63% of the country’s GDP in 2021, making The Gambia one of the countries with the highest dependency on remittances in the world, while Gambian people continue to bear some of the highest remittance prices in Africa.
This report by IFAD is consistent with the Central Bank of The Gambia’s statistics which put remittance at 62% of Gambia’s GDP.
Diaspora Director Camara said these figures show how important remittance is to the economy of The Gambia; that it contributes to the national GDP and its sustainability and supports many families as well.
Momodou Sabally, a former researcher, and economist at the Central Bank and director of the National Budget at the Ministry of Finance, argued that there is a serious imbalance in the Gambian job market and a deficit of employment opportunities which explains why young people are looking for opportunities in other countries.
According to him, in The Gambia, like other Sub-Saharan African countries, remittances from migrants abroad are almost as important as overseas development assistance.
He affirmed that emigration is a gain for any recipient country, and that potential migrants should consider gaining at least some form of skills before migrating in order to find employment in their host countries, especially in the developed countries with their sophisticated economies.
Mr Sabally said migration generally helps to increase foreign exchange and also boost micro and macro- economic growth which helps to stabilise national economies.
Symbiotic benefit
A popular view is that immigrants take jobs from natives. However, although immigrants increase the supply of labor, they also spend their wages on homes, food, and other goods and services and expand domestic economic demand. This increased demand, in turn, generates more jobs to build those homes, make and sell food, and expand investment in vehicle transport.
According to a paper by the Penn Wharton University of Pennsylvania in America, economic analysis finds little support for the view that inflows of foreign labor reduce jobs or wages; most academic research find little long-run effect of immigration on the wages of natives.
More in than out
Data on legal, regular emigration and immigration flows in and out of The Gambia is difficult to come by as migration data is barely collected systematically in the country and there has not been any official census of the number of Gambians abroad.
Therefore, different estimates put it at different levels.
According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, there are almost 90,000 Gambians living abroad. This figure, if accurate, represents 5% of the Gambian population.
Some recent estimates indicate that the total number of Gambians living outside of the country reached 140,000 in 2017. Irregular migration (backway) to Europe has immensely contributed to the total number of Gambians living outside of The Gambia.
Migration regulation
Migration is one thing that has largely helped civilization to thrive across the world and over centuries. While it is a natural phenomenon that cannot stop, the importance of putting in a mechanism to ensure safe and orderly migration cannot be emphasized.
In view of this, in 2018, the UN member states adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCSORM) to ensure safe and regular migration. It presents a significant opportunity to improve the governance of migration, to address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.
On Migration Regulation, Mr Camara said if there is no migration, the economy of countries will be at risk, and the living conditions of people will be affected because almost all countries across the world depend on migrants.
In conclusion, he said the GCM countries across the world should strengthen bilateral and consular ties to ensure the protection and safety of migrants.