COLUMN | ‘Diaspora will Get the Vote’ says IEC: Is This A Slam Dunk?
By Pa Louis Sambou I can imagine very few people being opposed to Diaspora enfranchisement, something which appeared to have been a dirty word in the vocabulary of the previous government. With the current administration, hooray here it comes! Is this really the case or, perhaps naïve optimism? Given the circumstances, I guess it’s safe to assume that the answer lies somewhere in-between. The Diaspora in 2016 accounted for over 22% of The Gambia’s GDP which in cash terms is reported to be $205.6 million and steadily rising to $226.7 million in 2017, $277.9 million in 2018 and $318.5 million in 2019 . The economic contribution of this ‘off-shore’ citizenry dwarfs that of key sectors such as Agriculture, Industry and even Tourism all of which individually account for much less. In light of these facts one could reasonably argue that the economic case for Diaspora enfranchisement is made out, something which convincingly diminishes the ‘lack of funds’ argument by the powers