The other day, on the country’s national television, GRTS, a prospective Swedish investor was heard praising The Gambia for the enormity of its development potentials.

The businessman went on to argue that the country was capable of representing the rest of the continent in the international arena. In fact, this was not the first time Gambians were hearing complimentary remarks like that. However, reference is being made to it as a means of interpreting the basis of the latest revelation from the Gambian leader, President Yahya Jammeh, which came just hours before the remark by that Swedish businessman.  

Shortly after his plane touched down, on his return from the 34th edition of the ECOWAS heads of state and government meeting, held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, the President disclosed that 15 more banks are on the line, waiting to be cleared for operation in The Gambia.

To observant Gambians, that was not at all a surprise either, taking into consideration the level of effort being expended in providing the highly conducive environment for business in this country. Amidst the persistent level of instability in the region, it is quite obvious that a country like ours is bound to serve as a haven for potential investors from all over the world. The enhancement of The Gambia’s economy has been pronounced in diverse areas, more so in the financial sector, as evident in the ever increasing number of banks and other non-bank financial institutions.

However, there is this argument around that this growth in financial institutions, which is supposed to be a blessing for the ordinary people, is not being manifested in reality. This has been attributed to the fact that bankers focus more on profit making than on sharing their wealth with the masses, even though this is all we hear from them when they defend their corporate policy lines. A possible way of ensuring the filtering down of the benefits from the financial boom is by having the financial institutions respect the true dictates of their corporate social responsibilities.  

Corporate officials ought to distinguish between collective interest and individual interests. The tradition has been that sponsorship from the private sector is directed to selected groups of people, who, in most cases, do not represent the general interest, or whose projects have absolutely no genuine significance for even they, themselves.