BANNING GAMBLING AFTER ALLOWING INVESTMENTS AND LEVYING TAXES
It is a state which establishes laws which determine what is lawful and unlawful business . The Gambia Government has established TheGambia Tourism Board. Tourism related businesses are reported to be threatened by a “steep decline in arrival numbers “and” “low hotel bookings.” The President has recently told Parliament that his Government will pay great attention to the tourism product and would encourage more investment. The Board has issued licences to many Gaming businesses and a number of them have even paid their taxes to GRA. In short, they are legally established businesses. The executive had the duty to assign the Attorney General and the Minister of Tourism and Culture to engage the Tourism Board and the stakeholders on government’s intention to enact a law to ban gaming and encourage the stakeholders to divest from the sector and invest in another area with the full assistance of government to prevent any financial loss. This is how a democratic government would behave. A government which is prone to impunity would give orders for businesses to close overnight which may lead to the collapse of businesses with huge job and financial losses. Such executive orders are unreasonable and unjustifiable and do not serve the national interest. They should be revoked and substituted with dialogue to prevent financial losses to investors and job losses to the people. Moral arguments do not fill empty stomachs. They should be backed by material benefits. ]]>
