Jah Oil Multi-factory, which usually imports cement from the two North African countries of Morocco and Egypt, has now reportedly come closer home as 20 of the company’s cement tankers have been “spotted” in the neighbouring Senegal, queuing to stock powder cement.
Dependable sources said the shift in Jah Oil’s policy to fall backwards to Senegal was due to the company’s inability to meet the growing demand of its customers.
However, some have started asking what has exactly changed to convince Jah Oil to go to Senegal to buy cement after the company’s managing director Momodou Hydara said in radio interviews that the Senegalese cement had quality issues.
“Why would they go to Senegal now to buy cement there when Hydara was pontificating here in radio interviews and press conferences that the Senegalese cement was not of superior quality?” queried one of our informants.
Well, reliable sources said 20 Jah Oil cement tankers have also joined the queue at Dangote factory in Senegal.
“The question is: Will Jah Oil also pay D180 levy on a bag of cement as other cement importers were paying? I see no fundamental difference in what the cement importers were doing and what Jah Oil is doing now,” one man told JollofNews.
It could be recalled that the Gambia government sometime last year slapped 500% tariffs on a bag of imported cement. The government insists the duty is to protect local cement “producers” such as Jah Oil, Salam and Gacem.
At the time of the introduction of the cement levy, Jah Oil made an undertaking that it would not only ensure the cement price points were good, but would also work towards ensuring the availability of the commodity in the country at all times.
However, one year down the line, cement shortages have become commonplace while cement prices continue to shoot through the roof.
At the time of the imposition of the cement tax in February of last year, a bag of cement could be fetched at D345 but it has now jumped to D500 in parts of the country.
Jah Oil did not respond to our request for clarification.
