The Cement Importers and Agents Association of The Gambia has called on the Gambia government to launch an impartial and independent investigation into the recent claim by information minister Dr. Ismaila Ceesay that local cement dealers have been depriving the government of tax revenue through their cross-border cement trade.
Dr. Ceesay told the State broadcaster without evidence that local cement importers were bringing cement through the Gambia/Senegal border without fulfilling their tax obligations and now, one of the cement importers and agents trade unions is calling on the relevant Gambian authorities to probe the minister’s “wild and unsubstantiated claim”.
“Wild and unsubstantiated Dr. Ceesay’s claim may be, the government still needs to settle down to the task of establishing its veracity,” the association said.
The association stressed that a thorough investigation will help unravel whether it’s its members that were dodging tax as claimed by Dr. Ceesay or the tax money just ended up in private pockets.
“The Gambia Revenue Authority is the main government agency mandated to collect tax revenue at the border. So, the GRA must be able to account for the millions of dalasi we pay each month,” the association further stressed.
The local cement importers were reportedly paying upwards of D30M in tax money each month, though JollofNews could not verify this report at the time of this post.
Meanwhile, the association pointed out that Dr. Ceesay’s assertion on GRTS that cross-border cement trade was responsible for the dalasi’s poor performance against the CFA was incorrect.
“We have not been importing cement for nearly a year now but CFA has been significantly appreciating in relation to the dalasi,” stated the association.
The association called on the government to open a line of communication so that they can work together to find a durable solution to the instability in the cement market.
