The first-ever tariffs case instituted against the Government of The Gambia by the country’s cement trade unions is expected to proceed at the Banjul High Court on Thursday.
The Cement Importers and Traders Alliance(CITA) and the Cement Importers and Agents Association of The Gambia are embroiled in a legal tussle with the Barrow administration over its cement tariff policy.
The Gambia government sometime last year raised the tariffs on a bag of imported cement from D30 to D180.
The government said this policy was designed to protect so-called local cement “producers” such as Salam, Jah Oil and Gacem cement factories. The government said it was of the belief that the new cement tariffs would promote local production and enhance price stabilization. The administration also believed that its tariffs policy will reduce the vulnerability of the dalasi to the CFA as almost all the local cement dealers were importing their stocks from neighbouring Senegal, where CFA is the medium of exchange.
However, the introduction of the new measure continues to engender nationwide cement shortages and price instability. The CFA has been significantly appreciating against the dalasi since then.
Currently, a bag of cement is sold in some parts of The Gambia at D500, an increase of more than D100 on the previous price.
The tariffs also destroyed the livelihoods of an unknown number of people.
Now, the cement trade unions are, among others, seeking from the high court a declaration that the new tariffs are illegal and therefore, null and void.
The unions believed their members are victims of a system that protects big corporations against struggling local businesses.
“We import cement in bags and they[cement factories] import powder. So, what is the fundamental difference here?”one local cement dealer once stated in a conversation JollofNews.
Their lawyer Khaddyjatou Jallow and State counsel A. A Wakawa are expected to battle it out tomorrow at the Banjul High Court Annex to be chaired by Justice Akinbiyi.
