Officials of the Banjul Port confirmed to JollofNews on Tuesday that Jah Oil’s cement vessel has yet to dock at the port, despite spending several days at the anchorage.
This development has sparked fears of cement shortage and possible cement price hikes in parts of The Gambia as several local cement dealers continue to struggle to replenish their stores.
“We cannot give priority to the Jah Oil cement vessel because the Banjul Port operates on a first-come-first-served basis. If at all there are cement shortage and price hikes in the horizon, Jah Oil company can write to the ministries of trade and works and their vessel may be given priority because cement is an essential commodity,” said one of the port officials when asked by this reporter as to why the Banjul Port cannot grant privilege to Jah Oil cement vessel to berth.
Sources familiar with the matter informed JollofNews that the cement vessel has been at the anchorage for more than two weeks now after it set sail from Senegal, where it loaded its cement cargo.
Jah Oil cement re-bagging factory has reportedly fallen backwards to Sahel Industries in Senegal as the company “races against time” to avoid an embarrassing situation of cement scarcity in The Gambia and further price increases, though Jah Oil has not responded to this reports as our requests for the company’s response were not answered.
“Jah Oil was importing cement from other countries but it’s now importing cement from Sahel Industries in Senegal after abandoning the company for more than one year,” a source told this medium.
It would be recalled that the Managing Director of Jah Oil Company, Momodou Lamin Hydara, sometime last year said in radio interviews that the cement that was coming from the neighbouring country was substandard, arguing that its usage can engender structural problems and durability issues in construction.
It’s been more than one year now since The Gambia government imposed 180% tariff on a bag of imported cement, raising the levy from D30 to D300. The government said its decision was informed by the need to protect local cement factories such as Jah Oil, Salam and Gacem.
The decision is now a subject of litigation at the Banjul High Court Annex.
