Retired international civil servant and economist, Dr Ousman Gajigo, has accused Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Regional Integration, of misinforming the National Assembly, saying his responses to the NAMs about the imposition of high tax on cement coming from across the border showed a ‘cavalier attitude to truth.’
“In his response to NAM Jammeh, Minister Joof stated that the excise tax on cement is needed to protect the local industry. This is blatantly false. Imposition of a tax on imported cements would be justifiable for that purpose in principle if the country had domestic cement manufacturing to begin with. But as everyone should know by now, we do not have cement manufacturing in The Gambia. Every cement consumed in the country is manufactured outside and imported. This is information that a Minister of Industry and Trade should know about his country. Either Minister Joof knew this and he was deliberately misinforming the National Assembly, or that he is ignorant about it and therefore inadvertently revealing his lack of qualification for his ministerial job,” Gajigo said in a statement shared with The Standard.
He further argued: “The reality is that the government is imposing excise tax on bagged cement for political reasons rather than being motivated by any industrial development goals. Why is the government imposing tax on bagged cement but not bulk cement? The reason is simple. The government is protecting one politically-connected importer of cement. Neither that or any other company engages in cement manufacturing in the Gambia. So how does this reality square with Minister Joof’s claim that the excise tax is designed to protect a local industry?”
According to Dr Gajigo, beyond this specific point, Minister Joof’s responses were highly notable for their general incoherence.
“For instance, he even linked this cement issue with the general issue of the country’s trade deficit as if to imply that its imposition was needed to reduce the deficit. Cement would have to be imported from either Senegal or another country. Indeed, the bulk cement that that company brings sometimes comes from outside of the continent. The reality is that one cannot address the country’s trade deficit with any policy instrument on cement because local manufacturing of the product is impossible due to the absence of large-scale deposit of limestone. Even if a company imports clinker, it would still need to import gypsum in order to produce cement. So, linking this issue with trade deficit shows that Mr. Joof was either clueless or trying to sidetrack the issue,” he said.
Gajigo said to address the country’s trade deficit by restricting the importation of some goods, the government would need to focus on items that we have the capacity to produce locally and to improve business enabling environment in the country so as to encourage their production. Such goods are not difficult to identify.
“For instance, one of our largest imports is rice, which is something we can produce locally to reduce our trade deficit if the government were serious and capable. Other items such as vegetable oil and numerous other imported food products can also be produced locally if the government is serious about industrial development by addressing important constraints such as reliable and affordable energy. After all, The Gambia’s energy cost is unbearably high and its supply is unreliable and therefore a major impediment to local manufacturers and foreign investors,” he noted.
