By Tabora Bojang
Minister Baboucarr Joof has disclosed that the government has approved two local companies to operate as cement producers in the country.
He said one of the companies would be run by importers who were previously bringing cement from Senegal.
“One of them is a re-bagging factory composed of truckers who were going to Dakar to bring cement. They are the very ones that are now setting up a factory to bag cement in The Gambia just like Jah Oil is doing. So the measures are encouraging investment, more jobs will be created and we will get a reliable supply and price will go down,” he said.
The former trade minister made the disclosure to representatives at the National Assembly who decried the high cost of cement in their Wednesday session. A number of lawmakers attributed the increase of cement prices to the government policy to increase import duties on cement imported via the road from Senegal, which accounts for a significant share of the cement in the country.
But Minister Joof gave assurances that the government is working on bringing the price of cement down urged patience. “We ask Gambians to be patient. Yes, we understand [the issue of] the price of cement but we are working on driving that down and our strategy will work. I can guarantee that certain things we are resolving between us and the supplier countries will have an impact on the price.”
The government’s tariff increase has been heavily criticised by cement importers who alleged it was meant to favour cement importation via vessels, a domain predominantly controlled by Jah Oil, Salam, and Gacem.
However, although Minister Joof acknowledged “a series of challenges” faced by local companies including unreliable electricity, bottlenecks at the Gambia ports and foreign currency shortages, he said the overall aim of the government is to promote the “Made in The Gambia” strategy by empowering local production companies.
He dismissed claims that the cement price increase is caused by the government’s policy, contending that geopolitical issues were responsible for the exorbitant prices since The Gambia’s main source Vietnam diverted its focus to more lucrative markets like Egypt.
Joof further defended the policy of localisation saying: “Jah oil is a price driver. They have in the past forced the price of rice to come down; they have done that with oil; and they will do the same with cement. The price of cement was not increased because of the moratorium. The cost of cement from the source went up. Some measures were taken that affected Vietnam. There was a need for them to shift to the Egyptian market which we were using mainly through letters of credit. So we could not compete with markets who offer money in real time.”
The minister also explained that due to the small size of the port, big cargo ships could not berth here. “If you bring 54,000 metric tonnes of cement through a vessel with a draft of 12 metres as opposed to the nine metres at the port, the ships would not be able to dock. That means they will have to use vessel-to-vessel transfer until the vessel is light enough to reach the port. That is why the Sanyang port will be of good help in that regard.
He stated that the local companies like Jah Oil, Salam and Gacem have expanded their production bases adding that these developments will ensure affordability and price stability.
