Impeccable sources close to Banjul Breweries Company Ltd, producers of Julbrew beer and other non-alcoholic drinks in The Gambia is said to be on the process of winding-up operations in the country as a result of this new government tax policy introduced in December 2018.
The new tax policy dubbed ‘excise tax has catapulted the company’s tax obligation from 10 percent to 75% forcing the company to laid-off eighteen of its casual staff, while hundred more staff risk losing their jobs once the company takes a definitive decision to cease operations.
One senior manager who confirmed the current predicament of the Company to The Voice said the Company’s Country Manager is currently in Dakar for consultations as plans are on the table to close down the company in The Gambia.
“As we are speaking eighteen of our casual staff has been terminated and if the company is allowed to close down one hundred and thirty-two (132) more staff will eventually lose their jobs including fifty-two (52) wholesalers and their staff.
This is a very serious situation we are confronting with and as we speak our Country Director is in Dakar for negotiations but anything is possible,” a not comfortable Manager working at the breweries disclosed to The Voice.
According to him, Banjul Breweries Company has written at least four letters to the Ministry of Finance to protest and seek audience with the Ministry but to no avail, alleging that finance Ministry has not shown any interest in engaging the company.
Dilating on the rationale behind the sudden increment on the excise tax from 10 percent in last year to 75 percent for this year, the source told The Voice that stakeholders have not been engaged by the Ministry of Finance before reaching at such a conclusion.
He said his company received notifications of this increment in December 2018, stating that since then all efforts have been done to engage the Ministry but to no avail. “We were informed by the Ministry of Finance that this increment is advised by IMF but sadly when Banjul Breweries Company met with IMF officials we were duly informed that their advice to government is to make increment gradually not as it is been executed by the Ministry,” he disclosed.
He said excise tax stood at 50% in Senegal, 30% in Mali, 20% in Benin, 25% in Sierra Leone, 20% in Guinea Bissau and 17% in South Africa, arguing that it is irrational for Banjul Breweries Company to pay 75% excise tax while its sister companies in other twenty-six (26) countries in Africa are paying far lesser tax.
The Company has paid One Hundred and Thirty-Two Million Dalasis (D132m) tax into government coffers last year but as a result of this new policy The Gambia government already source D97million from January to date from the company which they claimed as an unfair treatment.
Sources closed to the company has also accused the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of misinforming the IMF of their level of production, arguing that contrary to the 300,000hecta liter of alcohol produce reported to IMF per month the company is producing only 900hecta litter of alcohol. The new excise tax is said to have increased wholesale prices by 59% thus automatically inflicting huge increases in retail prices.
Banjul Breweries Company Ltd is a French Flagship Company with 99% French ownership and employing over 150 Gambians whose means of livelihood depends on the Company. Efforts to get to the Ministry proved futile as this reporter made many attempts to get to the Minister of Finance bears no fruit.