By: Awa Gassama
As the countdown to Ramadan begins, scores of vendors within the Greater Banjul area on Monday expressed dismay over the price hike and urged the Government to address the issue before Ramadan.
Muhammad Babu, a shopkeeper at Tipper Garage said the prices of goods are escalating every day because of the lack of fixed prices for goods.
“Goods like a bag of onion were costing thousand dalasi (D1, 000.00) but now it is costing one thousand one hundred, and fifty dalasi (D1, 150). The price of cooking oil was costing one thousand eight hundred and fifty (D1, 850), but now it is costing one thousand nine hundred (D1, 900) and among other goods. All these issues happened because we lack price control,” he said.
Saidou Sowe, a vendor, also said Ramadan is a month in which people’s demand for goods is always high compared to other months.
Expressing his concern over the issue of price hikes, Sowe explained how business owners have different reasons for increasing the price of goods, adding that some of them increase their prices due to the high demands of goods by people, while others increase due to the limited supply of specific goods in the market.
Oumie Jallow, a customer noted that the hike in goods at the market is a great concern for all the citizens as Ramadan is fast approaching.
“We call on the government to help us with price control because people come from different backgrounds.”
Jonkunda Sanyang, one of the buyers at Serekunda on the sideline said: “We the poor are suffering to cope with the situation right now because as a head of the family even if you have ten thousand it will not take you for months due to the hike of goods at the market.”
“We will be very happy if the government helps us in controlling the price of goods, especially this coming Ramadan Sanyang,” she concluded.