Members of the Association of the Cement Importers and Traders Alliance has cautioned cement buyers in the country to ensure that they get the right quantity of kilos packaged in 50kg bags.
Members of the alliance also called on the attention of the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC) to step up to ensuring that the right quantity of cement are packaged in 50kg bags of cement that resonate with value for money for consumers.
The members said they cautioned cement buyers following the scrutiny of bags of cement bought from agents of different cement bagging companies,operating in the country during which, they realized that only one out of three are selling the right 50kg bag of cement to the public.
On Saturday 12th October, 2024, members of the alliance, who spoke to the press, alleged that certain local bagging companies “are found wanting” for reducing certain kilos from the 50kg bag of cement they sell to the public. They disclosed that some local bagging companies bag 41-48kgs that they sell to the public as 50kg bag, an act they regarded as cheating and against the rules of the market.
They continued to disclosed that members, who went on tour, uncovered that presently only Salam Company is selling the actual 50kg bag of cement to Gambian customers, noting that bags of cement purchased from retailers of Gacem and Jah Oil failed to reach 50kgs after weighing their bags.
The alliance described the development as worrying and cheating of Gambian consumers meagre resources by giving them bags of cements that are actually less than 50kgs while calling on the Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to address the situation, they said, is equivalent to ripping off of many unsuspecting Gambians engaged in construction works.
“We have uncovered that certain local bagging companies of cement are not selling the right quantity of cement they package as 50kg bags they sold to the public. There are companies that package 41kgs, 43kgs, 45kgs to up to 49kgs in 50kgs bags that are unsuspectingly sold to the public. This is very unfair and against the rules of competition,” said Momodou Jobe, member of Cement Importers and Traders Alliance. He added: “We went to many retail shops and outlets but what we uncovered is amazing and so far, it’s only Salam Trading that is selling the actual 50kgs bags of cement. After buying and weighing bags of cement from Gacem, we realized that their bags of cement are weighing between 45 to 49kgs and as for Jah Oil, they are selling 41 to 47kgs as 59kg bags. This is unfortunate and it has to stop.”
According to him, local bagging companies “are sub-charging between 5 to 15 per cent more than what they consume, resulting to huge profit amounting to millions these companies are profiting from consumers.”
He called on the GCCPC to rise to the challenge and do the needful by weighing cement bags packaged for sale to “unsuspecting Gambians, who are paying for more than what they deserve to get”.
“The Gambian consumers are the ones suffering because no one is getting what they paid for per kilogram. You are paying more for cement. Imagine, you go and buy cement for D380 to get 50kgs but you are getting 40kgs. Can you imagine that? They sub-charge you for 10kgs and this is what happens when there is no competition in the market,” Jobe observed.
“We can say Salam, the only one adding value to processing cement, is the only one giving the right amount of cement in the 50kgs bag. Jah Oil and Gacem import all their cement but are still cheating the Gambian people. So, I am advising you to weigh your cement bags before you take them from the store because they are cheating you unknowingly,” he added.
Another member of the alliance Baba Drammeh also expressed disappointment in local cement bagging companies whose actions, he lamented, have beenaffecting the income of those involved in construction works “as they are paying more than what they should get.
He argued that these companies “are getting millions of dollars in return for cheating the consumers for up to D57 per every bag of cement that weighs less than 50kgs”.
“I think Government needs to step up here and regulatethe market by ensuring that each bag of cement sold to consumers weighs the actual 50kgs they labelled on their bags. To me, this is daytime robbery that can only be stopped by the government by imposing penalties forwrongdoing on those who are only scared of competition and therefore, strengthening monopoly of the cement business in the country,” Drammeh told journalists.
The scrutiny came hot on the heels of growing concerns among Cement Importers and Traders Alliance following government’s increment of tax levied on cement coming by roads to the country to more than double the amount they previously paid. The alliance members regarded this move by the Gambian Government as unfair treatment and a means to allowing local bagging companies to monopolise the cement sector.
