Farimang Saho, the president of the Association of Gambian Manufacturers (AGM), has stated that Senegal’s “anti-trade tactics” are responsible for the slow pace of manufacturing in The Gambia.
Saho made this known in an exclusive interview with this medium. He averred that members of AGM do have the capacity to manufacture and make good use of the Gambia’s founding membership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), but that Senegal, through its policies and border officials, makes it difficult for Gambia manufactured goods to get into the Senegalese market not to talk of passing through to other ECOWAS markets.
“We are suffering from this choking actions of Senegal. My members have customers in Guinea Bissau, Mali, etc, but we cannot supply them, all because Senegal will oftentimes not allow our goods to pass through its territory,” he lamented.
He went further to point out the obvious imbalance of these trade restrictions by stating, “At most of our borders, it is a one-way blockade. Goods from The Gambia spend days at The Senegal side, whilst goods from Senegal to The Gambia are quickly cleared and allowed to proceed by same Senegalese officials,” he stated.
Saho insisted that the issue is because The Gambia is landlocked on all its land borders by Senegal. “This is simply because Senegal surrounds us”.
He called on ECOWAS and the government of The Gambia to ensure that Senegal strictly adheres to the founding principles of ECOWAS, which assures all of ‘The Free Movement of Goods, Services and Persons” across member states.
It will be recalled that members of the National Assembly of The Gambia recently visited Senegal to dilate on issues relating to access for Gambian goods on transit through Senegal. In addition, the Vice President, Dr Mohammed B.S Jallow, also visited Senegal and held similar discussions.
