By Victor Ofuonye
In view of the recent media reports, particularly on the social media which alleged that the 50kg bags of cement of Gacem and Jah Oil Company, two local cement manufacturers weigh less than their indicated labels, this reporter and The Association of Gambian Manufacturers went to town to find out the real truth of the matter
Nasiru Janneh , Controller of Weights and Measure Bureau of The Gambia, the official authority that is vested with determining issues related to Weights and measures for all goods produced and sold in The Gambia has stated that there are no issues with Gacem 50Kg Cement bags. He made this known during an exclusive interview with this medium at his office in Banjul
“Last week Saturday, my attention was drawn to an online media report, stating that both Gacem and Jah Oil 50Kg cement bags that are manufactured in The Gambia, fall below their labeled 50Kg. Our team of inspectors went to Gacem’s manufacturing plant and their findings show that Gacem Cement Bags fall within the permissible range”. He stated
Questioned on Jah Oil 50 Kg Cement, Mr. Janneh revealed that it was Jah Oil who through their plant manager called his office to invite them to come and help with their weight calibrations.
“Modou, the Plant Manager of Jah Oil was the one who called and invited our inspectors to come check the weights of their products as they were according to him having some technical issues”. Said Mr. Janneh
He went further to say, “As part of the remedies, we shut down their (Jah Oil Cement Factory) production line for 2 days until we were able to resolve the issue, they only started production yesterday, and we will continue to monitor the machines to ensure all is well”.
Controller Janneh affirmed that his institution regularly conducts periodic inspections of all manufacturing houses to ensure that their weights conform to what is on their labels. He assured all that what happened with Jah Oil 50Kg Cement last Saturday, is a technical issue that is common in large-scale factories worldwide.
“What happened to them was purely technical issues that often occur with machines in any production line, the good thing is that it was quickly detected and remedied. I can assure you that most cement bags do not weigh the same, internationally, there is a 2% Permissible Margin of Error for products such as Cement, Rice, Flour, and Sugar”. He revealed
When contacted, Lakshmi Narayane, the General Manager of Gacem, confirmed that officials of the Weights and Measures Bureau visited the factory last Monday.
“Three inspectors from Weights and Measures did visit our factory. They checked our machines and confirmed our machines to be okay”. Said Lakshmi
He further stated that Gacem is a proudly Gambian company and is always committed to national development by ensuring the quality and affordability of its products to all Gambians.
For his part, the General Manager of Jah Oil, Mr. Hydara admitted that there were some issues with their machines last Saturday but that they quickly invited the relevant authorities to come in and help address it.
“We were the ones who called in inspectors from Weights and Measure, we even shut down production for 2 days just to solve this issue”. Said Hydara
He went further to state that the technical issues have been resolved. “We have with the help of Weights and Measures Bureau officials resolved the issue, we have started production and are taking remedial action to forestall any future occurrence of this blip. We are known for being overweight in the market and will continue in good faith”. He stated
For his part, Farimang Saho, president of the Association of Gambian Manufacturers, advised all its members to always obey the policies and Laws of The Gambia and to always ensure that the interest of consumers is always protected.
