Special Report By: Yusupha Jawo
Momodou Hydara, the general manager of Jah Oil Company, manufacturer of Tiger cement brand has taken exceptions to a news item claiming that there are shortages of cement in the country by a local newspaper (not The Voice) last week.
He maintained that there are no shortages of cement in the country as his company has enough cement that provide for the needs of all.
“There are no shortages of cement at all. We have enough here and I am sure other producers also have enough. I assure you that no customer of ours that comes in with his truck spends more than a few hours at our loading bay,” he narrated.
He explained that the queues experienced last week were because quite a several customers wanted to use Jah trucks. After all, they are cheaper than commercial trucks but his company’s trucks are limited in numbers. Anyone that comes with their truck he maintains gets a very prompt supply.
Hydara further stated that for any manufacturing concern anywhere in the world, queues are a blessing because they prove that more and more people are interested in your product, but that what is important is that there is movement in the queues.
He went further to appeal to members of the public who are involved in the trucking business to help by sending trucks to their plant. “There is plenty of cement available and we guarantee efficient loading of trucks within few hours. There are no queues here just process your paperwork and you will be loaded immediately within an hour, and we are also open for business 24 hours of the day, and we give priority to provincial customers because they are traveling long distances,” he emphasized.
The Jah Oil Company helmsman went on to state that it is quite funny because 75% of its customers are members of Senegal cement importers but that there are a few of them who are angry because the government has stopped something that was given them millions of the detriment of Gambians.
“Some of these persons left Europe to come and be involved in this dubious scheme. Gambians have finally understood the illicit scheme of these people as evidenced in the responses to their social media posts. They are not paying the right taxes, because they under-declare what they import and make a killing on the unpaid taxes. These people are also beneficiaries of the Senegalese TVA refund scheme that gives bulk buyers a 15% reduction in price for subsequent purchases. This is the real reason they are doing everything possible to maintain that status quo” he maintains.
It will be recalled that earlier this year, the government of The Gambia, in a move aimed at protecting local industries in the country, increased the import duty on imported bagged cement from D30 to D300, a 300% increase. This move has not gone down well with the group that Hydara labels as Senegal Cement Importers because according to him, “they have never imported cement from anywhere else in the world.”
Below is a table showing the revenue losses to The Gambia that seemingly justifies the government’s position on the matter. It must be noted that these cement importers had made claims of importing at least 300(300,000 bags) truckloads of cement per day, with each truck containing a minimum of 1000 bags. They have equally boasted of collectively paying about 70 million Dalasi in taxes per annum.
From the table, it is quite easy to deduce that the government was supposed to be getting at least D9, 000,000 Daily, D 270,000,000 Monthly, and D3, 240,000,000 in taxes and not just only 70 million. This is the secret behind the obvious brouhaha concerning cement in The Gambia.
