By Ebrima Papa Colley

We have been saying this for ever—that according to international reports, it has always been Senegal’s dream to kill off Gambia’s re-export trade. Re-export trade involves bringing goods from overseas through our port in Banjul and sending them to other countries. But Sierra Leone, Liberia, and other countries used Gambia’s strategic port to transit their diamonds, gold, and various consumer goods the African middle class or even lower class depends on.

According to an American security company, Gambia thrives on low tariffs which Senegal can’t afford. The American company calls this comparative advantage Gambia’s “niche” which Senegal lacks. But ook at what the World Bank writes:

“For decades, Gambia has served as a regional entrepot, using the river as a transportation link to the hinterland. Relatively low import taxes, well-functioning port and customs services, and limited administrative barriers reinforced Gambia’s position as a trading center. About 80 percent of Gambian merchandise exports consist of re-exports to the sub-region goods imported into Gambia [that] are transported unofficially into Senegal and beyond.”

“Re-export activities have long been one of the most important industries in The Gambia. Reexports are estimated to account for about 80 percent of total exports. Net re-exports (after deducting imports intended for re-export) contribute about 20 percent of foreign-exchange earnings, and 7 percent of GDP, below tourism’s contributions but larger than those for groundnuts.”

“Large numbers of people are employed in the handling, storage, and transport of goods. The re-export trade also contributes significantly to government revenue as goods are subject to tariffs when imported even if intended for re-export.”

“40 percent of The Gambia’s total government revenues and 50 percent of tax revenues are from taxes on international trade, a very high dependence even by African standards. Imports intended for reexport probably account for about half of these receipts from international trade taxes. Yet reexports are largely ignored in the available documentation on The Gambia and remarkably little seems to be known about this form of trade.”

“The Gambia’s favorable geographical location at the mouth of the most navigable river in West Africa provided the original foundation for the Gambia’s position as an entrepôt (Gailey 1965). Its relatively liberal trade policies, in the British tradition, especially compared to the more protectionist and interventionist policies in Senegal, became increasingly significant over time. Whereas Senegal sought to establish and maintain a domestic manufacturing sector behind high tariff barriers, The Gambia has never had much of a domestic industrial base to protect (Boone 1989).”

Senegal detests this World Bank truth while its utopia has been going on since the days of Jawara. Today, it has morphed into killing or colonizing every big or little business owned by Gambians in The Gambia so that we can only import from Senegal and rely on them forever. This helps boost the Senegalese economy and GDP at the serious expense of our own. Jah Oil has become the latest target of this Senegalese exploitation or predatory maneuver.

Please stop blaming Corona or the war in Ukraine! Barrow is making life extremely hard for Gambians. But we started saying this years ago. The IMF and World Bank believe that Gambia has the most navigable river in the entire subregion. All Barrow has to do is purchase a ship that will help our re-export, making it immune to Senegalese border tantrums.

So, Mr. Hamidu Jah, it was brought to our understanding that you’ve been supporting Barrow financially. Now, he has cut off your honey fountain and handed it to Senegal. You think Barrow understands how this world or macroeconomic policies work? Or do you think even if he’s tutored about them, he has the patriotism to tell Macky Sall, “please stop scoring political and economic points from Gambia’s toil, sweat, and blood?”