On 12 December 2025, the Barrow administration issued a press release announcing the Cabinet’s approval of a temporary waiver of excise duty on imported bagged cement, citing logistical challenges affecting bulk cement imports and the need to meet domestic demand. While framed as an emergency intervention, this decision in fact exposes the failure of a deeply flawed, dishonest policy engineered by the government itself.
Rather than addressing the root causes of the crisis, the Cabinet decision merely treats the symptoms of a monopoly-driven market distortion, a distortion created deliberately under the false pretence of protecting a so-called “local cement manufacturing industry” that does not exist.
A FABRICATED MANUFACTURING NARRATIVE
The Government continues to describe a cartel of cement importers as “cement manufacturers,” fully aware that:
• The Gambia has no cement mines
• No clinker is produced locally
• No cement is manufactured in-country
What exists is cement bagging and distribution, not manufacturing. Yet this false narrative was used to justify punitive excise duties designed to eliminate competition and consolidate market control in the hands of a few politically connected entities, chief among them Jah Cement, owned by Ahmadi Jah, a known patron of the ruling NPP, amid persistent allegations that President Adama Barrow holds a silent interest in the company.
STATE-ENGINEERED MONOPOLY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
The government’s policy of imposing an additional D150 excise duty per bag of cement on independent importers was not an accident. It was a deliberate economic weapon used to force competitors out of the market, denying many Gambians, particularly young entrepreneurs, the opportunity to engage in legitimate trade.
This policy has resulted in:
• Artificial scarcity
• Price instability
• Loss of jobs and livelihoods
• Reduced competition
• Rent-seeking and cartel behaviour
• Increased cost of construction, housing, and public infrastructure
Port challenges do not cause the current cement shortage and price hikes. They are the direct and predictable outcome of monopoly protection.
SELECTIVE WAIVERS AND POLICY CONTRADICTIONS
The press release states that the D150 excise duty has been waived for a limited period for companies holding Special Investment Certificates, namely:
• Salam Company Limited
• JAH Multi Industrial
• Steel Gambia Cement
• Tali Logistics Infrastructure
This raises several serious questions:
1. Why are only a select few companies benefiting from this waiver?
2. What about the many businesses that exited the cement trade because the same duty made their operations unviable?
3. If excise duty can be waived now due to scarcity, why was it imposed in the first place?
4. Does this not prove that the anti-monopoly arguments were valid all along?
If the cement market had remained liberalised, no single logistical failure at the port could have caused nationwide scarcity. Smaller consignments from Senegal and other sources would have naturally cushioned supply shocks.
TEMPORARY REVERSAL EXPOSES A PERMANENT LIE
The government now quietly admits failure by temporarily reverting the excise duty to D30 per bag, the same rate that applied before cartel influence forced competitors out of business.
This admission exposes the truth:
• The monopoly policy was never about industrialisation
• It was about rent extraction and political patronage
• It served private interests, not national development
THE PORT FAILURE AND PRIVATISATION SCANDAL
The government’s justification rests heavily on port infrastructure constraints, yet this too is a self-inflicted wound.
The mortgaging of Banjul Port to the Turkish company Albayrak under a flawed privatisation model has:
• Reduced national control over strategic infrastructure
• Increased inefficiencies and bottlenecks
• Enabled opaque contracts and alleged kickbacks
• Sacrificed public interest for private enrichment
This privatisation experiment has failed, and the cement crisis is one of its most visible consequences.
THE UNTOLD DAMAGE TO THE ECONOMY
The cumulative impact of this policy failure includes:
• Higher construction costs, worsening the housing crisis
• Increased cost of public infrastructure projects
• Inflationary pressure on the economy
• Loss of tax revenue from exited businesses
• Youth unemployment and crushed entrepreneurship
• Deepening public mistrust in government institutions
This is economic sabotage through policy manipulation.
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS: WHAT MUST BE DONE NOW
1. Immediate Policy Reversal
• Permanently abolish the discriminatory excise duty regime
• Restore the D30 per bag excise duty for all importers without exception
2. Full Market Liberalisation
• Open the cement import market to all qualified businesses
• End the protection of cartels masquerading as manufacturers
3. Truth in Industrial Policy
• Stop misleading the public about “cement manufacturing”
• Develop genuine industrialisation plans based on raw material realities
4. Anti-Monopoly and Competition Enforcement
• Establish and empower an independent competition authority
• Investigate cartel behaviour and abuse of dominant market positions
5. Conflict of Interest Disclosure
• Mandate full asset and business interest declarations for senior public officials
• Investigate allegations of political ownership and patronage in the cement sector
6. Port Governance Reform
• Review and renegotiate the Albayrak concession agreement
• Restore national oversight and accountability in port operations
7. Support Local Entrepreneurs
• Provide equal access to import permits and financing
• Encourage youth participation in trade and logistics
CONCLUSION
The cement crisis is not a logistical accident; it is a policy crime scene. The Cabinet’s temporary waiver confirms what critics have long argued, namely that monopolies breed scarcity, corruption, and economic pain.
The solution is clear and proven.
Liberalise the market—end cartel protection. Put the public interest first.
Anything short of this is a continuation of state capture under a different excuse.
Article Co-Authored by Anon, USA!
