TRANSPORT UNION DEMANDS RETALIATORY POLICY AGAINST FOREIGN VEHICLES
Omar Ceesay, the president of the Gambia Transport Union, has called on government to consider applying some restrictions on the movement of foreign vehicles from Senegal and other countries in retaliation of the bad treament Gambian vehicle drivers suffered in those counrties.
Ceesay made this demand yesterday at a press conference in Banjul.
Justifying his demand, the transport union leader said currently, commercial passenger vehicles from The Gambia cannot operate in the surrounding Ecowas states, while foreign vehicles operate freely inside The Gambia.
“In Guinea-Bissau and Guinea Conakry, customs authorities demand a guarantee payment of up to nearly 50% of the vehicle’s value as a condition for entry for each Gambiian registered vehicle. This poses a significant financial and operational barrier to Gambian commercial passenger vehicles. In Senegal too, authorities restrict Gambian passenger commercial vehicles from transporting people to Senegal. This violates Ecowas protocols on free movement of people, goods and services. These restrictions raise operational challenges for Gambian commercial transport operators, disrupt cross-border trade and passenger mobility,” Ceesay said.
According to the transport union president, this situation highlights an urgent need for reciprocal regulations to ensure fairness, protect local transport operators and uphold Ecowas protocols on free movement of goods and services.
Ceesay declared that going forward, his union has resolved that government should ensure foreign passenger commercial vehicles terminate only at Basse, URR, which is the designated official garage for foreign commercial passenger vehicles.
He also demanded that his union shall be the sole authority monitoring this compliance.
“We resolve that only Gambian registered commercial vehicles shall operate within the country and no foreign commercial passenger vehicles in transit through Gambia be allowed to pick up or drop passengers or goods in The Gambia, in accordance with Ecowas protocols on transit,” he said.
Fuel prices
The trasnport union also called on the government to reduce the high cost of diesel in the country.
“Diesel pump price has risen by D33.37 percent per liter since November 2021 while vehicle maintenance costs too have doubled due to rising cost of spare parts, lubricants and workshop services. The continuous rise in the prices of essential goods and services in the market have a direct impact on road transport workers. As the primary breadwinners of their families, transport workers face increasing financial hardship, with their daily income unable to adequately cover the rising cost of living undermining their welfare, reducing household stability and threatening the sustainability of the transport sector as a whole,” Mr Ceesay lamented.
The union therefore demanded government to establish a Special Fare Adjustment Commitee to review, negotiate and approve periodic transport fare adjustments, introduce zonal fare structures based on distance ranges and also introduce automatic review mechanism whenever fuels costs fluctuate significantly.
Source: The Standard
