In a bilateral meeting between captains of the two industries, held at the Jerma Beach Hotel on Wednesday, the two presidents made it clear that the move could not have come at a better time than now, when the need to “trade with each other” has become more significant.
In his marathon explanation of why the move is a step in the right direction, Bai Matarr Drammeh, president of the GCCI, pointed out that there should be a free movement of goods, service, people and capital within our demarcations. “When we hit each other at the border we [both] suffer,” he said, adding that border closure by either party should not be entertained.
He added that if one country closes its border to the other, the risk for starvation will be high; and this could lead to a situation of an influx of the number of refugees in the sub-region, because of food supply shortages. “It is our best interests to leave the borders open.”
He said that both countries are signatories to the ECOWAS protocols on free movement of goods and services, therefore it is duty bound for the two chambers of commerce to enforce those protocols using dialogue. “We should make information available to our governments, that people are bound to trade with each other. Without this, the degree of poverty will be high,” he said.
According to Mr Drammeh, in building the world of tomorrow, the two countries will have to join together to create an avenue for people to thrive.
He argued that competition should not be the overriding concern of the two parties. “We have to cooperate and not compete. This is the way forward. It is through such gatherings that both parties can express their feelings and find a solution to them. In business, there is no border,” he said.
Mr Drammeh explained that most of the countries in Africa are landlocked nations; therefore, the need for opening our borders becomes imperative.
He pointed that lack of collaboration at the borders seriously undermines the transportation of goods from one country to the other – which leads to the creation of shortage in food supply and the skyrocketing of prices at the local markets.
For his part, Jean Pascal Themba, president of the Ziguinhcor Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, is optimistic that the deal that has just been struck would be effective and fruitful to both parties.
He maintained that the two countries are a society of one people whose geographical locations, historical and social facts are of the same.
He recalled the integration efforts the two countries have engaged in some years ago, saying: “We have been working to putting modalities of integrating together.”
He also recalled the fraternal and development relationship between the two countries, saying both nations have many things in common.
ON BUILDING A BRIDGE
As the debate on whether the proposed bridge across the river Gambia linking Senegal will be effective or not, Mr Themba revealed that plans are afoot on building the bridge.
For him, the construction of the proposed bridge would help to ease the predicament vehicles that ply the road to the other part of Senegal face on daily basis.
Themba also admonished “those trying to destabilize the two countries by virtue of heartless acts”, saying they would not succeed.
However, he did not give any glimpse of Senegal’s “ulterior motive” regarding the bridge, but dismissed claim that the last border closure – that gripped the two nations by the neck – was effected by the Senegalese Transport Union.
He presented copious evidence in the form of documents that show that a group bearing “ill intentions” was responsible for the act, because they were serving their own interest by putting the two nations into collision.
INTER-STATE ROAD TRANSIT SCHEME AND SEA LINK TRANSPORT
Mr Drammeh revealed that FEWACCI has finalised plans to establish a Sealink that will enhance easy transportation of goods in the sub-region since most countries now have vessels plying the sea. “This allows us to do business among ourselves in the sub-region,” he said, adding that merchandises from Ziguinchor can go as far as Cameroon and vice-versa.
“Sooner than later, we are also coming with the rail link project,” he said while revealing plans of the Road Transport Scheme, which is already in operation.
No comments:
Post a Comment