Cement Shortage Exposes Long-Standing Structural Failures

The ongoing cement shortage rattling The Gambia is more than a temporary inconvenience; it is a symptom of deeper structural failures that the country has ignored for far too long. While Jah Oil’s Managing Director Momodou Hydara has pointed to weather disruptions and the shallow Banjul Port channel as the main culprits, these explanations, though valid, only scratch the surface of a problem that should never have been allowed to spiral into a national crisis.

Hydara’s account paints a troubling picture: vessels carrying more than 100,000 tons of cement stranded at sea because the port channel remains too shallow to accommodate larger ships. This is not a sudden development. The port’s dredging challenges have been a recurring issue for years, and yet the Gambia Ports Authority has moved at a glacial pace to address them. In a country where infrastructure expansion is both urgent and ongoing, the inability to guarantee the smooth entry of essential construction materials is inexcusable.

But the port is not solely to blame. The government’s decision in April 2024 to hike import tariffs on bagged cement from Senegal—from D30 to D180 per bag—may have been intended to protect domestic production, but it did so without adequate preparation. When policy outpaces capacity, the market responds with scarcity, and consumers ultimately pay the price. Today, Gambians are paying between D500 and D625 per bag, far above stable levels, despite Jah Oil maintaining an ex-factory price of D390. Predictably, opportunists within the distribution chain have seized the moment, exploiting the chaos to inflate prices even further.

To Jah Oil’s credit, the company appears to be investing aggressively in production, with new plants in Farafenni and Bafuloto promising a combined daily capacity of 300,000 bags. If accurate, these expansions could greatly reduce dependence on imports and stabilize supply. But Hydara’s insistence that Jah Oil has the capacity to meet national consumption also raises an uncomfortable question: if supply truly exists at such scale, why has the crisis been allowed to build for weeks?

Ultimately, the blame does not rest with one entity alone. The port’s inadequacies, abrupt tariff changes, fragile logistics, and unregulated retail markets have converged into a perfect storm. Consumers, meanwhile, are left with soaring construction costs and delayed projects—yet again bearing the burden of systemic inefficiencies.

This crisis should serve as a wake-up call. The Gambia cannot build a modern economy on outdated infrastructure, inconsistent policies, and laissez-faire market practices. Dredging the port channel is not optional; it is a national priority. Regulatory vigilance is not a luxury; it is an obligation. And if the government intends to promote local manufacturing, it must do so strategically—ensuring capacity is in place before policies disrupt price stability.

The cement shortage is not merely about cement. It is a reflection of the kind of country The Gambia wants to be: one that reacts to crises, or one that anticipates and prevents them. For the sake of consumers, investors, and national development, the choice can no longer be postponed.

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   The ongoing cement shortage rattling The Gambia is more than a temporary inconvenience; it is a symptom of deeper…
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