The cement shortage unsettling The Gambia is not just a passing disruption but a stark reminder of long-standing structural weaknesses that have been neglected for years. While Jah Oil Managing Director Momodou Hydara has cited adverse weather and the shallow Banjul Port channel as immediate causes, these factors merely highlight deeper failures in planning, infrastructure, and policy coordination.
According to Hydara, ships carrying over 100,000t of cement remain stranded offshore because the port cannot accommodate larger vessels. This is hardly a new challenge. The port’s dredging problems have been well known, yet corrective action has been painfully slow. In a country undergoing constant construction, failing to secure reliable access for essential materials is indefensible.
Government policy has also played a role. The April 2024 increase in import tariffs on bagged cement from Senegal—from GMD30 (US$0.40) to GMD180 (US$2.44)—was meant to boost local production. Instead, it tightened supply without ensuring adequate domestic capacity, driving market prices to between GMD500 and GMD625 per bag, despite Jah Oil’s ex-factory price of GMD390. Weak oversight has allowed middlemen to exploit the situation further.
Although Jah Oil’s planned plant expansions could ease future shortages, the current crisis underscores a broader lesson. Without modern ports, coherent policies, and firm market regulation, shortages will recur. The cement crisis is ultimately a test of whether The Gambia can move from reactive governance to proactive national planning.
