By Alhagie Jobe in Dakar
Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh has once again boycotted the ongoing 49th Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) which opened Saturday in the Senegalese capital, Dakar.
President Jammeh instead sends a delegation led by Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment minister Abdou Jobe accompanied by other ministers. It is not clear why President Jammeh is not attending despite the neighborliness between The Gambia and Senegal but many believe it might be due to tensed relations between the two countries over the past months.
Though it is not only President Jammeh who is absent from the summit but the situation between The Gambia and Senegal over the past months makes his absence a major concern. Other Presidents of Guinea Bissau, Nigeria and Togo are also absent but does not raise much attention like Jammeh’s.
Ailing relations
Over the past four months, relation between The Gambia and Senegal are not smooth following a four-month long border impasse. The border was shut down following a boycott by Senegalese drivers after the levy they have to pay to cross The Gambia was increased 100 times – from CFA4,000 per truck to CFA400,000 (£500; $700; a unilateral move taken by President Jammeh.
The truck drivers refused to pay the high fee unilaterally imposed on trucks heading to Southern region crossing into The Gambia, forcing them to a 10-hour detour to Senegal’s Southern region of Cassamance.
By far the shortest route between the southern Senegalese region of Cassamance and the capital, Dakar, goes through The Gambia but since the border is currently closed, meaning the 420km (260-mile) journey is now twice as long as travelers and Lorries are driving all the way round The Gambia, via Tambacounda.
Several attempts were made at the community, transport union and diplomatic levels as well as at sub-regional bloc, ECOWAS, to find a solution but all proved futile throughout the over-three month border impasse.
Earlier, a joint mission by ECOWAS, African Union and the United Nation sent to Banjul called on the two governments to ensure dialogue and reach a lasting solution to the frequent border crisis.
Prior to that, Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh filed a complainant to ECOWAS but was rubbished by the sub-regional bloc, urging him to its neighbor, Senegal, as well as regional and international agreements.
A concession for the venue of negotiation was one time the problem to discuss the impasse and find a lasting solution. On May 15th, Gambia agreed to send a delegation to Senegal headed by Foreign Minister Neneh MacDouall-Gaye. The talks failed though the two delegations agreed on some points but failed to agree on what Senegal called ‘key points’.
Despite the disagreement over certain points, the over 3-month long border stand-off finally ended on Tuesday, May 24 at 8:00hrs GMT, following the May 15th negotiations in Dakar and other follow up diplomatic meetings.
