The international participants of the 12th edition of the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Trade Fair have accused the GGCI of favoring local (Gambian) participants.
Kariben Gie, an international participants from Tunisia blamed the organizers for giving them stalls at the furthest points, while the Gambians participants are right in front.
“The organizers have to restructure how they allot stalls to participants, because it seems the local participants have been given all the attractive locations, while international participants are packed at the end.
Awa Bah, an international participant from Thies (Senegal) decried the same thing. “If you look at this year’s organization, it seems the organizers favour the people within the country more than us coming outside of The Gambia. This is very difficult for us because we came all the way from Senegal and pay expensive amounts for the stall, and yet no sales.”
She called on the organizers to emulate other regions when organizing such events, drop the bias, and they’ll attract more international participation.
The Chief Executive Office of GCCI, Alieu Secka refuted the allegations and affirmed that the trade fair is organized and structured like other regions, adding that in most of the countries, there are places that are structured purposely for international participants.
