By Dawda Baldeh
Banka Manneh, the Public Relations Manager at Sino Majilac Jalbak (SMJ), has addressed the issue of the alleged increase in sand prices from D475 per cubic unit to D650, which led to a protest by truck drivers who purchased sand from the mining site at the Denton Bridge.
In an exclusive interview with The Fatu Network, Mr. Manneh responded to the allegations and denied the drivers’ claims.
According to him, when SMJ began operating in The Gambia a few years ago, their price was at D650 per cubic but due to high market competition at the time they decided to lower the price to D475 to get business.
He asserted that drivers at the time were reluctant to buy their sand as they were getting it cheaper at the coasts.
Furthermore, Manneh noted that miners at the coast don’t incur much expense because they just get land, dig it and take the sand without any major expenses.
“It involves no operational cost in terms of machinery, fuels, or expatriates at the coast…,” he said.
According to him, this was the reason those mining at the coast could charge any price.
However, he claimed the mining has caused devastating environmental disasters, thereby deterring people from accessing the beach due to excess damage caused by mining.
“We decided to reduce the price from D650 to D375 and then move it to D475 per cubic to be able to get business even though the company was operating at a loss,” he said.
Mr. Manneh stated this was aimed at keeping their business alive.
However, after years of operating on the same price, Manneh said the company was incurring losses, prompting them to return the price to D650 per cubic.
“There wasn’t a price increase, we just returned it to where it was some years ago and the drivers know that,” he noted.
He cited the high rate of the dollar over the Gambian dalasis and the lack of subsidies from the government as key factors for returning the price to its previous rate.
“When we started operating the dollar was between D48 and D50 but now it’s between D70 to D72 per dollar.
“We are paying the Chinese, who run the vessels and operate the machines, in dollars.
“We are not buying fuel in dalasis and cost has increased,” he said.
Subsequently, Manneh announced that the issue had been resolved and the price had been lowered to D575 after engaging with the government and stakeholders.
The price has been reduced to D575 per cubic and the drivers are back, according to Mr. Manneh.
He also claimed that drivers have not been operating at a loss.
“When the drivers come here, they buy seven (7) cubic meters for the ten-wheel truck and sell it to customers as ten cubic.
“The customers out there look at ten wheels and think they are buying ten cubic which is not the case,” he said.
For Mr. Manneh, the drivers make a decent profit from the business.
“[For] a trip to Lamin, they charge about D9,500 and they make good profit. We do not squeeze the drivers.
“There is enough chance for the drivers to make profits without increasing the price exponentially,” he added.
Responding to questions of whether they could consider the plight of the general market, Manneh said SMJ is currently the only sand mining company in the country.
“We must do everything to protect it because if it goes out of business, the general market will be a disaster for the economy because it will affect all the businesses selling building materials and the construction industry,” he said.
