President Yahya Jammeh, on Friday, called on the private sector in the country to be reasonable in the way and manner in which they fix the prices of basic commodities.

President Jammeh made this remark at the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Award Dinner held at the Kairaba Hotel.

Addressing the dinner, President Jammeh said his government can intervene to control prices of commodities, if they continue to be high. President Jammeh warned against profiteering, saying “over profiting (Ribah) is bad. Extorting is not good”.

He then added: “Let’s be reasonable in the way we price the commodities. Everybody goes into business to make profits, but that does not mean that we should overprice the commodities. The government and the private sector are partners in development and we should work together for the interest of the people. Let’s work together so that everybody goes home happily. Let us be balanced. Vision 2020 has really spelt out what the government intends to do for the private sector. The government under President jammeh will be a reliable partner.”

He told members of the private sector that competition is needed to foster business. However, he reminded them that such a competition must not be misunderstood as hatred.

President Jammeh called on Gambians to venture into unexplored business areas, adding that the “most successful businessman is the one who takes risks. “If you take the risks, you will make it,” he said.

The Gambian leader held that “any chamber of commerce in any country that did not have a good relationship with the government will fail. The GCCI knows what my government is doing for them as we are partners in development,” President Jammeh reiterated.

Bai Matarr Drammeh, President of GCCI, said “this year, the award dinner is of big significance to GCCI as we also celebrate our 40th anniversary. The GCCI is one of the youngest chambers of commerce in the region. Forty years of existence is worth celebrating, as we have a lot of plans in the pipeline for the year.”

Mr Drammeh told the dinner that the GCCI needs the support of her partners. “We have the concerns of the government and our partners for the socio-economic development of The Gambia. The year that ended has been very fruitful for us as we hosted one of the most successful African Union Summits”, he said.

According to him, the most important things about the AU summit is that, it has created a great momentum for businesses in The Gambia, noting that “2006 also marked the year of the election which President Jammeh won with a landslide. This is so because of Your Excellency’s track record of significant rapid development that took place within the 12 years of service to the country,” he said.

He commended President Jammeh’s commitment to private sector development, as well as his intervention in the healing of patients.

At the dinner, Mustapha Njie, Chairman and CEO of Taf Holdings Company, was awarded the 2006 business person of the year; Gambia Investment Promotion and Free Zones Agency, GIPFZA, was awarded the partner to the private sector award; Sankung Sillah & Sons for the industrialist of the year; Pap Yusupha Njie of Unique Solutions was awarded as the young entrepreneur of the year; Jali Yassin Mbye emerged the Small Medium Enterprise (SME) of the year; and Africell took home the service provider of the year award.

The dinner was chaired by Peter Gomez, proprietor of West Coast Radio.