Momodou Darboe, a businessman dealing in basic commodities, has called on Gambian businessmen to reduce prices of basic commodities as a show of sympathy to the holy month of Ramadan.

Mr. Daboe, a philanthropist, is the latest to join on the clarion called made to businessmen and women to have mercy on the poor by reducing the prices of basic commodities.

Mr. Darboe’s comments follows an announcement made by the Government of the Gambia for reduction of tariffs and other charges in a bid to enhance its poverty alleviation programme for the country by 55 per cent on the cost of goods and services charged by The Gambia International Airlines (GIA), the Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) and the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA). The continued exploitation of the people, he said, in particular to the Gambians who continue to suffer in the hands of the greedy businessmen who made huge profits to the determent of the masses is uncalled for.

He added that since the government has done their part, businessmen should also follow suit. “Before we the businessmen used to complain of high tariffs on handling charges and other charges, but since the government has made tariff reduction, businessmen should follow the suit. We should not continue to increase prices in order to make more profits,” he observed. He added that the attitudes of some of his colleagues in business are deliberate and uncalled for, noting that some businessmen are only interested in tarnishing the image of “our able leader, Dr Alhaji Yahya AJJ Jammeh” and his government but they will never succeed.

Mr. Daboe laid emphasis on the need to have mercy on the poor and less fortunate in the society. “We should be mindful of the rise in prices of basic commodities as will only have negative impact on the poor people, who are the voiceless in our society,” he said.

Talking on the religious aspect of exploiting people, Mr. Darboe observed that majority of prominent Gambian businessmen are Muslims, stressing that Islam forbids riba. “We should remember that the day of judgment each of us will be asked how we made our fortunes. This alone should be a food for thought for all of us to learn and therefore reduce prices on commodities in observance of the Islam Holy Month of Ramadan,” he begged. Mr. Darboe noted that prices began to rise few weeks ago, saying this phenomenon of increasing prices of basic commodities when Ramadan approaches should be stopped.

 He continued that, Ramadan is a blessed month in which our good deeds are rewarded abundantly. He appealed to the government to set up a task force that would monitor the activities of businessmen, so that there would not be any price hike in the country. “It is time to bell the cat and make sure that there is a price control system that will be affordable by all and sundry,” he added.

Dilating on the depreciation of foreign currencies against the dalasi, Mr. Darboe urged businessmen to seize this opportunity and reduce their prices.

This, he noted, is not the case now, hence The Gambia government through the Central Bank has work tremendously to make sure that the dalasi appreciates against major currencies. The dollar as of today stands at D20, pound sterling D42, The CFA France D215. It could be recalled that the 55 per cent reduction by the government on tariffs is in line with its national strategy alleviation to enhance the conduct of trade and transport so as to make The Gambia more competitive in the aviation and maritime transport sub-sectors.

He therefore urged the private sector to take advantage of the opportunities that would accrue as a result of these reductions. “It envisages that these reductions will only lead to improvement in the socio-economic well being of Gambian in line with policy objectives of the government’s Vision 2020,” he concluded.