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| Gambia - Senegal border closure |
The Gambian dictator fielded two successive missions to
Senegal in the past week and a half. The first was led by Pap Demba
Jobe, the Special Representative of the Mourid sect in The Gambia and the other
by Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy. Both missions failed. It appears that Senegal is in no mood to receive Jammeh's envoys much less negotiate with Jammeh.
According to our sources, the Pap Demba Jobe’s mission visited Touba, Tivavon and
Kaolack to solicit the support of the religious leaders of the Mourids,
Tedianis and Niassen sects to plead with the Senegalese president Macky Sall on
behalf of Jammeh.
Reports have it that the mission failed to achieve its primary object of getting the
religious leaders to intervene in the current stalemate that has led to the
borders between the two countries being closed.
The failure of Pap Demba Jobe’s mission led Jammeh to dispatch
his Vice President, Isatou Njie-Saidy last Wednesday and returned yesterday
(Friday) without seeing any senior official of Macky Sall’s government.
Two successive failed missions underscore the nature of the latest
border stand-off, triggered by the unilateral decision of the Gambian dictator’s
that saw a 1,000% tariff increase on Senegalese trucks using the TransGambia highway that
traverses Gambia into the southern part of Senegal.
The frequent use of unilateral tariff increases by Jammeh
without prior consultation or notification of his neighbors is finally being
seen by the authorities in Dakar as a cudgel that is used at will that
threatens the economic security of Senegal.
In this regard, Senegal has now decided to remove all taxes
on gas oil to help reduce the cost for Senegalese trucks having to bypass
Gambian territory by transporting goods around it via Tambacounda. This
facility will be available for the next two years should the borders be closed
for that long. This decision suggests
that Senegal is getting ready to hunker down for the long-haul.
“These borders” according to a senior government official, “will
remain shut for a very long time. He (Jammeh) has tested our patience for a
very long time.”
Meanwhile, Gambia’s National Electricity Company, NAWEC, has
informed Jammeh that it will soon run out of fuel which normally comes from or
via Senegal. If the borders aren’t open
for any extended period of time, Gambia will be plunged into darkness unless
enough foreign exchange – already in short supply – is scrapped to order an
emergency consignment in the open market. Either way, Jammeh has managed to place
himself and his country between a rock and a hard place.
We will continue to monitor developments.
