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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 13 Jan 2015 : 22:36:47
There is a great need to make retailers aware that fair prices and honest dealings with customers in relation to " essential food commodities" are reinforced it is a fact that at certain times of the year retailers inflate their prices to a point which the average Gambian
family cannot afford therefore the administration must take steps to rectify this.
IMPORTANT SNIPPET:
"The day-long event, dubbed a ‘meeting on the monitoring mechanism for the importation and retailing of essential commodities’, was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Regional Governments."
Related.?
http://observer.gm/africa/gambia/article/jammeh-affirms-food-self-sufficiency-by-2016
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Tuesday, January 13, 2015
The Gambia government plans to introduce a set of new measures to ensure fair and honest pricing of essential food commodities, The Point newspaper has gathered.
The measures are intended to ensure that consumers are not cheated by food sellers, particularly retailers, who inflate the prices of their commodities unreasonably.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, which took the lead role in developing the new measures, is organising a meeting with all the regional government authorities today, Tuesday, to brief them on the measures.
The day-long event, dubbed a ‘meeting on the monitoring mechanism for the importation and retailing of essential commodities’, was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Regional Governments.
The regional authorities will be briefed on measures to ensure that when consumers buy a food item, the correct price is charged for a correct quantity, so that everyone gets a fair value.
Author: Al Amin
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/govt-to-enforce-measures-on-fair-pricing-of-food-items
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Honest pricing of food commodities
africa » gambia
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
The Gambia government is planning to introduce a set of new measures to ensure fair and honest pricing of essential food commodities.
“The Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment in collaboration with the Ministry of Lands and Regional Governments is organizing a meeting with all the Regional Government Authorities to brief them on the new government measure to ensure fair and honest pricing of essential food commodities,”a statement by the Trade ministry in Banjul said.
This is quite overdue as commodity pricing and price hikes have been a serious issue and headache for consumers in The Gambia over the years, especially in periods leading to feasts such as Ramadan and Christmas.
For instance, while occasions like Ramadan and Christmas are supposed to be periods of charity and blessings, they become a time of spiraling food prices and hoarding, with many essential items going out of reach.
In some cases, retailers also complain of rising prices as wholesalers and importers continue to take a huge amount of dalasis from them for commodities. This situation leads to a vicious cycle of the burden of bearing the brunt of overpricing being transferred to the public or consumers from the wholesalers and or retailers in the commodity-trading chain.
Price hikes for a particular item in the country don’t qualify as inflation. It is so because if one thing gets more expensive, but something else gets cheaper, that’s what economists call a relative price change, not inflation. Inflation is a simultaneous increase in prices across the board, which could be deduced via some measures of inflation such as the GDP deflator, which tracks price changes that affect businesses, as well as those that affect consumers.
However, what we are facing in the country is not necessarily inflation but mere price changes effected by wholesalers and, in some cases, retailers to generate more profits taking advantage of situations such as feasts and the like, leading to profiteering, which is detrimental to the economic condition of the average person.
One thing again that has to be taken into consideration is that of demand over supply, in light of too much money chasing too few goods. But this is always cushioned by appropriate monetary policy measures applied by the central bank or similar bodies.
Unfair and dishonest increase in food prices has to be really put in check, as it is increasingly common to see variedly polarized prices of the same commodities being sold in shops and boutiques in the same locality.And all the sellers could say is they purchase their items at different prices. Who is responsible for this nagging situation needs to be tackled to curb such a phenomenon.
It is, therefore, essential that the Trade ministry and the Ministry of Lands and Regional Governments are organizing a meeting with all the regional government authorities to brief them on the new government measure to ensure fair and honest pricing of essential food commodities.
“Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.”
Warren Buffett
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/honest-pricing-of-food-commodities |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 15 Jan 2015 : 12:51:23
This piece points out that "the players in this domain" have failed to take the opportunity to take this sensible action amongst themselves,therefore the administration has had to make it law,all law has penalties if it is broken.(there would be no rich lawyers otherwise  )
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SNIPPET:
"This new regulation, which will take effect at the end of this month, has come to stay, because even the President of the Republic did launch an appeal to those dealing in essential food commodities to be fair and honest in their pricing, but most of the players in this domain “have not been responsive to the appeal”.
A word for the wise…
The Point: Published on Thursday, January 15, 2015
An ultimatum of some sort has been given to importers, distributors and retailers who deal in essential food commodities in the country.
It has been made clear to these business operators that if they fail to apply fair play in their pricing of essential food items, such as rice, sugar, cooking oil, onions, potatoes, tomato paste, flour, milk and chicken, their operationallicence “would not be renewed” at the end of the financial year, when they will be checked out.
“At the end of the year, if your records show that you are doing as expectedthen your licence would be renewed; if you are not doing as expected thenyour licence would not be renewed ,” the Lands minister was quoted as saying.
He assured the Ministry of Trade that they would always be there to implement the new regulations for pricing to the letter.
Through the Trade Ministry, the Gambia government will implement a new measure in the form of regulating and licensing importers, distributors and major and minor retailers of essential food commodities in the country.
This is to make it very difficult for them to continually engage in overpricing their commodities, without being tracked down by the relevant authorities.
This new regulation, which will take effect at the end of this month, has come to stay, because even the President of the Republic did launch an appeal to those dealing in essential food commodities to be fair and honest in their pricing, but most of the players in this domain “have not been responsive to the appeal”.
Under the new measure, starting from end of January 2015, all importers, distributors and retailers, are required to get a licence, authorization, or registration from the competent authorities.
Unfair and dishonest increase in food prices has to be really put in check, as it is increasingly common to see variedly polarized prices of the same commodities being sold in shops and boutiques in the same locality. And all the sellers could say is they purchase their items at different prices.
This exploitative phenomenon has to be curtailed, as commodity price hikes have been a serious issue and headache for consumers in The Gambia over the years, especially in periods leading to feasts such as Ramadan and Christmas.
So the new measure by government to renew licences based on good practices of honest pricing would serve as a check and deterrent to unreasonable price hikes, and profiteering in the country.
“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
John F. Kennedy
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/a-word-for-the-wise |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 14 Jan 2015 : 17:50:34
This is bound to cause a little annoyance to some people engaged in "business" dealing with "essential food commodities" 
Gov’t to license importers, distributors, retailers of essential food commodities
africa » gambia
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
The Minister of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment yesterday said the government has come up with a new measure in the form of regulating and license Importers, distributors, as well as minor and major retailers of essential food commodities in The Gambia.
Minister Abdou Jobe was speaking at a meeting that brought together staff of the Trade Ministry and Ministry of Local Government and Lands, held at the Trade ministry conference room in Banjul.
The meeting was aimed at briefing the authorities on the new measures that would ensure fair and honest pricing of essential food commodities in the country.
Briefing the relevant authorities on the new government measures, Minister Jobe said they may be aware that President Yahya Jammeh had formally launched an appeal to importers, distributors, major and minor retailers of essential food commodities to be fair and honest in their pricing.
He added that despite the strategic importance of the essential food commodities for the socio economic development of the country, most of the players have not been responsive to the appeal.
This new regulation is commencing towards the end of January 2015, he said, adding that the government is issuing a license and authorization or registration regime for anybody who is an importer, distributor, and a major or minor retailer of essential food commodities.
The essential food commodities the new measures would involve are rice, sugar, cooking oil, onions, potatoes, tomato paste, flour, milk and chicken, he said.
These essential food commodities are strategic for the existence of the country and are of national security, because without being available, affordable and accessible food commodities the very existence of the country would be threatened, he added.
Therefore, the government has taken a strategic decision to have the regulation in place.
“The regulation means that if you are an importer of any of those essential food commodities or you are a distributor, that is, the one that buys from the importer puts it in a store and the people come and buy it from you to sell, or you are a major retailer and even the minor retailer, that is, the one with a small shop in the localities,” he further explained.
He said if anyone falls under any of the categories by the end of January 2015, he or she is required to get a license or authorization, or registration from the competent authority.
The Ministry of Trade would be responsible for licensing, registering or authorizing the importers, distributors and major retailers, he stated, adding that the minor retailers would go to their area councils and municipalities for licensing or registration.
The country has no control over the prices, he said, stating that the licensing, registration or authorization is free, and the objective is to ensure honest and fair pricing for Gambians.
Lands Minister, Momodou Aki Bayo, said it is the responsibility of all to ensure that the Gambian people get a fair deal.
The businessman does business to get something at the end of the day, he said, adding that “if you get something for D5 and sell it at D15 that is not fair.”
He added that at the end of the year, “if your records show that you are doing as expected, then your license would be renewed, if you are not doing as expected then they would not renewed the license”.
He said genuine earning is very important in life, and local government is the people, unlike other ministries, and their role is to sensitize people about the new measures.
The people know those who charge unreasonable prices, he said.
He, therefore, assured the Ministry of Trade that they would always be there to implement it to the letter.
Author: Halimatou Ceesay
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/govt-to-license-importers-distributors-retailers-of-essential-food-commodities |
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