Barely a day passes by without Gambians complaining about the rise in the prices of essential commodities. The cost of food in particular has left many in frustration.
On 4 th September, 2021, Foroyaa visited both the Greater Banjul Area and West Coast Region to sound the voice of citizens on the hike on the prices of foods and most of them said they are struggling to cope with life as things are expensive nowadays. At popular food markets such as Wellingara, Latri-kunda (Sabiji) and Serrekunda, customers and traders are unhappy about the high prices and the lack of solutions to their problems.
Binta Fatti, a vendor and mother of four (4), is among the growing number of desperate Gambians complaining over rising prices of food. A resident of Tallinding, Fatti travels to Brikama and buys foodstuffs and resells them to make profit. Sometimes she returns home empty-handed.
"I have to struggle hard. There is no food at home and I need to get food for my family, especially my children. The situation is tough due to the spike in the prices of food commodities," Fatti said.
She called on the government to regulate the prices of commodities because Gambians are suffering, adding importers and shop owners are making life unbearable for them.
Haddy Nyassi, a Bakau resident, said a cup of cooking oil that was sold at D8 increased from D8 to D10, then D17 and now D20. She said she used to buy wholesale goods, but she had to stop that. The high cost of a gallon of oil, bag of rice and sugar, has forced her to buy on retail each of the items instead.
"The prices of items keep increasing which makes it difficult for us to cope with the situation. I am appealing to the government to regulate or put measures in place to curb the spike in the prices of commodities to ease the suffering and pain of Gambians,'' Nyassi said.
Soffie Sarr, a customer found at the Latri-Kunda market, buying food items ("ndugar" it is in Wolof) said everything is costly and the relevant authorities ought to listen to their cries, and alleviate their pain and suffering with urgency.
"I came with D250, but this cannot buy all that I need to cook a good lunch for my family, because there are 7 of us at the house'' she said.
With the coming of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation has worsened. Many sectors in The Gambia were not spared by the negative impact the deadly virus came with.
Job losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic combined with high food prices are making it hard for millions of families to get enough to eat, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday (July 2021) in a statement. WFP estimates that a record 270 million people worldwide are acutely food insecure or at high risk this year, around a 70 per cent jump from 2020.
"High food prices are hunger's new best friend. We already have conflict, climate and covid-19 working together to push more people into hunger and misery. Now food prices have joined the deadly trio,'' said Arif Husain, Chief Economist at the UN agency.
More Complaints
Foday Sisawo, a resident of Brikama, said prices of basic commodities have skyrocketed within a short period. To him, Gambians are suffering and dying amid the high cost of living in the country, adding people are crying because it is getting worse.
Sisawo said people are finding it tough to get a bag of rice because they cannot afford to buy one, adding there is no price control in the country. The last time he bought the 50gk bag of rice (Sadam type) for D1,875. He said the price of a bag of American rice that was cheaper to buy in those days has increased from D1,050 to now D1,350.
According to him, D1000 cannot serve him for a week on 'fish money'. He gives out D250 every day. Because of the high cost of commodities, he would sometimes prefer to take dry bread with butter or mayonnaise.
"There is no amount of 'fish money' you can give that would be enough for your family because every other day you go to the market, you will find out that things have changed. This is what women are grappling with at the market,'' he said.
He said there were attempts to increase the prices of bread from D7 to D10. He said the matter was taken to Brikama Police Station, where it was resolved and bakery owners were asked to maintain the price at D7.
Sisawo joined others to call on the relevant authorities to step up and address the matter. He called on the government to concentrate on the living condition of the people.
Lamin Conteh, 21, out of school youth cum artiste, said things are very hard at the moment. Conteh, who was found sitting with a group of young people at a street called "Roadside Gang Ghetto'' in Wellingara, called on the government to launch a relief package by going house to house to deliver foodstuffs
On 4 th September, 2021, Foroyaa visited both the Greater Banjul Area and West Coast Region to sound the voice of citizens on the hike on the prices of foods and most of them said they are struggling to cope with life as things are expensive nowadays. At popular food markets such as Wellingara, Latri-kunda (Sabiji) and Serrekunda, customers and traders are unhappy about the high prices and the lack of solutions to their problems.
Binta Fatti, a vendor and mother of four (4), is among the growing number of desperate Gambians complaining over rising prices of food. A resident of Tallinding, Fatti travels to Brikama and buys foodstuffs and resells them to make profit. Sometimes she returns home empty-handed.
"I have to struggle hard. There is no food at home and I need to get food for my family, especially my children. The situation is tough due to the spike in the prices of food commodities," Fatti said.
She called on the government to regulate the prices of commodities because Gambians are suffering, adding importers and shop owners are making life unbearable for them.
Haddy Nyassi, a Bakau resident, said a cup of cooking oil that was sold at D8 increased from D8 to D10, then D17 and now D20. She said she used to buy wholesale goods, but she had to stop that. The high cost of a gallon of oil, bag of rice and sugar, has forced her to buy on retail each of the items instead.
"The prices of items keep increasing which makes it difficult for us to cope with the situation. I am appealing to the government to regulate or put measures in place to curb the spike in the prices of commodities to ease the suffering and pain of Gambians,'' Nyassi said.
Soffie Sarr, a customer found at the Latri-Kunda market, buying food items ("ndugar" it is in Wolof) said everything is costly and the relevant authorities ought to listen to their cries, and alleviate their pain and suffering with urgency.
"I came with D250, but this cannot buy all that I need to cook a good lunch for my family, because there are 7 of us at the house'' she said.
With the coming of the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation has worsened. Many sectors in The Gambia were not spared by the negative impact the deadly virus came with.
Job losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic combined with high food prices are making it hard for millions of families to get enough to eat, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday (July 2021) in a statement. WFP estimates that a record 270 million people worldwide are acutely food insecure or at high risk this year, around a 70 per cent jump from 2020.
"High food prices are hunger's new best friend. We already have conflict, climate and covid-19 working together to push more people into hunger and misery. Now food prices have joined the deadly trio,'' said Arif Husain, Chief Economist at the UN agency.
More Complaints
Foday Sisawo, a resident of Brikama, said prices of basic commodities have skyrocketed within a short period. To him, Gambians are suffering and dying amid the high cost of living in the country, adding people are crying because it is getting worse.
Sisawo said people are finding it tough to get a bag of rice because they cannot afford to buy one, adding there is no price control in the country. The last time he bought the 50gk bag of rice (Sadam type) for D1,875. He said the price of a bag of American rice that was cheaper to buy in those days has increased from D1,050 to now D1,350.
According to him, D1000 cannot serve him for a week on 'fish money'. He gives out D250 every day. Because of the high cost of commodities, he would sometimes prefer to take dry bread with butter or mayonnaise.
"There is no amount of 'fish money' you can give that would be enough for your family because every other day you go to the market, you will find out that things have changed. This is what women are grappling with at the market,'' he said.
He said there were attempts to increase the prices of bread from D7 to D10. He said the matter was taken to Brikama Police Station, where it was resolved and bakery owners were asked to maintain the price at D7.
Sisawo joined others to call on the relevant authorities to step up and address the matter. He called on the government to concentrate on the living condition of the people.
Lamin Conteh, 21, out of school youth cum artiste, said things are very hard at the moment. Conteh, who was found sitting with a group of young people at a street called "Roadside Gang Ghetto'' in Wellingara, called on the government to launch a relief package by going house to house to deliver foodstuffs