Resolved complaints

Showing items 1 to 1 of 1
Complaint number NTB Type
Category 1. Government Participation in Trade and Restrictive Practices Tolerated by Governments
Category 2. Customs and Administrative Entry Procedures
Category 3. Technical Barriers to Trade
Category 4. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Category 5. Specific Limitations
Category 6. Charges on Imports
Category 7. Other
Check allUncheck all		 Date of incident Location
CEN-SAD
COMESA
EAC
ECCAS
ECOWAS
IGAD
SADC
UMA
Reporting country or region
CEN-SAD
COMESA
EAC
ECCAS
ECOWAS
IGAD
SADC
UMA
Status Actions
AfCFTA-000-003 7.1. Transport, Clearing and Forwarding 2020-01-11 Senegal: Karang Gambia, The Resolved
2021-04-01 		View
Complaint: A Gambian bus with cross border traders and other passengers going to Dakar was stopped and refused entry after being issued an interstate transport licences by the ministry of transport of The Gambia. The Karang drivers mobilized against the bus with the help of the Senegalese Gendarmes to turn the bus back to The Gambia. Transport unionists in Senegal on Monday stoned a Gambia Transport Service Corporation bus, injuring a passenger and leaving many others in distraught as the vehicle retreated to Gambian territory late night. Another Similar incident is a bus was denied entry by the unionists who blocked its way even after the intervention of police, customs and other Senegalese security officials. The unionists complained that the service from the Gambia is taking their market.
A different bus was also blocked from entering Senegal a few days earlier and was only allowed to proceed after the intervention of the Senegalese High Commissioner in The Gambia among other officials.

The Standard contacted the managing director of the GTSC for comments on the matter. He advised that refusal of entry is a violation of both the ECOWAS and bilateral protocols agreed between The Gambia and Senegal. “The first place to start is to highlight that there is an agreement between Senegal and The Gambia for our public bus services to run two services from both directions a day, meaning two Gambian buses leaving Banjul to Dakar and vice verse. The same agreement provides for Senegalese public bus service to operate the same number daily. Also sometime in 2018, the Gambian and Senegalese transport ministers signed a protocol which allows both countries to operate 150 cross-border trips for Senegalese operators and 100 for Gambian operators. And these do not include public transport bus service. All these are in addition to the ECOWAS protocols which allow free movement of goods and people in the region. The latest incident came after the GTSC responded to a Gambia government announcement that Gambia public transport and that of Senegal can operate unlimited cross-border service to the two countries. So we put an additional service last week which was blocked and later allowed but on Monday, they blocked our bus and on its way back, some people stoned it and put the passengers in grave danger with one of them sustaining injuries,” the managing director of the GTSC said. 		 
Resolution status note: ENGLISH

This NTB was reported on 17 January 2020 by the Gambia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The incident concerned Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSU) buses that are often used to transport cross-border traders on a daily basis to and from Dakar. Following the report of the NTB on the online platform, the National Focal Points engaged in a series of consultations and negotiations among stakeholders at national level and bilaterally. On 12 March 2020, at the bi-annual Presidential Council meeting, the Presidents of the Gambia and Senegal made a joint declaration to immediately resolve the reported NTB. The Presidential Council meeting was preceded by the Ministerial Committee meeting and Expert Committee meeting on the 11 and 12 of March 2020, where a detailed transport Accord was agreed and signed. However, before the implementation of the Accord, the Covid-19 pandemic forced both countries to close all borders. With the opening of borders on 1 April 2021, GTSU buses resumed their regular two daily bus services from Banjul to Dakar without any incidence reported. After further consultations with the concerned stakeholders, the NTB can now be declared resolved.

FRANCAIS

Cette barrière non tarifaire (BNT) a été signalé le 17 janvier 2020 par la Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de la Gambie. L'incident concernait des bus de la compagnie Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSU) qui sont souvent utilisés pour transporter quotidiennement les commerçants transfrontaliers à destination et en provenance de Dakar. À la suite du signalement de la BNT sur la plate-forme en ligne, les points focaux nationaux ont engagé une série de consultations et de négociations entre les parties prenantes au niveau national et bilatéral. Le 12 mars 2020, lors de la réunion semestrielle du Conseil présidentiel, les Présidents de la Gambie et du Sénégal ont fait une déclaration commune pour résoudre immédiatement la BNT signalée. La réunion du Conseil présidentiel a été précédée d’une réunion du Comité ministériel et de celle du Comité d'experts le 11 et 12 mars 2020, au cours desquelles un accord détaillé sur le transport a été convenu et signé. Toutefois, avant la mise en œuvre de l'accord, la pandémie de Covid-19 a contraint les deux pays à fermer toutes les frontières. Avec l'ouverture des frontières le 1er avril 2021, les bus de la compagnie GTSU ont repris leurs services réguliers de bus deux fois par jour de Banjul à Dakar sans qu'aucun incident ne soit signalé. Après de nouvelles consultations avec les parties prenantes concernées, la BNT peut maintenant être déclaré résolue.
<< Previous Next >>
Partners  |  Glossary  |  Help