Food price reduction

It seems that the debate on food price reduction is never ceasing because even as consumers try to come to terms with the development surrounding the cost of meat, which has seen cattle owners and butchers hurling accusations at each other, reports of another show of defiance are emerging. This time around it is the bread sellers.

Reports say that bakers in Brikama, in defiance of a police demand for reduction in the price of bread, have decided to put up a stiff resistance, declaring a “sit-down strike”.

Coincidentally, we are in the Holy Month of Ramadan, a time when bread is unusually popular among the majority of the Gambian population, thanks to its suitability for the dining table at fast breaking time. But is it a coincidence that this is happening at this time?

Apparently, the feeling is that the people cannot do without bread, and this belief is supported by the remarks of some consumers in the town, whose attitudes indicate some form of capitulation to the pressure from the bakers; appealing to the police to allow the striking bakers to go on with their businesses until after the month of Ramadan.

But a likely question on many lips would be if this is what we want the Gambian business environment to be like. If it was the butchers and now the bakers, one might as well ask who would be the next.

One thing is clear though, and that is that the authorities must ensure sanity among the people who deal in food items in our society. No government, conscious of its obligations to its people, would sit back and allow this kind of sabotaging attitude to go on. And that is why the responses from the various authorities of the affected areas are not surprising.