Africa is not a dumping ground

It is very common nowadays in the country to see shops within the Greater Banjul area loaded with lots of second hand goods, some of which are of no use to people.

We believe anyone who wants to venture into business should think of bringing quality materials that would be of immense importance to the public.

It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that the products businesspeople bring into this country are up to standard.

We should not allow Africa to be used as a dumping ground!

We have seen a clear example of this in Ivory Coast, when a Western company deliberately dumped toxic waste in Abidjan which brought a lot of health risks to the people.

Every now and then, materials are donated by donors or individuals, but the sad part of it all is that some of these materials or equipment do not serve longer than the period expected by the beneficiaries.

For used vehicles, for example, some of the cars brought into the country are sold at exorbitant prices most of the time by car dealers.

Sometimes, a poor man will prefer to spend his last savings on such vehicles, which are not even worth their price.

It is even better to use the small amount of money one has, and invest in a lucrative business, and generate some profits than spending it on something that would not yield any dividends.

The government has to put all necessary measures in place to regulate the importation of second-hand materials into the country.

While we encourage investors in our country, we have to be always mindful of the bad ones within.

The Chamber of Commerce also has a role to play in making sure that businesspeople provide quality products to their customers.