It could be recalled that the vehicle belonging to one Omar Sowe, was recently impounded by the Senegalese customs officers. The Customs officers were reportedly demanding two million CFA which is over two hundred thousand dalasis before they could release the said vehicle.
The driver claimed that despite having all his necessary documents ranging from his driver’s licence, insurance with CEDEAO clearance and authentic transfer document of the vehicle among others, the Senegalese customs officers still insisted that the vehicle would not be released unless he (Sowe) paid a fine of two million CFA for failure to produce his port clearance document.
However, this reporter has been informed that following the publication of the story on The Point’s Tuesday article regarding the matter, the Senegalese Customs officers at the Poste Kelimanganda have finally released the vehicle.
Reacting to the development, the driver Omar Sowe thanked The Gambia government, the Gambia Transport Union and The Point Newspaper for their support in ensuring that he got his vehicle back. “I was never going to have my vehicle back if it was not for the support of these institutions. I also want them to continue on this path as there are many Gambian vehicles that are currently impounded by the said customs officers,” he claimed
The President of The Gambia Transport Union (GTU), Omar Ceesay, also welcomed the development, saying: “At first, we need to understand that the vehicle was impounded on no grounds. However, I want to thank the Gambian authorities particularly the Ministry of Trade, the Customs Liaison officer at the Gambia Embassy in Dakar for their rapid intervention. I also want to sincerely thank The Point Newspaper for publishing the story which of course paid dividends.”
Ceesay still maintained that impounding the vehicle was against the ECOWAS protocol on free movement; and against the agreement between The Gambia and Senegal. “I equally want to urge Gambian drivers to always refer their complaints to the rightful authorities. It is also important that they carry along their vehicles’ documents all the times especially when they are going outside the country,” he said
“I want to assure you all that we are more than committed to the welfare of Gambian drivers. We will continue to stand by them in ensuring that we address some of the issues they are encountering,” he assured.
