Photo: Bai Lamin Jobe (Photo Credit Culled from Facebook)

MoTWI Signs MoU With Senegal On Interstate Transit

By Ousman A. Marong

The Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure (MoTWI) together with their Senegalese counterpart on Friday 10 January 2020 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mark the start of the implementation of the Single Transit Guarantee Scheme between The Gambia and Senegal.

 The MOU is targeted at promoting free movement of goods within Senegal and the Gambia and to forms part of the ECOWAS adopted Convention relating to Inter-State Road Transit of Goods (ISTP) and its supplementary convention A/SP.1/5/90 establishing a Community Guarantee Mechanism to facilitate the movement of goods in the West Africa-Sub region.

The scheme is to allow cross border passenger vehicular movement between the Gambia and Senegal as per the Road Transport Agreement signed between the two countries during the Presidential Council Meeting in March 2018.

Honorable Bai Lamin Jobe, Minister for Transport, Works and Infrastructure (MoTWI) said “the interstate transport permit (ISTP) and the interstate road transit disc are introduced and issued by member states which allow one to operate a vehicle registered in one the state as authorized in accordance with article 3 of the bilateral transport agreement between the two countries for free movement of people and goods.”

He revealed that in a start, a flexible quota allocation of hundred (100) permits will be allocated for The Gambia while one hundred and fifty (150) will also be allocated to Senegal respectively.

He further stated that the quota will be reviewed periodically by the two parties and adjusted when required.

“Vehicles issued with an ISTP shall use the official terminal stations of either state to load and off-load passengers with the exception of the vehicles operated by the Gambia Transport Service Company (GTSC) and Dakar “Dem Dikk” and any other Gambian and Senegalese vehicles with the same capacity operating under the same conditions in accordance with the principle of reciprocity and equal treatment,” he remarked.

He said non-commercial vehicles including private, tourist vehicles, and public service vehicles with an ISTP shall not be required.

He outlined that “Laisssez-passer” or entry permits on non-commercial vehicles (including private and tourist vehicles) in transit which are not covered under this inter-state Transport permits regime shall continue to apply  entry permits or “laissez-passer” at the point entry customs posts of both states.

He mentioned that the implementation applicants must complete an application form with proof of ownership with a valid vehicle license and registration of a valid vehicle testing certificate.

Hali Gaye, Director-General of Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) in a remark said the move was critical to show ECOWAS that the national guarantors could establish the mechanism. He therefore called on GPA staffs, customs officers, clearing agents, importers of both countries to ensure the success of the system.