Funding from China welcomed by The Gambia’s authorities is inflicting upset for a fishing neighborhood who say a Chinese language-owned fishmeal manufacturing unit is disrupting life on their shores.
“I’ve been working right here for 32 years,” says Buba Cary, a fisherman from Gunjur talking in Mandinka by way of a translator. “It solely brings struggling for us,” he says, gesturing to the white constructing.
“Earlier than the manufacturing unit got here right here there was numerous fish within the sea. If you need fish [now] you could cross the border to Senegal or Guinea-Bissau.”
Kelepha Camara, who involves this shore to purchase fish and promote it up nation, agrees, arguing that it has pushed up the price of fish for locals: “This manufacturing unit isn’t supporting us.”
These males are speaking a few facility run by Golden Lead within the coastal village of Gunjur, which is round 45km (28 miles) south of the capital, Banjul.
In whole The Gambia now has three of those factories – the opposite two, run by totally different companies, are about 10km north and south of Gunjur, the place fish oil and fishmeal are produced and exported to China, Europe and past.
For a few years the fishmeal business has raised questions on sustainability. It makes use of huge portions of fish, reminiscent of sardinella and bonga, which make up at the very least half of The Gambia’s whole protein consumption.
The Dutch non-governmental organisation Altering Markets Basis discovered that the largest of those fishmeal factories accounted for 40% of Gambia’s total fish catch for a yr.
The Gambia has fostered an in depth relationship with China lately. Beneath the controversial management of ex-President Yahya Jammeh the primary Chinese language fish manufacturing unit to open was in Gunjur, after it was granted a 99-year lease in 2015 quickly after The Gambia broke ties with Taiwan.
That is although Gambian legislation prohibits international nationals leasing land for greater than 26 years, in response to the political watchdog Watch Gambia.
Not lengthy after Mr Jammeh reluctantly left energy in 2017 and went into exile after 22 years on the helm – an period uncovered by the Fact, Reconciliation and Reparations Fee for its widespread human rights abuses and corruption – his successor met along with his Chinese language counterpart to reiterate their friendship.
That yr China cancelled $12m ($10m) of Gambian debt and invested an extra $28.7m in agriculture and fisheries.
Wildlife reserve polluted
But the local people in Gunjur was already sad about how issues have been going with Golden Lead.
On 22 Might 2017 – almost a yr after the fishmeal manufacturing unit opened – the lagoon within the Bolong Fenyo, a close-by wildlife reserve, full of lifeless fish and turned a deep purple.
The subsequent month, the Nationwide Setting Company filed a case towards Golden Lead at a magistrates’ courtroom, alleging wastewater from the manufacturing unit had brought about the injury.
However operations have been speedily resumed after an out-of-court settlement of $25,000 was reached.
Other than the air pollution concern, the corporate was introduced up in one other courtroom case.
Final month, Bamba Banja, a former high civil servant within the fisheries ministry, was discovered responsible of corruption for receiving at the very least 5 funds of $1,600 between 2018 and 2020 from Golden Lead. He denied he had taken the cash to free vessels detained for being concerned in illicit fishing, however was jailed for 2 years and ordered to pay a fantastic.
Some locally in Gunjur are nonetheless apprehensive about requirements over waste air pollution and numerous fishermen and manufacturing unit staff informed the BBC in December 2022 that that they had skilled pores and skin issues after coming into the ocean close to the manufacturing unit. However there is no such thing as a definitive proof that these illnesses are the fault of the manufacturing unit.
For many in Gunjur it’s the lack of fish that angers them – they are saying shares are being overfished.
Golden Lead secures six-month contracts with principally Senegalese fishermen who use highly effective boats. Native fishermen utilizing pirogues are unable to compete.
The manufacturing unit buys in bulk, paying $5 a basket – 3 times lower than it fetches at native markets. Some fishermen conform to this as it’s a assured sale, however it means much less fish is on the market to locals and Gambians who do promote to Golden Lead are making much less cash.
The sheer quantity of fish wanted for processing will be witnessed when the catch is introduced in.
Because the boats arrive for the manufacturing unit, scores of males run up and down the seaside with the heavy 50kg (110lb) baskets on their heads – every paid $0.50 a visit.
The knock-on impact is that fish is changing into extra scarce within the native market – and more and more costly.
Gunjur residents additionally complain that Golden Lead has damaged commitments made to the fishing neighborhood.
“They promised to construct a street from the village to the seaside and so they promised to construct a fish marketplace for the neighborhood. They promised 600 jobs right here locally,” Dembo Darboe, the chief of Gunjur village, often called an “alkalo”, informed me.
None of this has occurred, although he says the village does obtain a month-to-month fee of round $815.
“In comparison with what they’ve that is nothing,” the chief mentioned.
“We are able to present our dislike. However the energy is within the arms of the federal government.”
In line with a employee on the manufacturing unit, who requested anonymity, solely 40 Gambians are employed at Gunjur’s Golden Lead plant, the place circumstances are poor and the pay unsatisfactory at about $60 a month, paid in money.
“They deduct cash from my wage for revenue tax and social safety. I do not actually have a social safety account or quantity,” he mentioned.
Quota system deliberate
Present Fishery Minister Omar Gibba has dismissed these criticisms, telling the BBC the manufacturing unit attracts international funding, supplies much-needed work for native Gambians and the dumping of dangerous waste had lengthy stopped.
“Golden Lead has discovered a market the place they will export the waste in liquid kind. To the place, I do not know.”
As an example, the minister, added: “The legislation would not say 80% [of the workforce] have to be Gambian. In any funding there must be execs and cons. It makes society attention-grabbing.”
He additionally sought to allay fears about overfishing, saying there was no scientific proof to again this.
But environmental journalist Mustapha Manneh factors to a UN report from 2019 that discovered sardinella and bonga have been being overexploited within the waters off Gambia – and believes there could possibly be critical penalties in 5 years’ time: “The quantity they’re extracting daily is severely going to have an effect on our biodiversity. There could possibly be meals insecurity.”
Mr Gibba was unable to say how a lot fish Golden Lead was at the moment taking from Gambian waters, however mentioned plans have been in hand for a brand new quota system.
The minister additionally mentioned that whereas the extraction of juvenile fish was a problem, there have been rules in place to take care of that.
One of many main anti-fishmeal manufacturing unit activists is microbiologist Ahmed Manjang, who’s a part of a bunch of environmentalists who’ve taken Golden Result in courtroom. Their civil lawsuit cites damages price $250,000 to the setting. However Mr Manjang is angered that the case has been repeatedly adjourned since July 2017.
“I consider the Chinese language have compromised our authorized system,” he mentioned. The Gambian authorities haven’t responded to a request to touch upon this allegation.
Not way back, Mr Manjang added, he and 5 different activists concerned within the case have been supplied money bribes on the manufacturing unit, which they rejected: “Stuffed envelopes. That is how they function.”
Earlier than {that a} Gambian had phoned him up and supplied him about $4,000, allegedly on behalf of the Chinese language agency, to cease his campaigning.
To get a response to such allegations, I visited the well-guarded manufacturing unit in Gunjur, which is famously tough to achieve entry or converse to any of the Chinese language house owners.
Peter Zhu, a senior employer, briefly informed the BBC: “We’re managed by the federal government, every thing we do is appropriate.”
When quizzed immediately about fish shares, he replied: “I do not learn about this. We aren’t fishermen, we’re a enterprise. What’s the state of affairs within the sea? I do not know.”
Additional makes an attempt to contact the corporate about different allegations, reminiscent of bribery, have failed.
Mr Manjang says there are indicators that Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia might membership collectively sooner or later to place in place joint efforts to guard their fish shares.
But younger Gambian activist Buba Janneh, who works with Greenpeace Africa, feels much less constructive – although he maintains a battle to get Golden Lead’s 99-year lease nullified is legally viable.
The longer term will likely be “very darkish” for The Gambia, he says, if the lease nonetheless stays in place by the point he dies.
Tom Ford is a contract journalist travelling in West Africa