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Developments:
There are more arduous jobs than being a customs officer in Kartong. The border with Senegal is a bridgeless river, across which only pirogues pass. No vehicles enter the country here. Some boats used to land goods at the nearby beach, but now they dock further up the coast at Gunjur, as it means fewer corrupt police checkpoints to negotiate on the way to the capital, Banjul. The customs officer therefore has nothing to do every day. He sits all day in a small dark hut, resting his feet or his head on the metal desk in front of him. Sometimes he strolls along the road outside. Often he drinks green tea in his hut with passing villagers, shooting the breeze. Some days his office is closed, and he stays at home in Gunjur.
If he ever did have any levies to impose, he tells me, they would not be insignificant. The duty on kola nuts, for example, which are imported to Gambia from Guinea-Bissau, is 20%. On palm oil it is 15%. This still works out cheaper than palm oil produced in Gambia, but cross-border trade here is far from free.
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