Africa-Press – Gambia. The Minister of Works Ebrima Sillah went to Coffee Time with Peter Gomez this morning to throw diatribes at me once again with the intention to discredit me and deflecting the issues I raise. He said I am idle and ignorant.
As he rightly said and expected, I will certainly respond to him simply because he is a public official paid by the people of The Gambia to protect our rights and fulfill our needs as far as public infrastructure, transportation and related services are concerned. Whether EF Small Centre is a one-person or a 99-person entity is irrelevant. Rather, it is his performance and delivery as a minister, in line with the law which is the issue.
My position is that the performance of Ebrima Sillah as Minister is poor which is dearly costing the country today and its future. Under his leadership, his sector is not only inefficient but also lacks transparency and accountability. The evidence is glaring.
For example, The ferries are in shambles. There is no justification why there should be only one ferry plying between Banjul and Barra. Why should there not be 5 ferries running 24 hours between Banjul and Barra? The only reason the ferry services are poor is simply because of inefficiency of the Gambia Ports Authority and the Gambia Ferry Services under the leadership of Ebrima Silah. Otherwise, I challenge them to provide any tangible and objective justification for only one ferry on this route.
On the quality of roads, I refer everyone to the road that branches off from the Jabang highway through Jambur and Farato to the Brikama highway. Or the main road going through Brikama to the market. Or the Jimpex road, just to mention a few.
The use of concrete surfaces for the entire roads of Banjul is not only unjustified but also poor in quality. After spending billions of dalasi on a small space like Banjul, the road lacks the necessary features like road signs and markings, traffic lights, parking spaces and other beautification features befitting a capital city. Already some streets are peeling off. The argument that The Gambia is lowland hence justifying the use of concrete slabs is unfounded otherwise one would have seen concrete slabs all over the Netherlands which is a very low-lying country.
Secondly, of all the works that are going on, there is hardly any transparency in terms of agreements signed, funds disbursed and works delivered. EF Small Centre had written to the Gambia Ports Authority in October 2024 requesting the concession agreement with Albayrak company and they refused to deliver it as required by the Access to Information Act 2021.
No information is provided on the contracts or contractors building the roads across the country. The construction of roads takes several years without people knowing what the terms are. For example, the Jambur-Farato road is not only poor in quality but lacks streetlights, traffic lights and road markings yet from time to time, there will be some adjustment such as the recent construction of speed bumps. How will we know for certain when this road will be actually completed when there is no transparency about the contract?
In the absence of transparency, how can there be performance, quality, and accountability? How could we determine if the quality of the roads is value for money? For example, a look at the solar-powered streetlights on the OIC Highway clearly shows that the power of the lighting is inadequate and inappropriate for such a major road. Without sharing the contract for the construction of this road, how can we hold the Minister and the contractors accountable for the quality and facilities of this road?
The business of road construction did not begin with the coming of President Adama Barrow. Under the tenure of Jammeh, many more roads where built never seen since independence. After Barrow, the next government will continue to build roads. But what is undeniable is that road construction in The Gambia has always been marred in opacity, corruption and poor quality.
All the roads built under the Jammeh regime have run down within 25 years! Look at the concrete roads Jammeh built across Ebo Town, Talinding, Faji Kunda to Abuko. They have all run down with no one knowing how much was spent on them. This is the trend that is going on today showing clear evidence of lack of value for money, corruption and poor quality construction.
Ebrima Sillah is indeed the minister for infrastructure today but like me he was a journalist with no training or qualification in civil engineering, road construction or infrastructure. But both of us do not have to have high degrees in construction to distinguish between a good or bad road. The roads which his ministry is building in our communities are poor quality with no regard for the social, economic, and other developmental factors. These roads have caused floods with many of them wearing down even before they are ‘officially’ completed such as the Jambur-Farato road.
For the Gambia, Our Homeland!
Madi Jobarteh
Kembujeh
Source: The Standard Newspaper | Gambia
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