Rainy season worsens poor road networks

It is a fact that the road conditions in many parts of the country are in a deplorable condition, and that the onset of the rains will make this worse.

Indeed, it is clear that with the commencement of the rainy season many of our roads, especially in the Upper River Region and certain parts of Kanifing Municipality and West Coast region will be worsened by the rains.

The poor state of roads in the country has now become a cause for concern, forcing communities to initiate self-help road rehabilitation exercises at their own expense, just to ease their movements.

We call on the Ministry of Works, Construction and Infrastructure and the National Roads Authority to consider some of the roads in rural Gambia, that are in a very poor state.

Bad roads, no doubt, hinder development, the movement of goods and services and, as a result, do lead to high cost of commodities and general inflation.

Certain roads in the country have not been rehabilitated for long, and this has started to show, with clear examples being roads linking Bantunding and Sutuko, as well as between Gunjur Kuta and Manakoto Keita all in URR.

Elsewhere in the Sandu district, there are terrible roads making life difficult for those living in these areas, and all those who use the said roads.

Infrastructure development is quite significant for socio-economic advancement of the people, and all efforts should be made to improve the quality of life of our people.

While many roads in the country have been constructed to first class roads, those in most parts of rural Gambia are yet to enjoy such a quality road network.

We are convinced that if some of these roads are not fixed now the rainy season has started, there will come a time when the movement of vehicles would be halted in some parts of the country soon.

We assume that if reconstructing the entire roads over there may be too expensive, then filling the potholes should not be too difficult a thing for the National Roads Authority.

A good road network is also an effective matter for economic growth, recognising the social and economic benefits of good roads and the mobilisation of more resources for building good roads.

Good roads provide avenues for business, so one can confidently say that they also contribute significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country.