President Adama Barrow was speaking on Saturday after embarking on a daylong inspection tour of the OIC roads project in the Greater Banjul and West Coast Region, respectively.
The Gambian leader and his entourage started the tour with an inspection of the Bundung road project before proceeding to Sukuta, Brusubi, Wullinkama, Brufut and Bakoteh roads project.
The visits aim to give the Gambian leader first-hand information, to access and see for himself what was happening on the ongoing projects and also engage with the people (beneficiaries) to see how to address the challenges surrounding the roads.
“I am very satisfied with the level of progress on the roads project. Part of the reasons for doing such a tour is not only to assess and access first-hand information but also to interact with beneficiaries. The ongoing road projects are very dear to my heart,” said President Barrow during an interview with journalists.
According to him, he believes that if there is no infrastructure, there is no development, adding that “I see these visits to the grassroots as very important because it allows me to interact with people (the beneficiaries of the roads) to address some of their challenges.”
The Gambian leader also expressed hope in completing the ongoing OIC roads project 100% by October and inaugurating them.
“I am very hopeful of completing the ongoing road projects 100% by October, such as the roads, streetlights, and drainage and inaugurate them. These are very important roads because they are not ordinary roads, and it would be the first time that The Gambia will be enjoying these types of roads.”
He went on to thank the contractors, the National Roads Authority (NRA) and the Ministry of Transports, Works and Infrastructure for their hard work and commitment to these road projects.
He assured the Gambian people that with his government, the sky is the limit
For his part, Dr Ismaila Ceesay, minister for Information, noted that the president was very much concerned about the progress of the ongoing road projects, adding that it is part of the president’s transformative agenda to transform the infrastructure of the country.
“The president is embarking on a tour to road projects to have first-hand information, to see what is happening and also to engage with people.
According to him, this is not going to be the last visit of the president to the road sites, adding that sooner or later, these projects will be completed and will be inaugurated by the president.
The president was accompanied by senior government officials, including the Chief of Staff, Secretary to Cabinet, and ministers from various ministries.
