The minister and delegation including the governor of URR were received by the Gambia security forces at the border post. They were joined by the Alkalo of Sare Ngai and residents who walked to the border for an inspection of the area for firsthand information, especially about the movement of goods and traders between The Gambia and Senegal as African Free Trade Agreement takes shape.
In a brief meeting with the residents at the border community, lots of challenges facing this popular border post in terms of trade, living, and border demarcation were highlighted to him and the delegation for possible solutions from his Ministry and the government of The Gambia.
Ebrima F. Jallow, the secretary general of the Sare Ngai United Youth Association, alluded to the outlined challenges the Sare Ngai community faces which he said include the issue of the area council. He disclosed the community does not have toilet facility at the biggest ‘lumo’ market in the border area.
Also, he disclosed that there is no health facility talk-less of public health officers. With the exception of a borehole, there no public water system, and electricity among other social amenities to make the community proud as a border town.
“Honourable Minister, this lumo was established 3rd of March 1983. As you can see here, every Monday is a lumo market. You can only compare this lumo with the Serrekunda market, but we lack many things, there is no public toilet; people go around the market to defecate and urinate and when the rain falls, it erodes it back to the market and different compounds in the community,” Jallow explained.
Sare Ngai is a big community but he said they cannot rear animals because of the lumo as “75% of the animals transporting to abattoir in Abuko always come through this border and they normally infect our animals with diseases (if they have any diseases) during crossing. So, we need health post and public health officer to help in the surveillance of diseases,” he appealed.
He added that the lumo market area is full of grass and the environment needs sanitation facilities, as well as water for the use of the people.
The association secretary-general thanked the Minister and his delegation for taking the time to visit the community to know some of the problems affecting trade in the area.
And in return, Minister Baboucarr Ousmaila Joof assured them of positive results.
