According to the NRA, road safety is a growing concern, especially along the Bertil Harding Highway, and the awareness campaign is aimed at individuals, communities, and government offices, private partners in a collective effort to create safer roads.
The Managing Director of the National Roads Authority, Ousman Sanyang, highlighted the roads and accident statistics that were recorded by the World Health Organization and Global Status Report on Road and Safety 2023.
Mr Sanyang said the coverage of the campaign safety initiative was to cover the Bertil Harding Highway, adding that some of the new roads have 2 and 3 lanes with some flyovers or roundabouts. He added that most of the people, especially drivers do not understand those roundabouts.
“As safety is universal, we think there are lessons that should be learned from the Bertil Harding Highway that can be extended to the entire network in the country,” he said.
He further disclosed that the contractual duration of the campaign is 90 days, saying they would try to maintain the campaign and would also continue their media advocacy on all platforms to ensure the message stays with people.
Matarr Ceesay, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, said the road safety issues were ever-increasing and are of great concern to them as the Ministry and the government at large. He said they are all aware of the huge socioeconomic consequences of the road crashes.
PS Ceesay stated that the socioeconomic losses of road trauma, according to WHO, are estimated to be over D2 billion representing 2.5% of The Gambia's gross domestic product (GDP). “The huge loss and burden to families across the entire society is immeasurable,” he said.
He further said it was only through their collective efforts that they could prevent loss of life and serious injury on their roads.
Omar Ceesay, General Transport Union president, extended appreciation to the NRA for calling on stakeholders' collaboration in the campaign, stating that the campaign would help them to save people as far as their mandates are concerned.
With regard to budgets and budget allocations, Amadou Camara, chairman of the National Assembly Select Committee on Health, urged the Works Ministry to include vital components like road safety in their budgets, assuring them that the parliament would give them the green light. He said he would be the key advocate on that matter in the assembly.
Speakers on the occasion included Dr Momodou Gassama from the World Health Organization and Lamin King Colley, Commissioner of Police Mobile Traffic.
