The GTU president said there is a great need to take drastic steps towards addressing it. He said it is therefore, necessary to review the country’s Motor Traffic Act, as well as the Insurance Act because those are laws that have been in existence since colonial days.
“We have many vehicles on our roads today and almost all of them are with valid insurance covers, for both passenger vehicles and goods,” Ceesay noted.
“We are urgently calling on the Gambia Police Force (GTU), not to enforce the insurance on our roads because many Gambians are not benefiting from insurance cover,” the GTU president stated.
However, he said it is very unfortunate that many victims are not benefiting from the insurance compensation. He added that many insurance companies are not fulfilling their mandate, as it is mandatory for all vehicles to be insured before using our roads, and also that it should be mandatory to compensate the victims of accidents.
Furthermore, the GTU president said: “We are urgently calling on the Central Bank of the Gambia as the regulatory authority to assess insurance companies and their claims.”
According to Mr. Ceesay, if one goes to the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, one sees how road accident victims are faring without receiving any compensation from insurance companies.
He added that many people lost their lives in road accidents and their families never received any compensation from insurance companies. He also said many people are in our homes with permanent injuries and they have never received any compensation from insurance companies.
Mr. Ceesay in addition, called on the Commissioner of Insurance to strictly monitor the operation of insurance companies. He also called on the Central Bank of The Gambia; Ministry of Interior; the Ministry of Transport, Works and Infrastructure; the Gambia Police Force, the National Assembly; and GCCPC to step in so that the country would have a level playing ground for everyone.
