Mr. Joof’s comments came in the wake of a heavy downpour that lasted for hours causing havoc and rendering several families homeless across the country on Saturday and Sunday of 30 and 31 July respectively.
“It’s not going to be an easy decision but the decision has to be taken. The canal has to be widened and deepened in order to allow the water to flow out. The people that are sitting on the waterway have to be relocated,” VP Joof stated, while speaking to reporters during the visit.
The delegation includes Mayor Talib Bensouda and top government officials.
The visit started from Tallinding and other affected areas in the Kanifing Municipality and then to the West Coast Region.
According to the Vice President, a good site has to be found, demarcated and move those people affected by the flooding over and give them a package to resettle them, noting that in the next cabinet meeting, “the president will set-up a taskforce including KMC and Brikama Area Council.”
“We want to settle this flooding once and for all because if not, every year we would be talking about the same solution. It is a perennial and difficult problem, but a difficult decision has to be taken in the medium to long time or else the problem will never be solved.”
Ebo Town is one of the most affected areas in the Kanifing Municipality where a lot of people were committed to preventing a greater disaster as a result of the rain.
“This situation is new to me and this is what we have experienced this year. We normally have floods but not as serious as this year. The water is not flowing anymore due to the one way direction water uses to pass through,” Fatou Mbye, a resident of Ebo Town said.
A resident of Brikama Gidda, Ba Modou Drammeh, whose house was invaded by the flooding, said he lost quality properties such as the collapse of his compound fence, television, furniture and some money amounting to D50, 000.00.
