It fell on deaf ears. Today, the nation is a witness to the massive clearing of the streets, an exercise undertaken by the Gambia Police. This exercise is commendable and long overdue. If the concerned authorities, that is, the National Roads Authority, National Environment Agency, Physical Planning, Interior, including the Police, Municipal and Area Councils, Health, etc to name a few had envisaged the problems of congestion in Urban areas and taken action to redress the situation. The nation would not have been in this environmental crisis with its socioeconomic and political implications . State institutions must therefore be seen to serve the people and to serve them well. Government may wish to consider the creation of the MINISTRY OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE that will ensure the effective and efficient service delivery for the common good. There must be a watchdog institution for non-performance and poor service delivery of sectors of the economy. Such a ministry could also be mandated to deal with the review and implementation of all National Audit Reports and all alleged corruption cases in central and local government councils. As I see it, we have a long way to go to control the congestion in Urban Gambia. There is no enforceable Urban Planning in operations. The people settle anywhere and everywhere in residences and in businesses. The fact is that Greater Banjul has become a dumping ground for illegal structures, derelict vehicles, donkey carts, second hand goods of all types, street car wash outlets, food vendors, workshops of all types and so forth. The provision of more markets, car parks, children’s playgrounds, etc are essential features of a civilized society. We must work together to move the country forward.
Demolition clears the streets and allows free flow of traffic. However, the numerous police checkpoints 24/7 sometimes leads to traffic congestion. How can the Police be talking to a driver in the middle of the road while a long line of vehicles are waiting. They don’t realize there is a rush to attend meetings, emergency services to the hospital, airport errands, catching up with ferry services and other urgent errands. Look at the traffic congestion at Denton Bridge in the early morning hours.
One wonders sometimes what security consideration warrants these unending and untimely checkpoints in the traffic. People are complaining everywhere about this situation. The Gambia cannot possibly be turned into a POLICE STATE in a democratic and peaceful era. Of concern to the public is the abandoned trucks and cars in the middle of the roads. It has been observed that drivers will hardly pull off the road when their vehicles have a breakdown. The Police can earn revenue by towing such vehicles and impose high charges on the owners. The sanitisation of the environment goes beyond the current demolition exercise.
BY : D M. Badjie
Political Scientist / Consultant