Residents, Drivers, Commuters plying Mandinaba/ Giborroh route criticize poor road construction

By Staff Reporter James Jammeh, Banjul

Residents, drivers and commuters who frequent the newly constructed road that link Mandinaba, a small town in the outskirts of Brikama, to Giborroh, a village at the border with neighbouring Senegal, have been criticising the poor nature of the highway that was inaugurated by Gambian leader, Yahya Jammeh, just recently.

An assessment conducted by this paper in a bid to ascertain claims made by the concerned individuals revealed a less than standard road, contrary to what has always been claimed by the government of Yahya Jammeh, which prides itself in mounting baseless propaganda campaigns that bears no significance for ordinary Gambians.

Describing the road, Musa Saidy, a driver, dismissed any assertion that the nature of the road matches the amount of money the government claimed to have spent in constructing it.

He claimed that he has become accustomed to passengers' endless complaint about the deafening and disruptive noise his and many other vehicles make, thanks to the deteriorating condition of the road.

''It is worsening by the day,'' he said.

Aja Fatou Jallow, a commuter, simply said that ''it is important for those responsible to make sure that quality and better services are provided for the people, who are tax payers.''

She recalled with fear the implication of failure to give at least a temporary fix to the problem before the rains drop from the skys.

''A lot of fatal accidents will occure, and the government

will surely be held responsible as they are supposed to be responsible for bringing development to the door steps of people like us at the grass roots,'' she said.

A resident of one of the settlements in the area, Alpha Bah, said the way the road was constructed was not in line with the wishes of the people in the area in the first place. He added that the road is so riddled with potholes that, it is only wise for the authorities concerned to take action before it gets aggravated. This, he said, will surely result to serious negative consequences as the road is so important in that it links so many important places within Kombo East District.

''We are very disappointed with the way the construction was

done in the first place,'' he stated, adding, ''any development oriented government genuine in its stance for its people will not boast openly about this kind of road.''

Many of the people who spoke to Freedom on this worrying situation appeared to echo similar sentiments, calling on the government to do ''something'' before it would be too late.

A senior government official who begged for anonymity also faults the construction work, noting that it is not up to standard. He said the bad nature of the road makes it even risky, with the potential to lead to an increase in road accidents in the area.

The official blamed the government for the ''reckless'' construction of the road, saying that President Jammeh's administration has failed, and that it should admit that since most of the projects implemented continue to draw criticism.