By Nelson Manneh
Omar Ceesay, the president of the Gambia Transport Union (GTU), on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 called on the Government of The Gambia to order the removal of traffic obstruction materials that are put on the Trans-Gambia highway.
Mr. Ceesay said in an interview with this medium that communities, especially within the rural Gambia, have been putting logs, vehicle ties, and other materials on the highway which are detrimental to commuting drivers.
“I went through the southern bank of the Trans-Gambia highway and I have realised in almost all villages, people put these big logs on the highway, which is not safe. It is better for the National Road Authority to build speed bumps on the highway than these traffic obstructions materials,” he said.
The GTU boss described the traffic obstruction materials as hazardous.
“The Trans-Gambia highway is an international highway and there are international drivers who use it. These things cause a lot of accidents,” he said.
Ceesay said he has engaged the Ministry of Transport, the Gambia Police Force, and the National Road Authority on the issue but to no avail.
“Communities cannot take the law into their hands. It is better for sleeping-police (Speed Bumps) to be established than putting materials on the highway,” he said.
He said accidents are everybody’s business because the life involved in it may be “yours or your relatives”.
“There are many things that can cause an accident. People should not be blaming drivers always. Sometimes accidents are caused by the manner in which the roads are constructed and many other ways,” he said.
Ceesay said he also engaged some communities regarding why they embarked on such activities, noting that they (communities) responded that there are a lot of accidents and that they are doing it to protect their lives. He argued that the logs and other materials put on the highway are not the solutions to the problems.
At the time of going to the press, this reporter contacted the National Road Authority and the Spokesperson of the Gambia Police force to get their side of the story but to no avail. Foroyaa will continue to engage all relevant stakeholders on the issue.
