By MUHAMMED S. BAH
Malick Ngum an executive member of the Transport Union has said their office is temporarily closed until the leadership saga is resolved.
He said they are not using the Transport Union’s office in Banjul for now.
Ngum made this confirmation on Wednesday in Banjul where he and his colleagues were found seated on a mat in the streets awaiting business.
Ngum said after reporting the matter to the police, they said it’s better to involve relevant stakeholders and create a dialogue to solve the prolem.
Malick said, “We are still looking forward to a resolution of the issue, a new congress to be called and people to be given a chance to elect their leaders who will run the affairs of the Transport Union for the next five years”.
Malick further noted that, lack of coordination in the transportation system has a negative economic impact on the and the country as well.
He said “If there is no control on transportation in a country then it is prone to security threat because it will be difficult to know who comes in and out of the country”.
Malick said that they as drivers are facing lots of economic challenges, because they are not generating income as expected.
He said sometimes they will sit the whole day without doing a single transaction, adding that non Gambians have an edge over them.
He also said that, lack of good leadership is resorting to vehicle scarcity because drivers do not work in a coordinated manner. Such lack of coordination, he added, results to passengers finding it difficult to get transport to go back home and would sometimes be in Banjul till late in the evening.
He asserted that what they want is “a new leadership, which will be transparent, accountable, and responsive to the needs and welfare of the drivers.”
Malick Ngum calls on the authorities to rapidly respond to their concerns.
It could be recalled that hundreds of drivers on Monday paraded in the streets of Banjul asking the leadership of the Gambia Transport Control Association who has been there for 17 years to step down and allow a new leadership to emerge.
Some of the leadership were apprehended by these drivers and taken to the police for their intervention but no one was detained.
Now the situation is calm and drivers are waiting eagerly for a positive solution from Government.
