In an interview with Petter Gomez on Coffee Time, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, responded to queries regarding the government’s position on road construction in the Kanifing Municipality (KMC). He denied allegations that the government was impeding KMC’s road construction projects, stating that the government plans to work with local councils to promote national development.
That, in my opinion, is an unjust description. Nothing is being obstructed by the government. Ceesay said.
The Gambia operates under a decentralised system, with some responsibilities assigned to local councils. Ceesay added, “The president made that clear last week when he visited the fire incident venues in Brikama and in Serekunda, the Sandika, saying that the government wants to work with the council to develop the country.”
The Gambia’s government operates through a system known as decentralisation. Since the central government is unable to handle everything, you decentralise and assign some tasks to councils,” he stated.
The Minister also emphasised that any council that wants to construct roads must follow the rules set forth by the National Roads Authority (NRA).
Now, the National Roads Authority regulates the standards that must be followed if a specific council wishes to construct roads. You adhere to those rules. In any case, you can’t just come and build a road. All throughout the nation, there ought to be uniform standards. There ought to be consistency. Rules must therefore be adhered to,” Ceesay clarified.
Dr. Ceesay explained that without following the correct procedures, councils are unable to start road construction projects on their own.
Therefore, a council cannot simply declare that it will construct a road here and then proceed to construct it. No, this will affect road projects in the future. Therefore, you must transfer services, provide the NRA with specific information, and have consultants oversee the process,” he stated. We simply advise adhering to the rules. You can build the roads with our assistance. In order to support its efforts, the government would be more than pleased to have councils construct roads.
