By Landing Colley
Dozens of commercial drivers within the greater Banjul area has asked government to increase salaries of police in order to reduce what they call rampant corruption in the traffic.
The drivers linked what they call ‘rampant police bribery’ to scanty salaries police are receiving at end of months as they said if this is not tackled police would continue taking bribery from drivers.
Speaking to Famara Dibba a van driver in a voice interview said: “the check points are too much from Tanji to Serrekunda which is making their business difficult.”
According to him, there is one check point around Tanji high way that always monitors vehicles not to over speed whiles driving, but now they are requesting for insurances.
Bully Camara a driver said: “I have been to a driving school and have all the document it requires but am not having the freedom as a qualified driver, the police always arrest me and at the end of the day they ask for money”.
“The money I paid to the police station is too much, it seems like they are depending on us,” he stated.
He said the he prices of the gases are expensive as the price of the fair remains the same, adding that if polices continue to collect money from them usually they might be bankrupt.
The traffic is always congested which results for some of us to use the footpath, if not gases are wasted whiles standing.
He also urges the government to reduce the amount of gases
Ebou Sumareh a van driver said, “the reason why the police on the street blamed drivers for wrong parking, and stopping them is because maybe their salary is not good enough.”
He explained that, the price of the gas is cost, one-liter coasting about 50 plus and if you buy ten liters about 500 plus going and sometimes, they will not get the 500 back which is affects them as a family man.
He called on KMC to help them with the market vendors at Bakoteh not to sit at the footpad of the road while urged the government to do their best to reduce the prices of the gas and also upgrade the salary of the police so that the business can go smoothly for them.