By Binta Jaiteh
Scores of people who travel between the Banjul-Barra crossing points have expressed great concern over the recent breakdown of the Kunta Kinteh ferry.
Banjul-Barra River is one of the country’s busiest river crossing points which is believed generating large sum of money into the State coffers on daily basis through the transportation of the ferries.
However, Nyaranding Kanteh, a traveler said she has been waiting at the ferry terminal since 6am, adding that Gambians are suffering with the single ferry which its movement is worst than ever as it is always spend over one hour from departure point to its destination point, vis-a-vis.
“I am urging the ferry services to quickly find out ways to settle this issue of ferry breakdown, people is travelling everyday either by foot or ferry. We the old women cannot travel with boat because it is unsafe and not conducive, what is the essence of us buying ticket and our needs are not provided,” she asked rhetorically.
According to her, she said this has become a big problem whenever you want to travel by sea you think of the ferry breakdown first and the time it will spend to reach the destination which can even make you to postpone your trip.
“The problems in The Gambia does not only on one sector but the issue of the ferry should be one of the most concern issues to the ferry services because transportation is a mean of revenue earning and that sector should be well monitored,” she noted.
She explained that parents with their kids will stand in the sun for hours and sits are not enough to occupy everyone inside the terminal. Vehicles and people are always pack in the same ferry that alone is not safe is like those vehicles are being prioritized than the human beings.
She urged the government to quickly intervene and think of ways to solve the ferries issue for the wellbeing of the citizens.
Ablie Njie, said people are really suffering when it comes to ferry breakdown and ferry service authority have to tackle this problem without delaying or prolonging it.
According to Isatou Ceesay “the issue of ferry is becoming a problem, imagine some had to sleep over just to find the first ferry in a case where a deceased had to be taken to another village and you find the first ferry had already but not coming back until after two or three house.”
She lamented that Gambians suffering is a continuous process which people have been baring for past years and still no changes.
She said the way people are surviving is very sad “it is over a month that we appointed new president still the changes we voted for is not effected. Government should wake up and help its citizens.”
