By Yunus S Saliu
The non-stop heavy rainstorm of 30th and 31st July 2022, which caused a lot of damage across the country did not spare one of the most prominent UNESCO World Heritage Sites in The Gambia. It destroyed the Kunta Kinteh Island jetty making accessibility to the island greatly difficult.
Kunta Kinteh Island which is the most visited site in the destination Gambia suffered a loss over the weekend.
Commenting on the damage to the jetty as caused by the heavy rain, Hassoum Ceesay, Director General of the National Centre for Arts and Culture said the prolonged downpour also affected the jetty leading to the Kunta Kinteh Island, “it was destroyed severely.”
Thinking of the situation of the Island itself, he said “luckily, the island itself is intact without any damage to the property. The authenticity and the integrity of the island remain good, nothing has been damaged in that. But the access to the island has been severely limited because the jetty which the visitor will use to alight from the boat is what had been destroyed by the floodwater.”
However, he noted that the jetty was constructed a long time ago as per the management plan of the Kunta Kinteh Island and the related sites and periodically before the tourism season the NCAC always do some adjustment and refurbishment to the jetty “but unfortunately this rainstorm of the weekend did a severe damaged to the platform.”
He added that now accessibility to the Island is difficult and it now needs urgent repair “we are seeking assistance from UNESCO because it is a UNESCO World Heritage property and we are working with them to assess the damage to the jetty and also to see how it could be able to be repaired as quickly as possible so that the safe landing in the island will continue.”