By Mustapha Jarju
Sol Slim Njie, an advocate working with the local community in Banjul has revealed to this medium that The Gambia government ignored two significant factors in the recent implementation of the USD35.5 Million Banjul project.
On the highlights of the implementation of the Banjul Project, Mr. Njie said when the project started, the Gambia`s presidential election was fast approaching, so they gave more strength to the road project while ignoring the two major important factors of the Banjul Rehabilitation project. These two significant factors he called proper construction of the drainage system and the sewage, which now led to flood and displacement of families in some areas of the Banjul Capital City.
After heavy rainfall in late July this year that flooded Banjul and caused the serious displacement of people, yet again, on Sunday, 11th September 2022 another heavy rain made some residents more concerned with the possibility of becoming victims as residents in some areas in Banjul left their homes due to presence of flooded water.
In an interview with The Voice newspaper recently, Njie said, the flood in Banjul could have been avoided if there was a proper drainage system. “The Banjul Rehabilitation Project is not just about road constructions, but also included new construction of the sewage and the drainage systems in Banjul,” he pointed out.
Njie, who doubles as the Secretary-General of the ‘Development Oriented Citizens’ said, his organization, sometimes in the year 2020, approached the Banjul City Council, but to their dismay, the Council couldn’t provide them a contract document with regards to the Banjul Rehabilitation project, that (mean) Banjul City Council has no hand in this project.
“We pressurized the City Council because we couldn’t believe such a major project would be implemented in Banjul without the awareness of Banjul City Council,” he noted. He also added that flooding in some areas in Banjul is a major concern to the Banjulians and that there can be an emergence epidemic in Banjul.
In addition, he said some areas like Tobacco Road and Tasito area were affected by some contaminated diseases which are caused by the constant smell from the flooded water.
