By: Nyima Sillah
The National Assembly Member for Bundung-Ka Kunda Constituency, Honourable Sulayman Jammeh, on Sunday, 25th September 2022 toured the destructive Bundung Highway and restored hope to its users thus the government pledged to rehabilitate the road soon.
The bad condition of the road always sees many commuters standing more than expected waiting and struggling to get taxis taking them to their destinations while some will trek from Bundung to Serrekunda, as there would be no commercial vehicles for transportation.
In his tour with members of the press, Honorable Jammeh outlined the conditions of the Bundung Highway, saying his electorates are dear to his heart, and as result, anytime he uses the road, he deeply feels the struggle his people encounter.
“I am also happy to inform my people that during the questions and answers session at the National Assembly last week, I posted a question to the Honorable Minister of Transport and the Minister responded that the construction of the road will commence soon as it is part of the OIC projects,” he said.
Honorable Jammeh however, acknowledged that the nature of the road was very bad and gave a bad image to Bundung as it is the only highway there, while he described Bundung as a community that has registered the worst road in this year’s rainy season.
However, he further appealed to the people of Bundung to exercise patience as the Minister of Transport has assured him at the parliament that the said road will be fixed soon.
“This said road needs urgent action, the authorities responsible should prioritize it and make sure that it is urgently taken care of because it is not only leaving commuters stranded for transportation but it also serves as economic loss to drivers and commercial vehicles owners,” he said.
During his engagement with the press, Jammeh seized the opportunity to buttress the scarcity of water in Bundung and surrounding communities.
“We have been lamenting this scarcity of water for the past years, but the situation remains the same and even gets worse by day. Many women now woke up at 3:00 am just to hunt for water,” he said. While he suggested that the National Water and Electrical Company (NAWEC) should come up with alternatives to remedy the situation.
Dodou Senghore, the Director of the National Road Authority, said the Bundung Highway is part of the OIC project that they are so much concerned about because its location is in the middle of Serrekunda.
“Contractors should submit proposals to the consultant before contracts are awarded because we don’t want any delay. The proposal will inform the consultant how the project will be implemented and when the proposal is approved the contractor will be asked to start work immediately,” he said.
Director Senghore said they want to kick start the road construction immediately after the rainy season, and the road will have drainage on both sides.
