The National Roads Authority (NRA) is currently constructing a High Culvert Bridge worth about D6.3 million (Six Millions and Three-Hundred Thousand Dalasis) in Niani Kataba community in the Central River Region which creates an essential access for the communities to get to hospitals, schools and farm lands in this area.
The communities were faced with three major problems; their horrible heavy flowing waterway, lack of electricity and their bad feeder road which is 8km away from the main highway.
The National Roads Authority (NRA) team under the leadership of the deputy managing director, SulaymanSumareh Janneh on Thursday 19 October 2023 visited the site together with other implemented projects in the Central River Region, before proceeding to the Lower River Region respectively.
With one of their major problems now solved by the authority, the community is now seeking another support of building their bad feeder road, access to electricity and hospital respectively.
According to the community, the current shape of their bad feeder road made them go through so many difficulties, especially, access to the main hospital in Wassu when women are in labour.
The newly built culvert, which is contracted to a Gambian-own Construction Company (OMCY Construction Enterprise), started in mid-July 2023, and is set to be completed and handed over in December 2023.
The building of the culvert brought so much joy and happiness to the people of Kataba, which is 20m long and 10m in width.
The Kataba inhabitants thanked the NRA for the culvert which according to them, prior to the construction of the culvert, the heavy flowing water had claimed few lives during the previous rainy seasons.
Sulayman Sumareh Janneh, the deputy managing director, NRA stated that the culvert was constructed out of the road fund given to the NRA on yearly basis to assist communities in need. He added that they have had so many cries about lives being lost in the community of Kataba due to lack of proper roads and access to health care facilities and the horrible waterway denied them access to the other part of the community.
“The community has many villages which were cut apart by the existence of the heavy flowing waterway and they had nothing to use to cross over to the other part with,” said Mr Janneh
NRA deputy managing director noted that they have had cries made about children trying to make it to school, forcing themselves to plough through the heavy flowing water and virtually get washed away and end up losing their lives.
“These are things as an Authority and government, cannot sit and see such things happening when we can virtually intervene to the simplest activity to help curb the loss of lives and encourage them to continue living their lives the way they want to.”
According to him, the building of the culvert for the communities of Kataba is just the beginning, adding that they have a pilot project programme which they intend to use in the community to help build a feeder road that will help connect most of the villages in the area and also give them access to health care services and schools.
Hon. Omar Jobe, National Assembly Member for NianiConstituency said the importance of the culvert bridge in his constituency (in Kataba community) cannot be overemphasized.
He added that the heavy flowing waterway has caused few loss of lives of the people of the community, adding that culvert will not only benefit the people of Kataba but its surrounding villages as well.
The Parliamentarian also urged the NRA to assist them in building their feeder road which connect them to the highway, while also urging other partners to help in building hospital and electricity in the community
Omar Ceesay, managing director of OMY Construction Enterprise hailed NRA for empowering Gambian youth, while saying that he is happy to be awarded the project.
He noted that they started building the culvert in this rainy season, adding that they hope to complete the project before the end of November 2023.
Alagie Pierre Bah, Chief of Niani, expressed delights to the National Roads Authority (NRA) for bringing such a milestone development to his people (Kataba community) through their Parliamentarian, Hon. Omar Jobe.
He added the culvert bridge will not help to ease movement in the community of Kataba, but to its surrounding villages as well.
“This waterway (which the culvert is currently being built on to) was one of our major problems but we are now faced with other major problems such as lack of electricity, hospital and current state of our bad feeder road connecting the highway.”
Mr. Bah went on to seek another support from the NRA to construct their feeder road to the main highway to help them get easier access to the hospitals in Wassu.
Fatou Seck and Alkali Morr Taal, both inhabitants of Kataba, thanked the National Roads Authority (NRA) for currently building what they thought was never going to be in their community.
“The state of the waterway during rainy seasons has claimed few lives of our children while also our bad feeder road which connects to the main highway has made our transportations to the market and hospital in Wassudifficult,” said Fatou Secka.
By Arfang M.S. Camara, Communication Officer, NRA
