By Aminata AP Ceesay & Mustapha Jarju
Business owners are reeling from the devastation to their livelihoods as swathes of Mamadi ManiangHighway and Sayerr Jobe Avenue were stripped of roadside stalls and shops literally reducing the affected areas to a ghost town,
The scale of the nationwide road-clearing exercise, which began last week in Serekunda, is increasingly becoming clearer as large parts of the MamadiManiang Highway and Sayerr Job Avenue have been stripped of structures that the authorities said were illegally erected.
The Gambia Police Force (GPF), National Roads Authority (NRA), National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), and other partners are embarking upon a countrywide road widening initiative by removing structures deemed obstructive to traffic.
However, several affected business owners have been counting the loss almost a week since their livelihoods were destroyed.
Roadside vendor Kemo Njie told The Voice that he lost his entire livelihood thanks to the exercise dubbed The Special Operation.
“Since the operation began in Serekunda on Monday, I couldn’t make any sales. The police came here yesterday [Sunday] and instructed me to remove my tables. A soldier later approached me and said I should move away all my wares but I told him that this is where I etch out a living. He said I should comply or he would take them to the store for me. I then complied and took them inside,” he emotionally recounted.
Modou J. Bah owned an electronics shop in Serekundabut said the operation has tumbled his business.
“As you can see, I did not even open my shop. My customers are calling me but I was unable to access my shop,” he explained to this medium.
Bah said his hopes for making it in The Gambia were shattered after shelving his plan to travel to Europe irregularly.
“I am now left with no option but to leave for Europe through the Backway. I am stressed out and cannot cope here. The operation is not a good option as it really affected our businesses. You can now see only a few businesses standing as the rest have been destroyed. The roads are now like those in the countryside; stripped bare and denuded. Almost everyone is affected by the exercise,” he lamented.
He called on the government to help the affected businesses by rescinding the decision to “denude” the roads.
Another businessman Dawda Jawara contended that those behind the Special Operation thought the removal of businesses may help everyone but that they have realized that the operations will only compound the financial difficulties of the affected individuals.
However, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of GPF, Cadet ASP Modou Musa Sisawo, told The Voice that the attitude of some of the affected business owners and vehicle owners was carefree as they set up their businesses and parked their vehicles anywhere convenient to them.
“Since the operation started last week, the traffic on the road from Old Jeshwang to Bakoteh has been very smooth, which is a success in the operation. The operation is for the greater good and is in the public’s interest,” ASP Sisawo explained to this medium.