By Haddy Touray
The Minister of Transport, Works and Infrastructure (MOTWI), Hon Ebrima Sillah, has spoken over the Deep-Sea Port (DSP) Project while acknowledging mistakes made by officials of the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) in managing the Deep-Sea Port (DSP) project in Sanyang, located in Kombo South, West Coast Region.
Speaking on the Mengbe Kereng Radio talk show program hosted by Suu FM, Honourable Sillah admitted that his Ministry and GPA could have handled the situation better while apologizing to the Sanyang community for not engaging them properly about the project.
The Minister explained during recent discussions with Sanyang residents, valuable feedback was received on how the project should be implemented. He acknowledged that the community had requested written communication regarding the project’s plans, but, MOTWI and GPA had approached the community abruptly, failing to provide clear details on the project’s execution and timeline.
“The people of Sanyang wanted us to formally inform them about how the project would be implemented, but we did not do that. We arrived without proper communication and explanation, which led to confusion,” Minister Sillah said.
He added, “This led to the community, including the Village Development Committee (VDC) and the Bulungda Council of Elders, seeking legal advice and hiring a lawyer to ensure their interests were protected.”
He commended the Sanyang community for taking proactive steps by hiring a lawyer to address issues related to compensation and the project’s progression. He also acknowledged that the initial actions taken by MOTWI and GPA, particularly the scooping exercise to assess affected properties, were executed without consulting the community, leading to unnecessary worry.
The Minister explained that “We were engaged in a scooping mission to assess the project needs and identify affected property owners, but we failed to involve the community. This oversight caused concern, prompting the community to voice out their dissatisfaction publicly. We now recognize that we could have handled it better.”
In response to the community’s concerns, MOTWI and GPA decided to halt all scooping activities in Sanyang and reassess their approach. A pre-entry engagement meeting, attended by the Governor of West Coast, Kombo district chiefs, and all 17 indigenous Alkalos of Kombo, was held to address the concerns. A follow-up meeting was also held with the Sanyang VDC on February 16, 2025, where villagers shared their grievances over the project’s execution and how GPA officials entered their community.
However, he confirmed that MOTWI and GPA have accepted responsibility for the earlier mistakes and have formally apologized to the Sanyang community.
Ousman Jobarteh, Managing Director of the Gambia Ports Authority, also acknowledged the errors made by his office, particularly in distributing flyers without prior consultation with the community, further emphasizing that such oversights could have been avoided.
