The River Gambia - A river we once had

Public policy direction and prescription is the discretion of any sitting administration. Generally a nation has set objectives enshrined in its national objectives and public policy is therefore designed for the attainment of these national goals. My vision for Gambia entails a viable river transport that connects the hinter land to the metropolis of greater Banjul. The reason d’etre for Gambia “the nation” is its navigable river and we have since deviated from this.

Several infrastructural projects have been commissioned since independence in 1965 to accelerate the opening up of the country and for seamless connectivity of towns and villages along the river. The river Gambia is a natural national resource that needs to be exploited for the interest and advancement of the Gambia. This resource in my view has been neglected and less emphasis and consideration has been attached to it.  The creation of an extensive river transport network for goods and services would have been one of the best public infrastructural projects for the Gambia because it would have reduced the burden on our congested road networks and it will also spur growth in towns such as Kuntaur, Basse, Kaur, Georgetown etc. Gambia, has been faced with a significant shift in rural-urban migration and opening up the hinterland of Gambia to business opportunities would have stemmed the tide of this phenomenon.

Mass transportation within the greater Banjul area has its limitations because the road network is not intricately linked. Therefore building jetties for mass transit will undoubted serve the population of the greater Banjul better. The city of Banjul can be linked to Jeshwang, Taliding, Lamin, Mandinari, Bonto, Bintang, Tendaba by passenger boats that will shuttle passengers up and down the river.  The enabling policy framework will encourage venture capitalist and entrepreneurs to seize the moment and venture in river   transport. Until we dare to think out of the box, our development agenda will always be limited in scope and thereby limiting our growth prospects. Gambia is on the world map thanks to the river Gambia and we have relegated this endowment to obscurity.