THE BAD STATE OF THE SERREKUNDA TO SUKUTA ROADS

THE BAD STATE OF THE ROADS WITHIN SERREKUNDAOur roads are a source of illness and diseases. The people of Serrekunda, Bakoteh, London Corner, SOS and Sukuta needs better treatment by the regime of Yahya Jammeh.The daily travel hassle is so intense ordinary people from the affected areas mention above have to wake up very early in the morning to start their journey within the towns of Serrekunda.On average passengers pay fairs until they nearly start to scream.I tell you my average fair and the number of vehicles I change before I get to Banjul. I live in Bakoteh, from Bakoteh to Serrekunda Senegambia garage the fair is D5, from Senegambia garage to Westfield is D5, from west field to Banjul is D6 .And within Banjul the vehicles have many other restrictions, so the distance which use to be a vehicle hub is now a long walk. A single trip can cost up to D17. How many people can afford this horrendous amount?Early in the morning, Vans start from Bakoteh Tipper garage to Banjul, the fare for that journey is D12. This is cheaper for people living in the vicinity of Tipper garage. But for me, I commute from Bakoteh layout to Tipper garage for these Vans, since many commuters wish to save money, we scramble for these Vans. The Gambia doesn't have any public buses .The Van drivers can charge any fare they wish because of the monopoly.The road situation is so sad. I usually see the APRC members of parliament from Sukuta and beyond driving their comfortable four wheel cars passing by commuters every morning, whilst the resident of Serrekunda and sukuta swallow the dust and heat.The Vans are seen regularly trying to avoid potholes, this avoidance swing them at pedestrians also trying to utilize the safer areas of the dilapidated roads.The Van drivers with their rude aparantees and the pedestrians continually trade insults and swearing due to all of them trying to use the sides of the roads that are a bit level.Some times when trucks pass you on the Serrekunda road, only the power of God keep you without coughing your lungs out. The dust is red, tick and bitter and the trucks blow it every where.The bravery of the residents of Serrekunda to Sukuta pass Bakoteh is immense, these people with all the neglect by the useless government of James junkun Jammeh aka Yahya go about there business without any hindarance.They put the APRC government to shame.The president I am told doesn't travel on that road. He and his entourage always use the coastal roads or the Westfield to Yundum road.MY FEARSThe majority of people from London Corner, Bakoteh, SoS, Sanchabah, Sukuta, Burufut and the nearby villages of Serrekunda buy there daily UNDUGA (food ingredients) from the dusty Serrekunda market, imagine the contamination in the food stuffs.They have no choice but to eat the food that is bought from the Serrekunda market with dust. Now this is a health hazard. The hospitals are not up to scratch yet our roads are increasing the level of illnesses.As soon as night falls, the visibility level drops close to 10 meters only. This is dangerous for all pedestrians.The government needs to realize that a healthy and good road is source of progress and national empowerment. The people living in the affected areas need a better treatment; our children need to be safe on the roads and the vehicle owners need help in maintaining their source of revenue on the roads. A bad road lead to the continual breakdown of vehicles be it work vehicles, commercial vehicles and medical ambulances. A good road encourages investment and shortens the time of travel and these will help us in our own way of tackling the threats of global warming. The intention is not to shame my country which I love dearly, but to expose the neglect and disregard on the side of my government. It is an Islamic and human duty for citizen who pays taxes to speak out against mismanagement and inefficiency.I applaud the people of Serrekunda to Sukuta for their courage in walking the roads that are not fit for a twenty first century man. The system fail you, the politicians fail you and our journalist need to be stronger in there spirit and efforts in bringing the truth to the public domain.I am a patriotic Gambian and I love each and every citizen of our blessed lands.The promise regularly given by the government to build those roads are not worthy of listening to. The people need actions. Imagine how those roads will be like in the raining season? They will not only become DOMODAH, but they will be SUPERKANJA instead after the fungus and bacteria infested them. This was my personal observation on the bad state of our roads during my stay in the Gambia in the Month of November 2007.The pictures are taken during my November 2007 visit to the Gambia.