The National Assembly select committee on government projects, monitoring and implementation, has said it will engage the ministry of works on the huge delay of works on the 20 OIC road projects.
According to the committee, the road projects, divided into Lots 1 and 2, have been contracted for a period of 14 months. “But ten months have elapsed and the amount of work done is not more than 2 percent,”’ said Hon Yaya Menteng Sanyang, the chairman of the committee.
He said these roads include the Brufut road and the one in Kanifing area.
However, Hon Samyang said the Bertil Harding Highway, Airport Junction to Sting Corner construction is going according to plan and contract specification and time.
The Standard spoke to a resident of Brufut who said the people are very frustrated and disappointed that almost one year after they attended a glamorous laying of foundation presided over by President Barrow, the road is still not fixed.
Ealier this year, President Barrow himself toured the roads projects and expressed similar disappointment about the progress of the 20 roads.
“What Gambians now want to know is why is he waiting nearly a year after the contracts were signed? The government must engage the contractors and find out the issues and be willing to terminate the contracts if there is no solution,” one angry resident of Wullingkama told The Standard. He called on the Select Committee to ask the government whether there was due diligence in selecting the contractors for these projects. “Imagine if they had destroyed people’s houses in the name of building a road that never happened since last year,” commented another frustrated Wullingkama resident.
