By Yankuba Manneh
GPA media and communications officer
The Management of Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) has on Tuesday 7th February 2023, awarded and signed a D3 million contract with Manjang Stars Construction, a local construction firm, for the rehabilitation of Brikama District Hospital and the erection of a new nurses’ station.
The contract duration is for three months.
Signing this multimillion-dalasi project, the GPA Managing Director, Ousman M. Jobarteh, explained how his Authority saw the need to rehabilitate and construct a new nurses’ station at Brikama District Hospital, saying the desire to support Brikama and the West Coast Region with this project came when he personally visited the hospital in March 2021 at the invitation of Alieu K. Darboe, the Councilor of Kembujeh Ward.
“In March 2021, I was invited to Brikama District Hospital as a donor partner to Alieu K Darboe Foundation (AKDF), a charitable organization founded by Alieu K. Darboe, the Councilor of Kembujeh Ward. After the presentation of assorted items for pregnant women at the maternity ward, I had a brief tour of the facility and realized firsthand that the hospital needs to be supported to deal with the growing demand for its services,” GPA boss explained.
MD Jobarteh also said that this social intervention is in fulfilment of GPA’s corporate social responsibilities. He was quick to indicate that this is not the first time this Authority has supported the health sector, noting similar interventions at EFSTH, Farafenni Referral Hospital and the Bansang School of midwifery. This is alongside annual scholarships to more than 150 students pursuing various science courses at the UTG of more than D9 million per year in tuition under the Operation Promote Excellence in Sciences (OPES) programme for the promotion of education in Science, Technical, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM), a package initiated since 2006 by a former GPA MD, Muhammed Lamin Gibba.
The GPA boss is optimistic that the completion of the project will give Brikama District Hospital a structural facelift and enhance timely and accessible service delivery. This would then be complemented by provision of medical equipment and other necessary resources to improve patients’ access to medical facilities at this District Hospital, which is a major catchment area for the West Coast Region and beyond.
