By Omar Bah
Travelling between Kombo Berending and Gunjur is expected to get easier after a top supporter of the NPP and businessman initiated rehabilitation of a link road connecting the two villages, which for years has remained in disrepair.
Businessman, Kebba Madi Bojang, through his Ginkon Development Foundation and Housing Estate, with the help of local residents, mobilised D2 million to start the rehabilitation of the dilapidated road.
Local traders and residents of Berending have been decrying the pathetic state of the road which they said made travelling from the village to Gunjur unbearable especially during the wet season.
Residents said their pleas to the government over the years have been in vain, forcing them to find an alternative solution.
The Berending Village Development Committee chairperson, Ebrima Jatta, said the rehabilitation will relieve travellers’ hazards on the road. “We thank Mr Bojang who has seen fit to come to our aid,” he said.
The Ginkon Foundation chief executive officer, Kebba Madi Bojang, said it was part of his foundation’s policy to give back to society some of the proceeds of their enterprise.
“This is why when the villagers wrote to me seeking support for the rehabilitation of the road, I didn’t hesitate to give them my word because I visited the village before and I knew how terrible the road was at the time,” he said.
He said his decision to immediately intervene in the matter was triggered by the suffering of women, especially what pregnant women face during the rainy season while trying to reach Gunjur.
“It will cost me at least D2 million and all the money will come from profits we made from our real estate and other businesses. I want to urge Gambians who have the means to come out and compliment the government’s development initiatives. We should not just pay our taxes and stop there,” he said.
Bojang urged the government to empower the few Gambians who complement its efforts.
Ousman K Jammeh, the Berending Village VDC spokesperson said, over the past years the villagers, especially students traveling to Gunjur during the rainy season, have encountered difficulties.
“The road will help significantly ease movement as well as improve services for the people of Berending, especially our women. This is why there are people in the village who don’t even believe that it is happening because it has been really tormenting for us,” he said.
Jammeh who is a nurse in-charge of the village health centre said, during the wet season it was a challenge to transport pregnant women to the Gunjur Health Centre.
“You will not believe it when I tell you even the only ambulance we have at the hospital is not working. I am currently using my own private car to transport patients to Gunjur for referral,” he said.
