This disclosure was first made by President Yahya Jammeh while officially inaugurating the billion dalasi new National Assembly Complex. This message was later buttressed by Foreign Minister Balla Jahumpa at the handing-over ceremony of the newly-refurbished Ministry of Justice building in Banjul Thursday.
Mr Jahumpa stated at that event: “Some of you may recall that the head of state stated at the ceremony that given the high cost of maintenance for government’s capital assets, including buildings, the Office of the President will from now on be the inspector general for all physical assets particularly government buildings.
“It is appropriate to remind ourselves about some simple truths about the challenges of maintenance. As soon as new a building is completed or an existing one renovated, nature also begins its own work – the wear and tear unleashed by forces of nature, rains, the sun, the wind and other forces all contribute to gradual degradation. This is why historic buildings are protected under strict management. Proper management is also required for functional buildings like the one we are about to deliver.
“To defend against these forces, and of course the wears and tear from normal usage, it is essential that all forms of maintenance are guided by a carefully formulated maintenance programme. There are basic options. The most common here is reactive maintenance – this involves waiting until things get bad or broken before maintenance is carried out. This is always costly and should be avoided. Preventive maintenance on the other hand is based on a schedule of pre-determined maintenance tasks, and is designed to prevent degradation before it occurs. We hope that this approach will be adopted by the ministry and other government agencies to ensure that assets are kept to standard as much as possible.”
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