There is a common saying that time is money. This means that when people waste time, they are in effect wasting money. As every form of progress and development depends on finance, wasting money is something that should be avoided at all cost.
In The Gambia, there is a need for a total change of attitude if there is to be any form of progress. Events mostly start very late because the people who attend come an hour or two after the announced time. Sometimes, it is those people who are referred to as the VIP who come late.
In many offices, the fact that the people come to work late makes it very difficult for citizens to receive the services they need on time. At times, something that is supposed to take ten to fifteen minutes ends up taking more than an hour or two. This is unacceptable and a conscious effort has to be made to change the attitudes.
It is necessary though to look at the causes of this issue of lateness. For one, due to the lack of adequate road infrastructure in the country, traffic is always jam in most major roads. For this reason, even if a worker were to get up very early in the morning, he or she is likely to arrive at work late for reasons beyond their control.
As for the civil servants who live on the other side of the river – Barra and the Niumis – the extremely poor ferry services prevents them from being able to reach their work on time. It is very common for one to wait for the ferry for two or three hours before it arrives. It will then take another hour or so to reach Banjul.
Development is a chain and every link is important. If there is a problem in one link then the entire chain is affected somehow. Every department should therefore understand that any problem or delay caused in their area will affect the rest of the progress of the nation.
In addition to the government improving the transport and communications sector of the country, the people who work in these departments should endeavor to ensure that no delay will emanate from their end. In this way, everyone will work earnestly to ensure that the nation is moving rapidly, and in the right direction.
