By Olimatou Coker
Omar Ceesay, the president of Gambia Transport Union (GTU) has said that police force is not issuing licences to the right people in The Gambia.
Ceesay made this remark over the weekend during an exclusive interview with The Standard. The union is currently on a countrywide tour to meet stakeholders.
He said “one institution cannot do it all alone” and as such called for the need to join hands and work collectively to tackle such issues.
“The IGP said this year the police want to come out with some measures to minimise the rampant road accidents but the funniest part is they did not do any consultation on that. They did not consult any stakeholders, so how can they do it alone?” he demanded to know.
He said there are laws that stipulate that if you want to become a driver you need to go for testing for nine months and then a medical test to see if you are medically fit to become a driver. He said if the police are not doing what is expected of them as required by law, then they are responsible for all the roads accidents in the country.
“I don’t believe that the GPF should be the one to issue licences because the police are the ones issuing licences and enforcing the law”. He called on central government itself to issue licences.
He said the union’s countrywide tour was meant to engage stakeholders on the way forward on the minimisation of fatal road accidents.
He stated that in 2020, The Gambia recorded 123 fatal road accidents and that most of the accidents are caused by human errors.
He advised all drivers to observe speed limits especially when entering settlements.
“Due processes must be followed to avoid these worsening accidents,” he said.
