By Ramatoulie Jawo
Gambia’s Interior Minister, Hon. Abdoulie Sanyang, has revealed that a significant portion, approximately 60% of the country’s police stations are currently rented. This startling fact came to light during a recent parliamentary session.
Responding to a query from Hon. Madi MK Ceesay, the Minister explained that budgetary constraints have hindered the government’s ability to construct or renovate police stations. He highlighted that up to 60% of the country’s police stations are rented, making it difficult to allocate sufficient funds for maintenance and improvement.
Responding to the questions, the minister said, “I was here with you, and we talked about the budget. So when you have a budget of D1 million or sometimes 500,000 for renovation, what can 500,000 do to renovate even a single house or a station? And you have to understand, too, that most of our stations are rented stations. I can say up to 60% of them are rented. So the budget is not there for us to do a proper renovation. We only manage; sometimes we even do it by ourselves because we are getting some funds from somewhere like the escort services. I think the last time we came here for the budget meeting, you heard what the police said.” he told the members.
He stressed that without an increased budget from the National Assembly, discussions about renovations would remain just that—talk.
“Even ten million is not enough for doing a proper renovation for all police stations. We are talking of 150 police stations. Even the current ones that are owned by the government,” he said.
He added that providing better infrastructure and a conducive working environment is a top priority for the leadership and management of the Gambia Police Force.
However, he noted that due to budgetary constraints in the 2024 budget, the much-needed renovations of their police stations could not be carried out effectively, although some have been completed.
“But in partnership with GIZ, that is, the German and UNDP, a few police stations were built, namely the Serrekunda police stations, Bundung and renovation at Bakoteh and then UNDP is currently finishing the one in Essau,” he said.
He mentioned that GIZ also plans to build additional stations similar to the one in Serekunda, in locations such as Brikama, Soma, Basse, CRR, and Farafenni.