Dr Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information
By Buba Gagigo
During an interview with West Coast Radio on Tuesday, Minister of Information Dr. Ismaila Ceesay addressed a recent statement by the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) regarding the Gambia Ferry Service, pointing out what he described as “misinformation” within the UDP’s claims.
A press release from The Gambia Ferry Services (GFS) dated November 8, 2024, cited “increased operational running cost of the ferries over the years”, as the reason for ending the longstanding practice of allowing free ferry access to security personnel.
The release clarified that while security personnel must now pay ferry charges, officials of The Gambia National Army in uniform or with IDs remain exempt, as mandated by law. Stating; “Security personnel are reminded that they are also required to pay for crossing charges at all crossing points, except for The Gambia National Army officials in uniform or IDs, who are exempted by law from paying for the use of ferry services.”
In response to the statement, the United Democratic Party expressed that Gambians are frustrated with the country’s underperforming State-Owned Enterprises, highlighting the Gambia Ferries Service as a prime example of incompetence and poor service.
Dr. Ceesay countered these claims, saying, “I have seen a UDP counter statement that really needs clarification. We believe that some of that information is misinformation. If you can recall, the Public Enterprise Committee of the National Assembly had instructed to initiate a process of revenue optimization because they are running at a loss, and remember the Gambia Ferry Service is subsidized by the government. That means if a passenger pays D25, that is just 25 percent, the 75 percent is subsidized by the government, and is very expensive to run a ferry,” Dr. Ismaila Ceesay responded.
Explaining the directive, Dr. Ceesay noted that GFS acted to increase revenue by requiring security personnel, aside from army members, to pay for ferry services, a move consistent with PEC’s recommendations. He emphasized that claims of “discrimination” among security forces are unfounded.
“This was a long-standing practice for the security services to be exempted, but the army by law is not supposed to pay. In the exercise of this mandate, the GFS made a statement that security services should pay to go further, except the army. The UDP statement is saying this is discriminatory within the forces, I think that is not a very good statement. There is no discrimination whatsoever on the part of Gambia Ferry Service,” he said.
UDP’s statement also raised concerns that ECOMIG forces would be required to pay ferry fees, as they are not part of the Gambian Army. Dr. Ceesay addressed this, explaining that ECOMIG, like other peacekeeping forces, is generally exempted from such charges due to diplomatic protocols.
“The Statement (UDP’s statement) also says that the ECOMIG should ask to pay. I think anybody who understands the mandate of peacekeeping operations knows that they are established through diplomatic protocols and therefore sometimes most of these peacekeeping forces are exempted from paying duties and taxes and that includes the ferries,” Dr. Ceesay said.