Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Minister of Information
By Fatou Sillah
Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, the Minister of Information, Media, and Broadcasting Services, addressed concerns about the government’s stance on road construction in the Kanifing Municipality (KMC) during an interview with Petter Gomez on Coffee Time. He rejected claims that the government was obstructing KMC’s efforts to build roads, emphasizing that the government intends to collaborate with local councils to drive national development.
“I think that’s an unfair characterization. The government is not obstructing anything.” Ceesay stated.
“The government plans to work with the councils and the president made that clear last week when he visited the fire incident venues in Brikama and in Serekunda, the Sandika, saying that the government wants to work with the council to develop the country,”
Ceesay further explained that The Gambia operates under a decentralized system, where certain responsibilities are delegated to local councils.
“The way our government works in the Gambia is that we have what they call decentralization. Central government can’t do everything, therefore you decentralize and delegate certain functions to councils,” he said.
The Minister also highlighted that any council wishing to build roads must adhere to established standards regulated by the National Roads Authority (NRA).
“Now if a particular council wants to build roads, you need to follow certain standards and these standards are regulated by the National Roads Authority. You follow those standards. You cannot just come and build road anyhow. There should be standards across the country. There should be uniformity. So rules must be followed,” Ceesay explained.
Dr. Ceesay clarified that councils cannot independently initiate road construction projects without proper procedures.
“So any council cannot just come and say I’m going to build a road here and then just build a road. No, this has implications for future road projects. So you need to move services, you need to give certain information to the NRA, and they need to get the consultants to supervise it.” he said. “We just say follow the rules. We’ll help you build the roads. The government would be more than happy to get councils to build roads because this will complement the government’s efforts,”