By Ramatoulie Jawo
The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Hon. Hamat N.K. Bah, told the National Assembly on Wednesday that the National Center for Arts and Culture (NCAC) has entered into a contract with Touray Construction Company Limited for a sum of D4.2 million to refurbish Mungo Park.
Hon. Bah revealed this information at the National Assembly in response to a question posed to him by Hon. Alfusainey Ceesay, the National Assembly Member for Sami Constituency, about the Mungo Park Project in Karantaba, CRR North.
“Honorable Speaker, the National Center for Arts and Culture (NCAC) entered into a contract with Touray Construction Company Limited for a Sum of D4.2 Million to refurbish Mungo Park Memorial including a site Museum and visitor conveniences center,” he said. Minister Bah said that 60% of the work on the project has been completed, including the mobilization of materials. He explained that the NCAC has been unable to meet its financial obligations to the contractor, which has delayed the project. However, he said that urgent efforts are being made to pay the contractor through his Ministry so that work can be completed at the site.
In his supplementary question, Hon. Ceesay asked Minister Bah how long the site project was supposed to take. Minister Bah said he did not know because he had not seen the contract. However, he did know that the delay was due to the contractor not being fully paid.