How Can We Develop?

It is sad and rather unfortunate to be seeing the country’s infrastructure being badly damaged through negligence or irresponsibility. It is becoming a daily thing now that the country’s vital development projects are ravaged. A better part of the installed traffic lights along West Field- Tabokoto highway are damaged by vehicles. Just yesterday, along the Banjul road, a taxi seriously hit and damaged one of the just installed streetlights poles.

There is no sense to put in millions of dollars into projects only to be destroyed a forth night, especially through avoidable circumstances, particularly at a time that the global economy is experiencing a major slowdown. For a small economy as ours, we cannot afford that.

Whether you know it or not, huge money is borrowed with high interest rates for implementing these projects.

On a general note, very good citizen or genuine person for that matter should be development-orientated.

Let us all be conscious of the fact that the global financial system is facing turbulent times, and the international financial markets are uncertain, and volatility continues in the world market.

If we are to advance, we should always make sure that the infrastructures we have are well taken care of and jealously guarded, if not we will continue to suffer from under- development.

We are in support of the recent amendment of the Motor Traffic Act, which in itself, is aimed at curbing the increasing number of accidents on our roads.

However, we are not in support of the provision of the bill that allows the use of hand-free phone while driving. We insist that there should be a total ban of phone use while driving, whether hand-free or not. It is our view that though the hands matter when driving, it is the state of the mind of a driver when he is behind the wheel that counts most. If he or she loses concentration due to a phone conversation, hand-free or not, an accident could result.