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| SeneGambia Bridge |
The two SeneGambian leaders are almost on stage to inaugurate the longest awaited legacy of development between
Senegal and Gambia. The completion of the SeneGambia bridge is seen as a
resounding success for the people of the two countries especially for Gambian
President, Adama Barrow and his Senegalese counterpart, Macky Sall.
What is celebrated tonight is not the call
for integration, but the giant step realised into the historic call for SeneGambia.
History of the bridge dated way back
in the first republic of the Gambia. Negotiations on the problems of financing,
ownership and maintenance costs were completed during a visit to the Gambia by
Senegalese Prime Minister, Abdou Diouf, in April 1977.
This memory is well kept by Omar A
Touray in his book, The Gambia and the World: A History of the Foreign Policy
of Africa’s Smallest State, 1965 – 1995.
Senegal accepted that the bridge would
function on a “toll” basis, payable to the Gambia.
It was revealed during the twelfth Ordinary
Session of the Senegalo-Gambian Inter-State Ministerial Committee in the same
year, it was revealed that there was funding from the European Development Fund
but due to the draught that hit Gambia, the government reconsidered its policy
towards agricultural development.
Hasty Inauguration
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| Presidents: Barrow And Sall On Giant Portrayal |
Festivities around the official
inauguration of the historic bridge is considered by many Gambians as a hasty
arrangement. Public announcement to this effect was made by President Barrow at
the Banjul International Airport upon arrival from the Egypt, where he attended
the third Africa Business Forum in December.
Having the bridge only completed above
the water, the European Union chipped in the sum of 16 million euros to allow
its landing on the ground.
The EU Ambassador to the Gambia, Attila
Lajos observed that the completion of the bridge alone is not enough if the roads
linking it to both sides are not. “If the Bridge is completed and the roads
linking the two sides are not in good shape, it will not serve its purpose.”
Despite the bridge being inaugurated
in today, the construction of road network will likely last for six months.
According to The Ministry of
Transport, Works, & Infrastructure, the inaugural festival does not mean
that the bridge is fully opened.
The vehicles allowed to ply the bridge
during the first six months include: Private vehicles, Motor Cycle, Car, Jeeps
and Double Cabin, Car and Trailer, Commercial Vehicle, Minibus and Bus not
exceeding 35 Passengers.
Critics say that the inauguration is
done to complement Senegalese President, Macky Sall in his campaign for re-election
in the next month Presidential elections.
Ahead of the election, two opposition
leaders Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade were barred from participating because of
convictions for misuse of public funds. The country's Constitutional Court has
preliminarily authorised five candidates, including incumbent president Macky
Sall.
One Ishmail Sarr wrote on Facebook, “The
coming Senegalese elections should be closely watch by all those who are
concern about the Senegal-Gambia relations. If Macky Sall wins, which is most
likely considering many critical factors, we are most likely going to have an
entrench status quo, judging from the hand he is showing us presently. I don’t
think his policy towards Gambia so far is right by us.”
Change in Bridge Name
The noticeable change in the name of
the bridge is another point of argument. During the laying of its foundation
stone, the bridge was known ‘TransGambia’, replacing its most popular title ‘Yelli
Tenda – Bamba Tenda’.
However, the inauguration programme
guide gives the bridge its newest and probably final name, ‘SeneGambia’ bridge.
For this, “It seems our Guys have
actually decided to change the name of TransGambia Bridge to Senegambia Bridge
just to please their Master in Dakar”, writes Bubacarr Sidiqi Jammeh.
Jasong Sanyang Koringbaa says, “honestly,
I have a feeling they're giving out our bridge to the neighbours. Before you
know it's going to be toll free and the final name change will be the SENEGAL
BRIDGE.”
The name SeneGambia in the view of Ous
Jassey, is only reminiscent of our so called political relationship with
Senegal when it is made for the entire sub region.
“In fact, I want to understand that Macky
is playing smart game on H.E Barrow trying to arrogate the credit in order to
score political cards”, he said.
Senegal and Gambia share everything
from ethnicity, sociocultural, to religious background in common.
Geographically as posited in the book,
President Barrow; Rev J.C Faye, one of the founding fathers of the nation
referred to Gambia and Senegal as house with a living room and a bedroom in
which the bedroom represents the former and the living room represent the
latter. Ideally, the River Gambia is a kind of a sharp knife of over thousand
kilometres that caves into the Senegambia melon leaving a divided pavement
between the two walls.
This geographical reality grants
residents across the border belts of the two countries automatic dual
nationality in addition to the open choice of those into each side choice to
decide where to belongs to thanks to the think family ties among them.
Had there not been colonialism,
borders would have remained in the ancient Senegambia region. The Senegalese grew
in a frenchified manner, Gambians survived in the indirect rule system, complicating
the mixture of the two tongues and tastes.
Key facts about the bridge
Within the bedroom, bridge between connects
the southern part, Yelli Tenda to its northern, Bamba Tenda making it the first
time to achieve a possible travel across the room without need for a ferry
services. Other optional linkages between the two banks include the
Banjul-Barra terminal, and that of Janjanbureh crossing point.
The project is funded by the African
Development Fund (ADF) in the sum of US 63.55 million equivalent to D4 billion.
The official signing of the contract took
place in November 2014 with JV Corsan Corvian of Spain and Arezki S. A. of
Senegal with commitment to finish construction by November 2017.
The foundation stone was not laid
until February 2015. The government Yahya Jammeh boasted of this development
during the Gambia’s 50th independence anniversary.
The then vice President Isatou
Njie-Saidy and Senegalese Prime Minister Momodou Dionne presided over the event
marking the official commencement of construction of the Trans-Gambia Bridge.
The bridge is one of the biggest in
the sub-region with a length of 1.9 kilometres and over five storeys high.
Just like the “Third Mainland Bridge”
in Nigeria, the Transgambia bridge is expected to have a very high vehicular
traffic throughout the week as many residents commute to and from commercial towns
of Jarra Soma and Farafenni.
It is designed to be a tolled-bridge
that would accommodate the passage of most vessels, while longer-mast boats can
easily fold their masts to pass through the bridge.
Sub Regional Value
Within the parlour, the Trans-Gambia bridge
is considered important economic and strategic link connecting northern and
southern Cassamance of Senegal.
The bridge will allow free flow of
traffic between the north and south parts of both nations as part of Tran-West
African Highway.
It will further enhance regional
integration as it facilitates overland traffic flow in West Africa as a whole.
Prior to the bridge project, transport
on the river has mainly been through the ferry terminal usually marked by “bottlenecks”.
The vehicle queues were more often
than not from river to village long on either bank. The market boomed on merchandise
transporters across countries in the sub region who have to spend night and
days waiting on their turns to cross.
“The drivers and traders who hire the
vehicles are complaining about the extra expenses they are compelled to incur
by staying for days waiting in order to cross on board the ferry to the other
side”, Foroyaa Newspaper reported.
According to the National Road
Authority, Crossing the Gambia River by ferry constitutes the main impediment
to the Tans-Gambia corridor in achieving its full potential.
“This constraint has hindered, the
socio-economic development of communities along the corridor. The crossing
grossly limits traffic flow thus being a major draw-back on transit of goods
and persons and limiting trade and integration within the Senegambia space and
beyond”, the authority wrote on its website.
Meanwhile, popularity of the
inauguration of the SeneGambia Bridge is absolute as the top two musicians of
the two countries are set to provide entertainment before the two presidents
and supporters.
As per
the programme schedule, Yousou Ndour will introduce Senegalese President on
stage, while Jaliba Kuyateh will welcome Host President Adama Barrow to give
his keynote address.
On the eve of the inauguration, filling stations were busy with tanks of those heading to the event, to take part in the history making of the two West African states.
