It is a sad spectacle that another iconic Gambian institution is slowly
run aground and all we do is to pretend that it not happening. The
situation with the ferry service is not about lack of passengers willing
to pay for a ride. It is not about lack of skilled labor to run a
reliable and safe ferry service in the Gambia, afterall we have done
that since the early 60s.
The problem in my view is that of management or lack it. Talking to many
observers, the system is now being managed by people who at best have no
idea about what it takes to run a ferry service or simply do not care
whether we have a working ferry service. It must be clear that a
competent, reliable ferry service is vital for the Gambia and perhaps as
important as the telecoms service. The ferry service is the lifeline for
halfe the country, those in the North Bank to access Banjul and Kombo.
It can be argued that Farafenni would never have become the regional
capital had it not been the Bamba Tenda-Yeli Tenda ferry. In addition it
is one sector where our brothers in Senegal need most from the Gambia
and will go along way help keep it.

The situation at hand is clearly unacceptable and it will be great
tragedy should the government who now controls the ferry service lets it
continue. During a recent visit (2012) I found two "new" ferries in
Banjul. These are not the traditional roll-on-one-end roll-off-the-other
we had since 1970s but of another kind. Because of the difference in
design, the government has to build new land sites in Banjul and Barra
for these two. Unfortunately its over 15 months since and these ferries
arrived and not in service. This begs the question, who in their right
mind would order the purchase of these ferries knowing fully well that
the Gambia does not have landing sites or will not have one for
18months. Are there any chance these will every run after docking in
Banjul for over 18 months? Think of what it will take to get them to
service once the sites are ready? These kind of unplanned, ill-advised
spending of Gambia's meager resources is not helping.

For a long-term solution of the problem I will ask that the government
look into the creation of a public private partnership in the form of
New York-New Jersey Ports Authority, where the partners are the Gambia,
Senegal governments and the private sector. it could be a 60-40
(Gambia-Senegal) ownership if those in Banjul still want a lot of say.
The governments should become loan guarantors and allow this
semi-autonomous agency run things. Oh, for those who will say its
Gambia's I will say lets make it the show-case of regional integration
something our "Pan-Africanists" would love to see! Or their heart is in
something else?

Malanding Jaiteh








http://www.foroyaa.gm/burning-issues/12663-poor-ferry-services

POOR FERRY SERVICES
Published on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 14:03 | Written by Abdoulie G. Dibba
The Current state of the ferries at both the Bamba Tenda-Yiri Tenda and
Banjul-Barra ferry crossings hinders the smooth movement of people and
goods at the said crossing points. This reporter spoke to one Ida Samba
at Bamba Tenda-Yiri Tenda ferry crossing point on Thursday 7thMarch
2013, who was on her return journey to Banjul. She said in her forward
journey while crossing from Banjul to Barra she was scared to death when
she boarded the Kanilai ferry on Sunday the 3rd of March 2013. She
pointed out that when they arrived at Barra, the ferry could not dock at
the ramp, leaving them with no option but to get down on the river bank
at their own risk. Madam Samba added: “I was convinced to take the south
bank road via Soma and I decided to join a transport at Farafenni, but
to my disappointment I had to spend 8 hours at the Bamba Tenda-Yiri
Tenda ferry crossing without any sign of crossing due to the long queue
of vehicles waiting to cross.” According to her, she does not know what
to do under the circumstances and appealed to the authorities to address
the situation. A woman vendor who prefers anonymity told this reporter
that her vegetables she was transporting got spoilt due to the slow
traffic at the crossing compelling them to spend three days at the
crossing point. Talking to drivers at the Crossing point, they revealed
that the slow traffic at the said crossing is as a result of bad ferries
at the crossing points but not due to any high demand on traffic.
According to them, there are three ferries namely; Farafenni, Baddibu
and James Island. These ferries they said often break down and that as
they were speaking, Farafenni was not operating, leaving only Baddibu
and James Island in operation. However they said Baddibu is of low
capacity and once Farafenni or James Island is not operating, smooth
movement of people would be hindered. Regarding the impact of the lack
of smooth movement, the Drivers asserted that the slow movement at the
Crossing points always has negative economic impact on them since they
would spend more time at the crossing thus compelling them to buy food,
pay for lodging and buy other basic necessities. All these unplanned
expenditures, they said, reduce their earnings. Drivers and commuters
concluded by calling on the ferry authorities to come to their aid
either by buying new ferries or by refurbishing the old ones, replacing
the old engines with new ones. This reporter will get in touch with the
authorities to get their viewpoint.

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