Bravo Hamat!  I feel vindicated now for being concerned about what happened.  
This should not be swept under the rug.
    


Govt Plays Down Boat Disaster - Hamat Bah

Hamat Bah, the Assembly Member for Upper Saloum, has called for the setting 
up of a Commission of Inquiry to probe into issues revolving around the 
tragic boat disaster which occurred on Thursday 14th February between Banjul 
and Barra. He accused the government of playing down the tragedy with very 
little coverage by state media.
Bah made the call during an interview with The Point in our office over the 
weekend when he dropped by to sound his view on the disaster. “As far as I 
can see, the TV did not cover the disaster. For the radio, it carried a 
scanty news item on the issue,” he remarked. He said people were left 
wondering as to how many persons perished in the tragedy, adding “We are told 
that bodies are being picked up everywhere, some speak of the death toll as 
high as one hundred while others put it between 50 and 70.
Hon. Bah declared that there is a need for a commission to be instituted to 
provide answers for questions like “How did the tragedy happen? Who was 
responsible? How many people died and what could have avoided the disaster?” 
The MP further opined that if it was another country, the public would have 
been constantly informed on an hourly basis on the progress of the rescue 
operation and other related issues. He added that the Secretary of State 
should have come up with a statement on the issue as done in other countries. 
Bah also took the fire and ambulance services at Barra to task for being 
negligent during the rescue operations, noting “We were informed that their 
rescue boat was out of order at that time. Why was that so? Who was 
responsible for repairing it, and what role they played in general? Hon Bah 
questioned.
To the Navy, the MP stated, “We want to know the role of the Gambia Navy at 
the primary stage of the incident. He then congratulated the Senegalese 
government and the fire service of Kaolack for their prompt response to help 
in rescue operations. In a similar tone, he thanked The Gambian ferry 
services for working overtime, ferrying people during the Tobaski tide. “I 
hope that they would be fully paid for their overtime”. “In the past” Bah 
continued, “ GPA used to have an annual inspection of boats meant for 
crossing people over the sea/ocean before issuing them with licences. That 
way all passenger carriers get their physical structures thoroughly checked 
and they were made to have life jackets before they could get licences.
” The honourable member of the Parliament doubted very much whether that 
still obtains. He recalled parliamentarians complaining about the insecurity 
and some of the problems encountered at Banjul/Barra crossing point. “If the 
authorities had listened to MPs thoroughly, this incident would have been 
avoided,” he stressed.
He therefore urged government officials to be attending assembly sessions, 
particularly during adjournment debates. “We cannot afford to have a disaster 
like this to be swept under the carpet. Let there be a Commission of Inquiry 
to look into the tragedy,” Hon. insisted. 


    
    
    

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>

To view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]

<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>//\\<<//\\>>