Habib and Abdoul,

I will write more on this later but I just want to point out that building
that bridge will be a very good public investment. Your questions are valid
because it is very important to know how public projects are financed. But
the building of that bridge is long over-due. There are too many costs
(visible and non-visible) associated with unreliable ferry services. For
example, the poor transportation provided by the ferries hinders
communication and trade (very important) and it's also a safety hazard since
only second-hand ferries tend to be sent up country.

When I was young, I crossed that point of River Gambia so many times and the
traffic jam on both sides is way out of proportion to the activities of that
area. Tolls could be set up to recoup some of the cost but the main return
will come from the freer movement of goods and people.

I'm not really sure how the government came to the decision to build the
bridge but I think Hamat Bah was just blowing hot air. When did the
construction of public projects require referenda?

Ousman






>From: "Abdoul Njie" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
>To: [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [>-<] Trans Gambia Bridge Construction/ SOVEREIGNTY- Culled
>from The Independent
>Date: Fri, 02 May 2003 23:40:43 +0000
>
>[ This e-mail is posted to Gambia|Post e-Gathering by "Abdoul Njie"
><[log in to unmask]> ]
>
>
>Habib,
>
>Being that I forwarded the article from the Independent Paper, I also
>happen to have the same questions myself.
>
>I hope someone can shed more light on the issue.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Lekbi
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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