Honourable Hamat Bah the National Reconciliation Party leader startled
pressmen Wednesday when he asserted that there is more to the agreement for
a trans-Gambia bridge than meets the eye, if reports from his sources were
true.

Honourable Bah said unimpeachable reports reaching his secretariat have
suggested that the whole agreement was an international conspiracy against
The Gambia's sovereignty, which was being well-kept from President Jammeh
and his government. According to the NRP boss, the total funding of the
bridge was already provided by an international organization in secret about
two years ago when the project was not even negotiated and approved by the
Jammeh regime.

Bah blithely called into the question the validity of the agreement, which
was arrived at without the approval of the Gambian populace.

He also wondered why Jammeh's government had hastily approved the
construction of the bridge without much careful consideration when it had
already invested money for the acquisition of new ferries at the
Trans-Gambia crossing point while there are many projects such as the Banjul
-Barra bridge, Janjanbureh-Sankulay Kunda bridge, the reconstruction of the
already dilapidated Pakaliba bridge, the Mandinaba -Soma road among others
to be embarked upon.

He therefore urged all Gambians to oppose the construction of the bridge
until such a time when the agreement is taken to them in the form of a
referendum for approval. He also urged Jammeh's government to immediately
rescind the agreement until necessary adjustments are made to its framework.

Hamat Bah stated that although they strongly support and advocates for the
creation of a Senegambian confederation, they have strong convictions that
the agreement for constructing the bridge by government would pose serious
financial, ecological, social and environmental implications for the
country.

According to Honorable Bah, the National Reconciliation Party is of the
belief that President Jammeh who has a mandate of less than 3 percent of the
populace cannot make such a crucial decision without consulting the Gambian
people.

He added that although they had the belief that Jammeh was acting under
extreme pressure to accept the construction of the bridge, no amount of
pressure should have warranted him to compromise an inch of the country's
sovereignty, which according to him must be protected at all cost. He
further stated that the whole agreement, which was set up in a "false and
weak platform is bound to collapse soon". According to him, the whole
agreement strongly requires the total approval of the Gambian people through
a referendum conducted and certified by the Independent Electoral
Commission.

He added that despite the extreme economic pressure brought to bear on him
as the country's leader, President Jammeh should understand that the
marriage of convenience between the two sister countries signed in 1981 by
ex- president Jawara and Abdou Joof for the creation of the abortive
Senegambia confederation without consultation and approval of the Gambian
people cannot be repeated by him without Gambians being told about its
merits and demerits and the chance of having it scrutinized to avoid the
lapses of the past.




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