D.A. Jawo Banjul Quote: "It is no use trying to lock the staple door after the horse has been stolen." There cent canoe disaster at the Banjul - Barra crossing, which resulted in the death of several people, was no doubt an accident always waiting to happen. Without any prejudice to the outcome of whatever investigations the authorities may carry out, there were no doubt certain ominous signs that such a disaster could happen there sooner rather than later. Therefore, it could not have come as a complete surprise to many people considering the unregulated nature of the traffic across that stretch of water. However, the measures taken by the authorities after the disaster can only be described as too little and too late. If indeed proper steps were taken earlier on to regulate things, we would not have been mourning such precious lives today. The Banjul - Barra crossing remains the Achilles' Heal of this country's road communication network. While there are not enough ferries to service the ever-growing number of passengers on the route, the two available ferries are also often plagued by poor servicing, resulting in more delays to travellers. Indeed, most of the time there is usually only one ferry operational at any given time, thus compelling travellers to use the dangerous small boats and canoes to cross. As a result of the poor ferry services, many precious man-hours are wasted in waiting to cross, no doubt costing quite a lot, particularly to the business community, to whom every minute is money. The ferry service, even at the best of times hardly operates according to schedule and as a result, travellers can hardly plan their schedules. It is as a result of such unprecedented delays by the ferries and the poor services they render that have no doubt encouraged the proliferation of small boats and dug-out canoes. Therefore, any attempt at this stage by the authorities to stop their operation would be counter-productive and result in quite lot of hardship to the ordinary people from both sides of the river who need to cross everyday in order to transact their business. All that the authorities needed to have done but failed to do was to put in place a stringent regulatory framework for both the ferries and the other river craft in order to make them more efficient and safer. However, any attempt to stop or even minimize the operations of the small boats and canoes could lead to clandestine crossings, which can be more dangerous. Therefore, there is no point in instituting such drastic measures after the disaster when simple regulatory measures could have prevented it. Indeed we should thank our God that it was not one of the ferries involved in such a disaster, particularly seeing how slow emergency rescue can be mobilized. "I know it is risky, but I must continue to use the small boats to cross because I cannot afford to sit the whole day waiting for the ferry when I have important things to look after," said a frequent traveller. It is one thing to licence all boat and canoe operators, but it is quite another to ensure safety operations. What is required is no doubt more regular inspection of the sea worthiness of the crafts and their operators, of course by competent inspectors. That of course should include the ferries as well. They should always ensure that both the operators and all their navigational equipment are technically competent. It is also necessary to ensure that the services are improved and better coordinated in order to avoid the present chaotic situation that seem to obtain at both sides of the crossing. It is indeed hard to see why river traffic is not given adequate attention as road traffic, when it is just as important for certain areas of the country. Virtually everywhere, there are traffic policemen checking on the roadworthiness of vehicles as well as checking on the credentials of their drivers. Why can't the authorities do the same for river traffic? There should be a proper policing mechanism which would not only licence all river craft, but to put in place a competent regulatory framework which would constantly inspect all river craft on a regular basis for safety as well as all their operators for efficiency. The situation at present seems so unregulated that anyone can jump into any type of river craft and carry passengers across the river. It does not only happen at the Banjul - Barra crossing, but all over the country. It is therefore time that the relevant authorities wake up to their responsibilities and accord river travellers the same protection that they give to road travellers. Do we need a military aircraft? One of the surprising highlights of the last Independence celebrations at the Independence Stadium was, no doubt, the acrobatic display by a military aircraft said to belong to the Gambia Armed Forces. The questions that everyone seems to be asking are how the Gambia acquired such an expensive toy, how much it cost the country and whether there is any need for it. Indeed it was no doubt part of what one TV commentator referred to as President Jammeh's "the sky is the limit" promise. However, it is hard to imagine what use this country has for a military aircraft. Even assuming that it was obtained free of charge, probably from Ukraine or Libya (the two most likely benefactors), but certainly, this country cannot afford to maintain it. I have no doubt that it must have cost a fortune to even make that acrobatic display, let alone to maintain it in an airworthy condition for any lengthy time. The geography and socio-economic nature of The Gambia is such that this kind of aircraft can only be needed for external defence. Therefore, being almost virtually surrounded by Senegal, the only possible external aggressor against this country, would be Senegal or at least with their connivance. Therefore, even with this aircraft, do we really have the capacity and military capability to fend off any such determined aggression from any quarter? Another pertinent question that people ask is whether the introduction of the aircraft on Independence Day when President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal was the guest of honour was merely coincidental or it was deliberately meant as a message to him that The Gambia also has fire power. However, whatever the mode and reasons for the acquisition of the aircraft, it is certainly not a priority for his country. There are a thousand and one priorities on which whatever money to be spent on the upkeep of the aircraft, could have gone to. Even assuming that President Jammeh acquired it through the same means he used to acquire his own New Millennium aeroplane, I wonder whether he has the resources to maintain both aircraft. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To unsubscribe/subscribe or 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] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~