By Mama A. Touray
Following the removal of McCarthy Square from under the Banjul City Council, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, asserted on West Coast Radio that the Banjul City Council has proven time and again that it cannot take care of McCarthy Square, a place he described as a national symbolic asset.
“It’s a desperate move in the sense that BCC has proven time and again that they don’t have the capability to take care of this symbolic asset, so it’s wise for the government to take over,” he said. He added that McCarthy Square was dilapidated and that it is a national asset—a symbolic structure that has been left abandoned by the council.
Dr. Ceesay continued, “Now the government realizes that it’s in the best interest of the country to take charge of this very important national infrastructure to rehabilitate and take care of it, because it has been abandoned and neglected by the council. Everything was just falling apart, and this is a very significant national infrastructure. The government deems it wise to take over.”
According to him, the government spends millions annually to rehabilitate the place, adding that after celebrations, the area is allowed to deteriorate, which they cannot allow to continue, as it is a national symbolic asset.
“There is no politics in it, to be honest, and that needs to be cleared,” he said.
Explaining the condition of McCarthy Square before the independence celebrations, Dr. Ceesay said, “If you had gone to McCarthy Square before the independence celebrations, you would have seen the grass as tall as mountains. So, for me, I think the government is right in taking over this national symbolic infrastructure to make sure that they take care of it.”
Dr. Ceesay added that McCarthy Square is part of State House, as it was built during the colonial period, emphasizing that it does not belong to the Banjul City Council.
