Dear Honorable Inspector General of Police,
I would first like to congratulate you on your appointment to the highest position in the New Gambia Police Service. I want to use this medium to talk to you base on the high or increasing crime rate and the high road traffic accident that you inherited in office.
Sir, commuters from Serrekunda to Brikama are no longer safe with their mobile phones or purses along the highway or garages as well as at pick up points like Tabokoto, Bufferzone/Bundung garages. This is because of the thieves or criminals who are engaged in forcefully taking phones and money from passengers in broad daylight.
On Thursday night, June 29, 2017, at Tabokoto I witnessed a scenario where two boys forcefully took the mobile phone of a female passenger. As the woman was crying for help to get her phone back, I tactfully helped her get her phone back after which I proceeded to report the matter to the traffic police officers on duty at Tabokoto.
The officers there immediately responded that they cannot go to the scene because they are not equipped. I was then referred to Piccadilly junction police station. Upon arrival there, I found out that the same group of boys from the first scene were fighting one taxi driver for refusing to hand over money to them. They seriously wounded the driver for his refusal to give them the money they asked for.
I would suggest to the police authorities to put up armed men at passenger picking and dropping points to rescue and save passengers from these bandits.
On the number of accidents on our road, I guess the primary cause of this is:
(1) Farmers in The Kombos and Fonis do not control their animals especially cattle from randomly crossing or standing on the highway, thereby posing a huge risk to vehicles plying the roads.
(2) Drivers over speeding and overtaking other vehicles on high speed.
(3) From Mandinaba to Yundum the highway lanes are not drawn or demarcated to enable drivers know their lanes. This results in the drivers hitting each other because one doesn’t know where one lane starts or stops.
I would suggest that the police liaise with all roads or traffic stakeholders like farmers and the National Road authority to help solve this very serious issue.
I hope that my words will be taken into consideration for the benefit of the new Gambians.
