Let’s Get Gambia Talking
Monday 10th March 2008

We now have three mobile phone operators in The Gambia. This is good news for many people and should ensure that we all have adequate coverage, no matter where we live in the country. This is unfortunately not the case. Communication with home remains very difficult for those economic migrants who have left the rural areas of The Gambia in an effort to find employment in the greater Banjul area. In many cases they have left family behind but, because of bad phone coverage, have difficulty communicating with them. In this day and age this is unacceptable.

There are very few hills in the country and no mountains, so there doesn’t seem to be any logical explanation for the lack of signal in rural areas. One possible explanation is that the companies have not seen fit to put the necessary equipment in place to facilitate communication.

This said, there has been progress in recent times and this is welcome. Of course slow progress can be as frustrating as none so there needs to be a marked improvement in the situation so that families can stay in contact. Perhaps the companies do not feel it economically worthwhile to install the necessary equipment and if this is the case, then it is difficult to see a solution. In reality it is difficult to imagine that it would not be viable as there are thousands of potential customers in rural areas of The Gambia. As we now have three companies operating in this field, it is to be expected that competition among them should, in time, bring about an improvement in the situation.

The inability of people to communicate with their family and loved ones is difficult for those involved but not the end of the world. For many years people in these situations had no form of communication and managed just fine. The real issue is a lack of communication for those in emergency situations.

We read last week of an incident involving a shopkeeper, Malick Jallow, in Sancha Kassa village in Lower Saloum District in CRR North. He was approached by a red pick-up truck without a registration plate and loaded with men suspected of being armed robbers at 2:00 O’ clock in the morning requesting that he accompany them to Jimbala village where there are a number of big shops.

Mr. Jallow was suspicious of the men and refused to go with them. They then asked if he might give them directions to Jimbala. He agreed but gave them false directions and notified the villagers about the men being in the area. He tried to contact the Kaur Police but because of bad network coverage he could not reach them. If Mr. Jallow had been in a life or death situation he would have been unable to request help from the police. This is unacceptable.

He did succeed in making contact with the police the following day and the incident is being investigated. Mr. Jallow now fears that the armed robbers may return because they know his shop and are aware that he gave them wrong directions to Jimbala. If this situation does arise he again will not be able to contact the police in time and there may be tragic consequences.

Communication is essential in peoples lives and the sooner we make it possible for all of our citizens to communicate freely with each other all the time, wherever they are in the country, the better. The lives of Gambians will not only be improved, they will also be safer.


CRIME WATCH

The police are asking the general public to call any of the following telephone numbers: 

112 / 99 66 967 / 99 60 109 / 99 76 012 / 99 76 008 / 99 76 010 to report anyone suspected or caught engaged in criminal activities.