By Kemo Kanyi
Seedy Nyassi, a representative of Marakissa Ward has complained that Bagiran Village suffers decades of neglect from successive governments claiming the village has never benefited from successive Gambian governments.
Mr. Nyassi came up with his complain on Thursday during a meeting in Manduar Village, Kombo Central, as part of President Barrow’s Meet-the-People-Tour. Speaking on behalf of Marakissa Ward, where Bagiran is located, he cited what he described as decades of neglect, including the lack of electricity and adequate roads.
“I want to first state that Bagiran Village has never benefited from the Gambian government since the colonial era. Is that village not part of The Gambia? It has never enjoyed electricity or good road networks. The condition in that locality is deplorable,” Mr. Nyassi complained.
He also raised concerns about the condition of feeder roads linking communities in Marakissa Ward, saying they become particularly difficult to use during the rainy season.
According to him, students face challenges reaching their schools because of the poor state of the roads, sometimes resulting in missed lessons.
Mr. Nyassi further expressed concern about the challenges facing women in the ward, particularly those engaged in gardening. He said the women had presented their difficulties to the Ministry of Agriculture but had yet to receive a response.
He urged the government to address the needs of the communities and provide support to women whose activities contribute to local livelihoods.
Responding to Nyassi’s claim, President Adama Barrow and Amat N.K. Bah, Minister of Lands, Local Government and Religious Affairs both rejected the assertion that Bagiran had never benefited from government interventions, describing it as unfounded.
President Barrow said he had spoken to Mr. Nyassi after his address and acknowledged that some of the concerns raised required attention.
“I called Mr. Nyassi after he delivered his speech and discussed some of the claims he made. I have not reached them yet, but I will definitely do so,” the president promised.
He argued that development was a continuous process and that the achievements of successive governments should be considered when assessing whether communities had benefited from public interventions.
“If previous governments had undertaken similar development, he would not say that they had never benefited from successive governments,” Barrow remarked.
The president acknowledged that not all community needs could be met at once, noting that the country’s revenue base remained insufficient to finance all development priorities.
He said his administration was pursuing other measures to fulfil its responsibilities to citizens rather than relying solely on domestic revenue.
President Barrow also cited investments in roads, electricity, education and healthcare as examples of government interventions from which communities across the country benefited.
He urged Mr. Nyassi to consider these developments when assessing the government’s record, while maintaining that no community had been entirely excluded from government support.
The exchange highlighted differing assessments of development in Marakissa Ward, with Mr. Nyassi drawing attention to persistent local infrastructure and livelihood concerns, while the president pointed to broader national interventions and acknowledged that further work remained to be done.
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