Dear Editor

There is a serious incident on the ground here today. I have some transactions to fix here in Churchill’s Town. There is a fence behind Churchill’s Town Fire Service and right behind this fence is a workshop for repairing broken generators, to be more precise the owner of this workshop is the late Eliman Nyang may his soul rest in peace. I came here to collect my generator. While I was sitting down waiting, a fire service truck came and stopped right in front of me, some firemen alighted from the truck and they pulled one long water hose over to the fence into the fire service compound to fetch water.

Then I asked these men, what was their mission here? As I was very curious to know whether there was a fire burning somewhere in the neighborhood or not. One of the Firemen replied “Bro, we drove all the way from Banjul, the reason we are here is because there is no water in Banjul”. This is why we drove all the way from Banjul to Churchill’s Town here to fetch water. Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital has no water. Even pregnant women delivering their babies today could not access water because the hospital needs 7,000 liters of water each day and there is no water.

My questions are “What is the use of this government? What is the use of this minister of water resources or whatever you may call him? Why there is no water at the Hospital? Why should our main hospital go without water? Bro, says one of the Firemen, because pregnant women in the maternity section of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital in Banjul do not have access to water, this is why we are here to fetch water and transport the water to Banjul to be delivered to Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital. Unbelievable, Subhanallah “Praise be to God”. This is serious.

Please spread this message to your readership and let each and every Gambian know what is happening here. Statehouse does not go without water, why should Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital go without water? ministers and their offices will never go without water, the hotels will never go without water, why should our main and biggest hospital go without water? This is heartbreaking and so disappointing for the government of the day.

By: Mr. Barry