What Happened to Banjul? My Story - Part V – The Final Chapter

I hereby take the liberty to speak on behalf of all Gambians: “we want a better Banjul and a Banjul that works!” Whether you have lived, never lived or currently live in Banjul, I’m certain you will all agree with me on this. Banjul is the capital of The Gambia and the city should reflect that. It does not have to be the “Dubai” of the region, but it should be functional and relatively clean; not depressing, desolate and environmentally challenged. A capital city is supposed to be a hub and buzzing with activities; full of culture, history, innovation and ambiance, especially if it’s a port city. Proper city management, decent cafes, restaurants, parks and ample night life are essential to making a city come alive. They define a city and help make it unique, vibrant and functional. What Banjul lacked in architecture, it had in character and charm, but not anymore. Banjul is now on life support and the ventilator is constantly running out of power supply, thanks to NAWEC!

It is no doubt that Banjul has continued to deteriorate over the years, but all is not lost. There is still hope for Banjul. My goal in starting the Banjul series was to highlight the plight of the city due to mismanagement, poor planning, and constant neglect. Moreover, I wanted to start a conversation about Banjul in the hope that the powers that be will act accordingly, to make Banjul whole again. It would also be lovely to bring back the lost glory and the character the city once had. Since Banjul is one of the smallest capital cities in the world (households 6,744, population around 35,000), it should have been easily managed and immaculately run. As a deeply rooted and proud son of Banjul, I can’t help but advocate for the city, not only for myself, but for every Waa Banjul in particular, and Gambian in general. I’m not sure if I will ever live in Banjul again, but I would still want to see the city flourish. I have a mountain of memories there, and will not be very happy if they get washed away by the flood waters.

Before I go any further, I want to touch back on the previous parts of the series. I’m not going to bore you with any details, just a quick recap. In Part I of the series, I underscored the gutter stagnation problems and the breeding ground it created for “The Banjul Mosquitoes”. In Part II, I explored the perfunctory job executed by SOBEA (the French connection) in constructing the sewage system and how it added to Banjul’s continuing environmental troubles. Sidi Sanneh generously contributed Part III while my head was buried in other things, reminding us that the current government will not do anything to revive the city, and urged residents to start a gentrification movement of their own to save the city. And in Part IV, I gave “The Banjul Mosquitoes” their own story, deservingly so too. They've earned their rightful place in Banjul’s history and deserve to be in the books. My focus in this piece (part V and the final chapter), is on ideas on how to take Banjul off life support and provide it with a chance for a healthy and productive future. In writing this piece, I must not come across as suggesting, even remotely, that I’m an expert in urban planning or have all the answers for Banjul; nonetheless, I do have some ideas I would like to share. 

For any city to excel, appropriate management is required. As far as I can remember, Banjul has
always been poorly managed. Poor management is one of the main reasons that cities fail. Ask Detroit! I don’t believe any of Banjul’s Mayors and City Council Members (both past and present) have ever had a credible strategic plan of action or a blue print for how they envision Banjul to look like in five, ten, or fifteen years. Lack of vision and long term planning has immensely contributed to the city’s decline. I have always considered Banjul Mayors and City Council members as tokens, especially in recent years. The last Mayor of Banjul, Samba Faal, posted a video on YouTube in August 2011, discussing plans to construct new drains in Banjul and clean existing ones with a goal of creating passages for the heavy rains. Not sure if that plan materialized or not, and if it did, it was imaginary. As of this rainy season, the floods waters in Banjul have reached higher heights; and the gutters are still stagnant and full of debris. By the way, does the city still employ health inspectors? But above all, the biggest problem in terms of infrastructure relates to inadequate electricity supply. Power outages are chronic and widespread.    

City Council

In compliance with sections 193 and 194 of the Constitution, The Gambia adopted a policy on decentralization of the local government system. Currently, local government legislation provides for the self-administration of local governments by an elected City Council. Banjul City Council (BCC) is the decentralized city government system headed by a mayor and deputy mayor, and composed of the councilors elected from Banjul's nine wards. Since a city council is the legislative body that governs a city, the structure in which they conduct business should reflect their status. The Banjul City Council office needs to be in a more physically attractive structure, not the lackluster building they currently reside in. I would highly recommend that the city council either relocate to a more attractive building or renovate the present one they occupy, if they want to reflect their status. As the city’s main authority, it is vital that the city council conducts business in an environment that is presentable and elicits pride. What the city also desperately needs is committed city council members and a visionary mayor – a mayor who is able to independently govern the city without any outside influences. Since the election of Banjul’s current independent mayor, Abdoulie Bah, he’s yet to reveal the official short term/long term visionary plans he has for the city. And if he did, I missed it and would like a copy. I hope he’s willing and ready to fight for the city and deliver his campaign promises. If not, he risks the same faith as the last mayor, Samba Faal, and every mayor before him. 

In March of this year, Lord Mayor Bah (never knew they call him "Lord") unveiled major infrastructure projects for Banjul that include the following: New Council Complex, Concrete Roads for Banjul, Center of Excellence for youths, a new Car Park, and a new Abattoir (slaughterhouse). Have any of these projects broken ground yet or will they be yet another perfunctory job? After all, Lord Mayor Faal did discuss a plan to construct new drains in Banjul and clean the existing ones back in 2011. To serve as a city mayor with no achievements to show for at the end of your team is truly a disaster, by any standard. Being a mayor is more than just working around Banjul wearing a suit or kaftan and being called Mr. Mayor. The City Council and Mayor's primary role is the management and provision of basic urban services, but there is hardly any in Banjul. Is Mayor Bah still independent or dependent?

Solid Waste Management

I’m certain Banjul has environmental policies (the NEA exists after all!!); nonetheless, their implementation is almost nonexistent due to the lack of proper and regular overseeing of the implementation process. The environmental issues are evident. There is garbage all over the place and empty plastic bags and newspapers flying everywhere, especially on windy days, racking up frequent flyer miles they will never be able to redeem. There is no reliable solid waste system to speak of, not from the Banjul City Council or the private sector. This has now forced the desperate and irresponsible to dump their solid waste into the gutters and at the “Tan” (where the gutters around the city are supposed to empty into), thereby causing even more gutter blockage issues. A good number of the gutters have also collapsed with others missing covers. Banjul’s drainage system was constructed during the colonial days and linked to three pumping machines which aided the evacuation of storm waters during the rainy season.

Due to poor or lack of maintenance however, these machines are no longer effectively functional, and the pumping system is dilapidated. Unless the city gets flooding after a heavy rain to wash away the debris, the gutters are almost always stagnant. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water that is stagnant, shallow and high in organic matter. They complete three stages of their life cycle in the water (egg, lava and pupa) in about 4 to 14 days. As a result, water must remain stagnant for a minimum of four days in order to support the mosquito’s life cycle, and you can find that in abundance in Banjul. No wonder the city is a Mosquito breeding heaven! The Banjul sewage system has had issues for decades due to the lack of regular maintenance. The solid waste materials that found its way into the system have caused frequent blockage and overflow of sewage into the streets. Just by the lack of proper maintenance after all these decades, I am convinced that the system has also suffered some serious structural damage and some of the pipes may have stopped working years ago. Banjul sewage and gutter systems are an essential component of the city’s infrastructure, so it is critical to have a comprehensive inspection, maintenance, and repair program. For any city to remain habitable, maintaining a healthy sewage and gutter system is paramount!

Tanbi Wetland

Ask any Gambian who grew up in Banjul or frequented the city about “Tan” and they are likely to have been there or heard of it. It used to be a fighting arena where students sometimes go after school to settle their disputes in a fist fight during the dry season.  Still? I was never involved in a fight there but I remember watching a couple. It is the piece of wetland located behind the Lasso Wharf Market and extends all the way to Bund Road. Tanbi’s importance to Banjul’s ecological system is immeasurable, but it is now under serious threat because of the neglect and solid waste dumping. There is also massive encroachment taking place, with people building makeshift houses (mbarrs) at the “Tan” with no government control. There is serious illegal dumping of waste on both sides of Bund Road, with evidence of waste burning, including discarded tires. With Bund Road being a vital part of Banjul's infrastructure, it needs to be protected. It serves as a flood control levee for the city and it is the main road for commercial trucks heading in and out of the Banjul Port Area. Regardless of its urban surroundings Banjul has a number of areas that are of importance to preserving the country's ecological diversity, and Tanbi is one of them. Banjul's extensive mangrove swamps and mudflats make suitable breeding and resting estates for a large number of Palearctic migrant bird species. If you like bird-watching and live in or frequent Banjul, then Tanbi is your spot. It is very accessible and attracts a large number of birds. A bird-watching heaven! So it is crucial for Tanbi to be preserved and government should crack down on illegal solid waste dumping and the massive encroachment taking place there. It is important to note that Banjul is already below sea level and is at risk of going under water as sea levels rise as a result of climate change; so it is acute to preserve the mangrove forest and swampy areas that are very much a part of Banjul's ecosystem.           

Port Authority 

Ports are known to function as important gateways of international trade and, therefore, they tend to be seen as major contributors to local economic development in the age of globalization. Established in 1972 and as Gambia's one and only port, the Gambia Port Authority (GPA) is located in Banjul (latitude 13° degrees 27° North and longitude 16° degrees 34' West), and there is no doubt that it is a vibrant component the country's economy. Positioned at the mouth of the Gambia River, it is on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The port is the entry and exit point and accounts for almost 90% of the country’s import and export trade. In addition, the port also serves as a lynchpin and 60 or 70 percent of that freight goes on transit to landlocked neighboring countries by road. As a result, GPA's has seen a steady revenue growth. According to the Observer News Paper, revenue grew from D748 in 2013 to D1.009 billion in 2014 (minus bribes). This amount represents a 35 percent revenue increase. Given this backdrop, it is reasonable to expect that Banjul (as the host city for the port) to tremendously benefiting from the economic impact generated by the port's activities. But that's not the case at all! According to Business Standard of India, Gambia was extended a line of credit by India to expand and upgrade the Banjul port’s infrastructure in 2014. This was in addition to a $45 million credit line The Gambia had already received; and prior to that a $38.58 million was extended by Export Import Bank of India for other projects. India had also extended a line of credit worth $16.88 million for the construction of the National Assembly Building Complex. While the port has been expanded over the years at various times and is now flourishing and relishing a greater revenue surge, Banjul (the city) has been left for dead in the dust for years. One can argue that the city itself has never really directly benefited from the port's economic success over the years. Despite the port's expansion, business growth, and subsequent revenue increase, Banjul still remains in the Intensive Care Unit.  Three quarters of the roads in Banjul are unpaved and the paved ones are flimsily made. A good percentage of these roads were excavated in the mid 80's during the laying of the sewage pipes and telecommunication cables. Since then very little road restoration or construction work has been done. It is also evident that the heavy rains and nonstop overflow of sewage water, coupled with traffic, has further accelerated the collapse of the roads. The eighteen wheeler trucks that transport cargo in and out of the port have also immensely contributed to the destruction of Banjul's fragile roads. As it stands, Banjul City Council gets most of its revenue from the central government to add to the sporadic compound rates and taxes it collects, and government's contribution has served as a control mechanism for Jammeh. "Vote for my party or else." And Waa Banjul voted for his party and the city’s health is still failing.  APRC holds all three Banjul parliamentary seats. Nothing but empty promises! As the host city for the port, I would argue that Banjul should instead get a percentage of the port's revenue earmarked for the city's gentrification and maintenance, and not rely on the central government for a contribution. This will prevent the total control the central government has over the city's mayor and other elected officials. It is crucial for Banjul to be independent from total central government control, and the idea of the city directly receiving a percentage of the port's revenue will act as a form of "separation of powers." The city needs to have some level of autonomy because of its unique role as Gambia's only port city accounting for almost 90% of the country’s import and export trade.  Of course, the central government can then audit the city to ensure that there is transparency. Misappropriation of funds has always plagued the Banjul in particular and Gambia in general.    

In sum, Banjul has come a long way since our independence on February 18, 1965, and sadly, not for

the better. From a relatively clean and well maintained to a depressed, desolated and environmentally challenged city. The electricity was the first victim on November 1, 1977. Then the Department of Health (formerly the Board of Health) became more and more lax in their inspections and enforcement of the health codes, and that’s when Banjul’s decline began. Excavation of the roads in the mid 80’s to lay the sewage pipes and telecommunication cables and the issues caused by the perfunctory job done on these projects accelerated Banjul’s decay. To say that the city has been failed by both governments and mayor after mayor would be an understatement. Banjul is not just a city, it is the capital of the Gambia and deserves better; and for its size, it is hard to comprehend how the city degenerated to what it is today. 2011 was an election year and Banjul’s then mayor; Lord Mayor Faal, unveiled a plan to construct new drains in Banjul and clean the existing ones. 2016 is also an election year, and Lord Mayor Bah has also unveiled major infrastructure projects for Banjul. But regardless of what happens in these upcoming elections, gentrifying Banjul should be made a priority. The city needs a new lease on life. There is too much history in Banjul for the city to be persistently neglected and left for the dead.

Off The Record with Momodou Ndow

Judge Not

Life can separate us, sometimes for decades. We all have people in our lives/past we haven't seen for the longest time; whether we went to grade school with them, lived in the same neighborhood, or we are related to them. And in the time that we are separate, for whatever reason, life continues to unfold. Depending on the environment we find ourselves in and the people we interact with, our perspectives may be different. Our environment has a major influence in shaping our lives and outlook. Where we live and the people around us are very critical in forming our world view and tailoring our attitude. Although we are now connected through social media, the connection is only “virtual” and not the same as living in the same environment and physically interacting.  

Often times, we claim to still know people when we have not seen them in 20 or 30 years based on our interaction as kids or adolescences some decades ago, even though we now live in different environments and are surrounded by different people. A lot of growth and evolution can happen in 10 years, let alone 20 or 30 years. 

Folks generally claim to know someone they haven’t seen or interacted with much in 20 or 30 years, judging them based on their interactions (however minimal) from decades ago. Saying something like “I know him/her,  we went to primary school together”,  “I know him/her, we lived in the same city”, or “I know him/her,  we lived in the same neighborhood.” All this may be true, but you still cannot judge someone based on that. Unless life has been stagnant for them, you probably don’t know their mind-set and way of thinking. You may know of them or knew them in the past, but that’s not the same as knowing them as a person.

For the most part, we sometimes tend to measure a person’s capabilities, attitude, mind-set, or temperament based on the past, when decades have gone by without interacting with them. We claim to know them and we judge them, all founded on who we think they are or should be. We are quick to bring up someone’s past and use it as a yardstick to measure them today. “Hai, kee kange lafi? Kee nga hamneh neekinaa sambata njie.” And it’s usually negative too. But even if the negative is true, that may no longer be the case. People do transcend adversities. 

My people can be extremely judgmental and malicious sometimes, and it is mostly baseless; and it tends to adversely impact our chance to get to know each other. If you knew someone 20 or 30 years ago, chances are they are not the same person today. They may have evolved for better or worse, who knows, but take the time to find out before passing judgment. In addition, we all think different and sometimes value different things too, and that's also something to consider. So do not judge, or you too will be judged. Take the time to know people instead, rather than believe what you hear about them or measure them with an old yardstick.

To Serve and Protect

I am not sure how long one has to live in the United States to have a run-in with the police, but I have had a few in my time here. I do not consider myself a criminal, but I don't need to be one to have run-ins with the police. There is something called "racial profiling". In all of my cases, a traffic stop was used as pretext; and in almost all of them, I was let go after they ran my drivers license and came up empty handed. 

In one instance, the cop ask if the car was mine, and when I answered "yes", he then asked how much I paid for it. In another instance, my entire car, including the trunk, was searched without a warrant. And in what I consider the scariest instance, I was pulled over in the middle of the night in Santa Cruz. As I was pulling over per instructions given to me by the officer behind me, another officer came from the opposite direction and swooped in, and the two patrol cars sandwiched my car. Caught in a storm of flashing police lights, I found myself wondering whether I was a drug dealer and didn't know it. Or maybe I had committed murder in my sleep and didn't realize it. But just like the other incidents, this one too ended with the officers running my drivers license and coming up empty handed. With no ticket issued, I was cut loose and never told why I was stopped in the first place, and I never asked.   

In 2003, I happened to move into a neighborhood that was a bit secluded. The house is on a cul de sac and a few turns are required from the leading streets to get you there. In my first month there, I was followed by an officer on my way home. When you are being followed, you just know. And when we got to my house, I just pulled  onto the driveway and packed my car. The officer then continued and slowly drove to the end of the cul de sac and turned around. After entering the house, I quickly went upstairs into the master bedroom which had a window facing the street. Standing behind the curtain, I peeped through the window (nobu style) and watched the officer slowly driving by while taking a good look at the house. 

Ironically, my neighbor two houses down was a San Francisco Police Officer. We got to know each other and he would keep an eye on the house when we were out of town. We would have conversations over the roaring engine noises of our lawnmowers on Sundays as we manicured our lawns. He had seen me riding bikes with my kids and doing other activities with them, and he always complimented me on being an active father. When my dad was here, he took the liberty to praise him on his efforts in raising me, and he told my dad that he should be proud of me. Because we were neighbors, he had a window into my life and saw me as an upstanding citizen and active father. Proximity made this possible. But if he wasn't my neighbor for 12 years and had no window into my life, would he racially profile me just like the other officers did, I wonder?

Crime and Punishment

So Jammeh’s office announced in a press release that they have discovered “one of the most serious economic crimes” during his nearly 22 years of rule. From the sound of it, this is epic and unprecedented! If this is "one of the most serious economic crimes” under his watch, I wonder how many other “serious economic crimes” are there and what is their level of seriousness? This also probably means that nothing of this magnitude (or even close)  has ever happened in the history of The Gambia. 

When the junta came to power, they claimed to be "soldiers with a difference" and promised to wipe out corruption. This was the basis of their coup. They accused the previous government of all sorts of economic crimes and arrested folks willy nilly. But it did not take long for them to prove that their claims were false and they came in pretense. Soon after, former Finance Minister, Koro Ceesay, was  assassinated for attempting to be an obstacle when the junta wanted to dip their ashy hands into the cookie jar. 

The “soldiers with a difference”, who were God sent under the leadership of Jammeh to wipe out corruption, ended up perfecting it; and now the “most serious economic crime” in the history of The Gambia has happened under Jammeh's watch. Chei lee! Who knew! Somehow, economic crimes have been happening for a while now with folks getting arrested and jailed, but it never ceased, and now the ultimate has happened?  Is Babili sleeping at the wheel or is he the architect and beneficiary of these economic crimes? Remember, this is “one of the most serious economic crimes”, there are other serious ones too.

Now this leads me to my main question: where does the buck stop? Is Jammeh ever responsible for anything besides living a flamboyant lifestyle and chastising Gambians day in and day out? After all, these serious economic crimes have been happening under his watch for 22 years now. Everyone and their mama is getting arrested for crimes they have committed, suspected of committing, or falsely accused of committing. See, no amount of arrest can hide the truth! A system built with lies will crumble under the weight of those same lies.

They claimed to be “soldiers with a difference”, but they never disclosed whether that “difference” was good or bad, and now we know it is all bad! It is that “difference” that brought us the brutality we are now facing, the daily dose of hassteh and disrespect from Babili, the never ending threats we receive, and is now unraveling the fabric of our society. What a difference soldiers can make! Did Jammeh commit any crimes and who will punish him?

A Lost Generation?

As human beings, we are shaped by our environment/culture, especially during the critical period  of

our lives (from early childhood to  before we hit adolescence). We do pick up new values after that (good or bad) based on our exposure to a new culture or environment. And if we are not exposed to anything other than what we know, we don't get a chance to learn something new and different.

For most Gambians that were under the age of 13 in 1994 (when Jammeh came to power) and those born during his rule, what Jammeh brought us is pretty much all they know, for the most part. A culture of public hassteh, intimidation, and crude insults. They grew up watching "dear leader" insulting the entire population while  mothers and fathers clap for him and continue to support and chase him around. So to this generation of Gambians, this is normal and acceptable societal behavior. So unless there is Devine intervention to help one refine their prospective, they stand no chance!

And what we see in Bai Babou's behavior is a direct result of the culture Jammeh brought us. If you watch the video he made claiming the audio was fake, and the subsequent video in which he softly admitted to wrongdoing and apologized to his fans, you will notice that his baseless arrogance, body language, and temperament, are exactly like Jammeh's. This is what he grew up seeing and thinks it's normal. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have enough exposure or maturity to be able to refine his prospective.

Crudeness should be punished not rewarded. Jammeh was rewarded for his crudeness by Gambians, and look at what they have created now. Jammeh is insulting our mothers and fathers while they clap for him and laugh at his crude and disrespectful bad jokes.

My question to Gambians: is this what we value and reward as a community? Mbalax jarrna lee? Is Bai Babou's music education? Fahass? Gambia yaga neng njor fahass teh teye la gaina ponday! "Sen nangamtani ndey, mann yen rek la heef." Heef purr lan hana? Take the pacifier out of your mouth first before you can eat! Talent doesn't guarantee success. We have seen many talented folks who failed (from our artists to our soccer players) because of their lack of discipline and their foul temperament. If we don't raise our standards, we will remain in a perpetual state of confusion. Have we lost an entire generation to the Jammeh madness?

Gambia Nice

Nice is not nice sad is sad brutal is brutal

Intimidation insults threats beatings and arrest

Rape torture forced-disappearance and murder

Night so dark and impenetrable no one noticed 

Gambia nice!

Mass graduates in all disciplines heeming ataya

With degrees in hand fanning furrno

Employment seen at the furthest galaxy far far away

But will the backway get them there? Who knows!

Gambian nice!

Mandinkas about to be smoked like crack

To satisfy an addiction that’s further deepening 

Announced on loudspeakers and TV for all to hear

Interpreted in different languages and applauded

Gambia nice!

Sweet memories of big truck jew baa front and center 

When dust was kicked in the air forming a blanket of cloud

Dusty choices abundant and there was no going wrong

Ndeysan, balpuserr we miss you and please come back home

Gambian nice!

Cost of living a permanent resident in cloud 10

Too high for marijuana to lift and get you there

Alcohol has no smoke to attempt to elevate you to higher heights

Down to earth you remain to face the full wrath of reality

Gambian nice!

Free healthcare education and benechin 

River flowing and washing in prosperity to the shores 

Youths happy healthy vibrant and thriving

Prayers answered and fortunes raining from the sky

Belie walie talie Gambia nice!