Infrastructure Clash: Roadworks May Force Demolition of Brikama’s Kora Monument, Minister Cautions

By Makutu Manneh

The Minister of Transport, Works, and Infrastructure, Ebrima Sillah, has warned that construction work being carried out by the Brikama Area Council at the Kora Monument in Brikama could be demolished if it interferes with planned road expansion in the area.

Speaking during a program on Gambia Radio and Television Services, Mr. Sillah said the government is preparing to begin several road projects in Brikama, including a dual carriageway that will run from Jah Oil through the town’s main market to Gunjur Junction—a route that passes through the site where the monument stands.

The issue arose after the minister of information, Ismaila Ceesay, said during the broadcast that the council appeared to be building a structure in the middle of the proposed road corridor, raising concerns that it could obstruct the planned expansion.

“I heard this is a waterway, and it will cause water to stagnate there,” Mr. Ceesay said.

Mr. Sillah responded that any structure found to be obstructing the road project would be removed.

“If the work affects the construction of the road, the structure will be demolished,” he said.

The minister said local councils planning construction projects should coordinate with his ministry and with physical planning authorities to avoid spending public funds on developments that may later have to be removed.

Mr. Sillah said he was not fully aware of the details of the work currently underway at the monument site, but emphasized that any structure—including private compounds—that interferes with the road corridor would be cleared.

He noted that many urban settlements in The Gambia’s larger towns have developed in congested and largely unplanned ways, complicating infrastructure development.

“If councils build into the road corridor, those structures will be demolished to make way for the road,” he said, adding that closer coordination between local governments and the central government is essential when undertaking development projects.

Mr. Sillah said the government plans to construct about 42 kilometers of roads in and around Brikama as part of the upcoming works program.