By Fatou Sillah
Momodou Sabally, the national youth president of the National People’s Party, said that operations at the Gambia Ports Authority have improved since the engagement of Alport Banjul, even as challenges persist at the country’s main seaport.
Speaking in an interview with Eye Africa TV, Mr. Sabally acknowledged concerns surrounding the Alport arrangement but said the government had been transparent about the issues and was reviewing the agreement.
“There are some challenges in Alport,” Mr. Sabally said. “The government of the Gambia came out and said they will look at the contract, so it just shows there are issues, and the government was honest enough to come and admit that there are issues, but we are going to adjust it. It is called life,” he said.
Sabally also addressed concerns about staff salaries at the company, saying Alport had issued a statement indicating that the matter had been resolved.
“Regarding the salary, I saw they issued a statement saying they have solved it,” he said. “This is not the first time Alport is having issues with their staff. Alport did not happen in a vacuum.”
Before Alport’s involvement, Mr. Sabally said, port operations had been widely criticized for inefficiency. He said he had frequently received complaints from Gambians living abroad about delays affecting their cargo.
“The ports at some point were inefficient,” he said. “About a year or so ago, almost every day I received calls from Gambians in the diaspora complaining about their containers because the port was inefficient.”
Since Alport began operating, he said, those complaints have largely subsided.
“When Alport came, decisions were taken,” Sabally said. “Between when they came and now, I have not received calls from people complaining, so it has actually improved efficiency at the ports.”
Still, he acknowledged that challenges remain and said the government intends to address them while preserving the gains made so far.
“People are enjoying dividends,” he said. “We will not deny that there is a problem, but we are not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We will try to solve the problem, and that’s what the government is doing.”
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