Claim: There were no bridges in the country when I took over as president
Source: President-Elect Adama Barrow
Verdict: False
By Kaddy Jawo
Adama barrow speaks at a meeting with religious leaders in August 2021 (Photo Credit: Facebook/Barrow) Porg)Three(3) days after an election that secured President Adama Barrow a second term in office, he has addressed the media to answer a broad range of questions relating to the economy and general governance of the country.
There is increasing tension in the country following the decision of 3 candidates in the just ended presidential election to reject the results of the polls that saw the incumbent secure about 53.2% of total votes cast.
“there were no bridges, we did the Farafenni bridge, we complete the Farafenni bridge. We did the Basse bridge.” President-elect Barrow said between minutes 8:00 and 8:05 during his first press conference at the statehouse in Banjul after the December 4 elections.
(Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Nj6iUcNhuzo
So we sought to find out whether there were no bridges in Gambia before 2017.
Fact-Check
Following some checks, Fact-Check Gambia has found that there were bridges in the country before 2017.
Among a number of them is the Denton Bridge that connects the capital city of Banjul to the mainland. It was built in 1986 under former president Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara.
Named after Sir George Chardin Denton, the former Governor of Gambia, the bridge has a span of 210 m and crosses over the Tanbi Wetland Complex.
Another bridge constructed before 2017 is the Kerewan bridge known as the “Babili Mansa Bridge. ”
This bridge was built by former president Yahya Jammeh in 2001 at a reported cost 5 million dollars
Bridges build since 2017
In his first tenure President Adama Barrow built some bridges including the Senegambia bridge, Wuli bridge, and Fatoto bridge respectively.
The Senegambia bridge, also known as the Trans-Gambia Bridge, connects northern and southern Gambia.
Embed tweet
( https://twitter.com/presidency_gmb/status/1073340668548923397?s=21 )
Verdict
The claim is FALSE.
