Firgui-Kaymor-Nganda Road: 63 years of waiting and phantom construction sites, Kaolack's cry for help

The inhabitants of the localities south of Nioro are crying out for help. Gathered this weekend, the populations of Firgui, Kaymor and Nganda took to the streets in a peaceful march, followed by a press conference, to demand from the new state authorities the urgent paving of their road, an essential prerequisite to pull their district out of economic stagnation.

Wearing red scarves and carrying signs that read "We demand the paving of the Firgui-Kaymor-Nganda road," the protesters expressed their frustration with decades of waiting. The spokesperson for the day, Papa Amadou Seck, a resident of the Dabaly commune, delivered an alarming assessment: "It is with heavy hearts and a feeling of desolation and sadness that we have gathered here to march. Since 1963, the Firgui-Kaymor-Nganda road has been made of laterite, and every year it deteriorates further, making the movement of people and goods extremely difficult. Many women in labor die while being transported to health facilities, while the number of accidents and deaths caused by potholes, especially during the rainy season, is increasing sharply."

The speaker also addressed the dashed hopes of the local population: “Less than two years ago, the then Prime Minister, Amadou Ba, laid the foundation stone for the paving of this road, and warehouses were built to house the equipment. To date, not a single centimeter of asphalt has been laid, and the workers who were on site have disappeared without a trace. We therefore wonder, Mr. President of the Republic, where the funds have gone. We make a solemn appeal to the government, and more specifically to the Minister of Infrastructure, Mr. Déthié Fall, to come to the aid of the people of these communities who are suffering immensely.”

This seventeen-kilometer-long road, in a state of advanced disrepair, paralyzes the daily lives of residents. This isolation makes travel difficult, even impossible during periods of heavy rain, severely compromising access to basic services, starting with emergency healthcare and regular food supplies.