The Gambia Telecommunication company (Gamtel) fibre cable that controls communication services from Banjul to Basse was cut off by some unidentified people in the early hours of Wednesday morning between 5:30 to 6:00 am.

The vandals cut the fibre cable from a manhole at the Sting corner junction along the Westfield-Banjul Highway by pulling it out and cutting it at 297.5 meters. This resulted to some communication breakdown in Gamtel's telecommunication services during the day before the problem got fixed.

Katim Touray, managing director of Gamtel described the act as "a vicious vandalism" with the intention to sabotage the services of The Gambia's own telecommunication giant. He said was informed about the damage early Wednesday morning and when he visited the scene with some of his staff, he discovered that the cable was pulled out, cut and carelessly thrown on the roadside.

Touray pointed out that the destruction was not detrimental only to Gamtel but to communication services in the country as a whole. He stressed that people must learn to be honest citizens who should think of how to take the country forward and not otherwise. He stated that his management will not relent in its efforts to tackle such nefarious acts. "No telecommunication company would want to incur loses on its services in such a way," he remarked.

While calling for the support and collaboration of the police and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to investigate the matter, the Gamtel boss apologised to customers for the communication disruption they experienced and assured them that they are currently working on ways to resolve the problem.

Sulayman Kujabi, Gamtel's senior transmission manager said the cutting off the cable would seriously hamper the company's communication services before it is fixed. He stated that this is the first time Gamtel is experiencing such vandalism. "This will disturb traffic and even some of our links will be disturbed due to the cut", he explained.

Kujabi concurred with Touray that Gambians should learn to secure their own properties rather than destroying them, warning that such acts will not be condoned.  He also used the opportunity to call on customers to remain cooperative, as they will immediately restore services back to normal.

Sulayman Gaye, Gamtel's acting senior manager of Planning described the act as a show of gross indecency and lack of respect for the development of the country. He stressed that it is the responsibility of every genuine Gambian To take care and secure the property of the state. Gaye further stressed that the matter should not be left to sleep but must be investigated to bring the culprits before the law.