A press release from the Office of the President has warned against any interference in the Gambia Ports Authority’s recruitment of dockers or in the provisions of other services at the port.
 
The full text of the report, which identifies GPA as the mandated authority to provide port and other related services is reproduced below:

The public is hereby informed that The Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) is a public institution mandated by Law to provide port and other related services to The Gambia population and the sub-region.

Therefore, there will be no compromise in the implementation of the functions and responsibilities of GPA because it has an obligation to provide these services in the most efficient, effective and sustainable manner. In doing so, GPA has the right to employ the required employees for the due execution of its functions as and when necessary including dockworkers.

Please note that nobody is obliged to work for GPA as a dockworker but nobody can also prevent the GPA and The Gambia Government from implementing the Port and Labour Acts.

Those who do not wish to be employed as dockworkers are free to seek employment elsewhere but they should not in any way try to interfere with the process of recruitment of dockworkers by GPA or in the conduct of stevedoring services at the Port. Doing so would be against the law and anyone found wanting will be dealt with in accordance with the law.

Your cooperation is therefore solicited to ensure that essential services are rendered in the most efficient and sustainable manner for the benefit of the entire nation and beyond.

Banjul (formerly Bathurst) is the capital of The Gambia. The population of the city proper is only 34,828 but the total urban area is many times larger with a population of 523,589 (2003 census). It is located on St Mary's Island (or Banjul Island) where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean. The island is connected to the mainland by passenger and vehicle ferries to the north and bridges to the south. Banjul is located at 13°28' North, 16°36' West (13.4667, -16.60).

History

In 1816, the British founded Banjul as a trading post and base for suppressing the slave trade. It was first named Bathurst after Henry Bathurst, the secretary of the British Colonial Office, but was changed to Banjul in 1973.
On July 22, 1994, Banjul was the scene of a bloodless military coup d'etat in which President Dawda Jawara was overthrown and replaced by the country's current (and twice reelected) President Yahya Jammeh. To commemorate this event, Arch 22 was built as an entrance portal to the capital. The gate is 35 meters tall and the centre of an open square. It houses a textile museum.
Attractions in the city include the Gambian National Museum, the Albert Market, Banjul State House, Banjul Court House, two cathedrals and several major mosques.

Economy

Banjul is the main urban area of The Gambia and holds the country's economic and administrative center including the Central Bank of The Gambia. As the fourth most densely populated country in Africa, The Gambia has more than one urban area. Peanut processing is the country's principal industry, but bee's wax, palm wood, palm oil, and skins and hides are also shipped from its port.