Africa-Press – Gambia. Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda has said the council’s reforms and development initiatives have positioned it as a model for other local government authorities across the country.
Speaking in a recent interview, Mayor Bensouda noted that KMC’s flagship “Mbalit” waste management project is now being replicated by nearly all other councils. “All the councils are copying it—the same model, the same supplier, and the same financing structure,” he said. According to him, KMC now operates 30 waste management vehicles, making it the best-equipped council in The Gambia.
Highlighting his administration’s accomplishments, Bensouda said KMC also boasts the most organized dumpsite nationwide. “Our dumpsite is the most organized dumpsite in all the councils. The dumpsite is fenced, while in other councils, “Mbalit” are dumped everywhere. They have no central fenced dumpsite. Only KMC has that, and it is done under our administration,” he stated.
He further disclosed that the council has distributed 12,000 trash bins to households within the municipality to strengthen waste management at the community level.
Mayor Bensouda said his administration has invested heavily in social services, youth development, and community infrastructure. He noted that KMC established the first and only municipal library in the country, which is now widely used by students and features an Internet café and hosts regular book launches.
The council has also constructed eight recreational parks—including the recently inaugurated Kotu Park—and provided substantial financial support to artists, athletes, and football clubs through funding and scholarships.
“We are the council that opened 19 ward offices for our councilors. We started this in 2019,” he added.
On women’s empowerment, Bensouda said KMC has built five markets, launched a women’s fund scheme, and constructed cold storage facilities and boreholes to support women gardeners. “Next week, I will be inaugurating another cold storage in Bakau—their second one,” he announced.
The mayor said revenue generation under his leadership has tripled from D100 million to D300 million due to strengthened tax collection systems. He added that KMC has expanded its support to the health sector, providing 70 modern hospital beds to Kanifing General Hospital, donating nine ambulances to local clinics, and supplying five fire trucks to fire stations within the municipality.
“KMC is the first council that has a signboard with instructions that anyone who holds a KMC worker involved in corruption to call a number and report the matter,” he noted. He added that during his first term, nearly 23 staff members were held accountable for corruption and recommended for dismissal to the Local Government Service Commission.
“My first term in office, almost 23 staff were held accountable for their involvement in corruption, and we wrote to the local government service commission for them to be sacked.”
Bensouda also highlighted the establishment of the first municipal radio station, which currently operates online due to the government’s refusal to grant it a broadcasting license.
Despite the achievements, the mayor expressed concern over what he described as deliberate obstructions faced by KMC due to its status as an opposition-controlled council. He cited the government’s refusal to allow the council to operate a municipal bus service, develop affordable housing, and proceed with several major infrastructure initiatives, including a comprehensive road project and the construction of seven modern markets.
“The ambition I have for KMC is more than what we have done. So this is why I said we have done a lot, we have changed KMC. The development we brought to KMC, the next mayor will find a strong foundation,” Bensouda said.
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