Africa-Press – Gambia. The chairman of the Brikama Area Council, Yankuba Darboe, sharply rejected allegations by Transport Minister Ebrima Sillah that the government’s plans to construct modern markets in Brikama, Tanji, and Salagi were blocked by the council’s legal challenge over the management of the Brikama market.
In a statement posted Tuesday on his official Facebook page, Mr. Darboe dismissed the minister’s remarks as “a figment of imagination,” accusing Mr. Sillah of attempting to craft “a narrative that never existed” to the government’s advantage. He said the council had no knowledge of any such market construction plans and insisted that the ongoing legal action has nothing to do with the projects described by the minister.
According to Mr. Darboe, the council’s legal case targets the West Coast Region governor, Ousman Bojang, whom the council accuses of usurping its authority over the new Brikama market complex. Market management and revenue collection, he emphasized, are responsibilities vested in local councils—not the governor’s office.
“The Brikama Area Council under my leadership is not aware of any such plans from this government or its so-called market management,” he wrote.
He added that the council pursued legal action because, under the law, the governor’s office has no authority to manage markets or collect market revenue—responsibilities that rest solely with local councils.
Darboe further questioned the government’s motives, arguing that if it truly had the plans and funding to construct modern markets, it would not have needed the council’s approval.
“A government that had no respect for our council, if such a government had any plans and funding to build such modern markets – as they are politicking – would have built such modern markets – with or without the council’s permission,” he said.
The council chairman accused the minister of “stealing the narrative” and urged him to stop misleading the public.
“The only thing that would be stalling such imaginary plans of this government would be their lack of funding for such markets, which is the truth the dishonourable Minister and his President are not disclosing to the public,” he said.
Mr. Darboe added that no allocation for the construction of such markets appears in either the 2025 or 2026 national budget and called on the minister to “stop trafficking lies to the people.”
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