{"id":90468,"date":"2025-11-19T06:27:26","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T06:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused"},"modified":"2025-11-19T06:52:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T06:52:14","slug":"mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Bensouda Rejects Cheap Shots and Stays Focused"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, in a recent appearance on the program For the People, By the People, underscored his commitment to issue-based politics and dismissed what he described as personal attacks from senior government officials.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are already practicing it,\u201d Mr. Bensouda said, referring to his pledge to center political debate on policy rather than personality. \u201cWhen we tackle opponents, we tackle their bad policies, we tackle their poor developmental track record, and we tackle their abuse of office and things they are doing very poorly, especially their performance, and that\u2019s exactly what we are focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Barrow administration, said he would not be drawn into what he characterized as political provocation.\u201dIf Ismaila Ceesay or Hamat Bah believes we are going to be stuck in a bubble throwing personal jabs at each other, they are greatly mistaken,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are clearly focused on the poor record of government\u2014the high cost of living, the depreciating currency, joblessness, hopelessness, and rampant corruption eating through public coffers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Responding directly to remarks made by Dr. Ismaila Ceesay, Mr. Bensouda was unapologetic. \u201cDr. Ceesay has never been elected to office. I have,\u201d he said. \u201cI have faced jabs every day. I\u2019ve done it for two elections, and I\u2019ve won both. So if he thinks he can come out with cheap shots, he is greatly mistaken.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Bensouda presented himself as a seasoned public official who has withstood political pressure from both the government and the opposition. He said he had been \u201ctested in public office,\u201d denied opportunities that would have offered personal benefit, and cleared of allegations brought against him. \u201cI have experience on how to do it right, and I\u2019m bringing that experience to the table,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The mayor framed his political movement as rooted in integrity and national unity, contrasting it with what he described as entrenched divisions in Gambian politics. \u201cWe want politics of integrity and telling the truth. We want politics of innovation and solving issues. We want politics of equality and pushing away tribalism and being inclusive,\u201d he said. \u201cAnybody you tell this to will say they completely get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Bensouda expressed confidence that his movement could grow into one of the country\u2019s largest political forces, emphasizing that it was driven by values rather than personal ambition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis movement will grow to become the biggest political platform in this country because it\u2019s not powered by one man\u2019s ambition. It\u2019s not to feed one man\u2019s ambition. It is not about personal gratification or self-perpetuation. This is a people\u2019s movement to bring meaningful change in Gambian politics through principles and values that everybody can subscribe to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Acknowledging public skepticism toward new political projects, the mayor said such doubts were understandable given past disappointments. But he argued that his record set him apart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI totally get it when people have suspicion. I totally get it that there are examples that have left a bad taste in people\u2019s mouths. But remember I\u2019m one of the few people in this example who has been tested in public office… I have seen the good and bad. I have a lot of experience on how to do it right and I\u2019m bringing extension to there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, in a recent appearance on the program For the People, By the People, underscored his commitment to issue-based politics and dismissed what he described as personal attacks from senior government officials. \u201cWe are already practicing it,\u201d Mr. Bensouda said, referring to his pledge to center political debate on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":90467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-90468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nMayor Bensouda Rejects Cheap Shots and Stays Focused - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, in a recent appearance on the program For the People, By the People, underscored his comm ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mayor Bensouda Rejects Cheap Shots and Stays Focused\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda, in a recent appearance on the program For the People, By the People, underscored his comm ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T06:27:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T06:52:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/11\/sm_1763522463.062899.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Mayor Bensouda Rejects Cheap Shots and Stays Focused\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-19T06:27:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-19T06:52:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused\"},\"wordCount\":581,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/11\/sm_1763522463.062899.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/mayor-bensouda-rejects-cheap-shots-and-stays-focused\",\"name\":\"Mayor Bensouda Rejects Cheap Shots and Stays Focused - 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