Kanifing mayor accuses Gambian government of rejecting waste project
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Kerr Fatou
Kanifing Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda has accused the Gambian government of rejecting in 2020 his waste collection modernisation project proposed with Jospong Group. He said the decision was motivated by his opposition affiliation, while the authorities are now working with the Ghanaian company, Kerr Fatou reports.
Talib Ahmed Bensouda, mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council and a Coalition 2026 candidate in The Gambia’s presidential election, has accused President Adama Barrow’s government of rejecting a waste management project he proposed in 2020 with Ghanaian company Jospong for political reasons, Kerr Fatou reports.
Speaking at a Coalition 2026 rally in Basori, in the East Kombo region, Talib Bensouda said the Barrow administration was now in talks with the same company, five years after his initiative. His project included closing the Bakoteh landfill and building a modern waste treatment facility in Tambana.
The mayor said he had secured a €48 million project from the European Union, equivalent to about 3 billion dalasis, to fund the operation. He said the government had also rejected the proposal because it came from a municipality run by the opposition, according to Kerr Fatou.
Talib Bensouda also said Kanifing had replaced burying and burning waste, and dumping it in waterways, with modern collection vehicles. He said his municipal council now had more collection trucks than all the other Gambian local authorities combined, Kerr Fatou reports. The accusation comes after the candidate made promises of governance and security reforms in The Gambia on 28 October.
