Talib Ahmed Bensouda, Mayor of KMC
By Buba Gagigo
Talib Ahmed Bensouda, the Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), has disclosed that the Gambian government insisted on having President Adama Barrow inaugurate KMC’s ‘Mbalit’ project trucks at State House, a request which he rejected.
Reflecting on his early days as Mayor, Talib revealed that upon taking office, KMC was grappling with an overdraft of nine million dalasis. However, by the end of 2019, the council had turned its finances around, reporting a surplus of 43 million dalasis.
“That 43 million is what allowed us to launch the ‘Mbalit’ project. Do you remember when the trucks arrived, and the government imposed a D13 million fee to block us from releasing them? The government assumed that if they charged the council this amount, we wouldn’t have the funds to pay it. But what they didn’t know was that I had kept that D43 million aside. We paid immediately. Behind the scenes, when they saw the trucks at the port, they were shocked because the first batch included 24 trucks,” Talib shared during an interview with Mengbe Kering.
Talib explained that the government was concerned about the opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) potentially inaugurating the trucks, as it would not bode well for the ruling National People’s Party (NPP). “When they saw those 24 trucks, they panicked. It was the first time in Gambia’s history that such a fleet had been assembled. They feared that if the trucks were inaugurated by the UDP, it would create a problem for the NPP, especially since 2019 marked a time of tension between Barrow and the UDP. They were also worried about the 2021 elections,” Talib continued.
According to Talib, the government reached out to him privately, demanding that Barrow inaugurate the trucks for them to be released. “They told me that for the trucks to be allowed out, Barrow had to inaugurate them. This is the first time I am revealing this. They wanted us to bring the trucks to State House for Barrow’s inauguration. That was the condition for them to be released. If we agreed, we would not pay anything,” he revealed.
Talib stated that he refused the government’s condition, emphasizing the principle of independence for the council. “This is about the council’s autonomy. We, as elected officials, sat down, developed the concept, worked with our administration, and did all the hard work to bring the trucks here without any assistance from the government. If you remember, back in 2018, I asked President Barrow to help us with the tractors that had been seized by the Janneh Commission. We only had two tractors, and there was a lot of garbage to manage. He ignored us. In fact, when Barrow addressed the meeting at the Buffer Zone, instead of offering help, he dismissed me, saying I could say anything I wanted in politics, but that I couldn’t do anything. That was the first time Barrow criticized me publicly,” Talib concluded.