KMC Councillors reject Gov’t recommendation to remove Mayor Bensouda
Councillors of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) have rejected the Government’s recommendation to remove Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda from office, following deliberations held during a council meeting on Thursday.
The decision marks a significant development in the ongoing dispute over the Government’s proposed removal of the mayor. After considering the recommendation, councillors voted against the move, effectively withholding the council’s support for the mayor’s removal.
At a meeting of the Council’s General Council, 15 councillors voted against his removal, two abstained and one voted in favour. The result represents a decisive rejection of the removal bid by the councillors who took part in the vote.
The outcome is expected to have far-reaching political and administrative implications, as it signals strong backing for Mayor Bensouda from the elected representatives serving on the council.
The Government’s recommendation has generated considerable public debate and heightened tensions between the municipal authority and central government officials. Thursday’s decision now raises questions about the next steps in the process and how the matter will be resolved.
Addressing councillors, Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda traced the origins of the dispute to allegations made against former KMC Chief Executive Officer Sainabou Martin Sonko in 2020 and 2021. He said the council had formally raised concerns about the former CEO and adopted a resolution barring her from controlling council accounts and handling official documents.
According to the mayor, a joint investigation conducted by officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Local Government lasted two months and ultimately vindicated the council’s position. He alleged that despite the findings, the government proceeded with further inquiries, culminating in a Presidential Commission of Inquiry.
Bensouda described the commission as a politically-motivated exercise targeting KMC.
“We therefore regard the Government’s Commission of Inquiry as a political retaliation against KMC,” he said.
The mayor also questioned the timing and conclusions of the White Paper, noting that the Commission concluded its work several months before the report was made public. He argued that the commission itself had identified broader structural challenges affecting local government administration rather than assigning personal liability to individual officers.
He used the occasion to renew calls for decentralisation reforms, saying local governments require greater authority over resources and personnel management.
“There is no secret as to the tug-of-war between the Government and local area councils about decentralisation and empowering sub-national government,” he said.
Bensouda stressed that KMC is an autonomous institution elected by the people and cannot be directed by the executive branch. Nevertheless, he said the council had a responsibility to publicly discuss and respond to the White Paper.
The mayor also challenged recommendations for criminal investigations into three specific matters cited in the White Paper.
The first concerns allowances of D10,000 paid to councillors, including the mayor, for surveying markets amid concerns over revenue suppression. Bensouda argued that the payments were approved through a council resolution and were not individual decisions.
The second issue relates to the Mbalit Project, which he said received approval from the council’s Contracts Committee, the General Council and the Gambia Public Procurement Authority before implementation. He rejected suggestions that the project caused losses to the council.
The third concerns the payment of approximately D13.1 million in customs duties on waste collection trucks imported under a public-private partnership arrangement. Bensouda said the council was forced to pay the duties after the government denied a waiver request and questioned how the payment of taxes to the state could constitute an economic crime.
Throughout his address, the mayor maintained that all major decisions under scrutiny were collectively approved by the council and relevant oversight bodies.
Source: The Point
