The Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, has been criticized by members of the public for including his predecessor ex-mayor of KMC, Yankuba Colley of the APRC political party in the Taskforce of the Municipal Relations.

“As far as I am concerned, I don’t consider my political rivalry with Yankuba Colley when it comes to issues of development.” Bensouda explained.

The Taskforce also includes ex-mayor Abdoulie Conteh of APRC and Kebba Jallow of PPP. Mayor Bensouda said, he brought these individuals together to tap on their experiences and expertise in an effort to make KMC great. He furthered that,  when he came into office in April 2018, he noticed that the council did not have records of it’s boundaries and other relevant issues.

Mayor Bensouda said, he considers Yankuba Colley eligible to be part of the Taskforce as proven by the commissions mandated to look into the past dealings of the former head of state.

“If anyone is found wanting by these commissions, I will not work with the person. I see no problem in calling Yankuba Colley to support the council. I am not making him my political adviser or whatsoever. Some people are not happy because of the history UDP has with the APRC but I want to assure them that this is purely for the interest of development. We should put politics aside when it comes to development,” Mayor Bensouda told Star Fm radio.

While encouraging Gambians to embrace political tolerance, mayor Bensouda apologized to United Democratic Party’s supporters who are offended by his decision.

“Since I was elected Abdoulie Conteh, Yankuba Colley and Kebba Jallow visited me to show solidarity and expressed their willingness to give me their support. All of them have history and they have done something for the council.”

He added that, his aim is to bring KMC under one umbrella. The mandate of the Taskforce is to identify KMC’s boundaries, special community affairs and unveil KMC’s twinning sister cities.

He concluded by making it clear that, all the selected members of the task force are offering their services for free.

By: Fatoumatta Samateh