By Mama A. Touray
As the race for the by-election intensifies, Talib Ahmed Bensouda, the Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, has told voters in Kiang Massembeh that if the government of The Gambia truly cared about the people of Massembeh, they should have canceled the Independence celebration.
Mayor Bensouda made these remarks during his recent visit to Kiang Massembeh to campaign for Bakery S. Jarju, the United Democratic Party’s by-election candidate for the Massembeh ward.
“I was at the Independence celebration. They spent D150 million in just five hours. If they really cared about Massembeh, they should have canceled the celebration. If D150 million had been spent in this village, all of you would have jobs. But instead, they wasted that money,” he told voters.
Bensouda added that other countries do not hold elaborate Independence celebrations. “They just say ‘Happy Independence’ on television, and the president gives his speech.”
He also urged voters to support their candidate, saying, “We want you to stand with Bakery Jarju. There are people who came here and said nothing meaningful except to speak about tribalism and claim that you should not oppose the sitting government, linking it to Islam. If that was truly what Allah commanded, it would be in the Quran. Yet, they themselves opposed the government until they got to where they are.”
According to Mayor Bensouda, former President Yahya Jammeh opposed the government until he became president, emphasizing that opposition is a fundamental part of nation-building. “If you are opposing, it means you are protesting. And when you see things are not going in the right direction, you will obviously vote for the opposition. If the government wants your vote, then they should work for it,” he added.
Furthermore, Bensouda told voters that each minister is driving a vehicle worth D12 million.
“The president is followed by twenty vehicles. I was sitting with MC Cham, and we calculated the value of the vehicles escorting the president—it amounted to D250 million. Imagine D250 million worth of vehicles following just one person while youths are struggling. Yet, they come to you again, asking for your vote and claiming they will bring development. If you vote for them under these circumstances, then you are at a loss,” he stated.
Mayor Bensouda concluded by assuring the people of Massembeh that they would not make empty promises or fail them.
