I wish to hereby submit to the Councilors of the Kanifing Municipal Council to act on Section 20 of the Local Government Act to start the process of removal of Mayor Yankuba Kolley.
The section provides that a mayor can be removed for abuse of office, corruption, misconduct or physical or mental incapacity to discharge his functions. To initiate the process, the section says at least two-thirds of the Councilors must write and sign a notice to the Deputy Mayor stating why they wish to remove the Mayor. Within 24 hours of receiving the notice the Deputy Mayor should send a copy of the notice to the Minister for Regional Administration. Upon receiving the notice, the Minister shall suspend the Mayor and then set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the allegations. If the commission found that the allegations are true, the Minister will report the findings to the President to sack the mayor.
Therefore the case against Yankuba Kolley is overwhelming. In the first place, he does not account for the revenue that the KMC generates. There is no transparency and accountability at KMC. KMC has not provided the necessary quality and efficient social services to its residents. In 2014 KMC sold land in Kololi to a private company for 20 million dalasi without the knowledge of the residents or account for the money. In 2015, KMC entered into a contract with an Italian company for the clearing of Bakoteh dumpsite for 2.2 million euros yet until today nothing was done on that site. There is refuse all over KMC, which are not collected even though businesses and compounds pay rates and taxes to KMC. Yankuba Kolley had turned KMC into a political party headquarters for APRC and then spent KMC public resources in the business and activities of the APRC. These are therefore acts of corruption, abuse of office and misconduct.
The task now is for the residents of Kanifing Municipality to demand their Ward Councilors to convene an emergency meeting on Monday July 10 to write and sign a notice to the Deputy Mayor for the removal of the Mayor Yankuba Kolley.
I therefore call on all KMC residents to begin the call on our Councilors from tonight. Failure to do so means we are therefore responsible for the mismanagement of KMC and the hardships we face because of a corrupt and useless Mayor and Council. This is our right and duty to our country and ourselves and we must not allow ever again any public institution and public officer to bastardise the rights and lives and resources of the people for free.
Let us rise up to create a New Gambia. Politicians do not act unless the people act. Nothing will change in KMC and the Gambia so long as citizens remain dormant, silent and disorganized. Let us raise our voices and organize to demand the protection of our rights and the fulfillment of our needs. We have paid for it with our taxes and our lives and we must not allow one single individual or a group of people trample upon our heads. The President or the Speaker or the Mayor or Ministers are our Servants and if they do not serve us, we must not waste time in removing them. This is our democratic right and duty that all citizens have.
Remove the Mayor of KMC Yankuba Kolley today. Let the residents of Banjul also get up to address the mismanagement and inefficiency in Banjul under Mayor Abdoulie Bah. Let our citizens in the regions also rise up to demand accountability and an end to corruption and inefficiency by our Chairpersons in Brikama, Mansa Konko, Kerewan, Janjanbureh and Basse. No more corrupt and useless local government institutions and public servants abusing our rights and failing our needs. The law is on our side.
God Bless The Gambia.
Madi Jobarteh
