By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Following Government’s announcement that it has set up a commission of inquiry to look into a possible corruption scandal in the local government councils across the country, the Kanifing Municipal Council youth councillor, Kemo Bojang, has said that the Mayor Talib Bensuda-led council is corruption-free and that the establishment of the commission is a witch-hunt.
Kemo Bojang, in reacting to the commission a few months before the election of mayors and chairpersons in the local government elections, said if they cannot add to the coffers of the people, they will not take from them to enrich themselves, noting that they are as clean as whistles.
“We are clean as whistles, and our work has shown where we have invested the wealth of the people. If we cannot add to the coffers of the poor, we wouldn’t take from them. This is not the first time we have been accused of corruption, but we have always come out on top, and we are sure it will be no different this time,” he said.
The former Youth Secretary General of the opposition United Democratic Party said the establishment of the commission at this point when the local government elections are on the horizon, is nothing but a witch-hunt.
He alleged that President Adama Barrow and his colleagues will do everything to put dirt on the UDP candidates who are currently serving as mayors and chairpersons in the local government councils in the country.
The Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council, Talib Bensuda has made his re-election bid public and has been endorsed and approved by the UDP.
If the commission finds him culpable of corruption, misconduct or mismanagement, it will likely hamper his re-election in April.
However, Youth Councilor Kemo Bojang is hopeful that the commission of inquiry will be an embarrassment to the government because the KMC is run clean and free from corruption. He noted that this is not a UDP fight, instead, it is a cause to keep the country’s nascent democracy on its feet.
“To the Gambian people, this is not a UDP fight. This is the fight to keep our struggling democracy on its feet. This is about the systems that will push the mandate of the people and make sure our will is respected and not micromanaged by a small cabal,” Kemo Bojang stressed.
The commission that is set up to investigate the Kanifing Municipal Council and other local government councils will have a three-month mandate, but it will probably continue beyond the three months if there is a need.
