By: Muhammed Lamin Drammeh
Yankuba Darboe, the United Democratic Party’s candidate for the Brikama Area Council (BAC) chairmanship election, has vowed that accountability and transparency will top his agenda if elected as the chairman of the Council, noting that BAC under his leadership will be open to media and public scrutiny amidst corruption allegations within the council over the years.
Darboe was speaking to the press after filing his nomination papers to the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) regional headquarters in Brikama.
He said, over the years, BAC has been marred with corruption scandals, something he promised to end with accountability if voted into office.
“We have got to be transparent and accountable to the people so that they know exactly what is happening at their council. Transparency is number one, especially at this current time when we are led by a government that is so corrupt and the whole world understands and appreciates that we have a government that is corrupt. We will be the beacon of light in this dark cloud that is overshadowing our nation,” he told the press after filing his nomination papers.
The UK-trained lawyer, who previously said he will make known his salary to the people of the West Coast if elected, said a council led by him will be opened to public scrutiny and anyone who wishes to get any information from the council will be let in.
“We will make sure that we do a proper inventory of all revenue sources of the council, and also, we will open the council to public scrutiny and media scrutiny. The public can be invited at all times and whenever they request, we will be available to provide them with our information,” he uttered.
Yankuba Darboe is a top contender for the seat after his party won the most seats in the last month’s Councillorship election. He told the press that the number of candidates vying for the seat is not a problem, confident that he will emerge winner in the election.
The chairmanship election is scheduled to be conducted on the 20th of May. Yankuba is expected to battle with over ten candidates, including the ruling National People’s Party Seedy Sheriff Ceesay for the top seat in the Brikama Area Council.
