By Kebba Ansu Manneh
The Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC) in collaboration with Ministry of Information and Communication Infrastructure has recently commenced a mapping and property identification of homes and businesses exercise.
In a statement issued to the press and signed by Council’s Public Relations Officer, Muhammed Sandeng disclosed that the mapping and identification exercise will create a comprehensive system to locate properties and navigate within the municipality.
“KMC has established a 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 (GIS) unit, which is leading this mapping exercise. It has a functional 𝗚𝗲𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 (GIS) that utilises spatial and geographic data to enhance service delivery in the municipality,” said PRO Muhammed Sandeng.
He added: “The GIS unit uses this spatial data to create maps of the municipality. In order to locate properties within the municipality, KMC’s GIS unit started collecting data on 1st of June 2021.”
According to him, the GIS unit has since commenced tagging properties in the municipality with a unique identifier referred to as a GOOGLE PLUS CODE, adding that an example of a Google Plus Code is F89C+HR5, Bakau, which refers to Independence Stadium in Bakau.
PRO Sandeng noted that residences that have the interest to check for their location are encouraged to type these codes into Google Maps, adding that this can be done with both phones and computers in order to see ones location
The KMC PRO continued that the data collection for the exercise has since started and is expected to be concluded by the end of October 2021, adding that at which point every residence and business in Kanifing municipality shall have a unique code for identification purposes.
“The enhanced GIS system and introduction of Google Plus Codes will improve access to information for planning purposes, enhance communication with fire services and medical ambulances regarding one’s location in times of emergency, and improved business operations, especially for financial institutions, logistics companies, and delivery operators,” PRO Muhammed Sandeng explained.