By Yunus S Saliu
The Mayor of Banjul, her Lordship Mayor Rohey Malick-Lowe Wednesday, 30th March 2022 received in her office the Mayor of Ostend City Council Belgium, His Lordship Mayor Bart Tommelein.
Mayor Tommelein and delegates are currently on a working visit to the Banjul City Council to discuss the ongoing City Link Ostend-Banjul Project funded by the European Union (EU).
The city link project is building on a city link which is almost 20 years old. With 3 million euro funding from the European Union, the city link project now aims to strengthen good (
During this visit, the Mayor of Banjul, Rohey Malick Lowe discussed the impact of the City Link Ostend-Banjul Project with the visiting Mayor of Ostend, a coastal city in Belgium. The Ostend Mayor had the opportunity to visit some of the project sites and places of interest in the City of Banjul which included a tour of BCC premises and meeting with the project team, a visit to Arch 22nd and visits to St Augustine’s and St Joseph’s schools.
At the former Upper Basic School of Crab Island, the Mayor was introduced to the ongoing renovation works which aim to turn the school into a centre for sustainable development, innovation, learning and culture. The Mayor was also introduced to the inner city greening team and was able to witness how hundreds of trees have been planted in the streets of Banjul.
At the beach of Banjul he inspected the over 4000 planted coconuts which will help protect Banjul in the future and fight coastal erosion.
Other places and activities included a boat trip from Denton Bridge to see the location of a planned boardwalk in the mangroves.
On the last day of his visit, the Mayor is expected to visit the Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) to see the research project on treating burn wounds with aloe vera and the Eye Clinic which has been receiving long-standing support through the city link.
Mayor Bart Tommelein was accompanied to The Gambia by Silke Beirens – Deputy Mayor of Ostend City Council, Margot Neyskens – Head of Staff Mayor; Jonas Scherrens – Project Coordinator and Jeffrey Roos – Journalist.
Welcoming Mayor Bart Tommelein and delegates to the City of Banjul, Mayor Rohey Malick Lowe who was extremely delighted about the visit thanked the Ostend City Council Mayor for the partnership and “for being supportive and caring to women folk.”
The Banjul Mayor as well discussed her nomination for position of Councilor in Sweden prior contesting and becoming the Mayor of Banjul City Council, The Gambia.
The visiting Mayor Tommelein in return thanked the host and assured of his council further support to the council for continuity of the project.
The official of the Banjul City Council led by the CEO, senior staff of the council, councilors and project team among others was in attendance, while the two Mayors later had a brief close door meeting.
About Future Proof Banjul
The City Link Ostend-Banjul Project, also known as Future Proof Banjul, is a partnership for sustainable city development project funded by the EU under the 2019 Europe Aid called Local Authorities: Partnerships for Sustainable cities.
It is a Eur 3.1 million project started December 2019 and will end November 2022 with the specific objective of strengthening the urban governance capacity of Banjul City Council (BCC) by developing an efficient public service and a future proof programme for the city of Banjul. The focus areas are good governance, greening the city, improved city waste management, accessible specialized health care and creation of a sustainable development centre at Crab Island, greening Banjul component of the project.