By Mustapha Jarju
Musa Ousainou Yali Bachilly, the Secretary-General, and leader of the Gambia Action Party (GAP), on Sunday officially announced his support for the Mayor of Kanifing Municipal, Taleb Ahmed Bensouda ahead of the Local Government Election in April this year.
The surprise announcement came after what the GAP leader described as a thorough assessment of Mr. Bensouda’s work for the past four years as the mayor of KMC.
“As a party leader and resident of the Kanifing Municipality, I have made my assessment and come up with the decision to endorse his Lordship Mayor Talib Ahmed Bensouda for a second term in office as Mayor of KMC,” Mr. Batchilly announced yesterday.
Mr. Bachilly pointed out that he has critically assessed the work of Mayor Bensouda for the past 4years and realized that he has done numerous development projects that have been vital for both the KMC and the nation at large in all sectors including, environment and sanitation.
He postulated that the ‘Mballet Project’ which valued more than 30 million dalasi, employed more than one hundred and seventy youth within and outside KMC which alone convinced him to endorse Mr. Bensouda for the upcoming local government elections.
“I am not supporting Mr. Bensouda because he is UDP, but I am supporting the work he is doing. If it is left to me alone, Gambians will give their votes to Talib Bensouda and there will be no opposition to him based on the records he makes at KMC.”
The controversial politician added that since Mr. Bensouda came into office he established a strong partnership with the international community with funding to help him achieve his developmental agendas including youth and women empowerment.
According to GAP leader, Mayor Bensouda has provided a hundred million dalasi for women empowerment within the municipality and also launched twenty Million dalasi as a revolving fund for youth entrepreneurship to get access to a loan to support their businesses.
“Mayor Bensouda`s competency is highly recognized and respected nationwide even beyond borders which gives him his seat at the Global Parliament of Mayor ship,” he said.
He, therefore, conditioned Gambians to be more conscious of the officials they vote for to represent them in public office to avoid sliding the country into critical situations. “We ought to choose wisely for the interest of the nation and stop voting for corrupt people,” he warned.