By Binta Jaiteh
The Spokesperson of North Bank Region (NBR), Mr. KaramaNjie fumed that the chairman of the Kerewan Area Council, Mr. Papa Tunkara is incompetent to rule the council.
Speaking to this medium, Mr. Njie said the leadership style at Kerewan Area Council under chairman Papa Tunkara is not convincing.
He stressed that seeing such a council in its current state is disheartening for the residents of North Bank and Gambians at large.
“We should not use politics to the detriment of the taxpayers. Councils should be given to well-experienced people,” he lamented.
Adding to that he said “It is apparent that Chairman Papa Tunkara lacks the academic credentials and good leadership skills to effectively run a local administrative council like the Kerewan Area Council. Despite this being known to many in the region, they opted to vote for him.”
The country’s progress, Papa noted, is in the hands of voters, so, “we have the votes to select the leaders. Political influence should not interfere in our government if not the country will continue to face problems,” he whined.
The NBR mouthpiece stated that it is the responsibility of the Chairman to convene and preside over the Council’s general meetings as dictated by the local government legislation, where the council can make strategic decisions according to the demands of the region.
However, in the absence of such meetings, he noted, the council cannot do anything but become unresponsive to the council and dormant thereby impeding the development of the administrative area.
Furthermore, he said the long-term absence of both the Chairman and the CEO from the council showed a lack of respect for the council’s progress.
According to him, there is also a growing suspicion of corruption in the chairman’s conduct, being a Chairman the manner he manages funds of the council needs to change.
“I, therefore, urged the ongoing Local Government Commission of Inquiry to look into the activities of the Kerewan Area Council for possible financial mismanagement and corruption,” he appealed.
