Presidential aspirant and Coalition 2026 flag bearer Talib Ahmed Bensouda has promised to give Foñi its own administrative region, establish local government structures and turn the area into an international education hub if elected president.
Speaking at a political rally in Bwiam, Bensouda said Foñi had reached a point where it deserved greater administrative recognition and a stronger role in the country’s development.
Presence of foreign forces
The leader of the Coalition 2026 also addressed a major issue in the area, the presence of the West African intervention troops Ecomig.
He said if elected, he would review the presence of foreign security forces in The Gambia, saying his administration would prioritise Gambian soldiers in protecting the country’s borders.
Education was another major component of Bensouda’s promise to Foñi. He said Coalition 2026 wants The Gambia to become an international education hub and plans to position Foñi at the centre of that vision.
Bensouda also promised an economic policy focusing on keeping government spending within the Gambian economy, arguing that local businesses should benefit from public procurement.
“We’ve seen that in most of these government offices all these chairs or sofas there are imported, which amounts to 500 million dalasis. They use that money to buy furniture from Turkey and China. If that money leaves the country it is going to benefit other people in other countries,” he said.
He further promised that Coalition 2026 would create an economy in which “money will enter everybody’s pocket” and Gambians would have opportunities to make a decent and honest living.
Bensouda also used the rally to criticise President Adama Barrow’s assessment of his government’s development record, urging him to acknowledge the contributions of former presidents Sir Dawda Jawara and Yahya Jammeh.
“If you cannot thank them, just leave them alone,” Bensouda said.
He cited infrastructure projects from both Jawara and Jammeh administrations and accused Barrow of abandoning earlier commitments on constitutional reform and presidential term limits.
