By Omar Bah
Activists from the communities of Manjai Kunda and Bakoteh who live near the much talked about Bakoteh Dumpsite have alleged that the Kanifing Municipal Council KMC has benefited from a $4.2M project for work on the dumpsite and urged the government to investigate the matter.
“We want the Gambia government to expeditiously launch an investigation into the World Bank $4.2 million project for the renovation of the Bakoteh dumpsite,” said Aboucarr Jeng the group leader.
He further alleged that the KMC leadership knows everything that transpired before and to help the situation they should come out and explain to government all the contracts they signed and how they spent the money.
“The money was given to the KMC by the World Bank since 2007 to rehabilitate and transfer the dumpsite to a land behind Brikama, after Bakoteh was rendered unfit for dumping since 2000, by one environmentalist from Zimbabwe,” he alleged
Asked whether they have evidence to prove their claim, Jeng said: “Of course yes, we have all the relevant documents to prove our case and if government fails to do anything about it, we will take KMC to court and there we will prove our case to the whole world,” he said.
The group leader also took time to register their dissatisfaction and disappointment with the government over their handling of the situation.
The Standard contacted the Mayor of Kanifing, Yankuba Colley who swiftly said: “The report is untrue and it is news to me.
“I want to again emphasise that since I became Mayor of KMC the Council has never received a butut in connection with the Bakoteh dumpsite. Yes, government used to sign agreements on behalf of the Council which never materialized.”
