Bakary Badjie: Better Leader For A Better KMC

Here is the plan for the work to be done to extend the full promise of a better Kanifing Municipality to every resident. This is our blueprint to fight for progress and a life of dignity of every KM citizen.

Working with the community to achieve desired results.

The political change that happened in January 2017, gives an opportunity to the people of The Gambia and KM, in particular, to reunite as a people and work towards overcoming the challenges that are posed to us by circumstances of politics, environment, inadequate social amenities and a weak economy.

A council under the leadership of Bakary Badjie will ensure the almost 400,000 people, who reside and do business in the municipality will be motivated to pay tax and rates, because they see the benefit of what they pay.

Bakary Badjie will lead a process of social inclusion and participatory leadership leading to communities having a voice and platforms to take part in the development of their respective areas.

The council will have a strong foundation for mobilization of resources and prudent expenditure that goes towards meeting the needs of the ordinary man and woman.
Bakary Badjie’s belief is that people will develop a great interest in the function of the council if they don’t only participate in electing representatives, who will promote their interest but take active roles in negotiating those interest through the council’s inclusive nature of functioning.

With great involvement from communities, elected representative will be held accountable.

This will be done through facilitating a process to form strong development committees that will constantly approach their representatives and the council to ensure the availability of envisaged development roadmap, which will serve as the guide for all development works to be carried out in the municipality.

*The estimates are based on the 2013 Census and are in thousands.

382.09     POPULATION
38.2           HOUSEHOLDS
75.55        LAND AREA IN SQ KM
5,057.5       POPULATION DENSITY

Overall goal for building a better municipality.

• Ensure more effective, accountable and transparent local government that works closely with central government to deliver the needed infrastructural, economic and economic development to the people of the municipality

• Curb corruption and leakages in tax collection and maintain a prudent financial system in a bid to maximize revenue needed for the development undertakings of the Council

• Improve local public service and expand accessibility of communities to basic needs such as water, electricity, sanitation and waste collection and management

• Promote more active community participation in local governance, including administration of resources through dialogue and capacity support to Ward Development Committees and other groups of interest within the municipality

• Build and improve structures such as feeder roads to ease transportation, and markets to enhance livelihood, economic growth and employability of women and youths with an aim of reducing poverty and inequality

• Promote and enhance education, vocational training – especially for differently able persons, access to basic health care, security and safety through regular support to the central government’s departments (Police, Fire and Ambulance services etc) providing such services at the municipal level

• Develop sports and recreation by building and or improving needed facilities across the municipality as well as direct investment in grass root sports

• Sustain tourism, animal husbandry and other horticulture and agricultural engagements of residence of KM by supporting small scale sustainable projects of individuals and groups

• Support initiatives that promote culture and cultural exchange, creative and visual arts and general entertainment industry for residence of KM

• Bring an end to rising number of children and people with disability on the streets by initiating sustainable apprenticeship programs that generate income

Cutting council expenditure to invest in our people – the taxpayers.

Political change and transformation without access to quality public service at the local level are meaningless and unsustainable.

This is why the local councils have a major role to play in ensuring that the change that people of the Gambia yearned and struggled for translates into effective delivery of local services such as feeder roads, access to clean water, good waste and sanitation management strategy, availability of livelihood and business opportunities for women and youth, standard recreational facilities, through an efficient, accountable and well managed local government council that promotes local participation in its governance.

The vision of Bakary Badjie is to be able to provide the needed strong leadership to manage the resources the Council generates and utilize them to respond to the needs of the ordinary man, woman, and child as well as to businesses and other beneficiaries of the services of the council.

The Kanifing Municipality, being the commercial hub of the Gambia has the potential to create economic growth, employment opportunities and direct jobs to her people.

This was however unattainable because, for many decades, the council has collected taxes, license, and other fees but failed to deliver the services expected of it to those tax payers.

A multitude of reasons caused this inability of KMC to live up to its expectations.

These include the loopholes that exist in the tax collection system resulting in fraudulent practices by collectors.

At the Council level, there has been a huge political influence on how the Council spends its money.

Instead of using the resources to provide development to locals, the council’s leadership spends a greater chunk of their annual income on overheads because of several unnecessary appointments that came as political compensation for party loyalties, non-essential overseas travels attracting huge per-diems payments and other corrupt practices in procurement and payment of services by vendors.

With Bakary Badjie, that will be extinguished and we will transform the council into the institution that invests in its people – the taxpayers.